In twenty-one years of teaching, I have experienced mostly Gifted and Accelerated students. I had to cover a lot of academic ground, so I learned to condense the content to provide a deep understanding. This efficiency and effectiveness in my results trained me for my newest assignment —Third Grade Reading – non-accelerated, ELL, ESOL and ESE.
My newest students needed deep understanding with repeated exposure and practice to build connections for their learning. While I love a challenge, I didn’t know how I would develop strong success skills but would certainly roll up my sleeves and try.
The issues I was repeatedly facing, besides low-scoring performance, were limited vocabulary, lack of background knowledge, weak comprehension, and low motivation for effortful learning. I began by dividing my room in half with bookshelves in the middle to model the working of a brain model. I started to explain the brain, synapses, neural connections, circuitry, and how my students would take charge of and lead their brains into habits of learning that get results.
Here are a few of the leadership principles for learning that I reinforced in the elementary classroom:
1. Approach your day with purpose.
Students start by reviewing the calendar and identifying key learning outcomes for the day. We make adjustments based on recent assignments, ensuring that priorities stay clear.
2. Set priorities and define your goals.
Each day, we establish our mission by identifying the most important task and putting it first. We record our focus based on student needs and agree on a plan before starting. This reinforces the importance of making daily progress. I actively monitor and provide feedback until students are able to self-assess. They learn that responsibility is shared—not just “I need” or “you need,” but “we need” as a team.
3. Commit to doing your best.
Students are taught to give their best effort no matter what—searching for answers and, above all, gaining clarity on each skill, word, concept, or question asked. I explain that a leader in the room is someone who seeks out the facts, investigates the background of a topic, and digs deeper into understanding.
In our classroom, we often explore the “behind-the-scenes” details of what we read. For example, when working with first-hand accounts, we draw a small pair of eyeballs above the question as a reminder that the person witnessed the event with their own two eyes. We then write “I saw” nearby as a strategy cue. Some students choose to jot down “Look for the person who saw it happen in real life,” while others simplify it to “Saw it happen.”
To reinforce this process, we engage in active participation. Students mark their answers and then vote using their hands—one finger for choice A, two for choice B, and so on. We discuss our reasoning, revisiting the question when needed. This cycle continues with scaffolding, small groups, and direct instruction until students reach independence in answering questions.
Correct answers on the first attempt, minus incorrect ones, earn students incentive points. More than anything, this method is helping students break the habit of rushing through questions without checking their work.
4. Acknowledge challenges and communicate openly.
Students must recognize and communicate the challenges they face because communication is the key to overcoming obstacles. I often ask them, “Here’s what I need from you. Do you want that too? If yes, what’s standing in your way? What do you want me to know? I don’t know everything about your experience, but I’d like to.” If a student answers no, we discuss why.
I try to help them shift their perspective and reconnect with their daily purpose. When we work together, we support each other’s goals. I emphasize the “give and get” principle—when I follow through for them, they learn to follow through for me. Trust is built through consistency.
5. Perseverance pays off.
Students learn that nature reflects the process of growth—whether in the patterns of a sunflower, the spiral of a conch shell, or the spacing of planets. Even the proportions of our faces and hands follow mathematical patterns, showing that progress follows a rhythm. Cycles in nature reveal periods of rest in their growth. Your “learning muscle” is still working and will come through with evidence of growth if you keep at it.
This idea goes a little deeper. I introduce the idea of a golden ratio in nature to show how learning builds over time. The depth of understanding supports future growth, but before that happens, there is often a period of rest—a plateau. I tell my students, don’t give up just because you don’t see immediate progress. Plateaus are part of learning, not signs of failure. A seed has to germinate before it shows itself as a seedling. Remind your students of this. It will encourage them to keep at it and persevere through the struggle for improvement.
I may only have the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding this principle myself. It’s something I discovered over time, not something I was explicitly taught in a book or course. But I have seen its truth again and again. I remind my students that just as everything in nature persists, they must keep going. Even when they can’t see growth happening, something is developing beneath the surface. Eventually, the results will come.
6. Make connections in learning.
Engaging the hand-to-brain connection is a powerful tool for learning. Your hands need to write down ideas—writing is directly connected to the brain. The motion of writing leaves a trace, like a blackboard in your mind that you can see when you close your eyes.
I encourage students to strengthen this connection by writing things down, not just reading them. When you use your hands to engage with words, you create a stronger mental imprint. Sometimes, I have students write words on the palm of their hand with their finger to help them visualize it more clearly.
I emphasize a process: Read it. Question it. Speak it. Write it. When students do this, they recall much more than they did before. I also remind them why they take anecdotal records or jot down key words on scratch paper during testing—it’s not just a good habit, it’s a strategy that works.
7. Celebrate your wins.
We all want great outcomes to celebrate. I encourage students to recognize their successes—not just in big achievements, but in the small steps that lead there.
We celebrate more time on task, getting started right away, staying focused, and finding more efficient ways to complete assignments. When students free up extra minutes for independent reading and self-practice, that’s a win too.
I record my students’ needs and acknowledge their areas of growth. We track progress through standards achievement and online comprehension monitoring, reinforcing that every step forward matters.
8. Mistakes are part of the process.
Learning happens before, during, and after an assignment. Accept all learning! Never be ashamed of a mistake—it’s proof that learning is in motion.
Each of these leadership principles could be an article on its own, but these eight key skills are the foundation of my reading instruction across three sections. I explain the brain’s role in learning and how students must take charge of their own minds, guiding them toward their goals. I remind them that they play an active role in achieving excellence in their education. Just like a book—and just like the brain—both sides must work together to create full understanding.
About the Author
Janie Bouchard Pizzarello, Sp. Ed, M.A.E. is a teacher at Fairlawn Elementary in Fort Pierce, Florida. She currently works as a third-grade reading instructor with forty-seven students serving Regular Ed., ESE, and ELL students. Janie graduated with her Master’s degree in Elementary Education with certification in Reading from the University of Florida. She also graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a Specialist degree in Educational Leadership. She is currently an applicant in the AP pool in St. Lucie County Schools. She is certified by the state of Florida in Elementary, Leadership, Reading, Gifted and ESOL. She has been recognized both as Teacher of the Year and Beginning Teacher of the Year. She has over twenty-one years of experience in the classroom and has served as an instructional coach. She has taught grade levels first through fifth grade. She enjoys sporting events with her family, time in the sunshine, reading and learning, and knowing the background of people’s stories who have had achievement and personal success.
