March is the zenith of the school year. A great deal of good work can get done in March. Students, in whatever grade level, tend to be quite confident and self-assured about what they know and what they can do academically at this time of year. Students also tend to be less distracted during this month and have better ability to stay focused on their assignments (unless their school schedule includes a spring vacation!).
March is a month for digging out of winter in the North, of springtime emerging in the South. In classrooms, it is a time of sorting out what’s most important to still be accomplished in the curriculum during the final three chapters of the year, and a time of taking stock of what has been learned in the first seven. Parent conferences in March can be rich and satisfying and clarifying. Involving students in March conferences allows everyone to celebrate all the growth since August. Plus, those March conferences let students see themselves as “rising” to the next grade level, with the encouragement of their teacher and parents to keep up the good work during the three months of school still ahead.
The return to daylight savings time in March creates a bump in the learning road for students whose circadian rhythms are thrown off, sleep patterns disrupted, and concentration impacted. When state standardized tests unfortunately coincide with this week, it’s important for school and home to work together to acknowledge this very real physiological challenge for children by slowly adjusting new bedtimes, allowing for extra sleep and extra time getting ready for school in the morning.
Classrooms can look a little ragged around the edges by March, so it’s a good time for teachers and students to do some spring cleaning. They can take down old posters, maybe rearrange the room to adjust to the shifts in developmental patterns that may be occurring, and help make the classroom a “rising” environment to match the growth in student ability and responsibility. All this cleaning up and looking forward can make the months in the classroom that lie ahead seem like a new beginning, rather than an old routine.
March is a month for digging out of winter in the North, of springtime emerging in the South. In classrooms, it is a time of sorting out what’s most important to still be accomplished in the curriculum during the final three chapters of the year, and a time of taking stock of what has been learned in the first seven. Parent conferences in March can be rich and satisfying and clarifying. Involving students in March conferences allows everyone to celebrate all the growth since August. Plus, those March conferences let students see themselves as “rising” to the next grade level, with the encouragement of their teacher and parents to keep up the good work during the three months of school still ahead.
The return to daylight savings time in March creates a bump in the learning road for students whose circadian rhythms are thrown off, sleep patterns disrupted, and concentration impacted. When state standardized tests unfortunately coincide with this week, it’s important for school and home to work together to acknowledge this very real physiological challenge for children by slowly adjusting new bedtimes, allowing for extra sleep and extra time getting ready for school in the morning.
Classrooms can look a little ragged around the edges by March, so it’s a good time for teachers and students to do some spring cleaning. They can take down old posters, maybe rearrange the room to adjust to the shifts in developmental patterns that may be occurring, and help make the classroom a “rising” environment to match the growth in student ability and responsibility. All this cleaning up and looking forward can make the months in the classroom that lie ahead seem like a new beginning, rather than an old routine.
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