Blizzard Bag Days the KRMS Way

KRSD has been utilizing Blizzard Bag Days for at least 7 years now.  The idea came about by a prior superintendent (Jerry Frew) based on Kearsarge being the largest geographic region in NH.  The idea was that students would work from home and it would count as a school day.  The program has evolved over the years and KRMS has created a unique way to manage these days.

Our goal at KRMS on a Blizzard Bag Day is for students to learn some important Habits of Mind skills such as persisting, creating, imaging, innovating and remaining open to continuous learning.  We have used a book over the past several years so that all students and staff would have a common experience for future discussions.

This year, we are using Newsela.  This is their motto:  Our motto is “Read closely. Think critically. Be worldly.”  We use daily news to help every student become a better reader and critical thinker.

Students read a variety of articles, submit a written response and take a short quiz to check for understanding.  Students also watch videos related to the theme of the day and submit a brief response.  

We strive for students to learn about a digital citizenship topic on each Blizzard Bag Day in order to enhance their understanding of a specific topic such as online safety or how to set a strong email password.

Each day has some element of student voice that allows students to contribute to the topic of the day.  A new element this year is adding in a global perspective.  Students are participating in what is called The World's Largest Lesson.  This is a link to the KRMS website that has the most current Blizzard Bag Day assignment.

When students return to school, they spend some time in their Blizzard Bag Community Group discussing the readings, activities, and topics that were part of the assignment.

We understand that this is a unique school day so that is why we established the KRMS BB Learning Objectives.

We know that students are learning how to be self-directed and self-motivated to participate in this distance learning model.

We know students have to use their critical thinking skills to figure things out from home.

We believe that these are important skills that will serve students well over the course of their educational endeavors as most students will participate in some sort of distance learning such as VLACS or an online course in middle school, high school, college or in life after school.

What are your thoughts regarding Blizzard Bag Days at KRMS?  Please feel free to share your experiences.