Rick Wormeli

In my humble opinion, this book was worth the purchasing price just for the chapter on cognitive science, and how it takes what we know from brain research, and applies it to what we do in the classroom. Although I knew much of what was presented, I had forgotten it. For example, when we store information, we store it according to similarities, but when we retrieve information we retrieve it according to differences, SO in situations where two concepts are easily confused, a) teach them with a few days in between the two ideas, and b) emphasize the DIFFERENCES if you want students to remember the concepts. This and more contained in Wormeli's book. Easy to read and useful as a review.… (mehr)

We usually do not review books older than a year, but this title drew attention to itself at a recent ASCD conference. So few books or articles give attention to the skill of summarization or synthesis, that as we thought it necessary to review. Perhaps language arts textbooks cover this topic. Perhaps teachers regularly teach it. Then why is it so difficult when kids and teens do research in many different sources. Why is it so difficult to pick out the main ideas and then describe those ideas in synonymous terms but not the actual verbage of the author? Could it be that it is difficult? Taught improperly? Just a sign of kid laziness? In any event, whatever the cause, Wormeli provides fifty strategies for teaching this beast as opposed to fifty ways to leave your lover (that old joke). Right there, this book is worth its price, because, in this day of cut and paste, drastic measures need to be taken. In the latest presidential elections, we see commentators take statements out of context all the time. Perhaps we should recommend this one for every reporter: what is the big idea here and how can I make it my own? The ideas given are in a 2-3 page explanation with examples, so they are easily sampled and analyzed for worth an even for testing on out crowd of researchers. Can’t miss on this one.… (mehr)