8 Remote Learning Ideas with PebbleGo

Many teachers use PebbleGo as a core resource in their elementary school’s remote learning day plans because of its ease of access at home on any internet-connected device and the wealth of curriculum-connected articles, all with at least one activity included. This allows even your youngest students to have uninterrupted learning and engagement with a wide-range of academic content. Here are 8 ideas to take advantage of PebbleGo as a part of your remote learning day plans.

1. Create a “Let's Learn & Read With PebbleGo Calendar” to share with your students and families.
   Pick a topic to encourage exploration and learning. You can add prompts like:
   
   "It is Gardening Week! Time to learn about plants in PebbleGo Science. Research plants in PebbleGo Science and find a few new things to share with your family and friends. Draw a picture, write a story or use a digital tool or app like Buncee to share what you learned"
   
   The PebbleGo calendar can be added electronically to your library and school webpage or blog. Also, don't forget to share things like this on your library Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and other places your community might be. It is important to stay in touch.
2. Build a “My Favorite Topic in PebbleGo” Flipgrid
   Flipgrid is a website and app that allows teachers to ask a question to students who in turn respond by posting a video on a tiled grid with other video responses.
   
   In one Flipgrid, you could pose the question, “What’s Your Favorite Topic in PebbleGo?” to give students a place to share what they are learning in PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next with others. 
3. One of their favorites will be the PebbleGo articles that focus on the holidays and spring.
   Within PebbleGo, students will be able to continue all their school projects while school is closed. But more than that, they can start new ones based on what they are interested in. The best activity is learning and reading about what you want!  
   
   Students can also share the links with their family and don’t forget about the games. We love to keep families involved during this time. too. You can go to PebbleGo Resources to find some activities to send home with students.
4. Practice Inquiry-Based Discovery
   Create a simple graphic organizer with four sections: I Know, I Want to Know, I Predict, and I Learned. (To address additional skills—have them make a prediction before they research.) For example: 
   
   - Introduce a topic, like “cells.” Give some background information via video through an app like Flipgrid. - Have students watch the two videos in the PebbleGo Science article.
   - Then ask students to write three things they already know about cells and three things they want to know about cells.
   - Ask them to make one prediction based on a question they have, and then have them research. Use PebbleGo as a starting point.
   - Add in ebooks, other digital resources you have, and hands-on experiments.
   - Have students share what was the most surprising thing they discovered via Flipgrid.

    

5. Compare Fiction and Nonfiction, Realistic and Not Realistic
   Teach critical thinking skills with PebbleGo. Read a fiction text or find a current social media blurb as a class, then “fact-check” it in PebbleGo. Could it really happen? Are there some kinds of fiction that is more fact-based than other kinds?
   
   For example, Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar versus Horton Hears a Who. Which one has more realistic animal behavior in it? There are so many wonderful fiction titles that have nonfiction article counterparts in PebbleGo. To dive deeper, students can pick an animal from PebbleGo and write a realistic fiction book about it.
6. PebbleGo BINGO!
   You can find our free PebbleGo BINGO Cards download here. You can print them in color or black and white in English and Spanish.
   
   Using the BINGO Card and PebbleGo, students will be able to have lots of fun playing the game, while reading, learning and using their research skills in all of the PebbleGo modules.
7. With Google Classroom being one of the options for signing in and being connected to PebbleGo, this is a powerful way to bring collaboration and learning outside of the library and school walls.
   This connection makes it even easier for students to collaborate using Google Docs, even if they are in a different city, state or even country! 
   
   To take advantage of this integration option all you have to do is link your Google account to your PebbleGo account on the PebbleGo Administration page. After this, students can go seamlessly from Google Docs into PebbleGo. 
   
   You can use Google Docs, Google Slides and other things within Google for so many projects.  This integration makes both of these resources even more important and essential as you teach research, curation and organizational skills to your students every day.
8. Pair PebbleGo With Capstone Interactive
   Capstone Interactive gives every student access to interactive eBooks that are engaging for all levels and interests. All of the eBooks can also be downloaded to read offline with the Capstone Interactive App.
   
   Capstone Interactive eBooks are awesome to pair with PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next. With thousands of eBooks covering a variety of topics and interests, readers will find just what they are looking.
   
   Even if you haven’t purchased Capstone Interactive ebooks yet, we’re providing a collection of books to help your students explore and learn more about topics around sickness and healthy practices. Get free access here.

Get More Ideas Online
Don’t forget about the power of social networking! Search for PebbleGo on teacher blog sites, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to get inspired and encouraged by the examples shared by educators across the country.

Share Your Ideas
If you have examples of how you are engaging students remotely with reading and research using PebbleGo, we’d love to hear about it! Tweet your projects and ideas to @CapstonePub or shoot us an email at PGinfo@capstonepub.com.

And just remember, the biggest thing to emphasize in your community is that the learning never stops with PebbleGo! Students can access it at home and on-the-go anytime!