CLASS IS IN SESSION: Engaging students online new normal for educators
A Ferguson Elementary School kindergarten teacher’s lesson plan is growing in the crook of her plum tree. In mid-March, a dove made a nest in her backyard tree and Keressa Smith Verneris shared photos with her students.
They made predictions about how many eggs the dove would lay when the babies would hatch, and what color they
would be.
A few days later, school buildings were closed statewide because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that didn’t stop
the lesson.
Verneris, like many teachers across the Klamath County School District, made sure her students kept learning.
Through spring break and the first full week of closure, she kept her students updated on ClassDoJo, an educational
technology communication app and website. Verneris posted questions and her students answered. When she called parents to talk to them about distance learning, students wanted to know more and shared with her information they had researched on doves. First, there was one egg, and then two. On April 23, the eggs hatched, and two baby doves joined Verneris’ virtual online class.
“The plan is to watch them grow,” she said. “Since we are learning about growing up and how that looks for our
students, it is going to be fun to connect the babies with that lesson.”
Virtual classes the new normal
Teachers throughout the district are into their third week of distance learning using online platforms Google
Classroom, Zoom, and Schoology to engage their students. Students are attending classes virtually, completing
assignments, and taking tests. Those who cannot connect online are provided with printed versions of lessons to
complete and turn in.
This is the new normal after the governor closed schools for the remainder of the academic year and told residents to stay-at-home and follow social distancing guidelines. Under guidelines released by the Oregon Department of
Education, students will be given report cards with a pass or incomplete marking system. High school seniors who
were on track before the school closures will graduate. Others who needed to complete work to be passing were
contacted individually by their schools.
Over the past few weeks, Shasta Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Dena Morosin has been pulling double
duty – she teaches her fourth-grade class online using Zoom and Google Classroom, and she helps train other
teachers on how to use these online teaching platforms.
“What we have learned as we head into the third week of distance learning is that it is hard. It is hard for teachers,
students, and families,” she said. “The best part of the week is when we have a chance to Zoom with our
students. The smiles and the joy on their faces are what keeps us going.”
In addition to students, teachers conducting Zoom meetings often are joined by family pets, including beagle puppies, guinea pigs, bearded dragons, and cats.
Sixth-graders in Tamara Walker’s Shasta Elementary class conspired ahead of a Zoom meeting with their teacher.
After they logged in — and all their faces were in boxes on the computer screen — the students suddenly started
looking up and down and left and right, Brady Bunch-style.
“We have had some crazy experiences via Zoom that would never happen in the real classroom,” Morosin said.
Shasta fifth-grader Noah Hernandez on Monday was getting ready to join his teacher Amanda Morris and classmates in a Zoom meeting. “It’s different, but it’s still school,” he said. “You pretty much still get to ‘see’ the
people you know, and you’re learning new stuff.”
His mother, Betsy Hernandez, uses a large whiteboard to outline the week’s schedule. In addition to online
meetings with his teacher, Noah’s schedule includes studying, piano practice, and physical activities.
“He just rolls with the punches,” said Hernandez, who is working mostly from home. “The teacher is really
accommodating and answers all of our questions. Keeping on a schedule really helps all of us.”
Projects across the curriculum
Throughout the district, teachers also are teaming up to deliver hands-on, cross-curriculum lessons that allow
students to feel engaged while learning.
Bonanza Junior/Senior High School is working on a victory garden project that will incorporate history, English,
science, and math lessons. Victory gardens were planted at private homes and public parks during World War I and
II. Bonanza principal Jordan Osborn hopes to provide seeds and materials needed for students to plant their own
self-contained gardens at home.
Bonanza third-grade teacher Bethany Holmes has an incubator with a dozen eggs on her dining room table provided
by OSU Klamath County Extension. Through videos and Zoom meetings, her students will observe the eggs until
they hatch as part of their study of life cycles.
Another egg incubator is at the home of Merrill Elementary School’s first-grade teacher Laci Teaters. Anna Aylett,
Bonanza agriculture teacher and FFA advisor also is incubating eggs with her ag science students. All the newly
hatched chicks will eventually join the chicken coop at Lost River Junior-Senior High School.
Aylett and Lost River ag science teacher and FFA advisor Meghan Miller are working in their school’s greenhouses,
readying flowers and plants for the schools’ annual plant sales. They also are advising students who are raising
animals for fair.
Mazama High School art teacher Cathy Nevala knows art is especially important for students who are socially
isolating and is encouraging them to post their drawings and other artwork in an online gallery.
Henley Middle School teachers, in addition to regular classes, are offering optional online courses that are fun and
allow students to connect with each other. Choices include learning to yo-yo with Josh Campbell, quarantine
cooking with Maria Whittemore, and creative writing with Chadwich Mahanna. Gina McCuiston is hosting two
book clubs featuring “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Peak” by Roland Smith.
Ivan Hernandez, a business teacher at Lost River Junior/Senior High School, sees a silver lining to the forced virtual
learning.
“I tell my students, ‘We’re all in this together,’ ” he said. “As far as my teaching, it is helping me to be more diverse.
We’re all learning new skills. We’re there to prepare students for the real world, and this experience will help them.”
Kindergarten challenges
photo with the mother dove nesting in the plum tree in her backyard. Since the photo was taken, the eggs hatched
and Verneris is able to use their growth as part of her virtual lessons.
As the baby doves grow, Verneris continues to meet with her Ferguson kindergartners online twice a week and
makes phone calls to connect with families. The students are expected to work on video lessons all five days, and
Verneris calls and checks in with parents if students do not attend a class.
“Kindergartners and distance learning is a challenge, but the students and parents – we have amazing parents – are
rising up to that challenge and working with teachers to help their students learn,” she said. “Of course, teaching in a
classroom is completely different than teaching online. Being creative in how you deliver your lessons is a must to
keep them engaged and wanting to learn more.”
As part of their lessons, Ferguson kindergartners are planting seeds, creating gardens, and doing science experiments at home with their families.
“The great thing about kindergartners is that they are interested in anything,” Verneris said. “Sharing things like my
nest with the bird and babies is bringing us together in a time where we have to be apart. They love that a teacher
can share something that is in her backyard. It has them looking at the things in their yard with new eyes and then
they get to share with me.”
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