Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Flexible Teaching-7:00 Class
The Swine Flu has hit your classroom. Out of 23 students only 10 are in attendance due to the flu. As a classroom teacher what will you do? With over 1/2 of your classroom absent you have been told not to proceed in each subject area as usual because so many children will be behind when they return. Write 1 alternative plan for any subject area that you could do with the 10 students who are in attendance. In addition, write what precautions you would take to protect yourself and your students from contracting the H1N1 flu.
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First of all to try to prevent anyone else or myself from picking up the virus from the room, I would sanitize all the surfaces in the room including all of the desk tops, chairs, door knobs and so on. For an alternative plan to do with the students while the rest were out with the flu would be to take a story that had to do with what we had been studying in science and read it to the students. For example I will say Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. After reading the story I would have the students write a story about some kind of wacky weather in a town they have created and draw a picture to go along with their story.
As a teacher I am still obligated to provide a learning environment to my students. One alternative to introducing new material in subject areas would be to review what we have learned upto now and also spending extra time in the library to help improve reading as well as allowing students to explore books from every genre. I will also spend time discussing the H1N1 flu, and using resources both written and technological to educate my students on prevention.
With the 10 students that were in attendance that day I would do a lesson on what H1N1 was how it would affect your body and ways to prevent getting it. Then I would do an extra activity, say a brain puzzle that I had lying around for math and a book for literature. I would try to make sure that the students there were learning something but I would not have it be continued from the lesson the day before.
With the students who were in attendance, I would have a lesson on germs and how are bodies get sick and recover. I might also have the students make and send get well cards to their fellow sick classmates.
To try and prevent the spread of the flu I would go over proper handwashing techniques and other tips to stay healthy with the class. I would have hand sanitizer in the room I would use and have the students use often.
I would then disinfect and sanitize all surfaces that students come in contact with throughout the day.
I think that if I were in that situation I would spend a lot of time reviewing what we (as a class) had already been working on. This would allow the students in attendance to continue their learning without putting the others behind them.I think it would also be beneficial to use this time to present different information that would help the students understand swine flu and other communicable diseases.This as well as extreme sanitation measures (clorox wipes, germ-x,proper hygiene, etc.) would help to prevent the virus from spreading to anymore students within my class room.
I would take many precautions in my classroom to help prevent the spred of H1N1. I would start by sanitizing my classroom, teaching proper handwashing procedure and its importance, and provide hand sanitizer for students to use frequently throughout the day. I would educate the students on ways to help prevent the flu as well as signs and symptoms they should be aware of.
I would review and supplement what we had already been working on that week with my students. For example, we could take the book we were working on and turn it into a play or take the math topic we had been working on and play a game related to the topic. This way, the students who were in attendance could become experts and we would be able to use some sort of jigsaw method to help the students who were absent remember what we had previously been working on.
Before school started for the day I would put on disposable gloves and sanitize all the surfaces in the room such as desks, chairs, light switches. I would also check and make sure that the bathroom handles to the sink and other surfaces likely to be touched had been sanitized. I would also request that my students make some moderate changes for their possible benefit by temporarily not sharing any items such as pencils, markers or erasers. As a class I would then let the students know that while many students were out sick we would be spending some extra time doing some fun activities exploring Paper Clip Science. The book Paper Cip Science Simple & Fun Experiments would be ideal for a day when many students are absent. There are a variety of activities I would write out choices for the students to spend time with experimenting. Students could select up to 3 different activites and they will write up a brief description of what they learned from their experiment on a 3 X 5 index card. I would also make these choices available on my website so the students who were home could do these if they wanted. Most of the supplies needed are very simple and many parents would already have these at home. After I reviewed the cards and most of the students were back at school, I would give the students their cards back and we would have a sharing time where the students could share what they learned.
the first thing i would do would be to stop the spred of the h1n1 virus in my class room by snitizein all the hard surfaces that the virus could grow or spred on to the othere childern. to look at the small class size as a positive i would have the class write in there jounarls to see what ares that they might need help with. I would then read the jounarls to see what subjects we might want to review. we could then review those subjects by playing review games or by maybe doing make up assinegmens that the students need to complet.
In order to prevent people from catching the flu, I would keep lots of hand sanitizer around the classroom and have the students wash their hands regularly. I would probably make a poster and hang it up inside or outside of my classroom with helpful tips on how to stay healthy during the flu season. As for my alternative lesson, I would probably try to play a game to keep them all energetic that would be a review of material they had already been learning with the rest of the class. A few ideas would be bingo, jeopardy, or trivia baseball-this would be a way to reinforce material that the students need to know but without the other students falling behind.
as a alternate lesson for math i would show the students that are in class different math games that would help them with knowing math facts one game i would show would be ken ken and there are different levels so i would have the students start a the low level and work their way up giving them points for every puzzle they completed.
To prevent the other students and I for getting sick at lunch and at the end of the day i would Lysol the room and have the student and I use hand sanitizer through out the day.
I think that since it is my job to keep my students active and participating in a good learning setting I would make sure that I kept my students minds focused on the content area that we were discussing and maybe as a good way to not move too far forward without the other students we could play a game that would instead just reinforce the subject and review what we had already learned.
As far as trying to prevent my remaining students from getting the flu I would make sure to sanitize all areas of my classroom especially those of high traffic areas and also try to help talk to my students about the swine flu to better educate them on it. I think a note should also be sent home to parents informing them of the outbreak in our classroom so that they may get their child testes to possibly prevent the spreading further if they have it.
