My Year of Teaching Loopily

looping

This blog was posted on the Powerful Learning Practice, Voices From the Learning Revolution Blog. My huge thanks to John Norton for editing my ramblings and making them sound organized and coherent!

The last day of school was very different for me this year. Instead of saying, “Goodbye,” I yelled a cheery, “See you in August!” For the first time, I will be looping with my students and following them into 4th grade.

At first, the thought of spending my summer working through an entirely new curriculum did not appeal to me. I am already teaching two weeks of summer camp and taking two classes toward my master’s degree. I’ll need to change bulletin board ideas, crafts, the books I read aloud and book report projects and come up with some fresh Web 2.0 experiences. So much work!

My boss felt strongly about it, so I did some research on looping and began to see the numerous benefits. It’s not a new practice, and I started to wonder: Why haven’t we done this before?

At the beginning of each year, I spend a great deal of time getting to know my students, discussing classroom rules, and establishing expectations. They are nervous, quiet, and there’s a lag before their wonderful personalities begin to emerge. In addition, I spend the first few weeks working to determine reading levels, learning styles, strengths and weaknesses. I believe we’ll have a much easier start this fall and leap right into the heart of learning.

I spoke to the parents at our final conference in May. They were ecstatic! They are comfortable with my teaching style and expectations. They look forward to a smooth start with no anxiety on the part of their students or themselves about getting used to a completely new learning environment.

Here are the big benefits to looping:

• Those children who need stability will start the year stronger.
• Shy students who finally came out of their shell in March will be more confident.
• I know exactly who they are, what they learned last year, where their strengths and weaknesses lie.
• I can immediately work to individualize the curriculum for my students!

To keep in touch over the summer, my students’ summer reading assignment is simply to write to me and tell me about what they have read. They can mail a letter or email me, letting me know what they thought of each book. I’ve also encouraged them to email photos of vacations or other summer activities. I’m truly excited to maintain these relationships and get right to our most important work when we return to school.

I’m anticipating a great year of learning in my classroom. Although testing is not my primary focus, I think the time we’ll gain and the ability to tailor instruction will yield stronger scores. More to come on that.

Please let me know in the comments if you have looped with a class. Pros and cons? Should this be a regular practice for elementary or middle school students where consistency and stability are paramount? What do I need to know that I might not have yet anticipated?

2 thoughts on “My Year of Teaching Loopily

  1. I looped with my class twice and found it to be a very rewarding experience. I grew to know those kids more than any other that I’ve known throughout my career. I still retain a special bond with those students. There were many pros, including that I was able to begin teaching from the moment they walked in the door. We didn’t have to spend time learning rules and procedures–we just reviewed them. We were also able to grow at a faster rate because I didn’t have to spend as much time throughout the year assessing their learning levels. One of the few cons included that the students became so familiar with each other by the end of the second year that talking was a major problem. Obviously, this was a minor problem as I did it again. I would have continued looping, but the teacher I was teaming with (she was teaching language arts and I was teaching math in our loop) left the school and the principal placed me into the upper grade. I was lucky to keep my older students, but I was saddened to have this experience end. I think that you will really enjoy your looping experience and I will be glad to have you as a fellow 4th grade teacher.

  2. Michelle – Thanks for your comments! This was already a pretty chatty group by the end of the year, so I’m a bit worried that they’ll walk in and pick up where they left off! None of that lovely “honeymoon period” where they get used to me… They’ll be comfortable from day 1! Guess I’ll have to set those expectations early. 🙂 There will be 3 new students added to my group, so I’ll also have to take special care to remember that they don’t know me, and won’t feel as comfortable… I’m really looking forward to the experience though!

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