covid-19 essay

22 | MAY 2020

and help them continue reading. One way I’m doing that is through online book clubs via Google Meet (after switch- ing from Zoom). Our two daily meetups are now an established part of my day.

Getting online book clubs off the ground wasn’t too difficult for me. It helps that we already had established book clubs at my school library, but that isn’t a prerequisite. I’ve been running three “Lunch Bunch” book clubs (one per grade) almost every day for over three years. We read aloud books from the Global Read Aloud or Project Lit book lists, and every Friday, I do First Chapter Friday (instagram.com/p/ B7_dA6OgdYf) to get more books in kids’ hands. We cap our in-person Lunch Bunch at 30 students per group. We often have a wait list! But the online Lunch Bunch can include far more stu- dents, and there’s no cleanup necessary at the end of the session.

enth/eighth graders at 1 p.m. The first 10 minutes of our sessions

are designated hangout time. We chat about the daily challenge (more on that later), as well as how everyone’s feeling and what they’re up to. I’m loving the social interaction, as well as seeing ev- eryone’s house, siblings, and pets. Our connection may be virtual, but it’s still meaningful. My primary goal is to give students a sense of normalcy and routine in a time of uncertainty.

Asynchronous participation is important, too! Not everyone will be able to make the live meetups. To keep kids engaged between our sessions, I post a daily chal- lenge in our Google Classroom. Examples include posting a picture of a student read- ing to a sibling, pet, or plant; signing up for Sora, our ebook/audiobook platform; and finding a previously abandoned book in the house and reading 10 pages to give it one more chance. Google Classroom is the best place for me to answer questions about how to access library resources.

Give students choice. I’ve always read aloud to my middle schoolers. English language arts teachers in our school sometimes run book clubs where kids have physical copies of their own books, but that’s not my preferred format. Given resource limitations, this may be a good time for you to try out a read- aloud format, too. That said, I’m also a big proponent of student choice. We always have one set read-aloud for the year, the Global Read Aloud pick. But for the rest of the year, students get to pick our read-aloud from a list of choices that I booktalk. For our sixth grade virtual read-aloud, we first finished up our previous book, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson, and then voted on Google Classroom to see what students wanted to read next from the selections I snagged from the library. We’ve settled on The Worst Class Trip Ever by Dave Barry for sixth grade and Small Spaces by Katherine Arden for seventh and eighth grade. So far both are going great!

Follow publisher rules. See SLJ’s article about this (bit.ly/3erklK3). Almost any book you pick will be covered by one of the publishers listed. One quick email to the publisher about each book and

I NEV ER WA NTED TO BE A N ONLINE LIBR A R I A N, and I bet you didn’t, either. I

don’t even like ebooks.

I miss my library. I miss the books. Most importantly, I miss my students.

Now that COVID-19 has forced us all to become online school librarians,

we need to find ways to deliver virtual content, stay connected with our students,

How To Run a Virtual Book Club with Middle Schoolers By Laura Gardner

Everyone is invited. I got the word out about our new virtual Lunch Bunch via email, social media, and Google Classroom. I first sent all our regular Lunch Bunch kiddos invitations to our new Google Classroom and encouraged them to get chatting with a welcome/ introduce yourself post. Then I sent an email to every student in the school, as well as all parent contacts, via our student management platform (Aspen) and post- ed the event on the PTO Facebook page.

Most of one day was spent helping par- ents and students troubleshoot the Google Classroom codes over email and Face- book. Parents and students also helped one another and encouraged others to join. A lot of our “regulars” sign up for our virtual meetings, but we’re also seeing new students who never came to our in-person events. So far, we’re averaging between 10 and 15 students per session, but I’m hope- ful for more in the coming weeks.

Live meetings are a fun way to connect. We have two daily meetups, one for sixth graders at noon and one for sev-

Laura Gardner is a teacher librarian at Dartmouth (MA) Middle School.

MAY 2020 | 23

my read-alouds are all set. I’m finding it easiest to read live and not record. We recap what has happened in the book at the start of each session by taking turns sharing what we remember, which helps

As we adjust to emergency distance learning, it’s important to focus on com- municating care to our students in order to support their social and emotional well-being. Here are some strategies.

For adults to emotionally support children, we need to manage our own stress. Working from home, it’s easy to get sucked into the tasks we need to do and end up staring at our computers for hours on end. As an educator, you know

Social-Emotional Support and Distance Learning By Alex Shevrin Venet

One of the key factors in children’s resilience in the face of overwhelming stress

is the strength of their relationships with caring adults. In 10 years, students

will likely not remember the academic work they completed during this pan-

demic, but we can hope they will remember feeling cared for by their teachers,

families, and communities.

that’s not a good setup for learning! Take frequent breaks. Drink water. Move your body. Wind down your screen time at least an hour before bed.

If you can, try to create some type of separation between the school day and the rest of your day. This might mean setting an auto-response on your email to let students, families, and coworkers know that you only answer school emails between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. You can also try creating a ritual each day that signals

to you that the workday is over, such as changing into your comfiest pajama pants, taking a solo walk around the block, or having a three-minute dance party to your favorite song. Just because you could work all evening doesn’t mean you should. It doesn’t help your students if you burn yourself out in the first few weeks of distance teaching. Self-care is way easier said than done, but none of the rest of the suggestions on this list matter much without it.

While most of us feel pretty isolated right now, remember that you belong to a group of faculty and staff who all have the same goals. Reach out to your coworkers and ask how they’re doing. Listen and validate the good and the bad. See if there are ways you can coordinate efforts so that each person isn’t reinventing the wheel. If there are resources or strategies that you have found helpful in fostering your own wellness, share them.

This communication is extra im- portant as we begin checking in with students about their social and emotional well-being. If students bring up topics or share things that are concerning, it’s important not to keep those concerns to yourself. Don’t carry it alone; reach out to colleagues to help you assess what support you can provide to struggling students.

If I could recommend one practice to every teacher right now, it’s this: Ask students how they are and listen to their answers. This may seem obvious, but it couldn’t be more important to create space where you can check in with your students. Maybe this is through a virtual circle or advisory meeting, an asynchro- nous group check-in, or individual phone calls or letters (working through your class list a few times over the coming weeks). However you check in, make space for kids to share the good and the bad.

Many teachers are worried about their students’ well-being, and rightly so. Families may be experiencing job loss, food insecurity, illness, anxiety, and fear. Give students space to express their emotions. In your response, don’t try to fix or dismiss any worries: Instead, just validate and let them know you hear them. Key phrases include: “I hear you,” “That sounds really hard,” or “I

increase participation, too. I’m excited to see how our virtual book clubs evolve over time. I certainly miss seeing stu- dents in person, but given the situation, this is a nice consolation. ■

Copyright of School Library Journal is the property of Media Source, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.