Author Archive

Writing for Busy Readers: Communicate More Effectively in the Real World by Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink spells out the six principles you can follow to increase the probability that people will read, understand, and respond to what you write. Be sure to add it to your professional development library.

Introduction

• This book sets out the six fundamental principles of effective writing. It should have a well-defined purpose, help the writer and the reader, not be beautiful writing, have a rigorous science underlying its rules, and have a real context. Busy people tend to skim, postpone, or ignore complex messages. The average professional spends nearly one-third of their time reading and responding to email. If messages are ineffective they impose a tax on the readers’ time. Voters, for example are likely to skip ballot questions that use complex language.
• Much of what we learned in school is irrelevant or counterproductive in the real-world. The principles in this book are derived from the sciences of cognitive psychology, social psychology, behavioral economics, neuroscience, marketing, and time management. The authors draw on randomized studies and have worked hard to make this book easy to navigate. (Doug: I think they have.)

Part I: Engaging the Reader – 1. Get Inside Your Reader’s Head

• Our brains have a limited ability to attend to and focus on multiple things, which also limits our ability to act. Unfortunately, we all tend to multitask, which is really task switching. When we switch from one task to another we are less efficient at both tasks and are more likely to commit errors. Even if we focus on a single task, we tire over time. Our writing, therefore, has to respect this landscape of stress and distraction.

2. Think Like a Busy REader

• Readers first have to decide to engage. This usually depends on the envelop, which is the subject line for an email or the importance of the sender. They also need to decide when to engage. Most readers tackle things first that appear to be easier. They need to decide how much time to engage where the decision to skim or scan comes in. Scanning involves reading things like headings and the first sentences of paragraphs. Finally, they have to decide whether to respond. To increase the probability the request has to be clear so the reader knows the task and how to do it. Make it as easy as possible. Above all, know your goals.

3. Know Your Goals

• Effective writing is about transferring key information from writer to reader. What is the most important information you want your reader to know? You cannot achieve your goals as a writer if you are unclear on what those goals are.

Share this:

The Power of Student Ownership: Why Letting Students Lead School Projects Sparks Growth by Emily Graham
When students take charge of their learning through real projects, something profound happens: engagement skyrockets. Whether they’re planning a community event, creating media content, or designing a campaign, giving students ownership turns school into a launchpad for real-world skills.

Summary

When students lead school-wide initiatives—like art showcases, environmental campaigns, or digital storytelling—they build confidence, collaboration skills, and a deep sense of pride. This ownership transforms passive learning into active leadership.

Impact of Student Ownership

The importance of public speaking in schools
7 Reasons Volunteering Is Good for Children

Why Ownership Works: The Core Drivers

Agency: Students make decisions that matter.

Relevance: Real tasks connect learning to their lives.

Visibility: Seeing results builds pride and accountability.

Mentorship: Adults become guides, not gatekeepers.


Creating a Student-Led Project Ecosystem

1. Define a shared purpose.
Frame each project around a school-wide theme—sustainability, creativity, inclusion.
2. Assign leadership roles.
Encourage rotating positions: project manager, creative director, outreach lead, etc.
3. Set checkpoints, not micromanagement.
Teachers should mentor through reflection, not control.
4. Celebrate outcomes publicly.
Use showcases, assemblies, or digital portfolios to make student work visible.
5. Reflect, iterate, and repeat.
Ask students what worked, what didn’t, and what they’d change next time.

Common Questions About Student-Led Projects

Q: What if some students are shy or unsure?
A: Pair them with confident peers in team-based roles; confidence grows through contribution.
Q: How can teachers balance guidance and independence?
A: Provide frameworks, not step-by-step instructions—like checklists and reflection templates.
Q: How do we measure success?
A: Focus on growth indicators—communication improvement, collaboration, and resilience—not just grades.

Yearbook Projects as a Platform for Student Growth

When students take charge of yearbook design, they practice collaboration, storytelling, and real production management. By working together to choose layouts, images, and stories, they build confidence in decision-making and communication. Using platforms that enable full customization and team collaboration helps them translate creative vision into reality. To support this, teachers can encourage students to explore personalized yearbook options that let them co-design their legacy in meaningful, modern ways.

Ready to Launch a Student-Led Initiative?

Defined the “why” behind the project

Established clear student roles

Set reflection milestones

Provided creative autonomy

Documented the journey for others to learn from


Product Highlight: Padlet

When students lead school-wide initiatives, they need a simple, visual space to plan and share progress. Padlet gives teams a flexible digital wall for brainstorming, tracking milestones, and celebrating wins. Whether students are organizing an event, coordinating yearbook themes, or gathering creative ideas, Padlet helps them stay aligned — visually and collaboratively.

Conclusion

Student-led projects aren’t just about learning outcomes—they’re about transformation. When schools trust students to lead, they don’t just complete assignments; they become collaborators, storytellers, and leaders ready for whatever comes next.

Emily Graham

Emily is the creator of MightyMoms.net. She believes being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around and wanted to create a support system for moms from all walks of life. On her site, she offers a wide range of info tailored for busy moms — from how to reduce stress to creative ways to spend time together as a family. You can email her at emilygraham@mightymoms.net. She lives in Arizona.

Share this:

Personality Poker: The Fast, Fun Way to Unload Innovation, Collaboration, and Predictable Growth by Stephen M. Shapiro 4th Ed offers a fun game that any organization can use to help everyone determine their dominant and secondary personality types. It makes it easier to put people in positions that best suit their personality strengths, better drive the innovation process, and help connect people with complimentary personalities. Once you know your hand, you can compliment it when you hire new staff. To date, the game has been played by over 250,000 people and scientifically validated.

Introduction

• Personality Poker is a fast-paced game that helps you discover and understand your unique contributions to your team’s success, whether in driving innovation, strengthening collaboration, shaping culture, or achieving shared goals. Once everyone knows their strengths, the goal is to place the right person in the right position. Creativity is about generating new ideas. Innovation is about shifting culture to implement valuable new ideas.
• Stephen divides people by suits. The Spades dig and organize data. Diamonds are the idea people. Clubs plan and execute. Heats engage the hearts and minds of team members. Stephen has used this system with success with organizations of all sizes since he invented it in 1999.

Part I: Are You Gambling Your Company’s Future? 1. Pregame Warm-up

• Personality Poker can be used as a powerful conflict resolution tool. It focuses on what people like as opposed to what people are like. People often game personality tests by picking what they think is the “right” answer. People in a good mood solve more problems through flashes of insight and creativity. How others see you is an indicator of your behavior. Some personality traits such as inquisitiveness, are difficult to observe. First impressions can be “sticky.” Work roles often prescribe a particular behavior.

Part II: Playing Personality Poker 2. Before Getting Started

• It’s important to know the difference between your preferred style and your adapted style. Your adapted style is a learned behavior that you develop on the job due to the role you are put in. You can tell it’s an adapted style as it tends to sap you of energy whereas using your preferred style is more likely to energize you at work. If you are different at home, you are probably using an adapted style at work.

3. How to Play

• You first need a deck of the special cards that have style descriptive words on each regular playing card. The solitaire version involves going through the deck and placing cards in piles that are most like you, least like you, and others. The goal is to get nine cards in the like you and not like you piles. When you have that you should know which style you are most like, which style(s) are somewhat adjacent, and which are your opposite.
• You can also do a five pile version, which adds like me but I infrequently use it and like me but an adapted skill piles. In a five-card draw version each player gets five cards and players trade cards until they get a hand with cards most like them. There is also a 52 card pick up version.

4. Finding and Understanding Your Style

• The black cards are more rational and are more liked by people who rely on expertise and knowledge. The red cards are more relational in nature. These people like to connect ideas, experiences, and people. If your five cards don’t tell you what your primary style is feel free to get more cards. You are more likely to have two or three suits than only one or all four. Like the author, my primary style is diamonds and my secondary style is spades. The suit or suits you are missing are the styles you need to rely on from colleagues.

Share this:

How to Keep Your Kid’s Brain Moving Over Breaks by Emily Graham offers great advice to anyone who has to supervise a student during a school break, which can be as long as a summer break or as short as a weekend. Please share with parents you know.

Introduction

School breaks can be a time of drift or quiet acceleration. Kids need rest — but long
stretches without structure can dull progress, especially in core subjects like reading, math,
or even language learning. Parents don’t need to become teachers to stop the slide — just
good facilitators. With the right rhythms and low-pressure options, you can keep your child
curious and engaged without burning them out or turning summer into school 2.0.

Start With Why Learning Slows Down

Extended time away from school makes it harder for students to maintain academic
footing. Reading comprehension slips. Math skills fade. Kids lose the mental routines that
help them focus and retain information. That’s not because they’re lazy or disengaged,
it’s just how cognitive systems work. If you want to prevent summer learning loss, you need friction — just enough engagement to keep the learning circuits active. A small,
regular push is far more effective than occasional sprints.

