# @edutopia on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CG3G_RsFAwy
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/20304214-edutopia-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/e886c64c25.jpg
- **Posted:** 2020-10-27T20:53:10.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Edutopia (@edutopia) — https://gondola.cc/edutopia

## Caption

During remote learning, students are working more independently than they’re accustomed to, which means that their teachers need to give them more guidance than usual when assigning instructional texts, writes high school English teacher Catharine Ferguson.⁣
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“Just as a builder can’t succeed without the correct blueprints,” she says, “students need to see the blueprint for how they can succeed in our classes.”⁣
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Yet teachers don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Many traditional classroom strategies to teach reading comprehension skills can be adapted for both synchronous and asynchronous distance learning. Here are some approaches Ferguson recommends to  improve students’ literacy—and support their burgeoning independence—virtually: ⁣
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• Make vocabulary accessible: When sharing digital texts with students, hyperlink definitions and embed context clues to help them understand the content. Also consider using digital platforms like Newsela that differentiate texts for various reading levels.⁣
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• Activate prior knowledge: Create mind maps on digital whiteboards or go on virtual field trips and gallery walks to connect new content with students’ existing knowledge.⁣
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• Model success: During synchronous classes, read a selection from a mentor text to illustrate how to analyze and summarize. If students are working asynchronously, try digital tools like Nearpod and Pear_Deck, which enable teachers to embed interactive questions in assignments that push students to think more deeply. ⁣
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• Monitor student progress: Digital tools can assist in keeping students on track with assignments. Use video platforms like Flipgrid to conference with students while they read a passage aloud and present a synopsis, or record your feedback on their work by video instead of in writing. Video breakout rooms offer additional opportunities to observe students while they participate in collaborative activities like literature circles. ⁣
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Link in bio. ⁣
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#ReadingComprehension #VirtualLearning #OnlineLearning #DistanceLearning #RemoteLearning #EnglishTeacher #HighSchoolTeacher #MiddleSchoolTeacher #ElementaryTeacher #VocabularyLesson #TeachingStrategies

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## Tags

highschoolteacher, distancelearning, remotelearning, onlinelearning, readingcomprehension, virtuallearning, vocabularylesson, teachingstrategies, middleschoolteacher, englishteacher, elementaryteacher

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