Mrs. Slaviero's Blog

Keeping virtual students connected is tougher than it seems. For a multitude of reasons it's an ongoing endeavor this year. While I will once again teach my LEGACY reflection this spring, my 8th Grade US colleague thought to connect LEGACY to George Washington's Farewell Address and, if today is any indication, it's now a powerful and authentic way to kick off this reflection. My students tend to communicate in breakout rooms better when we are in hybrid mode (when students are in class and some are virtual). I don't know why this is but it might have something to do with school feeling more "real" when some students are in school. Regardless, it's on me to encourage and motivate students to talk to one another in breakout rooms every time.  In a normal year communicating with peers in class happens fairly effortlessly, in breakout rooms it's so challenging. I continually move from breakout room to room, assigning leaders to introduce a topic (again, ...

 My students' National History Day projects are coming along, better than expected, if I'm honest. There are a few factors that are definitely helping--these students created projects last year in their Ancient Civilizations class. How fortunate that our 7th Grade teachers saw the value in these projects last year! It makes this undertaking less daunting for these now 8th Graders. It's just as challenging a project, but my students know what to expect and that makes a huge difference. The wealth of incredible resources from the National History Day and state History Day organizations make my role run so much more smoothly. These historians help teachers focus on guiding our students through their studies and I couldn’t do it without their help. Another factor is that the foundation has been set and my students understand I am there to support them. The student-centered classroom I strive for every year has been replicated as much as possible in the virtual environment. I am...

  I can't believe we are already a few weeks into the school year. My 25th year. And yet I'm feeling like a first-year teacher in so many ways.  There have been big changes, any one of which would've thrown me for a loop if I'm honest.  Block scheduling.  Teaching virtually.  Pivoting for hybrid learning.  My colleagues and I are leaning on each other. We are taking this one day and one week at a time. I'm incredibly proud of the work we are doing.  I've made a Bitmoji Classroom (sorry, not sorry--it's a fun way to introduce myself to my students but it's not central to the work we're doing). The classroom contains links to our school website, National History Day Symbaloo Webmix, and other links. It also holds a daily agenda slide. I've upped my tech game by creating it. Housing the classroom in our Schoology page was an tech accomplishment for me, too. I update it daily with an agenda slide that updates when I complete it in Google Slides. My B...