Blog - Visionary Teaching

How To Play ‘Would You Rather?’ During a Virtual Lesson

Would You Rather? is both a classic ice breaker game and a powerful educational activity. I find that many teachers are aware of Would You Rather?, but have not considered how it can be used academically. The rules are simple. The...

Opportunities to Respond That Improve Engagement & Learning

Opportunities to respond (OTR) include instances where teachers elicit answers or responses from students. Unfortunately, the traditional OTR involves teachers calling on one student at a time to answer a question. When we call on a single student, it makes it easy...

Choice Boards: A Powerful Way to Engage & Assess Your Students

Using choice boards just makes sense! Every individual student represents a unique blend of strengths, interests, needs, experiences, and background knowledge, so it stands to reason that a one-size-fits-all approach to assessment is not ideal. Giving students some...

How to Engage Your Whole Class with Pinch Cards

Teachers are always looking for new ways to engage and educate students. Pinch cards offer simple, but powerful opportunities for students to respond to teacher questions or discussion points. As discussed in a previous blog post, the traditional model of one student...

Science Choice Boards: A Formula for Authentic Assessment

This post will be short on theory and long on materials that you can use with your class. We have previously discussed the why and how of using choice boards for assessment. As follows are 5 choice boards that you can use for...

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10 Powerful Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do on Zoom

Here are 10 easy tips and tricks that will take your next Zoom meeting to the next level.

Here is The Most Important Thing That Great Teachers Do When Asking Questions

Think about when you are asking questions to your class. Does this sound familiar?: You are ask a question and one or two of your eager learners are quick to raise their hands. In fact, the same few students always seem to be the first to raise their hands. Perhaps...

Highlighting Some ‘How To’ Videos that Will Energize Your Virtual Instruction

Great teachers often pause to review previously discussed content with students. This is done, in part, to ensure that important concepts don't get forgotten or lost in the shuffle of other content. To this point, I am going to bring back a few helpful Visionary...

Your Students Will Love Using the Stamp Tool During Zoom Lessons.

Annotation Tools, including the Stamp Tool, on Zoom and other virtual platforms tend to be underutilized. These tools can be very powerful and versatile. The greatest benefit is that they allow all students to be actively engaged in learning at all times. If we...

Brain Breaks That Will Energize, Engage, & Focus Your Virtual Students

Teachers have known about brain breaks for years, but there has never been a better time to use them than now. Virtual students sit in front of computer screens all day and need opportunities for physical movement. Brain breaks are short activities that are...

How to Enhance Would You Rather Games on Zoom

Would You Rather is such a popular classroom game that many teachers are seeking ideas for how to play it online with their virtual learners. We have previously offered step-by-step instructions detailing how to play Would You Rather virtually with your students....

Check Out These Amazing Ideas for Virtual Breakout Rooms

While educators continue to hone their virtual teaching skills, breakout rooms remain one of the most underutilized features on Zoom and other platforms. Let's explore how teachers can leverage breakout rooms to promote small group work and much needed social...

These Strategies are Guaranteed to Make Your Asynchronous Instruction Meaningful

Asynchronous learning has certainly become more common in light of the 2020 COVID reality, but it may remain a part of public education going forward. Many students are actually thriving during virtual instruction. Another thing to consider is the...