The Google Suite is one of the most popular collections of productivity and collaboration tools around the world. From collaborating on presentations with Google Slides to creating surveys with Google Forms, students are likely to use these tools throughout their school careers and for years to come in the workforce.
If you have been tasked with teaching elementary or middle school students how to use G-Suite tools in 2020, you may feel overwhelmed. Teaching technology can be challenging even in times when students aren’t physically distanced or learning from home.
Fortunately, teaching the Google Suite doesn’t have to be difficult. We’re here to help and suggest some web-based curriculum tools you may find helpful.
How to Teach G-Suite in Elementary School
Older elementary school students can thrive when they use a guided, structured curriculum that helps them explore Google Suite tools. With so much uncertainty about how students will learn throughout the year, especially if outbreaks occur at school, teachers may prefer to use a curriculum that can be adapted to remote learning even if they are teaching in person.
In the Yeti Academy Snowboard Shop module, students learn G-suite by helping Sadie Shred open a snowboard shop at the virtual Black Diamond Peak ski resort. As they work on tasks that will help Sadie launch a successful business, they become familiar with many Google Suite features and gain key skills they will use throughout their school years and beyond.
Snowboard Shop is ready for either remote, hybrid, or classroom learning. Yeti Academy offers in-app video guidance for students and live tech support during the school day.
How to Teach G-Suite in Middle School
Yeti Academy has also designed a theme park-themed Google Suite curriculum for grades 6-9. Students work through a series of lessons in which they learn Google Suite tools and apply them to building their own virtual theme park.
In Yeti Academy Theme Parks students try out engaging activities that range from designing a logo to planning for site visits to creating an e-portfolio. Throughout the course, students develop skills they will use throughout their academic, professional, and personal lives.
A STEM Curriculum for Remote, Hybrid, and Traditional Classes
All Yeti Academy modules are designed to work well in both remote and traditional classroom settings. Our web-based STEM curriculum options include a wide range of topics for elementary and middle school students, including coding, introductory biology, digital citizenship, and computational thinking.
Yeti Academy lessons are based on seven multimodal learning components:
- ENGAGE warm-up assignments designed to cultivate interest, introduce new ideas, or solidify understanding of previous concepts
- ELABORATE lessons in which students take a practical approach to learning, often with a hands-on or group activity
- EMPOWER games that stress summary ideas and vocabulary with engaging exercises
- EXPLAIN texts that correlate to the lesson with succinct explanations, captivating illustrations, and questions that can be used for class discussions or assessments
- EVALUATE self-assessments in which students receive immediate feedback and are directed to either opportunities for review or other activities
- ENRICH projects that give students opportunities to dig deeper and practice STEM, often by conducting research or creating presentations
- EXPLORE content designed to allow early-finishers to probe deeper into related topics with articles, videos, and career connections
