Corona Conversations: Ways to Engage Students

What is Happening?...Corona Conversations (and Challenges)
Looking for a simple, interesting, authentic way to engage students over remote learning days?
Use your innovation and creativity to expand on the ideas below to create a 1-2 week learning unit surrounding the topic of the Coronavirus.  Everyone’s lives are being affected, these unit topics will help students gain understanding about what is happening and why.  


Unit topics have been created for different grades, but could easily be modified for additional grades based on student population and interests. 

We encourage you to work with a team of teachers and pull in multi-disciplinary perspectives.  If you need support just use  http://www.connectinged.com/contact-us.html to get a message to us! 

Get Started: 

1. Read the Ideas below to choose possible areas of focus 
2. Consider running a Self Organized Learning Environment for this unit
   1. Modify the SOLE method to create learning structure- FREE
      1. Younger students may need a curated list of resources to use
   2. Tools to Help Design
   3. Create supports needed for SOLE method
   4. Share Teaching Resources by joining this group in Schoology. Anyone can join after you create a FREE account. Schoology.com- Create Account- Groups-My Groups-Join Group-Enter Access Code- Go to  Discussions 
      Schoology Group Access Code  VFTW-RV66-ZKRJ6

K-5                                            Theme: One Thing Leads To Another
Possible Big Ideas/Essential Questions

• Where’s All The Toilet Paper?
• How do choices we make impact others?
• What are the patterns, how do they help?

Possible Unit Understandings

• Choices we make impact (health or other) others
• One thing depends on another
• Information, collaboration and kindness are especially important in hard times
• When there’s a great demand it can cause a lack of supplies
• Demand for certain supply changes due to circumstances 
• It’s the role of leaders on all levels to support communities in times of need
• Problem solving is important in times of trouble
• Observing and studying patterns help us understand the past, predict the future and make decisions today 
• *How we see a situation depends on perspective, influences and education (ART, Photography)

Possible Standards
Grade Kindergarten

• Social Emotional Core Competencies 
• Science- Respect for Others & Healthy Habits (Ohio LS)
• Next Gen Standards-  Interdependent Relationships
• Health Standard 1, 2, 3, 7,8 (National)
• Social Studies- Civics, Economics 
• ELA- Reading Informational Text, Reading Literature  and/or any writing standard
• Math- Basic math application of many standards
• Art *

Grade 1

• Social Emotional Core Competencies 
• Science- Living Things Have Basic Needs (Ohio LS)
• Next Gen Science Standard -Structure, Function, and Information Processing 
• Health- Standard 1, 2, 3,7,8 (National)
• Social Studies- Civics, Economics 
• ELA- Reading Informational Text, Reading Literature  and/or any writing standard
• Math- Basic math application of many standards
• Art *

Grade 2 

• Social Emotional Core Competencies 
• Science- Living Things Cause Changes To Their Habitat (Ohio LS)
• Next Gen Standards:  Interdependent Relationships
• Health- Standard 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, (National)
• Social Studies- Civics, Economics 
• ELA- Reading Informational Text, Reading Literature  and/or any writing standard
• Math- Basic math application of many standards
• Art *

Grade 3 

• Social Emotional Core Competencies 
• Science- Animal/Human Behavior Relation to Survival (Ohio LS)
• Next Gen Standards:  Interdependent Relationships and Engineering and Design
• Health- Standard 1, 2, 3,7,8 (National)
• Social Studies- Civics, Economics, History
• ELA- Reading Informational Text, Reading Literature  and/or any writing standard
• Math- Basic math application of many standards
• Art *

Grade 4 

• Science- Effects of Changes in Ecosystems (Ohio LS)
• Next Gen Science Standard Structure, Function, and Information Processing
• Health- Standard 1, 2, 3,7,8 (National)
• Social Studies- Civics, Economic, History 
• ELA- Reading Informational Text, Reading Literature  and/or any writing standard
• Math- Basic math application of many standards
• Art *
• Social Emotional Core Competencies 

Grade 5 

• Social Emotional Core Competencies 
• Science- Effects of Viruses on Ecosystems, Food Webs Relationships (Ohio LS)
• Next Gen Science Standard -Engineering and Design
• Health- Standard 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 (National)
• Social Studies- Civics, Economics, History 
• ELA- Reading Informational Text, Reading Literature  and/or any writing standard
• Math- Basic math application of many standards
• Art *

6-8                                                 Theme: Safety VS Freedom

Possible Big Idea/Essential Question

• What Is More Important Safety or Freedom?   
• Who Are We, Who Could We Be In Times Of Crisis?

Possible Unit Understandings

• Compromise is needed in times of crisis 
• Information, collaboration and kindness are especially important in hard times
• Laws and policies provide structure in times of crisis or need
• A regions’ leadership, resources, policies and economic structure  play a role in the success of defeating a pandemic.
• Demand for certain supply changes due to circumstances 
• Great innovation can occur in times of distress
• Studying the past helps us prepare for the future and solve problems in the present.
• There are great benefits and struggles living in a globally connected world
• Patterns help us solve problems.
• How we see a situation depends on perspective, influences and education

Possible Standards

• Social Emotional Core Competencies 
• Science- Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems Survival Populations, Engineering Design (Ohio, Next Gen) 
• Health- Standard 1, 2, 3,7,8 (National)
• Social Studies- Civics, Economics, History 
• ELA- Reading Informational Text, Reading Literature  and/or any writing standard
• Math- Statistics, Rates, Chance, Inference of Populations Based on Samples, Exponents
• Art*
• World Languages- Culture standards-How are target cultures/countries being affected

9-12                                     Pandemic or Media Frenzy? Why?
Possible Big Ideas/Essential Questions

• Pandemic or Media frenzy? Why?
• Who Are We, Who Could We Be In Times Of Crisis?

Possible Unit Understandings

• A pandemic is a disease epidemic that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents, or worldwide.
• Information, collaboration and kindness are especially important in hard times
• A regions’ leadership, resources, policies and economic structure  play a role in the success of defeating a pandemic.
• Media (all types)  influences behavior
• True colors reveal themselves in times of crisis
• Great innovation can occur in times of distress
• Studying the past helps us prepare for the future and solve problems in the present.
• There are great benefits and struggles living in a globally connected world
• Patterns help us solve problems.
• Demand for certain supply changes due to circumstances 
• *How we see a situation depends on perspective, influences and education

Possible standards

• Social Emotional Core Competencies 
• Science- Engineering Design, Ecosystem Homeostasis, Carrying Capacity, Human Population (Ohio, Next Gen)
• Health- Standard 1, 2, 3,7,8 (National)
• ELA- Informational Text Standards, any Writing standards
• American History- Standards related to history over time
• World History- Geography, Foreign affairs 
• Government- Economics, Rights of Government, Government Agencies 
• Math- Statistics, Exponential Growth &  Relationships
• *Art- Portray the Pandemic 
• World Languages- Culture standards-How are target cultures/countries being affected