If the Swine Flu hit my classroom that badly I would first disinfect my entire room with bleach and water. I would also have the remainder of my students do thier best to keep their distance form the other. For these 10 students I would read different books and have activities for them to do. If the students are out for over a week I would then begin reviewing the material that has already been taught by playing games, worksheet activities, or watch movies that had to do with the subject matter.
Wearing a particle mask and sanitized rubber gloves (not the regular powdered latex) I would sanitize the class, particularly high-traffic areas like reading corners, community supply boxes, etc. When the students arrived, I would spend some time thoroughly informing them about H1N1 and ways they can prevent contracting it. AS for a lesson, i would use the time to let the students play some education related games and let them interact with some supplemental material that there may not have been time for in the topic's original lesson. I would also use the time to help struggling students catch up in some areas they were lagging in.
In this sort of situation, I would use the illness as a chance to inform my remaing ten students on the Swine Flu. We would spend time discussing exactly what the Swine Flu is an how we can prevent ourselves from contracting the virus as well. I have always wanted to do a lesson plan that I developed about good hand-washing habits, and this sort of situation would be the perfect time to use it.
It would also be a fun project to ask the students just what surfaces in the classroom they think might carry the flu virus. We could make a game out of cleaning the desks, chairs, dry erase boards, computers, etc.
Finally, I would want the students in the classroom to make "Get Well" cards and letters for the sick students. I would also like to have the students journal to their parents about what they learned about the Swine Flu and how they can prevent their families from getting sick. This would reinforce what was learned in class.
First, I would sanitize all surfaces of the classroom and have a bottle of hand sanitizer in the classroom. Then I would draft a letter to be sent home to all parents of children in the classroom. In this letter I would list out facts regarding the Swine Flu and suggestions. For example; discuss importance of handing washing with child, make sure child covers mouth when they cough or sneeze, if certain symptoms (have listed out) are present keep them home and when to take them to the doctor, suggest carrying around hand sanitizer, eat healthy foods, flu shots, etc.
As a teacher I would follow these suggestions also in the classroom and for myself, making sure each child is aware of the symptoms and ways to prevent the flu, and if any child is presenting symptoms I would send them to the school nurse.
I would also give a Health lesson on the flu and the Swine Flu. Depending on time we could do another lesson on Nutrition to discuss health foods and their benefits, tying this into the flu or even getting colds. Giving students suggestions of how to prevent it, and also having students do a project about the flu. We could make posters for “What is the flu?”, “How does the flu spread?”, “What are Symptoms of the flu?”, “How do we prevent spreading the flu?”, “How do we get better?”, etc. These posters could be hung around the classroom as a reminder as we get through the flu season, and we could add to them as we learn more or when the children who are out sick return.
Since we would not be proceeding with the current curriculum, I would take this time to also do activities or refresher lessons on the current material that has been covered.
I would introduce the importance of of sanitization. I would do a lesson on spreading germs and preventative measures. This would be under science. I could possible put together a word search for them. Find a germ coloring page of what they think germs would look like and make up their own germ story. This would satisfy english and writing. I would show them proper handwashing techniques. Possibly get the school nurse to come in and talk to them about what they can do. I would have them wipe down their desks and I would wipe my on desk down. I would clean other surfaces with bleach water and tell students this is something that can be done at home (with parent supervision). I would encourage my students to eat healthy, tell them not to drink or eat after others and I would do the same.
With the shortage of students in my class I would utilize this time to do some review with my students as well as inform them what is happening to their classmates. Specifically for history I would have the students stand in a circle and ask them questions related to history and gently pass a ball or a plush toy to them and they would answer the question. After they answer the question they then get to pick who answers the next question. This would keep them on their toes because they don't know if they will have to answer the question or not, so they should always try to think of the answer in case they get picked.
To prevent the further spread of germs I would sanitize the desks and chairs. At this point of the outbreak where my class would be missing 15 students I might take the precaution of having the students and myself wear face masks. I do understand that this could hinder communication but at this point I would not want to risk more students to become ill.
I would also like to make a comment to those that have suggested having the students write get well cards to their sick colleagues. I think that it is a wonderful idea and I wish I had thought of it.
First to prevent anyone else in the class or myself as the teacher from getting the swine flu, I would try and keep the room as sanitary as possible. I would possibly have each of the children keep a container of hand sanitizer at the desk even. I also would make sure the kids wash their hands after they use the restroom, and also cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough.
As far as teaching, I think I would probably just do alot of reviewing and fun activities for the children. Because otherwise, the kids who are sick will get behind.
To me this would be a perfect time to inform students of what swine flu is all about rather than relying on the biased media. Another thing I would do with the group of students is read a book. Reading is a great way to spark student's imaginations and going off a book is a great way for students to relate to their own experiences. This would be a great time for free responses and alternative assessments.
To keep the environment safe, I would make sure students wash their hands before every meal, keep hand sanitizer around the room, along with getting the students involved with sanitizing the room as a lesson. This way they have a hands on learning experience.
If I was teaching reading or any other subject I would just go over things that the class has already learned. I would also send home a description and any homework or activities that we have done for every class to each of the students missing, so that way they won't feel behind when they return. Finally, I would prevent the rest, and myself, from getting the flu by sanitizing everything in the room and making sure everyone washes their hands on a regular basis.
I would start by cleaning my room to get rid of all the germs, I would clean everything I know that my children would potentially touch during the day. I would also talk to my class about the importnace of washing hands. I would read the class the book "Why wash my hands"
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