Get up and Move with Nonfiction »

NANCY POLETTE is an educator with over 30 years experience. She has authored over 150 professional books. She lives and works in Missouri where she is Professor at Lindenwood College.

Using the approach based on a Harvard study that found when the whole body is involved, the number of brain cells brought to the learning activity doubles, the author offers over one hundred kinesthetic activities. These are organized by content area and include number of players, objective and procedures, and nonfiction reading suggestions. Many activities are in game and/or dramatic presentation format. Students are asked to solve real life problems, create circle stories, create original excuses using science vocabulary, assume the role of eyewitness to historical events, and much, much more. Grades 4-8

Nancy Polette has produced another winner with this fresh approach to encouraging kids to read, write, and research in the content areas. Using an approach based on a recent Harvard study that found when the whole body is involved, the number of brain cells brought to the learning activity doubles, the author offers over one hundred kinesthetic activities for classroom use. Activities are organized by content area, include directions for number of players, objective, and procedure, and are followed by nonfiction reading suggestions. Many activities are in game and or dramatic presentation format. Students are given the opportunity to solve real-life problems, create circle stories with nonfiction material, create original excuses using science vocabulary, assume the role of eyewitnesses to historical events, and much, much more. Grades 4-8.

Nancy Polette brings another winner with this fresh approach to encouraging kids to read, write and research in the content areas. Grades 4-8

School Library Journal

Polette offers more than 140 kinesthetic activities in science, mathematics, geography, and U. S. history content areas for students in grades 4-8. The suggestions include games, stories and storytelling, and plays designed for group participation. The activities encourage students to use written and oral communication skills through teamwork with their classmates, but some of the directions are vague. For Here Is My... and Busy Scientist , students are instructed to use large trash bags to create objects, but it is not clear how they're supposed to do this. Although the brief introduction offers the exercises as pre- reading and writing activities, many require research on the part of students prior to engaging in them. The title implies the use of nonfiction, but many fiction titles are included. A section called Good Reading lists additional titles, but some are dated, such as Elizabeth Rathbun's Exploring Your Solar System (1989) and Franklyn Branley's Planets in Our Solar System (1998). Also, the lists of additional titles in the science, math, geography, and history sections don't include authors, publishers, or publications dates. Stick with more carefully constructed texts-Rebecca Sheridan, Easttown Library & Information Center, Berwyn, PA

Introduction

Part I: Science

Part II: Mathematics

Part III: Geography

Part IV: History

Index