What could be more frustrating for teachers than teaching an important lesson and then having students unable to recall the content just 24 hours later? In this new edition of Marcia Tate's best-selling "Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites", her 20 field-tested, brain-compatible instructional strategies that maximize memory and minimize forgetting are supported by new classroom applications and research throughout. Each short chapter is devoted to one of the strategies and includes: the brain research and learning style theory undergirding the strategy, sample classroom activities utilizing the strategy, and reflection/action planning steps. As Tate's many workshop participants worldwide can attest, using these strategies will not only help students retain content and increase motivation but will also improve the classroom environment.

Table of Contents

Introduction Acknowledgments About the Author Strategy 1: Brainstorming and Discussion Strategy 2: Drawing and Artwork Strategy 3: Field Trips Strategy 4: Games Strategy 5: Graphic Organizers, Semantic Maps, and Word Webs Strategy 6: Humor Strategy 7: Manipulatives, Experiments, Labs, and Models Strategy 8: Metaphors, Analogies, and Similes Strategy 9: Mnemonic Devices Strategy 10: Movement Strategy 11: Music, Rhythm, Rhyme, and Rap Strategy 12: Project-Based and Problem-Based Instruction Strategy 13: Reciprocal Teaching and Cooperative Learning Strategy 14: Role Plays, Drama, Pantomimes, and Charades Strategy 15: Storytelling Strategy 16: Technology Strategy 17: Visualization and Guided Imagery Strategy 18: Visuals Strategy 19: Work Study and Apprenticeships Strategy 20: Writing and Journals Resource: Brain-Compatible Lesson Design Bibliography Index

Author Biography

Marcia L. Tate, EdD, is the former executive director of professional development for the DeKalb County School System, Decatur, Georgia and has been presenting to adult audiences for more than 25 years. During her 30-year career with the school district, she has been a classroom teacher, reading specialist, language arts coordinator, and staff development executive director. She received the Distinguished Staff Development Award for the State of Georgia, and her department was chosen to receive the Exemplary Program Award for the state. Marcia is currently an educational consultant and has taught more than 400,000 administrators, teachers, parents, and business and community leaders throughout the world. She is the author of the following seven bestsellers: Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies that Engage the Brain; "Sit & Get" Won't Grow Dendrites: 20 Professional Learning Strategies That Engage the Adult Brain; Reading and Language Arts Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: 20 Literacy Strategies that Engage the Brain; Shouting Won't Grow Dendrites: 20 Techniques to Detour Around the Danger Zones; Mathematics Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: 20 Numeracy Strategies That Engage the Brain; Preparing Children for Success in School and in Life: 20 Ways to Increase Your Child's Brain Power; and Science Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies That Engage the Brain; as well as Social Studies Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies That Engage the Brain. Participants in her workshops refer to them as "some of the best ones they have ever experienced" since Marcia uses the 20 strategies outlined in her books to actively engage her audiences. Marcia received her bachelor's degree in psychology and elementary education from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her master's degree in remedial reading from the University of Michigan, her specialist degree in educational leadership from Georgia State University, and her doctorate in educational leadership from Clark Atlanta University. Spelman College awarded her the Apple Award for excellence in the field of education. Marcia is married to Tyrone Tate and is the proud mother of three children, Jennifer, Jessica, and Christopher, and is the doting grandmother of two granddaughters, Christian and Aidan Brooke, and three grandsons, Maxwell Connor, Aaron Bryan, and Roman Alexander.