Seesaw in Pre-K

by Karla Sosa, Cisneros Pre-K

Seesaw is an interactive space where students can complete assignments and practice skills that have been introduced in classroom lessons. This all in one platform helps teachers check for understanding in various ways including multiple submission methods. Not only that, this app can also be used to connect teachers, students and parents so that everyone is involved.

In this short blog you will learn the basic ins and outs of seesaw so that you may start your journey into this learning tool.

In today’s digital learning environment, Seesaw has become essential for finding teacher resources and implementing them in classroom activities. This post will explore how to use Seesaw and how you can use it effectively in your classroom.

What is Seesaw?

Seesaw is typically used in five ways:

• Instructional tool- that can be used in whole groups, small groups or for independent practice. Teachers can access ready made lessons from an available item bank or can create their own activities. Here students can respond in different ways, that being with an oral response, video or drawing.

• Differentiation - Seesaw has multimodal tools that involve speech to text and multiple response questions. Teachers can also use Seesaw to create digital portfolios that can help track student progress and goals.

• Communication with parents- Many teachers are familiar with apps such as ClassDojo or Remind. Seesaw can also be used as a method of communication

• Digital portfolios- Tracking student progress has been made easy with Seesaw. Students can document their work by submitting and online assignment or by submitting a picture of physical work that has been completed.

• Assessments- Seesaw is also frequently used for its assessment. Teachers can create assessments where they can review student recordings and access auto graded assignments that give students immediate feedback.

Why Use It in Education?

Seesaw helps support teaching and Learning by engaging students in tasks that support classroom instruction.

How to Get Started:

To get started simply log in to your seesaw account

Finding activities is easy with the Seesaw Resource Library

In the Resource library you can select your desired grade and browse through lessons

Each lesson even comes with a brief lesson plan that can be adapted to teacher and student needs.

Once assigned the teacher will be able to toggle within the classroom to see student completion rate, give feedback and assign more lessons.

Best Practices & Tips:

• To get the most out of your Seesaw activities don’t forget to regularly check your assignments and provide feedback to students.

• Practice with different assignment types and submissions so that you can find the one that best fits your classroom needs.

• Allowing for various submission types is the best way to differentiate how your students access the content. This will allow them to best demonstrate their knowledge and will allow you to better drive instruction.

Get started by browsing the online activity library.

Next time you are trying to find a way to engage your students and see the work they are doing, give Seesaw a shot. Seesaw will give a spin on traditional formative assessments. This platform is the perfect way for teachers to allow students to demonstrate what they know, not to mention it can greatly help in achieving oracy through verbal responses and can provide a digital portfolio that can be used when meeting with parents and other stakeholders. 

By incorporating Seesaw into your teaching practice, you can incorporate technology in everyday activities. Students will have the opportunity to engage with content in different ways by showing what they’ve learned. Seesaw is a great way to review student work and allow parents insight into what their student is doing in school. Give it a try, and watch how it enhances learning in your classroom!

Link to Resource: Teacher info center-get started