"An excellent tool to help teachers address issues related to testing so that those factors do not hinder student success. With an easy format and clear, concise instructions, the book tells not only how but why." —Jolene Dockstader, Middle School English Teacher Jerome School District #261, ID Prepare students to do their best on tests! Today′s educational climate demands a multitude of high-stakes, standardized tests not only to assess student achievement, but also to promote school and teacher accountability. Carolyn Chapman and Rita King help educators meet the challenge with this second edition of Test Success in the Brain-Compatible Classroom. This research-based resource is packed with practical tips and tools needed to change attitudes about testing and improve test readiness and performance. Educators will find a wealth of useful ideas and suggestions for preparing students for tests, creating positive test environments, and helping students deal with test anxiety. The authors bridge the gap between formal test formats and the way each student learns, retains, and transfers information to tests. These techniques can be implemented in any subject across all grade levels. This second edition features strategies, activities, and tips to: Prepare students mentally, physically, and emotionally as productive test-takers Create an optimal testing environment Help students attack passages and use problem solving for test success Interpret test data for strategic, customized planning Put these easy-to-implement techniques to work in your classroom throughout the year and transform each test experience into a celebration of achievement and learning.

Designing Brain Compatible Learning synthesizes brain research into a set of teaching tools and strategies for integrating thinking skills, cooperative learning, graphic organizers, and authentic assessment into any classroom. This edition features: step-by-step strategies for teaching concepts, skills, and content to all age groups and learning styles; a newly expanded section on standards-based lesson design and lesson planning; charts, diagrams, and other visual tools to reinforce learning; a collection of new planning templates and graphic organizers; and a glossary and bibliography.

Brain-Based Strategies You Can Use Today to Enhance Your Child's Love of Learning How Your Child Learns Best is a groundbreaking guide for parents that combines the latest brain research with the best classroom practices to reveal scientifically savvy ways to improve your child's success in school. Written by Judy Willis, MD, MEd, a board-certified neurologist who is also a full-time classroom teacher, How Your Child Learns Best shows you not only how to help your child learn schoolwork, but also how to capitalize on the way your child's brain learns best in order to enrich education wherever you are, from the grocery store to the car - a necessity in today's "teach to the test" world. By using everyday household items and enjoyable activities, parents of children ages three to twelve can apply targeted strategies (based on age and learning strength) in key academic areas, including: Reading comprehension Math word problems Test preparation Fractions and decimals Oral reading Reports and projects Science and history Reading motivation Vocabulary Discover how to help your child increase academic focus and success, lower test stress while increasing test scores, increase class participation, foster creativity, and improve attention span, memory, and higher-level thinking. How Your Child Learns Best shows how to maximize your child's brain potential and offers something for every parent who wants the best for his or her child. "At last we parents now have a reference that will help guide us in assisting our children's growth and flowering. This book is what parents have been searching for and need now more than ever." - from the foreword by Goldie Hawn

High-stakes accountability and the growing move towards standardized testing are placing teacher knowledge and assessment skills under ever-increasing scrutiny. Teachers know what is going on in their classrooms and have first-hand reliable evidence of what their students can accomplish. They can be the major factor in student assessment and help their students better demonstrate what they have learned. Smart Tests shows educators how to create well-structured evaluation tools that match assessment tasks to the purpose and content of instruction. Teachers learn how to relate testing directly to classroom goals and activities and make assessment an integral part of learning and teaching, not just the end result. They will find the information they need to build assessment tasks that give students in grades K-8 the opportunity to succeed. These tasks encourage students to apply new knowledge, reflect and defend their thoughts and opinions, and connect what they learn the world beyond the classroom.

Content-specific DI guidance from the best minds in education In this collection, current research on the most effective differentiation practices for differentiating instruction in literacy, mathematics, and scienceis brought alive through the many strategies and examples. Topics covered include: Reading and writing: A comprehensive array of models for differentiating reading instruction; gradual release of responsibility to accelerate progress; and multi-tiered writing instruction Mathematics: Support for both low- and high-achieving students, including interventions and challenges, and the implementation of RTI in math instruction Science: Models and methods for increasing student achievement through differentiated science inquiry

New and veteran teachers will find guidelines to translate the latest research on learning, memory, and the brain into effective and enjoyable classroom practice. The author provides in–depth and accessible coverage of learning theory, multiple intelligences, resilience theory, and emotional intelligence to help teachers master the complexities of teaching all the young brains in their classrooms. This invaluable text: - Helps readers understand complex concepts and translate theory into actual practice - Provides brain–compatible classroom management strategies - Features new graphic organizers, illustrations, and sidebars Discover how this journey down the yellow brick road can lead to instruction that promotes success for all young minds.

