At Home with GSC Students in 5th and 6th Grades

Mrs. Melissa Gregory and Mrs. Alexis Wilson teach 5th and 6th students, respectively, at Good Shepherd Catholic School. Among the challenges faced, ensuring each student had the adequate tools to learn online and finding the right tools to teach were the two biggest obstacles. Both teachers, after a short adjustment period, successfully shifted to a remote, digital teaching method in the last few months of the school year. 

Mrs. Gregory taught video lessons to our 5th grade class twice each day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, to help supplement the remote assignments. She also met regularly with small groups and individuals to provide additional support as needed and to bridge the gap of the normal one-on-one instruction that would take place in the typical classroom setting. 

The 5th grade students each chose an explorer from their textbook for a research project. Each student wrote a history on their explorer of choice, with a focus on their journey (and means of transport, like a ship) and the place they discovered or explored. They then created a log written in the explorer’s voice to chronicle their expedition. Each student presented their findings during the class video sessions. 

In 6th grade, Mrs. Wilson met with her students over Zoom for their lessons each day. She also used  Discovery Education, EdPuzzle, Prodigy, IXL, and Google Classroom. For the students’ Social Studies class, they submitted an assignment on current events twice a month to stay updated on our current daily lives. The 6th grade students each were also assigned a service project of reading bedtime stories to younger siblings, relatives and friends, all done virtually. 

No matter our age, everyone likes a bedtime story!