With foreword by Rick Wormeli Merging educational neuroscience with a formative assessment process and differentiated instruction, LeAnn Nickelsen and Melissa Dickson developed a four-step cycle of instruction -- (1) chunk, (2) chew, (3) check, and (4) change -- that has the power to double the speed of student learning. Compatible with any subject area, the book's brain-friendly teaching strategies and plentiful tools are designed to help transform students into active learners and independent thinkers. Educational neuroscience- and research-based teaching strategies to improve student achievement: Combine brain science with a formative assessment process and differentiated instruction to maximize student learning. Examine effective teaching strategies and differentiation practices so you can bump it up or break it down according to student needs. Consider the four-step instructional cycle and understand the components of chunk, chew, check, and change. Explore how the formative assessment process can double the speed of learning. Learn how to plan instruction and preassess efficiently so that daily learning targets and formative assessments enable each student to meet standards. Receive templates and teaching strategies that can be easily differentiated and implemented in daily lesson plans. Contents: Introduction: Maneuver Your Footwork With Four Steps Part I: Setting Up Your Classroom Dance Floor Chapter 1: Choreograph Your Instruction With the Cha-Cha Steps Chapter 2: Move Smoothly From Broad Ideas to Smaller Ideas Chapter 3: Get to Know Your Dance Partners Part II: Putting the Steps Together Chapter 4: Take Step One: Chunk (Instruct) Chapter 5: Take Step Two: Chew (Learn) Chapter 6: Take Step Three: Check (Evaluate) Chapter 7: Take Step Four: Change (Differentiate) Chapter 8: Finesse the Chunk, Chew, Check, and Change Cycle Epilogue: Swing Into Action With the Four Steps

"I felt like I walked the walk and could implement many of the strategies after reading it once." -Andrea Golarz-Ziemba, Teacher O.P. Morton Elementary School, Hobart, IN "If our newest teachers came out of college with this knowledge, supplemented with the learning standards, their students would be more successful from day one." -Patti Larche, Director of Curriculum and Instruction Phelps-Clifton Springs CSD, NY Practical strategies to take your students' understanding from "So what?" to "Wow!" With the amount of content that teachers have to teach, how can we ensure that students gain a deep and lasting understanding of what they have learned? Based on the most current research on cognition and the brain, this exciting book for Grades 4-12 provides teachers with a systematic, reflective approach to incorporating powerful learning and content processing techniques into everyday instruction. Nationally recognized experts Eric Jensen and LeAnn Nickelsen outline the Deeper Learning Cycle (DELC), an instructional model that incorporates brain research, standards, and individual learning differences, to help educators teach for deeper understanding and critical thinking. This invaluable resource includes: In-depth chapters explaining the seven stages of the DELC: planning with standards and curriculum, pre-assessing, building a positive learning culture, priming and activating prior knowledge, acquiring new knowledge, processing the learning, and evaluating student learning A Deeper Learning lesson plan template to apply to daily instruction 50 strategies to differentiate instruction based on learning levels and to help students process content in meaningful ways Reflection questions to help teachers apply the material to their own practice Deeper Learning is a powerful tool to promote and support student progress beyond the surface level of understanding in any subject area.

"I felt like I walked the walk and could implement many of the strategies after reading it once." -Andrea Golarz-Ziemba, Teacher O.P. Morton Elementary School, Hobart, IN "If our newest teachers came out of college with this knowledge, supplemented with the learning standards, their students would be more successful from day one." -Patti Larche, Director of Curriculum and Instruction Phelps-Clifton Springs CSD, NY Practical strategies to take your students' understanding from "So what?" to "Wow!" With the amount of content that teachers have to teach, how can we ensure that students gain a deep and lasting understanding of what they have learned? Based on the most current research on cognition and the brain, this exciting book for Grades 4-12 provides teachers with a systematic, reflective approach to incorporating powerful learning and content processing techniques into everyday instruction. Nationally recognized experts Eric Jensen and LeAnn Nickelsen outline the Deeper Learning Cycle (DELC), an instructional model that incorporates brain research, standards, and individual learning differences, to help educators teach for deeper understanding and critical thinking. This invaluable resource includes: In-depth chapters explaining the seven stages of the DELC: planning with standards and curriculum, pre-assessing, building a positive learning culture, priming and activating prior knowledge, acquiring new knowledge, processing the learning, and evaluating student learning A Deeper Learning lesson plan template to apply to daily instruction 50 strategies to differentiate instruction based on learning levels and to help students process content in meaningful ways Reflection questions to help teachers apply the material to their own practice Deeper Learning is a powerful tool to promote and support student progress beyond the surface level of understanding in any subject area.