[Distance Learning Activities] 3 Ideas for Students to Reflect on 2020

There's no doubt about it, most of us are spending more time at home these days. And when we spend lots of time at home, we tend to have more time to think.

We wouldn't be able to teach history in our classroom if no one had documented it, and because no two experiences are alike, it is a valuable exercise to encourage our students to document their own experiences at 2020's end.

Back in March, we wrote about encouraging students to journal what they were reading, feeling, and learning - and now we're asking them to reflect. Here are 3 ideas for students to reflect on 2020 as a learning assignment, social-emotional wellbeing exercise, or just a fun holiday tradition they can start with their families:

1. Write a letter (or create a video) for your future self, telling them about the year 2020.
   The student may want to tell the story about how school was closed and they had to interact with their teacher and classmates solely online. They may want to talk about social justice issues and what they want to do to solve them. Or they may just want to write about how they got creative spending so much time at home. Whatever the narrative, it will be a great memory to read or watch later when they're "all grown up." (Consider using the VariQuest Cutout Maker 1800 to send home journals like BKS107 shown above - filled with lined paper, so they can decorate and customize this time-capsule piece!)
2. Use "feelings words" to write/draw/create about events in 2020.
   Ask students to choose 3 "events" from 2020, and assign a word to the event that describes how they feel about it. If the feeling they choose is not a happy or content one, have them discuss ways that might help them improve that feeling. For example, if the student uses "disappointed" as how they felt about not getting together with family for Thanksgiving, they may write about scheduling video calls, or beginning to plan for fun family celebrations next year. (Consider using the Motiva 400 Specialty Printer to print "feelings" stickers to help them get started - available free for customers on the VariQuest Resource Center!)
3. Gather the family to discuss (and write down) what happened throughout the year.
   Ask students to jot down the months of the year on a piece of paper, with space to write between each one. Have them get together with as many family members as possible, and come up with one event or activity they experienced as a family for each month. Of course most families will have many unique things to say about 2020, so encourage students to keep the tradition going in subsequent years, so the family can gather at the end of each year to review what they wrote in years past, and look forward to their hopes and dreams for the future. (Or use your Perfecta STP Poster Design System to print the above "Year at a Glance Banner" TCH042 for students to take home and use for this activity!)

Want to learn more about how the VariQuest Suite could help with projects like this one, to save time and enhance learning whether students are in or out of the classroom? Schedule a no-obligation demonstration of our tools today!