Nancy Steineke, author of Classroom Management: Strategies for Achievement, Cooperation, and Engagement, recognizes that our collective situation is a lot to process for students. She has some ideas for how teachers can take positive action with both immediate and long term results.

In Nancy's own words:

In the past few days, many of the difficulties of distance learning have come to light. While technological impoverishment is one very real problem, another is that students just aren’t logging on for their e-lessons. Rather than taking this “apathy” personally, we need to view this behavior through a different lens.

If you’ve been depressed and frightened by the ever changing disease updates, imagine how teenagers must feel knowing that their adult futures might look very different than what they ever imagined. And all students—and adults—are constantly worried about the health and safety of parents, siblings, and others close to them. Finally, families are either facing stressful stay-at-home edicts or  parents/guardians continue to work, leaving older students to manage households and look after younger siblings.

These combined circumstances leave the brain stressed, depressed, and frazzled. Our students might look to our distance learning offerings and conclude, “What’s the point? I can’t even predict what tomorrow will bring.”

So what can we teachers do that might make a difference? 

Find out in this free resource based on Nancy Steineke's newest book, Classroom Management: Strategies for Achievement, Cooperation, and Engagement. Click on the pages or the button below to be taken to the downloadable PDF.

Nancy Steineke consults nationally as a keynote speaker, workshop presenter, and literacy coach for K-12 teachers. She specializes in content-area literacy, nonfiction writing, purposeful close reading, literature circles, and student engagement. Nancy keeps the focus on manageable teaching strategies that best benefit students.

A published author and accomplished teacher, Nancy has been featured in classroom videos for Best Practice and Comprehension and Collaboration. Her groundbreaking work with book clubs and student led discussion groups is captured in her books Assessment Live! and Reading and Writing Together. A frequent collaborator with Harvey "Smokey" Daniels, they have co-authored Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles; Texts and Lessons for Content Area Reading; and Texts and Lessons for Literature.

Nancy presents annually at the National Council of Teachers of English, International Reading Association, and various state conferences. She is also an Illinois Writing Project leader. Along with Harvey Daniels, Nancy has organized and led over 50 multi-day residential institutes for teachers in locations around the United States.