Your Role Is to Prime, Not Push

You’re not trying to replicate a classroom. You’re trying to make space for questions,
conversation, and effort. When you read aloud with your child, pause. Ask what they think
will happen next. Try to engage them in learning through small, consistent co-learning
moments. The goal isn’t mastery — it’s momentum. Your presence, your tone, and your
interest shape whether your child sees learning as something to tolerate or something
worth showing up for.

Supplement With Human-Led Online Support

Not every subject clicks in the same way. And not every parent can support every subject
equally — that’s normal. One of the most practical ways to supplement is through online
tutoring. It offers structure without rigidity, and many platforms allow you to adjust timing
based on your child’s schedule. If your child needs extra help with Spanish, for example,
you might try online Spanish tutors that are personalized, flexible, and motivating. Some let
you switch instructors, book trial lessons, and match based on your goals — a supportive,
immersive, and best value for money approach that feels both engaging and effective.

Keep Learning Cadence With Short Practice Windows

One of the simplest shifts you can make is in how you pace repetition. Instead of long,
dense study sessions, spread things out. Short practice blocks — 10–20 minutes a few
times a week — help the brain store and stabilize new knowledge. The key is rhythm, not
rigor. Using a family toolkit that supports retention across math, reading, and writing can
help structure this without having to build your own plan. Let the tools do the heavy lifting
while you focus on showing up.

Include Movement to Reset the Brain

Cognitive overload happens fast — especially for younger kids. But movement resets
attention. That’s not anecdotal; it’s biologically grounded. Stretching, light cardio, even a
dance break has been shown to support focus and mental clarity. If your child is flagging
mid-session, pause. You’ll get more learning value after a reset. In fact, active breaks boost
attention better than silent sitting or passive distractions. It’s counterintuitive, but stepping
away can make recall stronger.

Follow Their Interests — Especially in Reading

The best summer learning doesn’t feel like learning. It feels like following a question. If
your child loves sports, get them books about athletes. If they like animals, find stories set
in the wild. When reading is centered on choice and interest, motivation spikes. You’re not
trying to enforce a reading log. You’re trying to spark summer reading engagement by
showing them that books are a gateway, not a checklist. Even reluctant readers often
respond well when they’re given options.

Let Loose Structure Do the Heavy Lifting

Some parents go into break mode thinking, “We’ll just play it by ear.” Others build color-
coded schedules that collapse by week two. The sweet spot is somewhere in between:
simple routines that kids can anticipate without strict timelines. Morning reading? Check.
Screen-free hour in the afternoon? Done. That kind of balance between freedom and
structure helps children hold onto school-year habits without making it feel like
punishment. You’re maintaining momentum — not applying pressure.

You don’t need a master curriculum. You need a few strong rhythms. Parents who build in
light structure, leave room for curiosity, and add small supports — whether it’s a reading
session or a quick language lesson — are the ones who see their kids return sharper, not
slumped. The secret isn’t piling on more work. It’s timing, tone, and matching how kids
learn when the pressure’s off. So as the break rolls on, worry less about doing “enough” —
and more about doing “just right.”

FAQ: Supporting Learning During School Breaks

Q: How much learning time is ideal during a break?
A: For younger students, even 15–30 minutes a few times a week can help. It’s the
regularity, not the volume, that matters most.
Q: What subjects should I focus on?
A: Reading and basic math are the most vulnerable to skill fade. But subjects like language,
art, and science can add fun and variety.
Q: How do I keep my child motivated?
A: Follow their interests. Let them pick the topic, book, or project. Offer small wins and
praise effort, not just results.
Q: What if I’m not confident helping with certain subjects?
A: Consider online tutoring for support. Many platforms offer flexible, subject-specific help
that complements your child’s pace.
Q: Will this really make a difference in the long term?
A: Yes. Children who stay engaged even lightly during breaks often return to school more
confident and ready to learn.
Q: Is school break a good time to start language learning?
A: Yes — it’s an ideal time. Without the pressure of grades or homework, kids can explore a
new language in a more relaxed, engaging way. Even short, consistent sessions can build
real momentum and boost confidence heading into the next school year.

Unlock a world of knowledge and innovation with Dr Doug Green’s insights on education,
productivity, and personal growth—visit today to start your journey towards a smarter
future!

Emily Graham
Emily is the creator of MightyMoms.net. She believes being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around and wanted to create a support system for moms from all walks of life. On her site, she offers a wide range of info tailored for busy moms — from how to reduce stress to creative ways to spend time together as a family. You can email her at emilygraham@mightymoms.net. She lives in Arizona.

Share this: