Making All Kids Smarter

This book helps teachers plan a challenging program for students, particularly gifted students, within a regular education classroom. It addresses brain-compatible learning, which makes it appropriate for a much wider group of students than just the very brightest. Approaches and strategies are explained in a unique and personal style and include the following: use of inter-disciplinary themes, analytical thinking exercises, teaching moral dilemmas, Socratic questioning techniques, increasing depth and complexity through interactive games, activities to promote creative thinking, using graphic organizers, and teaching research skills and methods. The author demonstrates how all these strategies and approaches work together to help teachers create a more meaningful learning experience for all students. An added benefit of the author's training, as reflected in this book, is to help put the creativity and search for knowledge back into the learning process.

Make Your Kids Smarter is chock-full of drills, tips, and exercises to enhance children's learning. The skill builders encompass areas ranging from general school smarts to library use, computer literacy to study skills, writing and verbal skills to strategic thinking. Devoted parents will use this book to give their kids the advantage that will make all the difference.Dr. Karres, both a parent and an educator, understands the busy and often stressful lifestyles of today's parents. Parent pointers, FYI explanations, and guided minilessons are all included to make the parents' job a little bit easier and a little less time consuming. Parents will be able to thumb through this manual, isolate the exercises that will benefit their child the most, and get right to it. Ready, read, action. It's that simple. This is a must-have manual for all parents who believe their children deserve the very best.

Following three teenagers who chose to spend one school year living in Finland, South Korea, and Poland, a literary journalist recounts how attitudes, parenting, and rigorous teaching have revolutionized these countries' education results.

John DeLandtsheer brings over 40 years of experience as a teacher, administrator, and gifted education specialist to this motivating resource that clearly explains why and how teachers must raise the bar for all students. He provides specific strategies for differentiating instruction within the general classroom to challenge all learners with more rigorous content and creativity, showing teachers how to --

Every hour of every day, we're smart in our own special way. And nobody will ever do the very same smart things as you. The modern classic that rethinks what it means to be smart and celebrates all the wondrous qualities that make children who they are now. Now in a special format for the very smallest of readers.

What Is Smart? There's evidence of so much more than "reading, writing, and 'rithmetic" in every child -- at least seven distinct intelligences, according to the theory of multiple intelligences, developed by Harvard's Dr. Howard Gardner. In Seven Times Smarter, veteran educator Laurel Schmidt offers a parent-friendly explanation of this theory and of the ways that kids are -- simply put -- word smart, picture smart, music smart, body smart, logic smart, people smart, and self-smart. These intelligences aren't fixed at birth. They can be nurtured and strengthened, meaning that in the right environment, kids get smarter. Seven Times Smarter, an invaluable resource for parents, teachers, and caregivers, provides the perfect way to create this environment. Unlike other craft or activity books that just fill time and keep kids busy, Seven Times Smarter prompts kids aged six to fourteen to work their brains and cultivate new skills using recycled or low-cost materials found in every home -- and enjoy it! It offers an exploration of what it means to be smart, checklists to recognize the seven intelligences in your child, book lists to develop and celebrate all the ways your child is smart, and fifty creative, constructive activities that are good for kids playing alone or in a group, supervised or independently, including: * Memory Tours -- If a memory book is too straightforward for your artistic child, try an un-book, a memory box, or a calendar. * Hanging Gardens -- Indoors or out, even the smallest garden plot can yield a bumper crop of mathematical, linguistic, scientific, and kinesthetic skills. * The Boredom Brigade -- Boredom is a springboard for imagination; imaginary structures, identities, occupations, and friends are just some of the ways kids develop their inter- and intra-personal intelligences. * Junk Yard Genius -- There's an education in junk; in fact, it's easy to turn your broken radio, alarm clock, fan, blow-dryer, or scale into a project that could fascinate kids for days.

If you want to actually do something about providing excellent education for every child in America , this book is for you. Using insights from cognitive science, educational research, and the social sciences, the authors examine the compelling nature of four "dumb ideas" at the center of current education policy and practice: (1) simplifying knowledge helps students learn more and faster, (2) teaching and learning are a matter of proper transmission of good content, (3) homogenous environments ease learning, and (4) more standardized data and rigorous controls of our schooling will solve all our problems. The authors then present research that consistently shows why smart K - 12 education will not be achieved by current policies and practices, such as high-stakes standardized tests, homogenous grouping, and abbreviated teacher preparation. This lively book offers solutions for changing the harmful disconnect between our goals and the means we employ to get there, including key "smart ideas" and a set of how-to actions that will lead to great schools for every child.

