Hi Fiona!
Some of this might be dependent on your curriculum goals and available devices, but here are a few examples of things I've developed, or things I've seen in other K-2 classrooms using Canvas.
1. Reading Log - As my students progressed through K-2 with different teachers and different abilities - one thing was constant. The required at home reading log:) I recently visited some Canvas rock stars who were using an ASSIGNMENT to record student independent reading. The teacher used the same, single assignment for the entire year. She limited the response to only media recorder and text. This allowed the students to respond via video, audio, or written words, depending on their comfort, preference, and abilities. The assignment was linked on the homepage, so anytime a student logged in, they just clicked the link and started talking or writing about what they were reading. Because this was a single assignment, the teacher could easily view multiple submissions and give video feedback to the students. The teacher reported that the students really enjoyed watching videos of the teacher "talking to them" and she appreciated the extra insight she got into her students reading and comprehension compared to a box checked on a reading log.
A single assignment can also be used to record reading. Students can video themselves reading, listen to it, select the best, and submit to you to review.
2. Discussion Posts - Not traditionally thought of as a an elementary feature, but it is really useful and easy - especially in the mobile app. Students have the option to reply with pictures, video, or text. I like using discussions for students to share their world and how it connects to the learning goal with students around them. One example I've seen is students taking pictures of geometric shapes they find in their home, identifying them, and posting to the group for others to see. I also have seen them used for practicing grammar in context. Let's say you want students to work on using descriptive words, and also proper punctuation. Post an interesting image, and ask students to write about it - using descriptive words and minding their punctuation. You can even deliver these instructions using video. You can set the discussion so students can't see each others post until they post their own, or you can allow them to see right away if some students would benefit from modeling. In 1st grade, I've seen this used in that way, however student were just learning how to log in, so every student logged in using the same account. Students typed their name or said their name if using video at the beginning of the post. By the end of the year, the students were logging in independently with their own account and posting to discussions using text, video and images.
3. Resource providing - As you mentioned in your post, Canvas is a great way to post resources to be used by parents at home, but it also a great place to post digital resources that you might use in class that day, or post resources for students to use. I have see some teachers create a page for every day with the resources that they use, students might need to access, etc. Every day, the make that "daily page" their home page, so when parents/students log in to canvas, they are seeing the work of the day. It just takes a few seconds to change the home page from page settings. Also - if you create an event on the calendar with content, or an assignment with no submission requirement - the content can be launched and viewed from the calendar itself. So, some teachers I have worked with preferred this method. Students/parents just go to the calendar, click on the day, and they are in the right place. (Also helps with Calendar skills)
I'd love to hear your thoughts on these ideas! Let me know how I can help, and please share your successes!
This discussion post is outdated and has been archived. Please use the Community question forums and official documentation for the most current and accurate information.