No More Teachers, No More Books? Oh, No!

Hey, Middle Schoolers! Would you rather lie on a hammock with a book you love or go to summer school? If you said "summer school," Mizz C. knows you thought today was April Fools' Day. Who wouldn't choose lying in the nice cool grass, on the beach, or in a hammock and reading a book you love?

Go for it! Here's why. An incredible report came out in 2011 showing that students who read twelve--12, 12, 12--books over three summers scored as well as students who went to summer school.


Here's the best part. The twelve books weren't assigned books or books that parents or teachers picked out for the kids. They were titles the kids picked themselves--everything from books on celebrities, gossip, to gerbils and a wizard pupil by the name of Harry. Nobody had to write reports or get tested on the books they picked. They just read twelve books that interested them.


Why is Mizz C. not surprised? Every time you read a new book, you pick up new vocab words, new ideas, new kinds of information, and new ways different authors present information. Those are the very reading skills that get a workout on standardized tests.  


To find the best summer books just right for you, grab your library card. Ask a friendly librarian for book suggestions based on subjects and books you already like. 


Or go to amazon.com. Type in the title of a book you really, really enjoyed. The brainiacs at Amazon will list titles of similar books you'll also like. Read the real-kid reviews for the books Amazon suggests. Then track down some of those books wherever you can find them. 


So get with your very own reading program, whether it's Dancing with the Starlings, The Real House Flies of Beverly Hills, or The Snack Games. 

Happy summer, Middle Graders! See you in the fall. 


XO 
Mizz C. 

Go to Your Room! Never Mind.

Pop quiz, Middle Schoolers. Is it better to do all your studying in a special study space:

Or mix it up?

Mix it up is the A+ answer! Some people--that would include Mizz C--used to think that disappearing into a tomb-like study space was the best way to memorize and prepare for tests. 


Not so according to this New York Times article which says:

. . . many study skills courses insist that students find a specific place, a study room or a quiet corner of the library, to take their work. The research finds just the opposite. In one classic 1978 experiment, psychologists found that college students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms — one windowless and cluttered, the other modern, with a view on a courtyard — did far better on a test than students who studied the words twice, in the same room.

It turns out that when students need to memorize information—spelling or vocabulary words, math, science terms, and the number of body sections ants have—they do better changing up scenery.

Got a test? Go to your room! Or the kitchen counter. Or the backyard.

Please excuse Mizz C. She's bringing her laptop to a park bench.