How teachers can use slides in the Early Elementary Classroom
I never thought I would ever teach using slides on a daily basis! That seemed like it was for big kid teachers and not me! My SMARTboard was also placed in the corner of my room and was hard for all the kids to see. Cue the “I can’t see, he’s touching me,” and a hand blocking the projector! Needless to say it was not the most convenient teaching tool I had so I rarely used them.
Then the pandemic hit and I had to teach every day with slides since I didn't have access to most of the things I would use during lessons to show the kids. I MacGyvered a wall to project onto and continued to use slides when we came back in person.
It’s Great for Visual Learners
…and all learners in general. Having visuals also supports language learners and helps illustrate the points or helps the students get a better idea of what is going on.
It's big!
Since the screen is big all the students can see from where they are and really helps them focus and pay attention.
It’s easy to embed videos!
Particularly in Google Slides, adding in a quick video showing a life cycle or different information is so effective. I also use it to embed brain breaks and timers for work time!
Digital Stations Chart
Something that worked really well for my centers was having a visual chart so my students could see what stations they had and where they were supposed to be. A digital stations chart ended up being much faster to use and switch since I didn't have to print out visual images to use on the chart. Time Saver!
Easier Sub Plans
Sub plans are the worst! One of the worst parts of being in the classroom is substitute plans! Using slides, I can make sure the sub is supported when she is there and the kids are used to it so it doesn't take them too far out of the routine.
Easier to Share Materials with Colleagues
If you’re sharing your lessons, it's convenient to be able to just send the link and be done! In my case each teacher on my team does all of the lessons for their own subject and it is amazing! I only have to worry about planning my subject but I get the benefits of an amazing group of teachers planning fun and engaging lessons for my students!
This is by no means an exhaustive list, there are so many more! If I haven’t convinced you yet feel free to watch this video and check out some completely done-for-you units on Patterns and Decomposing Numbers if you want to check them out!
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