Support for Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 has been with us for over a year now and its effects on educators, students, families, and communities have been diverse and wide-ranging. Schools have faced immense logistical challenges, and teachers have worked tirelessly to support students’ learning and well-being in an unprecedented environment.

Here we offer an array of resources that speak to the various challenges that COVID-19 has posed and the multiple roles that educators are playing amid the pandemic.

Note to Teachers: This page was last updated March 12, 2021. News about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve rapidly. Stay up to date using the New York Times Coronavirus Briefing, which is updated daily, or another trusted news source.

Examining the Pandemic as a Current Event

Use these current events Teaching Ideas to help your students understand the complexity of the ongoing pandemic and its connection to the past and present.

COVID-19: How Can We Make Choices That Promote the Common Good?

This Teaching Idea prompts students to reflect on the difficult ethical questions we’re all facing during the coronavirus crisis.

Why is the Coronavirus Disproportionately Impacting Black Americans?

Help students explore the underlying causes of racial inequity in coronavirus outcomes with the activities in this Teaching Idea.

A young person speaks into a microphone at their desk.

Help Students Connect and Reflect on the Year

This Teaching Idea invites students to conduct an interview with a friend, family member, or classmate as a way to reflect on the events of 2020 and look ahead to the new year.

Reflection, Connection, and Care

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These Teaching Ideas and other resources are designed to help educators integrate support for students’ social and emotional well-being into classroom learning.

Teaching Idea

Democracy & Civic Engagement

Create a Toolbox for Care

This Teaching Idea invites students to think about the “tools” they have access to during the coronavirus pandemic that can help them take care of themselves, others, and their wider community.

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Democracy & Civic Engagement

Student Journaling During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Journals provide students with space to process their thoughts, feelings, and uncertainties during this difficult time. Use the tips and writing prompts in this resource to help your students establish a practice of journaling.

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Teaching Idea

How Do You Close the School Year During Distance Learning?

These six activities help students reflect on the past school year, celebrate their school community, and look ahead to what comes next. Especially with coronavirus upheaval, it’s important for students to feel a sense of closure before summer break begins.

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A Guide for Supporting Remote Student Book Clubs

Launch a remote book club that builds connectedness, fosters empathy, and provides opportunities for student-driven learning with the help of these resources.

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Back to School 2020: Building Community for Connection and Learning

This collection of teaching resources will help you lay a foundation of community and care as schools return this fall, whether in a remote, in-person, or hybrid format.

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Democracy & Civic Engagement

Fostering Civil Discourse: How Do We Talk About Issues That Matter?

The ideas and tools in this guide will help you prepare students to engage in reflective conversations on topics that matter, whether you are in a remote, hybrid, or in-person setting.

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A student uses a laptop for remote learning.

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Taking School Online With a Student-Centered Approach

The resources on this page are designed to help teachers approach online learning with a focus on sustaining community, supporting students, and creating engaging, meaningful learning experiences.

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Teaching Strategies for Remote and Hybrid Learning

Use these adaptations of Facing History teaching strategies to support student-centered learning in remote or hybrid settings.

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Student Access to Streaming Videos

Due to the massive increase in students needing access to digital content from home, Facing History has lifted the login restrictions for students on our large and diverse streaming video collection. If you search, and a login block appears, simply click on the video title, which will bring you to a second page, which includes the new password-free link for students. You can send that link to your students if you want to suggest that they watch a particular video: