
King
Elementary
School
offered
students
a
virtual
summer
camp
to
interact
and
continue
structured
learning.
For
five
weeks,
students
in
grades
first
through
fifth
participated
in
a
variety
of
summer-themed
science,
technology,
engineering
and
mathematics
(STEM)
hands-on
investigative
lessons.
This
past
spring,
King
Elementary
Third
Grade
Teacher
Jennifer
Dittamo
missed
hosting
after-school
clubs
and
being
able
to
interact
with
students
in
that
setting.
This
inspired
her
to
host
a
virtual
summer
camp.
Each
week
the
lessons
were
based
on
a
theme,
that
included
the
wonders
of
water,
travel,
camping,
amusement
parks
and
fairy
tales.
Students
received
a
30-minute
live
lesson
once
a
week
and
independent
work,
which
was
tailored
for
each
grade
level.
Dittamo
also
posted
read-alouds
online
that
focused
on
reading
comprehension
and
word
study
assignments.
"All
of
the
investigations
used
materials
that
most
people
have
at
home.
We
reviewed
buoyancy,
created
a
constellation,
explored
centrifugal
force
and
reviewed
simple
machines
with
wheels
and
axles
and
catapults/levers,"
Dittamo
shared.
Declan
McCray,
a
rising
fourth-grader,
said,
"There
are
a
lot
of
fun
things
to
do
in
the
virtual
camp,
but
my
favorite
activity
was
the
Minecraft
challenge
where
my
sister
Lorelei
(a
rising
second-grader)
and
I
built
an
amusement
park
in
the
game."
The
virtual
camp
also
helped
students
prepare
for
the
coming
school
year,
by
having
a
chance
to
use
both
Zoom
and
Canvas
to
receive
instruction.
Zoom
was
used
for
the
live
lessons
and
Canvas
was
used
to
deliver
the
independent
work.