Daily Planning for a Digital Class

Let’s face it, most of us are not trained to teach online. It is a different environment than the one we have been thriving or surviving in for years. Depending on which category above you would put yourself in, you may wonder how you are going to get through teaching virtually.

Over the summer I dedicated a lot of time to research the topic of how to conduct a class online. There are a number of topics we could cover on this like classroom management, grading, assessments, behavior, and so much more. However, in this post, we want to take a deep dive into the planning portion of online teaching.

Essential Material

Planning and timing are going to be essential for teaching remotely. You will need to have a strong understanding of your curriculum and standards before you can even start to think about delivering content virtually. What we typically do in the classroom will not translate into online learning. This means some of our content will have to be forgone this year. Consider only the material that is essential. Be content with this and let everything else go. This is not an optional step.

Connection

If you are required to teach online and in live sessions this year, always start your class with a task that will allow students to work at their own pace since entrance into the digital classroom will stagger. Your connection activity should last about five minutes. You want this to be something that is not connected to the content you will teach. It should be fun and engaging but not graded. Why you ask? This is because for the first few minutes of class students will be logging in (and yes many will be late) and having technical issues. Students will also be settling in and the connection activity will helo focus them.

Your connection activity can be a culture question students answer in the chatbox or a joke. Whatever it is you go with, remember it should be something you don’t have to reteach or something students will have to makeup.

Warm-Ups

The warm-up will be an activity that will lead to your daily lesson or a review of the previous lesson. The warm-up should be an interesting task that sets the stage for what students will learn. Usually, the warm-up will take about 5 – 7 minutes. The warm-up will help students feel comfortable with the material they will be learning and focus them on what is coming. They can be anything from watching a video clip to doing a homework check.

Authentic resources are also a great way to focus on students and include cultural information in your lesson. Authentic resources can be any of the following:

• News articles
• Images
• Artwork
• Video clips
• Photographs
• Comic strips
• Music Videos

Get your FREE warm-up resources here.

Student Learner Outcomes

Part of your daily routine should consist of providing students with daily learning objectives. Generally, these are your I Can statements. Make sure you communicate them to students using student-friendly language. This section should only take about 2 minutes.

Breakout Rooms

Some teachers are nervous about using breakout rooms and I get it. You know your students best. If they are not ready to use breakout rooms for maturity reasons, then extend the teacher led instruction minutes or provide a longer warm-up.

In my breakout rooms, I assign students time to work on concepts, and vocabulary learned on the previous day through interpersonal communication, games, videos that teach vocabulary, parameter writing, or language analysis. During distance learning, I do not care if they use English to work through concepts and ideas. This may be the only connection to their peers they have all day. I am very flexible with this during the pandemic. None of us would want to be cut off from others during this difficult time. And they are still learning. I call that a win.

If you prefer to do breakout rooms after new content is taught, just switch the order you create your lessons.

Teacher-Led Instruction

The teacher-led portion of the daily online work should be the meat of what you want to accomplish for the day. This part will take about 10 – 15 minutes of direct instruction. This should be work that students CAN NOT do on their own. Things like vocabulary words, students can learn on their own. However, they can’t practice communication and interpersonal communication on their own. They can’t receive feedback from you in real-time on their own. Try to design this portion of the daily lesson to be communicative.

Remember to check for understanding during this process by asking questions and utilizing the chatbox.

Breakout Rooms (again?)

After the direct instruction, students can do group work in breakout rooms. This section can be 7 – 15 minutes depending on the activity. Sometimes it may take longer than this. Students can complete A/B activities, practice conversations, discuss major concepts, analyze a video, brainstorming, or work on a project. In this breakout room session, students will be working with the new content.

Closing

Bring students back from the breakout rooms to answer any questions. Before you let students log off make sure you review the I Can statements and use best practice by giving an exit ticket.

Independent Work

In traditional classrooms, teachers would assign homework. Teachers can think of independent work as homework. I like to think of it as a way to extend the day’s lesson.

Independent work can also be a way to “flip” your classroom. You can provide vocabulary practice, culture readings, video viewings, Google Forms…really the options here are endless. This work can help students be better prepared for live communication lessons.

Using online games like Gimkit, Boom cards, and Quizlet are great ways to assign work that allows students to practice the language outside of the classroom.

Sample Daily Lesson

Below is a sample day with my online ASL 2 class. Notice the bell-work is my connection and I only use one breakout room on this day. The schedule can differ slightly day to day but remember it helps to keep your class a routine especially during this difficult time.

Here is a weekly planning template to get you started.

I hope you have a fantastic school year.

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