School’s Out! Now What?
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Updated Sunday, March 29
Updated Sunday, March 29
With recent updates regarding Shelby County schools closing until March 30, many parents may be wondering, “What can I do to keep my student busy?” Research shows that during the summer months, 3rd to 5th grade students lose an average of 20% of their school-year gains in reading, and 27% of their gains in math. The “summer slide” is a well documented phenomenon; however, less research has been done on winter and spring breaks. With several months left of teaching and learning for our fifth graders, it’s important that we don’t let them regress, or slide backwards, during the Coronavirus scare.
What can parents do to help?
We find that our students crave structure and maintain positive attitudes when they know what to expect from their day. If interested, you’ll find an example schedule at the bottom of this list.
Macon-Hall teachers will be providing weekly lessons for all grades and subjects. These lessons, in addition to all of the suggestions below, are for enrichment only and are optional. Let’s keep growing together!
Learning Resources
1. Let kids read what they want. Children won’t gain much from reading if they aren’t enjoying it.
Getepic.com is an excellent resource for our students to have access to books at home or on their mobile devises. With books of varying grade levels and genres, your student is bound to find a series that they enjoy. Our class code is “UWE4410.”
NewsELA.com provides students with informational news articles at their reading level. They are able to take quizzes and complete writing assignments after reading each article. Students can access this website through their Clever portal.
Did you know that you can check out ebooks from your local library? Go to overdrive.com or download the app. From there, you can sign up for a library card. Students are able to check out books and download them to their phone for easy reading.
20 Books Every Kid Should Read Before Turning 13
Make sure you keep a log of each book your student reads over the next few weeks. They can take an AR test on teach book when they return. For every AR point earned on the day school resumes, I will deposit $10 into your students’ bank account.
Learn at home with Scholastic News!
As you know, we love using Scholastic News in the classroom to engage students in discussion related to real world events.
2. Make Time for Smart Play
Our students LOVE Prodigy and Dreamscape. Dreamscape is an ELA based game that can be accessed through Clever. Prodigy is a math game. Each student has an individual login.
iReady can be accessed on a computer or tablet. Challenge your child to complete a certain number of iReady math and reading lessons each day.
3. Keep Exploring and Learning
DuoLingo is a site that teaches students a new language. From Spanish to Navajo, or Italian to Hebrew. Students may log in through their Clever account.
20 virtual field trips you can take with your family
Brainpop
Typing Club
Coding Club
4. Have Fun!
Keep moving with GoNoodle
Search “Art for Kids” on YouTube for guided drawings.
I will be sending out Dojo messages and keeping you all updated on any information that we receive. Please check my website for additional activities, books, and games that your child can use in order to GROW over this break. I am here to support you and your student in any way possible. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. I’m happy to “virtually” help 1 on 1 with additional skill building while we are not in school.
Thank you so much!
Mrs. Hutchens
What can parents do to help?
We find that our students crave structure and maintain positive attitudes when they know what to expect from their day. If interested, you’ll find an example schedule at the bottom of this list.
Macon-Hall teachers will be providing weekly lessons for all grades and subjects. These lessons, in addition to all of the suggestions below, are for enrichment only and are optional. Let’s keep growing together!
Learning Resources
1. Let kids read what they want. Children won’t gain much from reading if they aren’t enjoying it.
Getepic.com is an excellent resource for our students to have access to books at home or on their mobile devises. With books of varying grade levels and genres, your student is bound to find a series that they enjoy. Our class code is “UWE4410.”
NewsELA.com provides students with informational news articles at their reading level. They are able to take quizzes and complete writing assignments after reading each article. Students can access this website through their Clever portal.
Did you know that you can check out ebooks from your local library? Go to overdrive.com or download the app. From there, you can sign up for a library card. Students are able to check out books and download them to their phone for easy reading.
20 Books Every Kid Should Read Before Turning 13
Make sure you keep a log of each book your student reads over the next few weeks. They can take an AR test on teach book when they return. For every AR point earned on the day school resumes, I will deposit $10 into your students’ bank account.
Learn at home with Scholastic News!
As you know, we love using Scholastic News in the classroom to engage students in discussion related to real world events.
- Go deeper into the text by asking your student to identify 3-4 sentences in the article that they would include in a summary.
- You may also ask how this topic relates to things they have learned previously in their classes. (Grade 3-5, Grade 6).
2. Make Time for Smart Play
Our students LOVE Prodigy and Dreamscape. Dreamscape is an ELA based game that can be accessed through Clever. Prodigy is a math game. Each student has an individual login.
iReady can be accessed on a computer or tablet. Challenge your child to complete a certain number of iReady math and reading lessons each day.
3. Keep Exploring and Learning
DuoLingo is a site that teaches students a new language. From Spanish to Navajo, or Italian to Hebrew. Students may log in through their Clever account.
20 virtual field trips you can take with your family
Brainpop
Typing Club
Coding Club
4. Have Fun!
Keep moving with GoNoodle
Search “Art for Kids” on YouTube for guided drawings.
I will be sending out Dojo messages and keeping you all updated on any information that we receive. Please check my website for additional activities, books, and games that your child can use in order to GROW over this break. I am here to support you and your student in any way possible. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. I’m happy to “virtually” help 1 on 1 with additional skill building while we are not in school.
Thank you so much!
Mrs. Hutchens