Brain-Compatible Activities, Grades 3-5

Book excerpt: Brain research has provided a tremendous opportunity to develop instructional techniques that facilitate the brain's innate learning capacity. As educators, we can take this knowledge and apply it to the strategies we use in our classrooms. This essential resource, based on David A. Sousa's best-seller How the Brain Learns, Third Edition,provides ready-to-use, brain-compatible activities that feature some of the following strategies: • Graphic organizers • Mnemonic devices • Cooperative learning • Movement to enhance retention • Music to stimulate brain activity and creativity These activities, correlated with national standards, cover all the content areas in grades 3–5 and include topics such as word selection, poetry, reading fluency, geometry, negative numbers, modes of exchange, animal habits, clouds, and much more! The more we understand how the brain learns, the more instructional options we have. This unique resource helps you make the most of the brain's learning potential and transform your teaching practices to engage every student in your classroom.