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Engagement can be described as a measure of how much we are attending to a purpose, task or activity (Kipp & Rice, 2020). Engagement is the foundation for learning and students that are not engaged are less likely to be successful (Pearson North America, 2020).
Engagement in the classroom can be done through discussions, hand on manipulatives, videos, gamification, asking questions and a variety of other methods to keep learners focused on the lesson.
In a virtual classroom engagement looks a little different because the students and teacher are not in the same space at the same time. Engagement strategies can look similar but need to be carried out differently to accomodate the new environment.

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In the flipped learning method, students have an asynchronous lesson before their synchronous class meeting to foster deeper discussions (Pearson North America, 2020). This method can be used at a variety of levels, but would specifically be very beneficial in a 9-12 virtual classroom where students tend to be a little more self-sufficient and independent. Having a video lesson to watch independently before a synchronous class gives students the opportunity to watch and rewatch a lesson as ,any times as needed to gain understanding, and also allows some time to privately ask the teacher any clarifying questions they may have that they may be to timid to ask during sunchronous classes. This also allows students to gain the needed backround knowledge so that the synchronous class time can be used for deeper discussions among peers and teachers. Teachers can also add on extra videos or infographics to help explain vocabulary and other concepts to students that may need extra resources.
PROS: more student engagement and deeper discussions during synchronous learning, more time to clarify the muddiest points of the lesson, less time spent on trivial material.
CONS: students may not do the independent lesson, students may forget the questions they wanted to ask if the synchronous class is too long after they watched the lesson on their own.

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Graffiti walls are a place where students can show their thinking and brainstorm while also seeing what their peers are thinking and brainstprming at the same time (Pearson Noth America, 2020). While this is a strategy that can be used at multiple grade levels, I feel it would be most effective for our 4-8 grade students. These students are transitioning into academice thinkers and graffiti wall gives them the opportunity to not only evaluate their own thinking but also see how others are thinking and reflect on how that can influence their own learning. This can also help all levels of students, as the students who may need a little more guidance can use their peers contributions as a model and those that may be a little more advanced have the opportunity to reach out and help others. One tool I love for this sort of activity is Padlet.
PROS: All students can share their thinking in real time and at the same time. Students can share and identify themselves or it can be an anonymous share according to what the teacher is wanting.
It is a great way to model and reflect on one's own thinking.
CONS: It can be a lot of information for students to process when everyone is answering simultaneously.

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Videos are a great way to foster student engagement, specifically among our smallest K-3 students. Videos are a way to entertain and engage students while also imparting the specific skills that a certain video may hit on. Our youngest students do not yet have all of the intrinsic motivation that their older counterparts have had time to develope. By using videos and things they are used to having in their environment, they can be easily engaged through movement and song even in a distance learning environment. Because these types of videos are so readily available, teachers are able to find a variety of them for each skill set to accomodate all levels of learners from those needing extra help, to those that may need to be stretched in an area. YouTube is the best and most used application for such a strategy.
PROS: Quick, easy, engaging, wide variety of skills and levels can be hit.
CONS: Can become mundane and lose "real teaching" if utilized too much in real world or virtual environments.

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Students at all ages and grade levels thrive on a sense of belonging with their teacher and with their peers (Edutopia, 2020). By offering frequent and early feedback to our students, even if just thanking them for submitting assignments, we are helping to build that classroom rapport and sense of community in our virtual space (Pearson North America, 2020). Feedback can be useful to help guide our students rewuiring a little extra help to complete addignments, and feedback can be used to help extend our students that finish early and with ease. One of the ways I like to give feedback is through screencastify and Flipgrid. By allowing students the chance to see your face and hear your voice during feedback it help build the connection more and makes them feel as though they are face to face even when they cannot be.
PROS: Helps build community, can be useful and helpful for students at all skill levels, lets students know you are available and care about their success in your class.
CONS: I honestly have not found any cons to good feedback. The one con I can think of is if you are using written feedback and the message is misconstrued due to lack of face to face communication.

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Movement is also a necessity at all ages and in all grade levels. When we are dealing with a distance lerning environment, it can be even more important to take a screen break, brain break or sitting break and allow ourselves and our students the opportunity to get up, move away from the screen and move. This is something I have successfully used in my own classroom and have seen the benefits in K-3 as well as 4-8. I have also used brain break at home with my own kids when on devices and seen success with them as well in the 9-12 grade age range. Think about yourself and how you start to feel when you've been sitting in the same place staring at the computer for too long. Our eyes, our brains and our bodies need regular breaks to function properly and to help us stayed focused and engaged when we need to. This is true for all of us and all of our students regardless of special need or cognitive ability.
PROS: Gives students an opportunity to move and allows them to come back more focused after. Allows students to clear their minds, use the restroom, and aleviate any aches and pains they may be getting due to sitting or staring at the screen.
CONS: As long as movement is used at set intervals and limited in time so you aren't losing learning time, there are no cons to adding movement to your classroom.