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DISTANCE LEARNING
How to get Elementary Students Engaged in Online Learning
Last Updated 6 December 2023/ By Zineb DJOUB
Engagement is the power that fuels our energy to pursue a course of actions or goals no matter what context or difficulties we face. In education, students’ engagement remains an essential goal for every teacher to pursue. However, how can you get elementary students engaged in online learning?
This may seem difficult if not impossible to realize. This can even seem hard to think about mainly those 1st and 2nd grades who are still struggling with reading.
So, if you’re an elementary teacher and you’re wondering how you get your elementary students engaged in online learning here are 4 ways I created for you to achieve this goal along with some tips.
1. Get your students’ attention from the start
I’d like you first to believe in yourself and in your ability to get your students’ attention. I know you’re behind the screen. It might be your first attempt or even attention is the hardest thing to attain in teaching. Forget about that!
You’re working with children who can’t learn unless they’re attentive enough to grasp your content. So, try to grab their attention from the start, from that moment they see your face.
Remember that variety is key. So, when you welcome your students try to be more creative, flexible, and responsive to what your students like and want to do. Here are some tips :
• Start with a message in the background like: ” Welcome to Miss/ Mrs/Mr your Name“, “I’m so happy to see you today”, “I’m here for you“, “Learning is great here“, “Happy Online Learning“. Write it in bold and use colours.
To make it more interesting, you can also use Bitmojis, play music, or select a song that gives a feeling of happiness and excitement. Vary your choices (message, song…) whenever you intend to start that way. Check out this video to learn how to make a Bitmoji scene.
• After you say good morning, for instance, you tell students you’re going to count 1, 2, 3. And they have all to say at once good morning Miss/Mrs/Mr indicating your name. Tell them you can’t hear it and so they need to do it for the second time (no more than 3 times).
• After welcoming students, ask them if they can hear you. Even if they say yes. Tell them you want to make sure that. So, they are going to act out or perform each sentence you say, showing their reactions.
To get their attention they need to enjoy this activity, so select the right actions for that. You can tell, for instance, to drink salty coffee, wink with your left eye, dance, walk like a millionaire or star, etc. (up 4 sentences so that they don’t get bored).
2. Show them you care
Even if you’re meeting with your students online you can show them that you care about them. This is what helps you build more connections with them.
Some tips :
• Use drawings to ask them how they feel. Tell your students that what you’re going to draw represents how you feel now and they have to guess what it is. You can use a blank screen if you’re in Zoom to draw a face or simply draw on paper and then show them your drawing.
If you are like me I can barely draw a face that any child can identify, that’s fine. But, if you’re skillful, try to make it simple. Because you are going to ask them to draw to express their feelings. They need to find it amusing rather than challenging.
• If you’re short of time or you’re looking for another alternative use emojis. You can name them and ask students for instance if they feel like Tom, Kevin, or Suzan.
• Ask them about how their weekend was, how they’re spending time at home, the stories they read, movies they watched, etc. Show them that you care about them as individuals before they’re learners. Since students like to know about teachers, talk about yourself, your routine, and things you like and dislike (but don’t make it long).
• Prepare a joke, a funny anecdote, a video, or a picture to show to those students who said they are not feeling well. Or you can ask others to tell them jokes and make them laugh.
• Ask for your students’ personal opinions because this shows that you value them. Devote some time to discuss what they like to eat, wear, get as birthday gifts, where they prefer to go, etc. Start by yourself. If you want, for instance, to talk about what they like wearing, ask them what they think about your t-shirt, its colour, text or drawing, etc.
• Identify their needs. Your students may not dare to tell you about their needs or difficulties online. Therefore, talk to their parents ahead about the need to communicate these via email.
• Don’t rely just on parents to get such information. Try to check it out by yourself. Providing ample opportunities for students to practice is not the right decision in this case.
Because you’re teaching online, you need to invest that time in connecting with students and helping them feel good about this learning experience. You can ask them to do one or two tasks. Then assign others to complete after class (yet avoid overloading them). Make sure to clarify instructions and model good performance.
• Don’t forget to keep a record of your online lessons so that absent students can have access to them.
• Observe your students’ attitudes online, and their accomplishment of the assigned tasks and keep a record of such data. After identifying those who are struggling with your content and collaborating with your colleagues, schedule other online meetings where you listen to them and clarify related issues (once a week or twice depending on your teaching workload).
Showing them you care, you’ll get your elementary students engaged in online learning.
3. Make students actively involved
To make your students actively involved online, you need to create an interesting learning environment. How?
We all know that kids are curious and want to discover things by themselves. So, you can generate that interest by encouraging them to think, explore, and enjoy learning.
Some tips :
• Start your lessons (after welcoming your students) with an engaging quiz, a challenge, a game or you can share a picture or a video. Ask them to comment on, write their responses, or work together to complete a task. To get your students involved in Math visit Math Playground, in Science check out Science For Kids.
• Provide your students with an interactive reading experience. Various websites are offering free ebooks for kids so read this post to make your selection. Try to experiment with different types of texts: use those that are read aloud and those that you’ll read for your students so that they experience different voices.
• Explore the power of educational videos. Not all teachers had the chance to introduce them to traditional classrooms. Now we can share videos that teach and entertain our students like Sesame Street, FreeSchool, Organic Learning, and New StoryBots Videos.
• Don’t forget to engage your students in virtual trips to help them explore the world while they’re at home and reflect. For more ideas visit Marisa’s post: 35 Virtual Field Trips for Kids to Get Them Learning About the World
4. Sustain their motivation
Another tip to get your elementary students engaged in online learning is sustaining their motivation. Your students like to get praised and rewarded. They feel happy when you value their contributions and acknowledge their effort. This is what makes them motivated to learn online.
So, don’t think because you’re teaching remotely content delivery comes first and there is no time for praising and rewarding them. Celebrating those moments of success with your students matters not only for their academic success but also for their personal growth as children.
Some tips:
• Instead of praising students using always the same words such as very good, great, etc, why not using from time to time gif images that express that (go to giphy.com) or songs (like KIDZ BOP Kids –Congratulations)
• Use Bitmogis, digital stickers (for written feedback). Watch this video to learn how to use Digital Stickers in Google Classroom.
• Reward students for their performance, their attendance and participation online, collaboration with their peers, completion and submission of their assignments on time.
You can use different virtual rewards such as offering ebooks, digital reward cards, or badges, hosting an online party, inviting the child’s parent online, and talking about his achievement in front of all students, etc.
Besides praising and rewarding students, we need to admit that children can’t stay still in front of the screen for a long time. So, giving them brain breaks when they have had enough and need a quick recreation is necessary to motivate them to learn online. Here are some examples :
- Integrate movement and help students practice mindfulness: For more ideas visit GoNoodle
- Use short Disney videos or ask students to colour pages of famous Disney characters of their own choice at https://lol.disney.com/
- Sing a song, play a musical instrument, or ask your students to do it.
- Use videos and games (see the resources above).
This is how to get elementary students engaged in online learning. This goal can be challenging to achieve at first, but with a little effort and time, your students will be getting the best engaging experience possible. So, use these tips and let me know your feedback.
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