Still on the clock, educators get creative about lessons during closures

School may be closed, but it's still in session.

Teachers in the Coeur d'Alene School District are stretching their imaginations to continue their students' education despite the lack of their normal classroom setting. They're sharing educational videos, discussion questions and other activities for their students to use as daily lessons as they work from home.

And yes, they're still on the clock.

"It's just thinking of different things that we do in class that we can do at home," Winton Elementary first-grade teacher Kimberly Kibby said Thursday.

Kibby has been communicating with her students and their families through the ClassTag app. She created a "Yummy Math" video to show her students how to build different numbers using snacks like licorice and carrot sticks.

"One of my kiddos who spends a lot of his time watching YouTube on the weekends, he was in shock I was on YouTube," she said.

Coeur d'Alene High math teacher Adam Hanan has connected with his students using one of their favorite social media sites: Instagram. He created a math Instagram account "to post curious math questions for them to be looking at as they're scrolling through social media to make them think about math every once in a while," he said.

He’s also using Google Classroom, a paperless file-sharing service for schools, as well as directing the students to Khan Academy, a useful math resource with instructional videos and demonstrations. Students also have access to their textbooks, either online or hard copy.

"It's a stretch to go from having that daily interaction with kids and then trying to engage kids outside of the classroom," he said. "The stretch for me as a math teacher has been about just looking at the math around us and trying to tie that into the class."

Hanan said when things get back to normal, the CHS math instructors will have to determine what the priorities are to catch up their students so they have the knowledge they need heading to the next grade level. Some concepts will have to be sprinkled into their next school year, he said.

"I think the ripple effect will require us to be, as a school, as a community, aware of how to fill in those gaps over time," he said. "I’m confident in our ability as a team at the high school to focus on what’s going to be essential for the kids."

At Lake City, journalism and speech teacher Nik Bjurstrom is incorporating the coronavirus chaos into his curriculum by having his students create a magazine with a quarantine theme. He said they're inviting the LCHS community to contribute to documenting what is happening in their world at this unprecedented time. It's a time these students will remember forever, much like previous generations remember 9/11 or the Challenger explosion.

"I think this is a good outlet to remember and create something tangible," Bjurstrom said. "A document in history for what students and staff did to cope and get through an unknown moment in time."

The needs of students in special programs are also being addressed. Frank Maier, director of special education, said the special education department "is working in collaboration with other departments to provide and support resources that are accessible to students with special needs."

"We are looking at possible solutions to providing services to students with special needs if the closure continues for a longer period of time,” he said.

The district is emphasizing the importance of schedules and routines to keep kids on track during coronavirus closures.

"Every day it's been different," said district spokesman Scott Maben.

The "At Home Learning" resources and Portrait of a Graduate Challenge on www.cdaschools.org provide several options for families to engage their students and keep them learning, and constant communication from teachers is encouraging them to stay plugged into their studies.