Part of high school (or some more competitive middle school programs) is learning how to read. By this, we don’t mean learning how to sound out words and whatnot, the essentials of phonics. Instead, we mean learning how to read with an eye toward comprehension. We have written extensively in previous posts about annotating a …
Most students despise textbook reading assignments, and it’s not hard to see why. Textbooks are built to be boring. The density of the book alone is enough to frighten away even the most enthusiastic students. Textbooks, generally speaking, are poorly organized, written for maximal boredom, and render more confusion than clarity. So, why should students …
Breaks get a bad wrap. Whether it’s the never quit mentality instilled in our kids through sports or the workaholic tendencies of many seemingly admirable pop culture figures, many kids view breaks with disdain. Still, it’s worth mentioning that many students abuse breaks, as well. They see breaks as an oasis from the seemingly endless …
Summer reading seemed like such an easy feat several months ago, as finals week turned into summer break. Read a book and write an essay, that’s simple, right? After all, students had just completed nine months of reading and writing. If it’s so easy, why start now? So, that summer reading book fresh from Amazon …
Too often smart students don’t have the results to match their potential. The most frustrating students are often the most capable ones. Recognizing and helping these students is our mission at Staying Ahead of the Game. Do any of these quotes sound familiar? 1) “I don’t need to write it down. I’ll remember.” Smart students …
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Wouldn’t it be amazing if every student had the creative brilliance of Pablo Picasso, Walt Disney, or Marie Curie? Imagine a classroom full of creative, engaged students, eager to learn and share ideas. How do we make this creative paradise a reality? First, we need to dispel some myths about creativity, starting with perhaps the …
Teachers have been imploring students to ask questions for as long as I can remember. In fact, most classes, from preschool to high school, reserve a portion of the grade book for participation. Participation means answering questions, sure, but many teachers reward students with more participation points for insightful questions. As we teach students as …
Although the classroom COVID-19 policies are lessening, the long-term effects are just now coming to the surface. Along with rampant learning loss, the world of college admissions has been turned on its head. Changes in standardized test requirements, COVID-19 driven transcript omissions, and modified interview formats have made college admissions even more perplexing than the …
Coined by Angela Duckworth in her excellent book Grit, the term has become synonymous with a growth mindset, persistence, and a strong work ethic. In short, grit is the shared trait of the successful, the one key element that allows anyone to find their path and crush it. In the sections below, we outline the …
A learning mindset is a powerful weapon in a student’s arsenal. When the inevitable failures and setbacks arise, students can reframe them as positive learning opportunities. In the sections below, we explain what a learning mindset is, why most students lose it somewhere in elementary school, and how to develop it again to help students …
