A Corwin Press Classroom Activity Book Real learning can be fun with games for the brain! The Engage the Brain: Games series offers practical activities that energize students, increase brain connections to content, and reinforce learning in a nonthreatening atmosphere. Derived from tested, research-based strategies found in the bestseller Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites, this book provides activities that incorporate games aligned with national academic standards for language arts, math, science, social studies, physical education, art, and music. You will find brain-friendly activities that can be integrated easily into your lesson plans to inspire enthusiasm and help students achieve. Each game provides learning objectives, a comprehensive materials list, step-by-step guidelines for playing the game, activities for extended learning, and required reproducibles such as game cards, game boards, and scorecards. Discover favorites such as simon says, scavenger hunt, and relay races applied to fifth-grade content in games like Mystery Measure Relay, Camouflage Tag, and A-maze-ing Expeditions. All games include a focus activity, modeling, guided practice, independent practice, and a closing. Students actively process content as they play existing games, and construct and design a variety of new ones. Use these engaging activities to supplement your curriculum goals in Writing and editing Decimals, measurement, and charting State capitals, geography, and history Physical, earth, life, and space sciences Art, music, physical education, and much more! Watch your students thrive and grow with creative experiences that incorporate movement, teamwork, healthy competition, and interpersonal skills!
About the Engage the Brain SeriesThis practical resource gives teachers the tools they need to plan lessons correlated to the way the brain learns best. Based on tested, research-based strategies presented in Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies That Engage the Brain, this book offers a variety of language arts activities that incorporate games to help students make sense of and reinforce learning. These activities give students the opportunity to not only play but also construct and design a variety of games, greatly increasing brain connections to the content. These strategies allow students to master curriculum objectives while actively rehearse information in an engaging, non-threatening atmosphere, which makes a real difference in students' energy, motivation, and achievement.Engage the Brain: Games, Language Arts, Grades 6-8 contains games based on national academic standards for language arts, including reading, writing, language conventions, and listening and speaking. Some games are based on old favorites (such as Bingo, Scavenger Hunt, Relay Races, Go Fish, Concentration, Charades) and some are brand new, including:Context Clue CapersMultiple Meanings ManiaThe Root of the MatterSynonym Shades and GradesCouplet ChaosTone It UpPass, Write, and EditGenre JumbleSentence ShuffleFive Alive! BingoGrammar CharadesError BearersWord PowerLingo LadderForbidden PhrasesMedia MixSinking ShipEach game includes one or more learning objectives, a comprehensive materials list, step-by-step information for the teacher on how to prepare for and play the game, any necessary reproducibles (such as game cards, game boards, scorecards), and follow-up activities for extended learning. The games are presented in the brain-friendly lesson formation, including a focus activity, modeling, guided practice, independent practice, and closing.
Dive into the how to's of establishing family empowerment through building trust, and reflect on implicit bias, equitable learning outcomes, and the role family engagement plays.
Could your staff meetings use a zap of energy? Do you want more participation and less reluctance when you gather your team together? Good teachers know that fun, emotion, meaningful connections, and high expectations drive learning and committed attention to a task. This sourcebook overflows with strategies, activities, and resources designed to bring these all-important qualities into the faculty meeting. Teacher leaders will discover the keys to improved collaboration, teamwork, and productivity - and new tools to improve group processes. By modeling best practice at staff meetings, leaders also give their teachers new engagement tools that they can put directly to use in their classrooms. The authors demonstrate how to reduce the "chore" factor of meetings by: / Lightening the atmosphere with creative approaches / Starting with purpose-focused theme music and other energizers / Building relationships within the team that transform the school culture / Overcoming barriers to productivity / Rewarding and appreciating staff in innovative ways / Closing the meeting with a bang--and a plan As the energy from your staff meetings ripples through the school, every teacher and classroom will experience the motivation and focus that you create!
Memorable Movie Moments That Promote Reflection, Conversation, and Action
"One of the fastest ways to provide an understanding is through a story or a visual. Film clips do both. This book is an invaluable aid to any staff developer who wants to captivate an audience and teach at the same time." -Dr. Ruby Payne, President aha! Process, Inc. "Because our metaphorical minds learn through finding patterns, relationships, and analogies, the use of film clips to illuminate such elusive but enduring values as persistence, courage, empathy, creativity, and hope can accelerate their meanings more powerfully than any lecture, definition, or description." -Arthur L. Costa, Professor Emeritus California State University Sacramento Make training fun, engaging, and rewarding with this powerful and readily available technology! Video and DVD clips give participants an opportunity to explore values and ideas, learn about one another, and, in the process, build a stronger learning community. Energizing Staff Development Using Film Clips is a collection of film and television clips that staff developers can use to encourage discussion and reflection on pertinent, common themes, including courage, communication, change, conflict, creativity, and leadership. Each chapter includes real-life examples of how clips may be used in staff development settings, quotes for extending thinking and discussion, and articles and books that relate to the chapter theme. Each film clip section includes: A synopsis of the scene An explanation of critical themes Start and stop times The length of the clip Suggested discussion questions Contexts for use These stimulating, instructive film clips lead to helpful conversations, create positive plans of action, and promote learning through reflection. Whether planning a team meeting, a faculty meeting, or a training program, leaders and organizations will find a clip to generate conversations about many of the most pressing issues in education.
Memorable Movie Moments That Promote Reflection, Conversation, and Action
"One of the fastest ways to provide an understanding is through a story or a visual. Film clips do both. This book is an invaluable aid to any staff developer who wants to captivate an audience and teach at the same time." -Dr. Ruby Payne, President aha! Process, Inc. "Because our metaphorical minds learn through finding patterns, relationships, and analogies, the use of film clips to illuminate such elusive but enduring values as persistence, courage, empathy, creativity, and hope can accelerate their meanings more powerfully than any lecture, definition, or description." -Arthur L. Costa, Professor Emeritus California State University Sacramento Make training fun, engaging, and rewarding with this powerful and readily available technology! Video and DVD clips give participants an opportunity to explore values and ideas, learn about one another, and, in the process, build a stronger learning community. Energizing Staff Development Using Film Clips is a collection of film and television clips that staff developers can use to encourage discussion and reflection on pertinent, common themes, including courage, communication, change, conflict, creativity, and leadership. Each chapter includes real-life examples of how clips may be used in staff development settings, quotes for extending thinking and discussion, and articles and books that relate to the chapter theme. Each film clip section includes: A synopsis of the scene An explanation of critical themes Start and stop times The length of the clip Suggested discussion questions Contexts for use These stimulating, instructive film clips lead to helpful conversations, create positive plans of action, and promote learning through reflection. Whether planning a team meeting, a faculty meeting, or a training program, leaders and organizations will find a clip to generate conversations about many of the most pressing issues in education.
Glazed look in your students' eyes? This full-color flip book contains 50 quick, highly effective, classroom-tested brain breaks with photos, directions, and online videos.
`Joseph and Jo Blase write directly to aspiring and present principals who believe in the wisdom, care, and commitment of faculty to make difficult decision together about good education for all students' - From the Foreword, Carl D Glickman, University of Georgia This book is written for practising and prospective principals who want to empower teachers. It is about what successful principals do and the "transformative effects" that such principals have on teachers' work both in the classroom and in the school generally. In this considerably expanded second edition, the authors have included data and insights from recent research, literature, and national reports; added additional figures, models, tips, and reading lists; and emphasized elements of instructional leadership as related to facilitative-democratic leadership.
