Virtual Back to School Resources that Make Planning a Breeze

Did your district decide to go back to school virtually? Although it is very different than what teachers are used to, I'm here to tell you, “You can do this!” Your students will be coming soon (er, opening their laptops soon?) and you'll want to be prepared. Distance learning might have caught you off guard in the spring, but it won't this back to school season! I've been working on some engaging virtual back to school resources that you can use right away!

5 Virtual Resources for Primary Teachers

Back to School Virtual Planning

Don't know where to start? I've got you covered. I am a big fan of checklists. Something about crossing off a task from a to-do list just makes it feel like I'm moving in the right direction. Typically, during a regular school year, you might do the exact same thing you've always done. But now with distance learning, teachers will have to prepare in different ways.

To start your checklists, think about how to get organized for the different learning management systems you'll be using, such as Zoom, Seesaw, or GoogleClassroom. Have you created a class, do your student have information on how to access? Then you'll want to think about all of the rules, routines, and procedures you'll need to train your students on in order for your virtual classroom to run smoothly!

In the BTS: Virtual Planning resource, checklists are included to help think through what you'll need to do to get organized, and what routines and procedures you'll want to teach your students! I've also included slides to help with presenting. Making getting started a breeze!

Virtual Back to School Activities

If you've been teaching for a couple of years, I can bet you have some go-to back to school activities you use every year. This is because we know the students will love them and you love them too! Because of distance learning, you might not be able to do your usual back to school activities; however, this doesn't mean you have to sacrifice doing fun and engaging activities with your students.

Back to School Digital Memory Book

Of all the years to create a memory book, this is the year! Believe me, you want to create a memory book that captures what is happening this year. Capture your students back to school memories with this fun memory book.

Students will fill in details about their first day of school, their teacher, their favorites, their friends, learning virtually, the top 10 things they want to learn this year, and more!

Parent and Student Digital Surveys

Maybe the hardest part about going back to school virtually is collecting information from all of your students' parents, keeping it organized, and easily reference it.

With these Google Form parent questionnaires you keep all of the data in one place and can easily see parents' responses.

Plus, you also get student surveys! There is one survey is specifically geared for back to school to help you get to know y our students. There are three more questionnaires that can be used year-round: lesson exit ticket, Student Check-In, and My Feelings. All aimed at helping you connect better with your students and find out what they are thinking or how they are feeling.

Get to Know You Ice-Breakers

I saved my favorite virtual back to school activity to share last! This is a fun, easy-to-use classroom community builder. Just screen share and ask a question. Students will get to share their answers with each other. It's the perfect way for you and your students to get to know each other.

Probably the hardest part about teaching virtually is creating a strong classroom community because the students don't get to interact with each other as easily as they did in class. This ice-breaker helps with that! It actually helps break the ice. Students will soon start talking, sharing, and begin to make friendships.

All of this and more is included in my Virtual Teacher Toolkit Bundle. You can buy the resources you like individually or just by the whole toolkit bundle and save! There is a lot more included in this resource including Editable Teacher Letters.

This back to school season is unlike any other. Although it's not easy to have been thrown into online teaching, I hope that these virtual back to school resources make planning a breeze by helping you get organized, prioritize what to teach, and build strong connections with your students.