Ask Dr. Lynch: Pros and Cons of Year-Round Schools

The concept discussed in this article is something I often think about: year-round school! I go back and forth on the idea so I was interested to read what Dr. Lynch, an educational columnist and professor, had to say about the topic. First and foremost, I do believe that year-long school would help eliminate summer learning loss. Each September I seem to have to reteach so much that September and October are full of review (especially with the MEAP in October). Having more frequently, yet short breaks (1 or 2 weeks at a time) would give students and teachers a break without the risk of summer learning loss. Dr. Lynch also suggests that year-long school can allow for more creative projects which I think would be great! My city does have a year-round school and I know one family that attends and they love the innovated, theme based programs that are taught from time to time.

The drawbacks for me - I LOVE having my summer off! It has become so much of the American lifestyle and culture for many families. Plus, having random weeks off could be difficult for some families. 

So what do I think is best? Although I love spending countless hours on the boat over the summer, I would rather work in a year-long building. I believe the schedule is more beneficial for the students, still provides enough breaks throughout the year, and would help eliminate summer loss and burn-out. Would I ever actually teach in a year-long school.... who knows! :)

Building a “Challenging Environment” Into Your Mission Statement

This article made me think about a new initiative my district is beginning to implement: I/E time. I/E is a thirty-minute block of the day to provide intervention or enrichment for students. Although intervention is very important for at-risk students, this article reminds me of the many students who need to be challenged, or enriched, throughout the school day. During I/E time (which is still very new to me) I anticipate that some students will be able to work on more project based learning. This year, I gave a small group of students a webquest to work on. This project was challenging, engaging, and incorporated technology.

Although this article is written about school's Mission Statements, I think it is important for educators to remember the importance of high expectations and creating challenges in the classroom. These concepts are part of my teaching philosophy alongside differentiation. The phrases provided in this article are very well written and touch on a variety of "themes" of a mission (or philosophy).

Minimize Lecture, Maximize Learning: The Workshop Model

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I am a HUGE fan of the workshop model and think everyone should read this article! In my classroom, we teacher Reader's, Writer's, and Math Workshop and I wouldn't do it any other way. The structure of the workshop model is very explicit. The structure of a strong mini-lesson followed by "work time" is critical. Students are engaged and see modeling along with guided practice during the mini-lesson. Additionally, teaching points are very clear and repeated multiple times. During independent work time, students are able to practice these new concepts while teachers are able to pull groups too. Debriefing at the end of workshop is something I am still working on (I seem to always run out of time!), but is very important to "wrap things up." Overall, this article is a great overview of the workshop model, a highly-effective teaching approach!

The Homework Trap

I would love to share this article with many of my students' parents regarding homework. Although I do have a strict homework policy in my classroom, I equally believe that homework should not and cannot be stressful! I remind my students and parents of this often. Homework should not cause emotional melt-downs nor consume endless hours after school. I do, however, believe that homework is an essential part of education and teaches students self-discipline while reinforcing concepts.


What I like best about this article are the 10 tips for parents and students to help make homework less stressful. For example, a homework spot free of distractions will help students concentrate. Also, promoting academics (i.e. parents reading a book or writing) will help students understand the imporance of their education and practice. I plan on saving this article for the future to give to parents whose students are having difficulties adjusting to a new homwork routine at the start of the new school year.

Summer Learning Tips

Although I am looking forward to the summer just as much as my students probably are, I also am dreading the loss of learning come September. For this reason, I decided to read this article, Summer Learning Tips. Last year I started sending home a "Top 10 List of Things to do this Summer" with students' final report cards of the year. This article, although shorter than I hoped, gave me a few suggestions to add to my list. For example, I liked the idea of students rewriting the beginning or end of a book they read over the summer. Not only is this supporting their reading comprehension, but their writing as well. I also thought the idea of a Scavenger Hunt was great! I think this is a great way for families to spend time together, yet make it educational (i.e. visit the DIA, Greenfield Village, or the Detroit Zoo). Flash cards are an idea that I already have on my list, but I liked the idea of including word problems. Students become so overwhelmed with the story problems on the MEAP in October, therefore practice over the summer would be very beneficial. Finally, the current events project would be a good idea since I loop half of my students. I could assign a project for students to bring in for Meet and Greet to keep them learning over the summer and excited to share their report. I'm glad I found this article and am wondering if anyone else has any other suggestions! :)

