Big Deal Media has created a special edition of its biweekly K–12 Technology newsletter to help School Leaders, Teachers, Students, and Parents understand, cope, and take action during this time of COVID-19.

Planning, Preparing, and Responding Making Policy Decisions During the COVID-19 Pandemic With more and more schools across the country shutting down for an extended time, the  Centers for Disease Control  (CDC) has provided K–12 educators and school leaders with information about some of the policy implications… Read more Planning, Preparing, and Responding Supporting Youth Leaders with Rapid Response Grants Peace First  is convening a global group of youth leaders between the ages of 13 and 25 to design a meaningful,  youth-centered campaign  in response to COVID-19. The organization is offering  minigrants  of up to $250, mentorship, and project support to young people leading initiatives to address secondary effects of COVID-19 in their communities. Read more

Planning, Preparing, and Responding Helping Children Cope with Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic Concern over this new virus can make children and families anxious. Helping children cope with anxiety requires providing accurate prevention information and facts without causing undue alarm. Read more socialstudies.org Planning, Preparing, and Responding Navigating Containment of COVID-19 In response to the World Health Organization’s declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has created a COVID-19 landing page with resources for social studies educators, administrators, and professionals. Read more

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay Planning, Preparing, and Responding Maintaining “Cyber Hygiene” During the COVID-19 Pandemic As the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt global health, economic, political, and social systems, another unseen threat is rising in the digital space: the risk of cyberattacks that prey on our increased reliance on digital tools during the uncertainty of the crisis. Read more en.unesco.org Planning, Preparing, and Responding Facilitating Continuity of Learning During COVID-19’s Disruption As of March 17, 2020, 115 countries have announced or implemented school and university closures; 105 countries have shut schools nationwide, impacting almost 959.2 million children and youth; and a further 10 countries have implemented localized school closures to prevent or contain the spread of COVID-19. Read more

Teaching and Learning Protecting Against COVID-19 and Standing Against Racism The world has been on high alert concerning the spread of the new strain of  coronavirus, COVID-19. Facing History and Ourselves offers a  teaching idea  outlining the known facts about the virus and giving students the opportunity to explore instances of discrimination related to this novel strain of coronavirus. Read more Teaching and Learning Educating Children with Autism During COVID-19 School Closures With the widespread school closures creating a situation where many families are facing the unexpected challenge of educating and engaging children with  autism  or  other special needs  at home,  Stages Learning Materials  is offering a  free  Autism Curriculum Kit  to support families during COVID-19 school closures. Read more

npr.org Teaching and Learning Teaching Young People About COVID-19 NPR  has published a  comic  geared to children about the newly discovered coronavirus. The comic has also been published in  Chinese  and translated into other languages–and it is finding an audience in schools and libraries as well as in homes. Read more nytimes.com Teaching and Learning Comparing COVID-19 to Other Infectious Diseases How deadly is the new coronavirus? And how does this pandemic compare to other infectious diseases?  The  New York Times  Learning Network  offers two  classroom activities  to help students apply media analysis techniques to the coronavirus outbreak. Read more

Image by Alicja from Pixabay Teaching and Learning Washing Hands to Stay Healthy Did you know that hand washing with soap and water can reduce sickness by up to 45 percent?  Project WET  has created “When Should You Wash Your Hands?”/“¿Cuándo debe Lavarse Las Manos?” Read more readresearchrestrepeat.blogspot.com Teaching and Learning Examining Media Stories About COVID-19 STEM teacher William Reed from Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep in Chicago has shared a multipart lesson–“Coronavirus: What’s the Real Story?”–in a blog post on the website of the  National Science Teachers Association  (NSTA). Read more