While most schools are out by mid-June, Freckle stays up and running all year round! The Freckle team remains hard at work, gearing up for the return to school in the fall, and all the program features you have enjoyed all year can be used throughout the summer. Here is a quick guide to using Freckle all summer long.
Tips for Freckle Summer Use
- Keep your class roster (for now). If you are interested in using Freckle during the summer, we suggest that teachers keep their pupil rosters until the start of the next school year (when they can then transfer them). Pupils have been using Freckle all year and are familiar with the login process and class code they have been using. Better to not change it up now!
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Encourage students to use Freckle's pupil-driven adaptive practice over the summer. Pupils can log on to Freckle the same way they always have and practise maths on their own. They will pick up right where they left off at the end of the school year. To practise on their own, pupils just need to select the Maths button on the bottom of the pupil dashboard and then choose a domain to work on.
- Give students a set number of maths assignments during the summer months. Depending on your school's policy about summer homework, you can even assign pupils summer work. Math work can be assigned from your Teacher Home. For example, you can have your pupils practise certain maths objectives. Maybe you want specific pupils to work on certain objectives. Maybe you want your Year 4 students to get exposure to some Year 5 objectives. Targeted practice assignments allow teachers to pick specific objectives for their pupils to work on.
- Get parents on board! Help them feel comfortable using Freckle at home by sending a quick 1-pager or email about the program. Be sure to include how pupils log in, including the class code. Let them know the power of using the program over the summer and how it can help prepare their child for the next year. You will want to provide expectations for parents about how often their pupils should be practising. You can even adapt some of our parent resources.
Commonly asked questions about using Freckle in the summer
- How can I communicate with parents and pupils about Freckle progress during the summer? While you will not be seeing pupils' parents each morning at your door, you can certainly still keep them looped into their child's Freckle progress. Teachers can still email pupil report cards to parents over the summer. Read here for more information on how to keep parents informed. You can also use other digital tools, like Remind, to communicate with parents.
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How can I incentivise pupils to use Freckle over the summer? Before the end of the school year, highlight the importance of continued learning over the summer for your pupils. While they will not be seeing you every day to monitor their Freckle performance and progress, you can still ensure they are eager to keep practising.
Create a log for pupils to record their Freckle sessions. It can be as simple as the date they practised, the activity or activities they completed and a place for a parent signature. Since you can also track pupil sessions from your Teacher Home, you can create some sort of reward system for pupils who practise the most over the summer. Partner up with the teacher or teachers at the next year to create a rewards plan so that when kids come back in the fall, their effort over the summer is recognised.
The Leaderboard still works over the summer too! Believe it or not, challenging kids to earn enough coins over the summer to earn the cowboy hat in the Piggy Shop might just be enough incentive to get them on Freckle!
- What happens to my roster over the summer? Absolutely nothing! Your roster will stay on your Teacher Home until YOU change it. We recommend keeping your roster around until the new school year is about to start so that pupils can practise over the summer. As the new school year is starting up, you can pass pupils (and their data) along to their next teacher. Read more about that below.
- What happens to my pupil data over the summer? Here at Freckle, we care a LOT about data. Your pupil data does NOT disappear over the summer. Freckle will continue to adapt to your pupil as they continue to practise. When you transfer your pupils using our transfer feature next year, pupils can pick up right where they left off!