A Sea of Worksheets OR Engaging Tasks

Remote teaching has posed many challenges for teachers. Teachers have had to figure out how to plan lessons that will cover the curriculum with a limited amount of resources. They have had to learn new platforms and figure out how to manage virtual breakout rooms, electronic devices, and how to plan effective learning experiences for students when they are not sitting in the same room.

Unfortunately, teachers may have met those challenges with a sea of worksheets instead of planning engaging tasks that will deepen student learning. One way to engage students is to plan open tasks in which students need to consider multiple perspectives or solve problems in multiple ways. Virtual break out rooms can provide a great place for students to discuss multiple perspectives or how they approached problem solving.

Another way to engage students is to plan lessons in which students have to compare and contrast, identify patterns, or figure out how things are connected even though they appear to be in contrast. Asking students to consider a dilemma and how to solve it before reading about it in a book can lead to discussing how the character in the book resolved the problem in comparison to what the group discussed. Giving students partial information or irrelevant information and then providing students opportunities to work on a task can engage students in problem solving instead of just working through lower level worksheets. Time to plan for a Sea of Engaging Tasks instead of a Sea of Worksheets and watch students engage in rigorous learning experiences!