Susan Fitzell-Educational Consultant & Speaker
Practical Strategies to Get High Test Scores Now!
THE GARBLED GRAMMARIAN SAYS …
Jeanne from Kirtland, NM teaches Quadratic Equation Through Song
During the week of August 10th I was pleased to work with two great groups of teachers. During the first great session in Kirtland New Mexico, one of the high school math teachers agreed to demonstrate how she uses music by singing the quadratic formula to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel.”
Teachers at Ranches Academy and Rockwell Charter HS Sing Testing Strategies!
Then I spent two awesome days in Eagle Mountain Utah with the teachers from Ranches Academy and Rockwell Charter High School. On day two, I presented, “Memorization and Test Taking Strategies”. We talked about testing strategies and three groups of teachers agreed to share the songs they brainstormed to remember testing strategies. Thanks to Sara, Kayla, Allie, Jamie, Stacy, Melanie, Angela, Dorothy, Tiffany, Tammy, and Sue (I hope I got everyone’s name right) for being courageous enough to let me film them to share with the world!
Value of Mandalas in the Classroom
I’ve often talked about the value of mandalas for their calming effect on students and their ability to expand creativity. Michelle Waymouth attended one of my seminars and shared that her students love mandalas and are proud of their work. She said that one year she pieced all of her students’ paper mandalas into a “quilt” and hung it Read the rest of this entry »
Mnemonic devices are excellent tools for teachers who want to help their students remember important facts. An interesting and fun exercise that I talk about in my seminars is to have your students try to come up with their own mnemonic devices.
Practice Mnemonics as a Group
I’ve had more success with ‘group’ mnemonics than individual student mnemonics. If the entire group or class has the same memory trick, then Read the rest of this entry »
Power Writing Supports Long Term Memory and Writing Skills
Pat Murray, from Greater Latrose High School in Latrose, PA uses power writing as a technique to help transfer information from short term to long term memory. She suggests that students power write about what they’ve learned for 3 minutes immediately following a 15 minute lecture. Visual learners could also add stick-figure drawings to provide memory cues and enhance what they write.
Power writing can also be used as a way to improve writing skill. Mr. Smiddy, of Staunton Elementary, defines power writing as “a method of writing designed to improve students’ writing through a three step process.
The beginning step teaches Read the rest of this entry »
Wordle.net
I’m always looking for ways to make learning motivating and fun. Vocabulary development and even spelling are a passion of mine that has been building for the past year. I constantly hear teachers lament that students don’t remember vocabulary. Reading deficiencies, many times exacerbated by poor vocabulary development are impacting test scores – both state and SAT and ACT. In addition to that, students are developing their own vocabulary and Read the rest of this entry »
http://dietdew24oz.wordpress.com/2008/08/03/umm-studying-book-review/
I’m thrilled to find such a positive review of my daughter’s book, “Umm Studying? What’s That?” online!
