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Strategies for Learning
Empowering Students for Success, Grades 9-12

Edited by:


November 2009 | 160 pages | Corwin

"Having used Dr. Rooney's learning strategies for many years, I can affirm their high-yield effectiveness. Best of all, students enjoy this 'take charge' approach to their own learning."—Rebecca H. Aldred, Reading Consultant and Private Tutor
Ivy Creek School, Charlottesville, VA

"A gate barring success often needs but the right key. This book provides the keys to unlock the knowledge of how to learn for those who have always possessed the ability to learn."
—G. Emerson Dickman, Immediate Past President
The International Dyslexia Association

Give struggling students the study skills they need to achieve across the curriculum!

Knowing how to learn and study is an important part of the learning process and can make the difference between failure and success in school. This book offers specific techniques that are research-proven to result in significantly improved classroom grades for all struggling students, including those with attention problems, learning disabilities, and underachievement issues.

Strategies for Learning offers both general and special education secondary teachers a collection of field-tested learning strategies to help struggling students improve cross-curricular skills in areas that include vocabulary, reading, spelling, writing, math, word problems, grammar, foreign language, note taking, time management, and organization. Karen Rooney, Ph.D., draws on more than 25 years of practice to provide concrete, user-friendly strategies that help teachers to:

  • Engage students in the learning process
  • Teach a set of skills that are effective for all content areas
  • Improve motivation, increase comprehension, and foster confidence
  • Offer intense, explicit, and reiterative systems to help students "learn how to learn"
  • Work with whole classes or individuals

Without the need for time-intensive lesson planning, these strategies can be implemented immediately to help struggling students become independent, motivated, lifelong learners.


 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
1. Introduction
Before Reading This Book

 
Before Teaching the Strategies

 
General Principles, Techniques, and Important Concepts

 
 
Part I. Vocabulary and Note Taking When Reading
 
2. Vocabulary
Learning Vocabulary

 
 
3. Note Taking When Reading Material With Subtitles (Textbooks, Handouts, and Web Site Material)
Card Format

 
Paper/Column Format

 
 
4. Note Taking Using Shortcut Advance Organizers
Shortcut Advance Organizer: Using Cards

 
Shortcut Advance Organizer: Using Paper/Columns

 
 
5. Note Taking for Material Without Subtitles (Teacher Handouts, Review Sheets, or Class Notes)
Card Format

 
Paper/Column Format

 
 
6. Visual Organizers for Note Taking
Wheels for Reading

 
Wheels for Literature

 
 
7. Additional Reading Strategies
Literature Grids or Columns

 
Notation Strategy for Literature

 
Margin Notes

 
Sticky-Note Strategy

 
Page Note Taking

 
 
Part II. Note Taking When Listening
 
8. Note Taking During Oral Instruction or Lecture
Streamlined Note Taking (for Lecture)

 
Two-Column Note Taking (for Use in Content-Area Subjects)

 
Reduced Note Taking

 
 
9. Additional Note-Taking Strategies
Note Taking From Visuals (Blackboard, Projector, or PowerPoint)

 
Wheels for Note Taking

 
Note-Taking Grid Advance Organizer

 
Using Pictorials During Note Taking

 
Using Pictorials After Note Taking

 
Note Taking During Math Class

 
Reorganization of Notes After Class

 
 
Part III. Language Arts
 
10. Decoding and Spelling
Decoding

 
Spelling

 
 
11. English Grammar
Concept or Rule Cards: Option One

 
Concept or Rule Cards: Option Two

 
Personal Review Journal

 
 
12. Writing
Sentence-Building Strategy (Syntax)

 
Wheels for Writing

 
 
Part IV. Math and Foreign Language
Proofing for Errors

 
Upgrade Proofing

 
Wheels for Speech Writing

 
 
13. Mathematics
Concept, Rule, or Problem Type Cards

 
Personal Review Book or Journal

 
Word Problems

 
 
14. Foreign Language
Vocabulary

 
Chart Cards

 
Concept, Rule, or Topic Cards

 
Personal Grammar Review Book or Journal

 
 
Part V. Test Taking
 
15. Test Preparation and Test Taking
Imagery

 
Pretest Preparation

 
General Review

 
Vocabulary Review

 
Shortcut Review From Notes

 
Essay Test Review Using End-of-Chapter Questions

 
Reviewing Old Tests

 
Sudden-Death Review

 
Practice-Test Strategies (Conten-Area Subjects)

