Bronx teacher uses Cuomo to keep
homeschooled kids engaged
navirus and one day she
thought: “Hey, this will be
a great idea to post Governor
Cuomo YouTube
daily updates and have
the students respond,
sharing their posts on a
blog and doing creative
projects extension via
Google Classroom.”
So, in March, she
began posting Cuomo
COVID updates from
YouTube on Google
Classroom and surprisingly,
found an increase
in student engagement
and a spike in attendance
of 100 percent each day.
Socially, she also noticed
the kids appeared
to be less fearful about
the current situation,
due to gaining fi rst-hand
knowledge about what
was happening in the
country and community.
She told the Bronx
Times that many originally
only got their news
via Snapchat.
Gabriel explained the
teens have found a place
to share their thoughts
and views about their
situation while gaining
academic credit.
“In my opinion, using
these YouTube videos
is a great way for teachers
to connect to current
events, in order to make
their lessons engaging,”
she said. “The use of connecting
current events
can help teachers support
their lessons, in order
to keep students engaged.”
Here are some of her
suggestions for student
engagement:
Use Governor Cuomo
daily YouTube updates
and students can post a
response to your questions
you pull out of the
video daily;
Connect themes in
the updates to social
studies and English language
arts topics;
Projects on Google
Slides: Have students do
online Google Slide presentation
on different
topics on the coronavirus.
This will help students
research issues
about the virus they
want to know about.
“As a parent, teacher,
education support professional
or homeschooler,
anyone can use these online
tools in their lesson
planning to promote student
engagement,” she
said. “I wanted to share
this information because
our kids are suffering
just like adults, from this
pandemic and they also
need to understand and
be informed about what
happens in our country.
The kids are the future
leaders of the world.”
BY JASON COHEN
When COVID-19 forced
children to learn from
home, teacher Michelle
Gabriel knew it would be
an uphill battle.
Gabriel, who teaches
social studies and English
language arts to 60
seventh grade students at
Grand Concourse Academy
Charter School, realized
keeping students
engaged during the lockdown
would be a challenge.
She said many were
getting depressed as their
parents were laid off or
people they knew were
getting sick.
“Students just don’t
care about reading or social
studies right now, so
I was forced to fi nd creative
ways to keep my students
engage in these topics
THANKS TO THE
H e a l t h c a r e h e r o e s
F i r s t r e s p o n d e r s
Po s t a l w o r k e r s
D e l i v e r y p e o p l e
Bank branches
G r o c e r y w o r k e r s
Remote workers
And so man y o t h e r s a t s u c h g r e a t r i s k .
And a special thanks to our customers and associates.
We look forward to “seeing” you again soon!
BRONX TIMES R 26 EPORTER, MAY 8-14, 2020 BTR
while keeping them
logged on each day for a
maximum of two and a
half hours,” Gabriel explained.
Each day after class
her family would watch
Governor Andrew Cuomo
give updates on the coro-
Bronx teacher Michelle Gabriel uses Cuomo to keep kids engaged
Photo courtesy of Michelle Gabriel
necb.com
®
WE’LL
BREATHE
AGAIN.
LENOX HILL: 1355 1ST
ADDITIONAL OFFICES IN:
CHELSEA RD
FORDHAM (Little Italy) TH
FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF LOCATIONS AND HOURS, GO TO NECB.COM
/necb.com
/NECB.COM