Here at Mystery Science, we are continually working to find ways for our content to be as easy and useful as possible for all learning situations.
Teaching lessons remotely can be daunting, but we've done our best to break it down into a few simple steps.
- Start with an Exploration video with guided discussion (~10 - 25 minutes)
- Followed by a Hands-on activity (~20 - 40 minutes)
- Close with a Wrap-up video (~3 - 5 minutes)
How to teach the Exploration portion of the lesson:
- Asynchronous: Assign the lesson for students to watch on their own. They can think about the discussion questions, talk to a family member, or record their answers in the discussion question worksheet. You can learn more about sharing lessons here.
- Synchronous (on video): Play the Exploration video through a screen share (no need to assign the lesson.) Students can discuss the questions together as a class, in breakout rooms, or record their answers in the worksheet.
How to teach the Hands-on portion of the lesson:
If you have time, do this on the same day as the Exploration. If not, no problem! Teach it when you have your next Science block.
- Asynchronous: Record yourself doing a demo of the activity using a tool like Loom or Screencastify. Or, if students have supplies at home, have them complete the Activity portion on their own and complete the digital worksheet.
- Synchronous (on video): Play the Hands-on activity through a screen share (no need to assign the lesson), and model doing the activity. If students are able to gather supplies at home, they can do the activity along with you. Whether students are doing the activity themselves or watching you, they can complete the digital worksheet.
How to teach Wrap-up and Assessment:
- Asynchronous: Assign the Wrap-up for students to watch on their own just as you would for the Exploration portion, then assign the Assessment for students to complete on their own. You can learn more about assigning assessments for distance learning here.
- Synchronous (on video): Play the Wrap-up video through a screen share (no need to assign the lesson) and discuss as a class or in breakout rooms, then assign the Assessment just as would asynchronously.
Ideas to get students thinking even before the lesson:
- Assign a mini-lesson on the same topic - you can search the archive or use the search bar. You can find more information on our mini-lesson archive here.
- Assign a related reading to activate knowledge.