 
Practice-Test Strategy for Math, Foreign Language, and English Grammar

 
Question Strategies

 
Test-Taking Vocabulary

 
After-the-Test Strategy

 
 
Part VI. Organization, Time Management, and Solving Problems
 
16. Organization
Notebook Organization: Self-Containted Notebook

 
Backpack Organization

 
Self-Monitoring Strategies

 
Self-Graphing of Grades or Performance

 
Individualized Homework Assignment Planner

 
Strategies for Following Directions

 
 
17. Time Management
Sunday-Night Planning Overview

 
Homework, Activities, and Exam Review for a Semester

 
Time Management of Weekly Homework

 
Other Examples

 
 
18. Problem Solving
Wheels for Problem Solving

 
Wheels for Feelings

 
 
19. Conclusion
 
Resources
A. How to Help Students Choose an Appropriate Strategy

 
B. List of Well-Known Literacy Remediation Programs

 
C. List of Helpful Special Education Resources for Teachers

 
D. Glossary

 
 
Index

"A gate barring success often needs but the right key. This book provides keys to unlock the learning for those who always possessed the ability to learn. The knowledge, instinct, dedication, and passion of Karen Rooney gives a special clarity and power to her instructional recommendations. I wish my teachers had this book when I was in school."

G. Emerson Dickman, Immediate Past President
The International Dyslexia Association

"A practical reference, this book adds to teachers' toolboxes of useful learning strategies. All students, whether or not they have learning disabilities, benefit from practicing how to learn!"

Patricia W. Newhall, Associate Director
Landmark School Outreach Program, Prides Crossing, MA

"Easy-to-implement strategies to successfully develop and maximize learning for all students."

Loukea Kovanis-Wilson, Chemistry Instructor
Clarkston High School, MI

"Contains proven, practical, and explicit strategies that secondary students with learning disabilities can use to become independent and motivated learners. Wedding years of clinical experience with the most up-to-date research, Rooney provides teachers with evidence-based techniques they can use with their most difficult-to-teach students."

Daniel P. Hallahan, Charles S. Robb Professor of Education
University of Virginia

"Having used Rooney's learning strategies for many years, I can affirm their high-yield effectiveness. Best of all, students enjoy this 'take charge' approach to their own learning. The strategies are logical, concise, and excellent for students to achieve improved understanding, retention, and memory retrieval for concepts. This book is a must for teachers who want to help their students become independent, self-confident, and successful learners."

Rebecca H. Aldred, Reading Consultant and Private Tutor
Ivy Creek School, Charlottesville, VA

"Karen Rooney's study techniques had a very profound impact on my academic performance. As a ninth- and tenth-grade student at a very competitive and academically rigorous private school, I studied long and hard to keep up with my peers, only to come up with mediocre results. After two years of hard work and little to show for it, I was discouraged and frustrated. My parents made an appointment with Dr. Rooney, who did diagnostic testing. Based on these tests and an understanding of my particular style of learning, Dr. Rooney taught me the techniques that would maximize the time I was putting into my studies. The results were nothing short of miraculous. Through Dr. Rooney's techniques, I was able to tackle more complex information while significantly increasing my comprehension. My grades and test scores improved dramatically, and I gained admission to every college where I applied. Not that I didn't have to continue to work hard, but Dr. Rooney gave me the tools that allowed me to leverage that hard work in a much more productive and efficient manner. Ultimately, Dr. Rooney taught me how to learn, and I strongly recommend her teaching strategies for every struggling student."

Emily K. Bowles, Student
University of Virginia

"Dr. Rooney, you first put me on the road to success with the study skills you taught me. How they have paid off! Thank you."

Patrick Marshall Higgins, Lieutenant
United States Army
Key features
  • Comprehensive, cross-curricular strategies enable secondary general and special education teachers to spend a minimal amount of time teaching students how to be more efficient learners
  • The strategies help in tracking individual progress and levels the playing field for students without requiring time-intensive lesson planning
  • Each strategy features a brief narrative introduction, graphically illustrates the process using a student example, and shows what the student accomplished 
  • All strategies can be used with classes or individual students based on the need or situation

Sample Materials & Chapters

Preface

Introduction


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