After returning in person for the 2021-2022 school year it was tough on everyone to hear we would be going remote for the first two weeks of January.  I think it hits the 12th graders especially hard and I imagine the fear of the two weeks extending further into their senior year is a very real concern.  On our first day remote, during A period, I tried to liven the mood a little with a silly Simon Says game in which the students raised and lowered their hands following the movement of a corkscrew.   

After this we moved into an activity where students started with their cameras off then turned them on if they agreed with a particular statement.   Once students turned their camera on to indicate  they had had a warm drink in the morning for instance I could ask them what it was and help break the ice.

These activities, while not directly related to Western Fiction and Drama, got the students engaged with each other and I hope helped them in a small way to continue persevering, if only through the next hour of class with me.