Nature didn’t finish your child’s brain at birth. It’s up to you to maximize your child’s mental skills without causing additional stress. Acclaimed neurologist and bestselling author of Grain Brain, David Perlmutter, MD, offers these valuable tools: Simple games to reinforce memory pathways in the brain Information on common household products and children’s toys that contain brain-damaging neurotoxins The right foods and supplements to boost intelligence and turn on your child’s smart genes How to turn the television, the computer, and video games into educational tools Proven ways to reduce the risk of your child developing ADD and ADHD Between birth and age five, your child has up to thirty IQ points at stake. Scientists now know that the human brain is undergoing a constant and dramatic transformation in the first years of life. During this peak time of development, every activity and experience leaves an indelible mark on your baby’s brain, for better or worse. The right kind of stimulation and nutrition will create connections in the brain that promote intelligence and raise IQ. The wrong kinds of activities and foods can stifle intellectual development, destroy brain cells, and leave your child more vulnerable to learning or behavior problems down the road. So, what can you do during the first five years to ensure that your child is primed to excel? The good news is that raising a smarter child is easier than you think. It doesn’t require making an investment in expensive equipment or high priced tutors. It’s as simple as playing the right games, serving the right foods, and maintaining a brain-enhancing environment in your home by eliminating common household toxins. In Raise a Smarter Child by Kindergarten by Dr. David Perlmutter, you’ll learn easy and highly effective strategies that can vastly improve your child’s brain power and reduce his or her chances of developing ADD and ADHD. For example, you can: Stimulate Memory: Changing a component on the over-the-crib mobile every week makes the baby compare what was there before to what’s there now, reinforcing memory pathways in the brain that are critical for learning. Spread out those shots: Schedule more frequent trips to the pediatrician for vaccinations, so that fewer shots are administered at once. Flooding the immune system with a cocktail of different vaccines can damage the nervous system. Get rid of toxins: Protecting a child from neurotoxins found in foods, toys and even baby bottles can help preserve precious IQ points. Inside, Dr. Perlmutter provides a scientifically backed food and supplement plan for children and nursing mothers and details the many brain-building activities that you can do with your child. In addition, he reveals the numerous toys and household products that contain harmful, brain-damaging toxins and shows how to identify and combat common childhood problems like ADD and food allergies that may affect your child’s development. Your job over the first five years is to help your child build the best brain possible. With Dr. Perlmutter’s help, you can mine the countless opportunities you have each day to make your child smarter, happier and better prepared to excel.

From the renowned psychologist who introduced the world to “growth mindset” comes this updated edition of the million-copy bestseller—featuring transformative insights into redefining success, building lifelong resilience, and supercharging self-improvement. “Through clever research studies and engaging writing, Dweck illuminates how our beliefs about our capabilities exert tremendous influence on how we learn and which paths we take in life.”—Bill Gates, GatesNotes “It’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest.” After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset—those who believe that abilities are fixed—are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset—those who believe that abilities can be developed. Mindset reveals how great parents, teachers, managers, and athletes can put this idea to use to foster outstanding accomplishment. In this edition, Dweck offers new insights into her now famous and broadly embraced concept. She introduces a phenomenon she calls false growth mindset and guides people toward adopting a deeper, truer growth mindset. She also expands the mindset concept beyond the individual, applying it to the cultures of groups and organizations. With the right mindset, you can motivate those you lead, teach, and love—to transform their lives and your own.

So, you wanna turn Junior into a smarty-pants? What parent doesn't? Thing is, kids nowadays are more independent than ever and aren't always receptive to what parents want. In fact, if you tell your kids that studying is "good for them," they're more than likely to mumble, "Yeah, sure," in your general direction and head off to do something "fun." Sharpening the minds of your youngsters presents more challenges than climbing Mt. Everest, and the responsibility of making your kids use more of their brain cells can be overwhelming – even when you don't encounter resistance. Raising smart kids requires long-term commitment, sacrifice, and diligence – not to mention the patience of a saint. And as long as you don't obsess about being the perfect parent, you will be able to enjoy your kids' journey of self-discovery right along with them. But how do you accomplish this? How do you overcome the resistance? How do you tackle the overwhelming task of not only helping your children succeed in school, but also increasing their ability to make their own way in the world? That's where Raising Smart Kids For Dummies steps in to help. Written in easy-to-understand terms (and absolutely no slick psycho-babble), this book gives you sound advice on encouraging your kids to set their sights high and achieve success, whether at school, with friends, or in your community. And you don't have to be a new parent to gain insight from this book; experienced parents can reap rewards with the help of this book in their effort to raise fulfilled children. Here's just a sampling of what you'll find in Raising Smart Kids For Dummies: Recognizing the characteristics of smart kids Knowing when to push – and when not to Disciplining your kids in a positive way Growing smarter kids from healthier bodies Planning the development of your kids' brains: From newborns to teenagers Taking your smart kids beyond high school Eliminating brain drain from school-skipping, drug abuse, and raging hormones Top Ten lists of family characteristics that nurture smart kids, what smart kids read, and resources for bolstering parents' confidence You've heard it said a thousand times: The children are the future. Children have such potential, but rarely live up to it. Why take this chance with your own kids? Make the commitment to prepare your kids for life on their own. With Raising Smart Kids For Dummies, you, too, can achieve success – and have a little fun along the way!