Engaging the Brain

Marcia L. Tate, EdD, is the former executive director of professional development for the DeKalb County School System in Decatur, Georgia. During her thirty-year career with the district, she has been a classroom teacher, reading specialist, language arts coordinator, and staff development executive director.   Marcia is currently an educational consultant and has taught over 500,000 administrators, teachers, parents, and business and community leaders throughout the world. She is the author of the eight books in the best-selling Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites series and four additional books: Formative Assessment in a Brain-Compatible Classroom: How Do We Really Know They’re Learning?, 100 Brain-Friendly Lessons for Unforgettable Teaching and Learning K–8, and 100 Brain-Friendly Lessons for Unforgettable Teaching and Learning 9–12, and her latest book, Healthy Teachers, Happy Classrooms that is designed to address both the personal and professional lives of all educators. Participants in her workshops refer to them as some of the best ones they have ever experienced since Marcia uses the twenty strategies outlined in her books to actively engage her audiences.   Marcia received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and elementary education from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned her master’s degree in remedial reading from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, her specialist degree in educational leadership from Georgia State University, and her doctorate in educational leadership from Clark Atlanta University.   Marcia is married to Tyrone Tate and is the proud mother of three children: Jennifer, Jessica, and Christopher, and nine grandchildren: Christian, Aidan, Maxwell, Aaron, Roman, Shiloh, Aya, Noah, and Alyssa.   Marcia and her husband own the company Developing Minds, Inc. and can be contacted by calling the company at (770) 918-5039, emailing her at marciata@ bellsouth.net, or by visiting her website at www.developingmindsinc.com. You can also follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @DrMarciaTate.

Acknowledgments
About the Author
Introduction
Strategy 1: Brainstorming and Discussion
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 2: Drawing and Artwork
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 3: Field Trips
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 4: Games
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 5: Graphic Organizers, Semantic Maps, and Word Webs
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 6: Humor
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 7: Manipulatives, Experiments, Labs, and Models
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 8: Metaphors, Analogies, and Similes
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 9: Mnemonic Devices
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 10: Movement
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 11: Music, Rhythm, Rhyme, and Rap
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 12: Project-Based and Problem-Based Learning
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 13: Reciprocal Teaching and Cooperative Learning
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 14: Role Plays, Drama, Pantomimes, and Charades
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 15: Storytelling
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 16: Technology
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 17: Visualization and Guided Imagery
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 18: Visuals
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 19: Work Study and Apprenticeships
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Strategy 20: Writing and Journals
What: Defining the Strategy
Why: Theoretical Framework
How: Instructional Activities
Action Plan
Resource A: Brain-Compatible Lesson Plan
Resource B: Graphic Organizers
Bibliography