Five Great Apps for Children With Learning Challenges

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As an iPhone user, I am always looking for great new apps for my phone for personal use or in the classroom. I often give my phone to my students (I put it on airport mode so I do not get calls, text, etc.) to use for interventions or enrichment activities (flashcards, use of a timer, etc.). I am excited to download the apps explained in this article.

I think the AustimExpress app would be a great tool to use for one of my student's with autism. Being able to choose emotion icons will help this student be more aware of his feelings and have an outlet to communicate these emotions. Likewise, EyeContactZoo would be beneficial for this same student, as one of his goals is making eye contact. The Dragon Dictation app would be great for many of students who have difficulties writing. I could see using this as a reward for these students when they are demonstrating great effort in writing, which is hard for them.

Although my classroom does not have iPads or iTouches for my students, I am very interested in checking out these apps to add to my phone to use in my classroom. Time to download.... :)

Staying Off Facebook Won't Protect Your Privacy

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As an educator, I think it is important to remember the line between work and social media. I keep my Facebook profile very private and strongly believe that teachers should not be "friends" with students or parents (I am not even friends with many staff members). It is hard to believe, though, that others can gain information about you even if you are not a Facebook user.

After reading this article, I feel as though your life can never be "private" again. Recently, a friend of mine suspended her Facebook account for several weeks while being interviewed for a new job. Little did she know, I am sure that if the company wanted to dig deep, they could have found out an abundance of information through this social media powerhouse.

Although I am not planning on getting off Facebook, this article does make me wonder who exactly can see what AND will our lives ever be private again?

Collaborative Team Teaching: Challenges and Rewards

Because I work in a team teaching environment, I was intrigued to see what this article had to say about collaborative teaching. After reading, I couldn't agree more with everything in this article!! I LOVE team teaching and cannot imagine ever working without my teaching partner.
Here are a few topics within the article that stood out to me from this article:

1) "The co-planning process encourages two teachers to bounce ideas off each other in order to deliver the strongest, most creative lessons."  I believe this is the most beneficial part of cooperative teaching. People always say "two heads are better than one" and this definitely applies to teaching. If one teacher has an idea, it is helpful to run it by another professional to revise and make it better.

2) "Strong co-teachers also eliminate the "mommy/daddy" issue in the beginning of the year" AH! This is something that students try to get past us. It is so frustrating when a student asks me and I say no, then they go to my partner thinking she might say yes. This is something we made very clear WILL not be tolerated in our classroom. Because students know this, it typically does not happen anymore.

3) "Making decisions as a team is key to a strong partnership"  My teaching partner and I are connected at the hip. I think it's so important to make decisions as a team so that we are both on the same page. I would encourage all partnerships to make decisions together so you are always in "the loop" with students, staff, and parents.

4) "While more time-consuming, grading all students together as co-teachers is the most fair and consistent way to grade." This is something we are starting to do more and more together, especially in writing. Although it might seem to take longer, it is more valid to have two sets of eyes grade an assignment. This also applies to report cards.

I would totally recommend any teacher to at least try to collaboratively teach. Although there can be some downsides (as also described in the article), I believe that the "perfect match" can make for some very powerful teaching!

Reading Assessment Tips: Measuring Accuracy and Fluency

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While reading this article, I couldn't help but think about the comprehension piece of reading. Although determining accuracy, self-correcting, and fluency are all important skills, I also think that comprehension is equally (or more) critical. My belief comes from experience. I have met many students who can read every word in the dictionary with perfect inflection, yet struggle to make inferences. On the other hand, I know students who I have painfully listened to read aloud, yet can tell me every detail (especially ELL students). So here is the dilemma: are you holding back a student if they cannot read fluently, yet can comprehend?


It isn't until the last paragraph that the author brings up the comprehension piece. She states: "It has been my experience that a student reading a text accurately and fluently either understands the text or is reading at a good level for instruction in how to comprehend the text." So, although this doesn't really answer my question, it does reiterate that a student's accuracy and fluency is important while determining their independent and instructional reading level.

How to Create Social Media Guidelines for Your School

This article caught my eye because in the past I have thought about the possibilities of creating a Facebook or Twitter page for my classroom. I knew that many of my students and parents were on these websites, therefore I thought it could be a good idea. Upon thinking about the "can of worms" a classroom website could open (especially for elementary students who I don't think should even have these pages), I decided it probably wouldn't be the best idea and instead have created a Weebly website.

This article brought a few things to my attention that I didn't know about creating social networking sites in classroom. For example, I didn't know you should contact your school attorney to make sure guidelines are being followed. This article also brought up a few key points after creating a social media website for a school/classroom: constant revision and review as well as creating a team for implementation.

Although I no longer plan on using a social media website for my classroom, I was intrigued by the information in this article. I also wonder if anyone does have a Facebook or Twitter page for their classroom and how well it works?

How Project-Based Learning Builds 21st-Century Skills

"Once teachers make the shift to PBL, then students get to spend more of their time developing the skills they will need for the future.” (Boss, 2012)

I am very intrigued with Project Based Learning, which is why I was drawn to this article. I have experimented a little bit with PBL through the implementation of STEM in my classroom; however PBL is so much more. The article points out how PBL prepares our students for the future, which I believe it very important. In the workforce, our students will need to know how to solve problems that don’t necessarily have an answer. PBL forces students to think critically about a situation or problem and solve it in their own way. In addition, students may have to present their projects, thus fostering public speaking skills. In my STEM projects, students also must work effectively in a team – another important life skill. This article has inspired me to keep learning about and exploring project based learning in my classroom to promote the skills my students will need in their future.

Math Instruction Soars in the 1:1 Classroom

The article "Math Instruction Soars in the 1:1 Classroom" made me envious of classrooms which every child has access to a piece of technology. Using technology to teach math would be very beneficial. This article discusses two advantages of 1:1 technology and math instruction.


First, computers can be used to quickly correct math problems and instantly give feedback to students. I find this important because students will know right away if they are using an algorithm the correct way. When answering questions from a book, students might be making the same mistake over and over again without knowing until I am able to check their work.


Secondly, computer games and simulations enhance instruction as well. When I allow my students to play online games in our computer lab, they love it! Not only are they practicing targeted skills, but they receive immediate feedback and are motivated to get to the next level.


One thing that I think would also be beneficial for math instruction in a 1:1 classroom is the opportunity to have interactive manipulatives. Many students need to use and move around manipulatives to understand math concepts. Using interactive manipulatives would help foster the needs of these students. And, imagine, if every student had their own computer which had games, manips, and practice problems that are "just right" for them --- my dream! :)

Differentiated Instruction

What Works for Differentiating Instruction in Elementary Schools

Differentiated instruction is important for any teacher, but in my class it is critical since I have a mix of third and fourth grade students. In fact, differentiation is a huge aspect of my multiage teaching philosophy. This article put differentiation into retrospect as it lays of what to do now, in the next five weeks, next five months, and even next five years. I like how this article also touches of ways technology can help enhance differentiated instruction. For example, I never thought about using Twitter to connect to other teachers and share ideas or to make a using Google Earth. The link to Edutopia's "Differentiated Instruction" discussion board opened up a whole of "can of worms" with real teachers ideas and questions. The last bullet point that stood out to me from this article was "Use Workshop Activities." In my classroom, we do Readers', Writers', and Math Workshop - all which are centered around tiered level of instruction to accommodate the varying students' needs. I believe this article is a great resource for any teacher to get tips about how to start and continue differentiating instruction in an elementary classroom.