How to Use Digital Agenda Slides to Organize Your English Language Arts Classroom

Do you use daily agenda slides with your students? If you answered, "yes", then you likely agree with the fact that they are a helpful visual reference for your students, while also assisting to build a routine within your classroom. If you answered, "no", then this blog post will help give you a better idea as to the purpose of agenda slides and HOW they can help you and your students. So, whether you've had experience with digital daily agenda slides or not, the following tips will help you to utilize the digital slides to the maximum!


Daily agenda slides are a time saver. How many times have you heard, "What are we doing today?" Unfortunately, too many I'm sure! As soon as my students walk into my classroom, they are greeted with the daily agenda displayed on my projector. I used to write out my daily agenda on my white board, but like many teachers, time is usually of the essence. I was writing for the next class, even before I finished my previous class. It was a lot of work AND with my back turned to the class; it was becoming a classroom management issue. Being able to complete my agenda slides BEFOREHAND is a complete time saver! The nice thing is, I can complete them the night before school starts (or first thing in the morning) and then make any quick edits necessary, while it is still posted. The other great thing is, if an activity or lesson rolls over to the following day, you don't have to type it out again. You can just make simple edits to the slide you created the day before.

Daily agenda slides promote organization. Being able to plan the class ahead of time has not only saved me time, but also kept my classes organized. My students appreciate knowing, as soon as they walk into the room what our daily plan will be. The digital agenda slides are basically a more organized version of my teacher planner, as they also include a variety of other elements besides just the daily plans: homework reminders, announcements, materials needed, etc. You can say, "Good morning!" or "Good Afternoon!" in-style with these editable template for PowerPoint and Google Slides. I have also created agenda slides specific for each month that come in a three-month bundle pack (as pictured below) for each season: FALL, WINTER, SPRING and SUMMER.


Many of the agenda slides I have created for my classes also come with a helpful 'Week at a Glance' slide, which is a great way to outline the week ahead. Of course, plans are likely to change throughout the week, but it's a great way to outline potential due dates and expectations to ensure everyone is on track.



Yes, the digital agenda slides that I created can both be used on a PowerPoint platform, as well as on Google Slides. Digital daily agenda slides can be used when you're in the classroom with your students, as well as during any remote learning periods. Simply, send the students the bit.ly link to access the daily agenda. This digital daily agenda helps to ensure that all students received the same instructions! Once the sections are edited, you can share a copy with your students. If you are learning in-class, and a student happens to be absent, you can also email them either the Google Slide link, a picture of the slide, or send them the PowerPoint file of what they missed during their time away. Assignments can also be linked within the slide itself by creating a live link within the document.


If you're looking for a way to hold students accountable for the work that they have completed, try this FREE student-themed daily agenda slide! Students can edit the necessary sections and identify what was completed at home during a specific time period. This agenda slide will help students to outline their goals, plans and achievements for the day, week and/or month. This slide is not to add more work to a students' load or a teachers'; rather, it's a way to connect with your students during their time away and to ensure they are completing the tasks given. 

 


Here are a few tips that you may consider when using this slide
:

(a) It might be helpful for you, the teacher, to edit the various text boxes and specify exactly what you want the students to write in each section. This way, students are clear as to what they should be sharing with you.

(b) You may also want to take the opportunity to ask your students a question or two, then while they are sharing what they completed with you, connections can be built.

(c) When students are done, they simply 'share' the copy with you. You can assign completion marks (if permitted) to encourage and motivate students to complete these daily and/or weekly agendas.

Incorporate a burst of seasonal fun into your classroom with these Holiday & Special Events Digital Daily Slides. My students enjoy a bit of change as much as I do, so when a new season comes around, I use that opportunity to change my digital slides for a week or two. 

A fun tip that I wanted to share with you, especially for those teachers who are way more advanced with technology than I am, is to embed videos right into your digital daily agenda slides. This is perfect for teachers who either use YouTube videos within their lessons or who record their own lessons! 

Here are the steps to embed a YouTube video within your slide:

1. Go to your Google Drive and create a new slideshow and/or go into the google slide that you want to embed the video into.

2. In the top toolbar, click "Insert", then "Video".

3. Paste the YouTube URL into the text box.

4. Select the YouTube video that you want to embed, then click "Submit".

*Videos can be re-sized, dragged and re positioned!*


I hope you found some news ways on how you can incorporate digital daily agenda slides into your classrooms and/or remote learning situations. They are a fun and visual way to help keep everyone on track. 

Check out these additional classroom management tools:


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