With the surge of the Omicron variant, many schools are moving back to distance learning. Although we may not be excited to leave our classrooms again, we are better prepared for distance learning this time around.
Most, if not all, educators have experienced teaching remotely at some point over the last year and a half. Many have shared strategies and tools they found helpful. In an effort to support the teaching community as this next wave of distance learning begins, we have curated a collection of blog posts focused on distance learning. We have organized the post around 3 topics: planning for distance learning, adapting teaching moves for distance learning, and additional resources.
Start with one that sounds like a good fit for where you are and what you’re thinking about. The post might anchor your thinking, raise new ideas, remind you of resources you’ve used in the past, or have you question prior practices. After you finish reading, you might want to extend the conversation with a colleague from your school or within an online community like the IM Community Hub.
IM Community Hub
Wondering where to find the IM distance learning resources you’ve used before? Looking for ideas and resources from other teachers on how to use and adapt IM lessons? Both can be found on the IM Community Hub. If you’re not a member, register now and join a community of IM Math users. It’s the place to find existing resources, share resources you’ve made, and discuss with others questions you may have about distance learning. Several of the resources and where to find them are described below.
Planning for Distance Learning
Although IM lesson activities are designed for students to make sense of and talk about in person, we created resources for teachers to think about how to prioritize content and adapt sections of each unit for distance learning. This includes both asynchronous and synchronous learning. These Section Level Planning Guides are now found on the Hub. Check out these blog posts for an overview of the guides and examples of how teachers have used them in the past.
- New IM 6–12 Resources for Addressing Unfinished Learning and Engaging Students in Distance Learning
By David Peterson and Kate Nowak
This blog post features an overview of the Section Level Planning Guides, as well as information about available video summaries and lessons.
- Using IM’s Distance Learning Resources to Create a Hybrid Learning Plan (IM 6–8 examples)
By Lorie Banks
In this blog post, middle school educator Lorie Banks shares how she used IM’s Section Level Planning Guides to plan hybrid experiences for her students.
- Planning for the Student Experience
By Sarah Caban and Kristin Gray
This blog post describes how elementary educators in Portland ME, collaborated with IM K–5 Math authors Sarah Caban and Kristin Gray to plan for in-person and distance learning experiences for students in grades K–5.
To access the Section Level Planning Guides on the Hub, search “Section Level Planning Guide” after logging in or find them under the Resources tab.
Click on the Resources tab and find your grade band.
Find your grade level on the left-side menu and click the plus sign (if there is not a plus, click the course name)
Adapting Teaching Moves for Distance Learning
How do I teach an IM K–12 Math lesson virtually? How do students collaborate and share their thinking? How do I ensure all students have opportunities to do math? Teachers and IM staff have shared different ways they have navigated this challenge and found opportunities to see student thinking in new ways by adapting IM routines and leveraging their pedagogical strengths.
- Together Apart: Amplifying the “Gift of Student Thinking” in Distance Learning with IM
By Maureen D. O’Connell
IM K–5 Math Facilitator Maureen O’Connell shares her district’s central beliefs about mathematical learning, and how that translated into the digital environment, in this blog post.
- IM Distance Learning Webinar
By Maureen D. O’Connell and Marcelle Good
This 80-minute webinar for K–12 educators focuses on planning for and enacting robust distance learning.
- Facilitating the “Choral Counting” Routine Online
By Janaki Nagarajan
In this blog post, elementary teacher Janaki Nagarajan shares how she adapted the “choral counting” routine for distance learning, taking into consideration how different choices affirmed her values.
- English Learners and Distance Learning: Math Language Routines and the follow-up blogs with a deeper-dive on adapting Compare and Connect, Co-Craft Questions, and Clarify, Critique, Connect.
By Vanessa Cerrahoglu, Jennifer Wilson, and Liz Ramirez
This blog series offers a peek into secondary classrooms (grades 6–12) using the Math Language Routines to support learners during distance learning.
- English Learners and Distance Learning: Enhancing Access
By Liz Ramirez
Liz Ramirez, IM’s Director of Access and Supports, shares key considerations to enhance access for all learners, but particularly English learners, during distance learning.
Additional Resources
Need something else? To start, two of our certified partners, Imagine Learning and Kendall Hunt, offer presentation slides for every IM Math lesson. Check out these blog posts from the IM team for other resources and ideas to supplement distance learning.
- IM Talking Math
By Kristin Gray
In this blog post, Kristin Gray describes our IM Talking Math slides, which offer vibrant photos with engaging questions, aligned to K–5 standards. It is a helpful resource for teachers and caregivers to continue math conversations when in-person learning is interrupted. The Section Level Planning Guides (available in the IM Community Hub) also provide recommendations for which slides might work best for the content your students are currently learning.
- IM Talking Math 6–8: Resources for Weekly Re-engagement
By the IM 6–8 Math Team
We also released a series of slides for IM Talking Math for grades 6–8.
- Video Lesson Summaries for Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8, and Algebra I (also found on the Community Hub).
There are illustrated video lesson summaries for sections of lessons in grades 6–8 and Algebra 1.
- Links to Resources for Shifting Instruction Online
By the IM K–12 Math Team
This blog post offers a curated list of resources to support educators with distance learning.
- Links to Math Resources for Caregivers
By the IM K–12 Math Team
This blog post offers a curated list of resources to support caregivers with distance learning.
Next Steps
What “takeaways” do you have from the blog post(s) you read? Did you find a resource you’ve used before? Something new?
Maybe you want to share something you found with a colleague or chat about how to adapt a resource for your current situation with other educators in the IM Community Hub. In these challenging times, please remember to take care of yourself and reach out to others in your in-person and online communities for support.