Work smarter—not harder—for effective differentiation! This updated bestseller from authors Carol Chapman and Rita King is your comprehensive resource for standards-based, Common Core-ready differentiation. Meet your students’ individual learning needs and create a positive classroom environment. Includes ready-to-use tools, agendas, checklists, and organizers to help you: “Zap” gaps in learning with 12 innovative planning models Motivate students through diverse approaches, including choice, respect, and self-efficacy Identify and individualize teaching methods for students who are nervous, impatient, “turned off,” or otherwise difficult to reach Organize differentiated lessons and routines Customize parent-teacher communications for students from diverse backgrounds

"Filled with activities, ideas, and methods for integrating reading instruction, Chapman and King′s text provides content classrooms with necessary materials for differentiating reading instruction to meet individual student needs." —Anita Price Davis, Professor Emerita of Education Converse College "Offers best practices for before, during, and after reading to improve comprehension; great ideas for assessing vocabulary knowledge and teaching vocabulary; and excellent activities to help with interventions for RTI." —Coleen Martin, Fifth-Grade Teacher Wilder Waite Grade School, Peoria, IL Increase understanding of content by strengthening every learner′s reading skills! Completely revised and reorganized, this second edition of the best-selling guide by Carolyn Chapman and Rita S. King offers creative, substantive methods for increasing students′ content learning by helping them become better readers. Featuring new strategies, current research, expanded coverage of key topics, plus new material on planning, and information about English language learners, this updated edition shows how to use differentiated instruction, multiple intelligences, scaffolding, constructivism, and cooperative learning methods to support reading comprehension. With ideas for all subject areas, including in math, science, social studies, and other subject areas, the book helps teachers: Create the right environment for motivating readers Assess readers effectively Incorporate guided reading, shared reading, a four-block model, language experience, and read-alouds Teach vocabulary using methods such as visuals, context clues, and miscue analysis Improve comprehension before, during, and after reading Brimming with samples, suggestions, and lists that facilitate quick implementation in the classroom, this second edition of Differentiated Instructional Strategies for Reading in the Content Areas helps ensure that all students can experience improved learning and achievement!

"Filled with easy-to-implement ideas, clearly explained. This book helps teachers differentiate with confidence. I absolutely recommend it to ALL teachers." —Steve Knobl, Principal Gulf High School, New Port Richey, FL "Chapman and King have done it again. The new edition has so many new activities and strategies for teachers to help students become motivated to write and become better writers!" —Linda Prichard, PreK/Fifth-Grade Instructional Specialist Rutherford County Schools, Murfreesboro, TN Use writing as a tool for helping students master content! Every classroom is made up of students at different levels of proficiency in writing. This concise guide helps teachers work with each student′s unique skills and needs so that the student learns to apply information, demonstrate content mastery, think creatively and critically, and solve real-world problems through writing. This updated edition of a best-selling book offers explicit strategies for differentiating writing instruction to help students learn content and develop as writers. The authors address how to create a climate for writing, use flexible groupings, differentiate instruction, and assess student writing. Offering new strategies and activities for effective writing instruction, this second edition: Covers informational text writing and critical thinking skills Includes guidance for working with English language learners Discusses current research about writing and learning Offers expanded coverage of assessment methods and tools Differentiated Instructional Strategies for Writing in the Content Areas provides educators with the tools they need to address students′ writing and learning needs across different grade levels, developmental stages, and learning styles.

Learn how to teach like a pro and have fun, too! The more you know about the brains of your students, the better you can be at your profession. Brain-based teaching gives you the tools to boost cognitive functioning, decrease discipline issues, increase graduation rates, and foster the joy of learning. This innovative, new edition of the bestselling Brain-Based Learning by Eric Jensen and master teacher and trainer Liesl McConchie provides an up-to-date, evidence-based learning approach that reveals how the brain naturally learns best in school. Based on findings from neuroscience, biology, and psychology, you will find: In-depth, relevant insights about the impact of relationships, the senses, movement, and emotions on learning Savvy strategies for creating a high-quality learning environment, complete with strategies for self-care Teaching tools to motivate struggling students and help them succeed that can be implemented immediately This rejuvenated classic with its easy-to-use format remains the guide to transforming your classroom into an academic, social, and emotional success story.