5 Ways to Help Students Who Don’t Have Internet at Home

While the sudden and sweeping transition to digital learning works well for many families, what should teachers do for kids who don’t have that option? This post outlines 5 effective ways to help students who don’t have internet at home, with a free learning activity for you!


helping-kids-who-dont-have-internet

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Students With No Internet Access At Home

Technology.

Smartphones and tablets.

Internet.

Wi-Fi.

Each one has become such an integral part of every day living and teaching that it’s hard to imagine life without them.

So it makes sense that thousands of schools have immediately turned to internet and device-based activities for distance / remote learning.

However, the Cisco Annual Internet Report from 2018 estimates that half of all kids in the U.S. do not have reliable internet at home.

So can you help students who don’t have internet at home? Absolutely! Here’s how…


1–Provide Enrichment Activities

Offering enrichment activities is one of the best ways to help your students who don’t have internet of devices at home.

What are enrichment activities?

Enrichment activities take what kids have already learned and gives them opportunities to extend and apply that learning.

They are designed to teach kids how to think, be inquisitive, use critical thinking and best of all are fun!

One example of an enrichment activity I’ve used with kids is what I call “Food Ad Shopping.” Here’s how it works:

  • Encourage kids to get any shopping ad at home that shows food items and their prices.
  • Set a pretend budget, like $75.
  • Challenge students to create a weekly meal plan that can’t go over that amount and “buy” the food they see in the ad.
These Learn From Home Activities work well for homeschooling families and for teachers who want to assign enrichment activities to students. CLICK HERE to see more details.


Obviously, enrichment activities need to be tweaked depending on the age of the child, but they don’t require any internet or devices.

The “Food Ad Shopping” example not only allows kids to apply math and reading skills, but they are also using things they may already have at home to keep the learning going!


2-“Look in a Book” Reading and Grammar

Another enrichment activity that helps students who don’t have internet at home combines reading and grammar skills.

Many students are familiar with the game “I Spy.”

Use that game idea with whatever reading material your students have at home.

The object of this activity is to find verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc. in a book.

You can even extend this idea to include things like:

Your students will just write the name of the book, the items you challenge them to “spy” and the page number they found the grammar / words.

Or you can download this free chart of a nouns version (shown below) that can be used whether your students have internet or not.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-F55TOh5i5/


3–Use “Old-School” Communication

Not having internet presents an academic challenge for kids.

But an even bigger and scarier challenge is the social-emotional impact on kids who are isolated from friends and teachers.

Digital resources like Zoom, Kahoot, and Google Classroom make it possible for kids to still “see” and talk to each other.

This boost morale and keeps kids more motivated to complete assignments.

A huge way to help students who don’t have these internet-based tools is to use what’s now considered “old-school” communication hacks.

  • A good-ole’-fashioned phone call can cheer their spirits
  • Write students postcards or letters
  • Text-messages (Many phone carriers–even for those without smartphones–can be used to send texts.)

Something is better than nothing!

Writing and mailing postcards takes more time than being able to just hop on a Zoom chat, but in the end, it’s MORE THAN worth it for the kids receiving them.


4–Organize a Printable Packet and Book Pick-Up Drive 

In a perfect world, every kid would have all the resources they need at home for effective learning.

Just in case you didn’t notice already, our world is far from perfect!

So another way you can help students who don’t have internet at home is to organize a printable packet or book pick up drive.

Several school districts and churches are already doing this for families.

To abide by social distancing guidelines, it helps to have an organized schedule that lets families know when they can pick up the printable packet.

Here’s an example from an elementary school’s printable pick up day:

Families picked up packets and books based on the letter of their last name.

This really helps kids who don’t have devices or internet at home to continue learning during a school closure.


5–Recommend Educational Movies & TV Shows 

Who says you can’t learn through TV?

There are so many educational shows that help kids continue learning without the internet.

Some examples are:

Image Credit: PBS Kids
  •  Odd Squad from PBS focuses on math and STEM
  • The Magic School Bus
  • Bill Nye The Science Guy
  • Wild Kratts
  • Sid the Science Kid
  • Doc McStuffins
  • Super Why!
  • Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum
  • Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. (great social studies content for older kids!)

The dates and times for each show will depend on your students’ cable network and time zone.

Recommending educational content on TV to parents who are juggling at-home work with homeschooling is super helpful!


How Do I Help Students Who Have Internet But No Computer?

Maybe your students can get a mobile hot-spot connection OR have some way to access internet, but they don’t have a computer at home.

This list offers ideas for ways to help your kiddos in this situation:

  • Partner or collaborate with community organizations for device rentals (which should be done on the school’s administrative level…parents can request this as well)
  • Suggest Educational Netflix Movies and Shows that students can watch on TV

Students who have internet, but no computer will also benefit from the enrichment activity ideas mentioned above.


More Remote Learning / Homeschooling Resources

As a teacher-mom, I know first hand the beautiful struggles involved with helping kids learn and grow.

Whether they are your biological children now being homeschooling OR your kids from school.

If you need more inspiration and ideas for learning at home, check out this special page full of resources dedicated specifically to distance learning / learning from home:

Happy Teaching 🦋

The Butterfly Teacher

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