11 Essentials for Hybrid Model of School

The teaching profession has completely changed in 2020, along with everything else this year. Many of us have learned to teach our students online and many of us have now switched to a hybrid model.

 

 

 

As I made the switch to the hybrid model, there were a few things that have made hybrid school and social distancing a little easier.

 

 

 

These are all things that I can continue to use in my room after the pandemic is over. Hopefully, you can find some of these items helpful for use in your classroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 Essentials for the Hybrid Classroom

 

1. The Book Box

Book boxes have come in handy for the past couple of years. I believe in allowing students to have a choice in the books they want to read.

These book boxes have been an invaluable tool for students to keep their books organized for read-to-self time. It saves them from having to wander around trying to find books during reading time and it is easy for them to carry to their spot.

I am going to use it for this year as well. However, with the hybrid model I also need to store some of their other supplies in it since we can’t use the chair pockets.

I will have them store their folders, writing notebooks, and whiteboards in it along with the books. This will be their one-stop storage place for all the taller, paper types of items.

 

2. The Rolling Cart 

In the past, I have used this rolling cart for math. Each drawer served as a team tub that held their math folders and books.

This year, I will be using it for a book quarantine. We have been told that books need to sit for 7 days before they can be put back into the check-out rotation.

This rolling cart has five drawers which will be perfect. Students can put the books they want to return in that day’s tub. This will help me keep track of when the books are ready to be put away and back into the rotation.

I also have one of these that I use to hold my preps for each day of the week. These drawer tubs are the perfect size to hold copies, books, and other materials I need for each day.

 

 3. Floor Spots

Floor spots were something I started seeing as we prepared for the hybrid model and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use them at first, but they are actually quite handy.

You can get plain colored spots or ones with positive words or sayings. I am using them this year to help kids know where to stand so they are socially distanced.

They are an integral part of helping kids find spots to read and places to stand where they can safely take brain breaks.

I anticipate using these even after social distancing is over. They stick really well to the carpet and are not moving around, even with vacuuming and the like. 

This makes me think I can continue to use them to help students find good places to read to self. Some kids have a really hard time finding a place by themselves and these will really help them.

 

4. Whiteboards  

Whiteboards are not an unusual thing to add to your list. In fact, you probably already use them in your classroom. The ones that I have linked here will fit well in the book boxes which is nice.

I have also added a little clip at the top of the whiteboard so they can be turned over and used as a clipboard. This way students are not sharing materials and they can work at a floor spot rather than sitting in their desk seat all day.

 

5. Magnetic Peel & Stick 

The magnetic peel & stick is a new tool I learned about this year. It is essentially a paper size magnet with a sticky back.

This can be used to turn a page of alphabet tiles into magnetic tiles. Just print the page, apply the magnetic backing, and use a paper cutter to cut the letters apart.

Now students have their own set of letters and they can use them for words work stations. This is really helpful when moving to the hybrid model because kids can’t share the magnetic letters.

You could use it for other things besides letters, that is just one example of how it can be helpful. 

 

6. The Laminator 

 

Many teachers already tend to love laminating things. This is necessary now more than ever.

Laminated items are much easier to clean. They can be wiped down with sanitizer after use.
Sometimes it is nice to have things laminated with a thicker laminate. Not only is this nice and sturdy, but it is also a bit longer-lasting.

I enjoy the convenience of being able to laminate right in my room or take it home to laminate at home with this small laminator. This is perfect for those smaller items that you want to have laminated, but you don’t want to have to wait for someone else to do it for you. 

7. Shoe Boxes 

The shoe boxes are kind of my catch-all for other tools that won’t fit in the book tubs and that don’t need to be carried all over.

I am having students keep their individual math supplies in here, watercolors, letter tiles, etc. They fit well in the cubbies and have made it so easy for students to keep track of their things.

They only have two things to get out in the morning and two things to put away before going home. Plus, they are less expensive than many other storage containers. 

8. Picture Frames

 

With social distancing, students are returning to school with masks on full time. Additionally, with the shift from distance learning to the hybrid model I will have half of my kids at school for two days and the other half for the other two days.

I want to try to maintain some of the class relationships that we have established. I am creating a class family wall in my classroom to try to help students feel like we are all in this together even though we aren’t all there at the same time.

There are a few different options for picture frames. There are some colorful premade ones from Amazon.

I didn’t have time to get them before the kids would be back, so I am using some scrapbook paper as the background. I have laminated the paper and then stuck the picture on top of it. The nice thing is that if I have some kids leave it will be easy to reuse the background.

  

9. Pencil Pouches

 

Again, another basic that you probably already have. I had some cloth pencil pouches so I had to look for some other options. We were told that cloth items are not okay. These plastic pencil pouches can be washed down really easily if needed.

 

10. Game Components

 

One of the hardest shifts for me is moving from partner activities to individual activities.

Since I teach using the workshop model, hands-on math games and activities are a vital part of my instructional strategy.

When we were completely virtual, I sent home bags of basic math tools that I wanted kids to be able to use. Then when we came back to school in the hybrid model, I needed them to have tools at school and home for those days they still needed to work.

I didn’t have a lot of extra supplies, so I had to purchase some. I figured if I included a few basic items, there would be a host of math games I can teach the kids using these materials. Dice are essential and I was able to send home two and keep two in their school toolbox. Counters can be used for counting, visualizing patterns, or game markers. 

Finally, playing cards are great and by just removing a few faces cards, you have numbered cards to use for many games. I could have made my own, but honestly, it was worth saving my time to buy these. Plus, we are currently out of cardstock and I know paper cards are likely to get ruined before the year is out.

 

11. PPE Station

I saw something similar to this on one of the many websites I was looking at. It is reasonable to think that I will want to have some PPE close at hand just like I would my other teaching supplies.

You can take a three-drawer system and use one drawer for new masks, one drawer for hand sanitizer and gloves, and one drawer for goggles or faceshields.

Sometimes there will be a student who comes in with an oversized mask and it is nice to have a kid’s mask to give them right away.

This is something I am hoping I won’t have to use in the future. However, it has been nice to have all these supplies in one spot and I may adjust it to keep all my emergency supplies in one spot like Band-Aids, granola bars, etc.

 

Conclusion  

There are many things to consider when moving to the hybrid model and at times it can seem overwhelming. I hope that this list of items will help you to plan what you might need as you move forward.

If you are already back at school and you have something that you have found helpful, please share it below in the comment section. Let’s help each other out!