Update 8/30/2022: Dr. Catlin Tucker (@Catlin_Tucker) recently shared this Google Slides presentation on Twitter that includes 36 different discussion/check-in questions ready to use! In response, @JoyKirr shared a link to her “Question of the Day” page, which also offers many discussion ideas.
In yesterday’s post about Virtual Breakout rooms, I mentioned that students who don’t like this virtual version of small group work feel awkward, especially if they have not built connections with the teacher and their peers before being thrown into small groups. Today’s post offers you some resources to help your students with some of the social-emotional aspects of being in school in order to begin building those bridges.
SEL
If you have the version of PearDeck that allows for “Draggable” responses, you can have your students show their current emotional status using a Google Slide like this one created by Stephanie Rothstein (@Steph_EdTech) and her student teacher, inspired by her LEAD Pathway Co-Chair, Rachel Peters (@lghspeters ). (You can also make your own hack for draggable responses by: making this your background or creating a master slide with it, creating your own dot, copying and pasting it numerous times until you have enough for the class to drag when you share the presentation.)
If you don’t have the full version of PearDeck, you can make your own hack for draggable responses by: making this your background or creating a master slide with it, creating your own dot, copying and pasting it numerous times until you have enough for the class to drag when you share the presentation. You can also find some more SEL templates from PearDeck that are free to download here.
Do you want a virtual calming room? Lindsey Denbo (@denbo_lindsey) shared the template for this amazing Slides presentation:
Community Building
Ester Park (@MrsParkShine), who I also added to my Interactive Slides post because of her bank of templates that can be easily adapted for many uses, has this fun sign-off questions template.
You can also find various Check-In templates on Mrs. Park’s site, as well as interactive games.
Speaking of games, check out this clever Quarantine Lucky Charms game from John Meehan (@MeehanEdu).
Did you create a Bitmoji Classroom? Many teachers are allowing their students to create Bitmoji Lockers. Due to age and access issues, some teachers are giving students banks of Bitmojis to choose from. Adding some personal flair to their own projects, and sharing them can give the teacher and their classmates insight into individual personalities so they can discover commonalities and unique attributes in each other.
PearDeck also has free Community Building Templates, which you can access here.
If you have any other SEL or Community Building ideas for virtual learning, please share them in the Comments Section!
