Claudia Margaroli teaches 1st grade English, reading, and social studies to a mix of English-language learners and native speakers at Charlotte East Language Academy, a public bilingual school in Charlotte, N.C. In a typical school year, she will have one group of students one day, and another the next.
But this is not a typical school year. All of Margaroli鈥檚 classes have moved online, due to COVID-19. Education Week talked to Margaroli about what it is like to teach reading to early-elementary students in a virtual environment.
How have you adjusted your teaching to a digital environment?
鈥滶very day, we start with a morning meeting鈥� to encourage social and emotional learning, Margaroli said. But she acknowledges that the morning meetings are 鈥渁 little difficult through a screen. It is a lot of clicking. It鈥檚 on an iPad. There鈥檚 a lot of [tech access] issues.鈥� And she wonders whether parents are giving their children a hand. 鈥淚f parents are helping, is that work authentic?鈥� Only about half of her students complete the assignments she gives them outside of class, so she doesn鈥檛 rely on those assignments to inform her lesson planning.
What is it like working with English-language learners in a digital environment?
Margaroli said her English-language learners are more frustrated than usual. 鈥淭here鈥檚 this feeling of being rushed and that when you鈥檙e rushed you tend to speak quickly,鈥� and may not get all the words or sounds correct, Margaroli said. That can lead to hurt feelings. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard when you are virtual, and I see a child upset with their microphone off. They have to choose to ask me for help.鈥� She has reminded children that they need to let her know if they are struggling, telling her students: 鈥淚 do not expect perfection.鈥�
What鈥檚 your biggest worry about kids learning to read in remote learning environments?
鈥淚鈥檓 a young teacher so you鈥檇 think I鈥檇 be more into tech,鈥� Margaroli said. But she wants her students to have experience with tangible books. 鈥淚 still deeply believe that children need books in their hands every day, multiple times a day, and that has been a gap or deficiency鈥� of online learning.
What has been the impact of online teaching on grouping?
鈥淚n person, I have the flexibility to change my leveled groups on a whim whenever I want,鈥� said Margaroli. She鈥檇 move a student if they gained a particular skill or seemed not to be grasping a concept. But now, it鈥檚 harder to make those shifts. 鈥淓very time I change groups virtually that means sending out a new schedule and a link,鈥� she explained.
So, she said, 鈥淚鈥檓 becoming a bigger risk-taker with the groups.鈥� If Margaroli feels students will move on to the next challenge even if that was not her original plan. 鈥淚 feel like there鈥檚 a lot of trust with the kids and me. We are risk-takers and we鈥檙e flexible and we鈥檙e all in this together.鈥�
Do you feel like your students are mastering the material?
鈥淚 think the reading foundational skills鈥� are developing nicely, said Margaroli, whose students returned to school in mid-August. The majority of my kids knew very, very few letter sounds [at the beginning of the year] and are almost at 100 percent at letter sounds [now]. Phonics. Decoding. Spelling. I feel like my kids are learning at the exact same pace we would in a classroom.鈥�
But she鈥檚 less sure about writing. 鈥淚 have found it hard with my [computer] camera to model a writing piece鈥� It鈥檚 not an authentic writing experience. I can鈥檛 see what they are writing unless they hold it up themselves.鈥�
Has there been anything positive about teaching during COVID-19?
鈥淚 have really loved the online resources with phonics.鈥�
Any other advice for teachers who are struggling with teaching reading during COVID-19?
鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 so important for teachers, even if you are only having five kids log on, to not become complacent. Just like in the classroom where we say every kid can learn, we need to remember that every single child can learn virtually, too.鈥�
