Summer is an excellent time to learn new skills and sharpen old ones.

Courses in common core standards~ classroom management~ and differentiated instruction all have their value. However~ Id like to offer a slightly different suggestion for summertime training. Think of it as an opportunity to develop a new skill or gain a new experience~ one that might be a little out of the box but could add great value to your classroom.

What do I mean?

What if you took an acting...

Lets face it many of us feel exhausted by this time of the school year.
Others have mentally checked out.
Your students, in similar fashion, are dreaming of sandy beaches, lemonade, sleeping in late, and playing video games until their fingers hurt.
I call it the Summer Fever, and like germs, its highly contagious. With standardized testing complete, many students begin to feel like the school year is over. The problem is, its not. We are left with the demands of teaching,...

How do you finish up the school year?
So many things to do on the check off list. In addition to lots of administrative requirements~ here are some things I also do before I close the door with a "Yippee...it's summer!" and leave the building.
1. Before the students leave~ I have them write a Dear Incoming 6th grade letter. I tell the students to list a couple of tips that they'd like to give the incoming students about my social studies class and how to be...

I want to share an idea I had for my gifted students~ but I believe would enhance the summer education of any childand make parents appreciative as well.

After receiving questions about what their gifted child could do over the summer~ I proposed the idea of having my students continue their independent research or create new research projects to work on during the summertime. I then provide parents with a project outline that helps both the parent and child navigate the process....