"This is a valuable and practical resource for any teacher who wants to increase student learning." -- Eric Jensen , professional developer and author "An African proverb states that ''When the music changes, so does the dance.'' In our highly diverse classrooms, the music has changed, making it imperative that our teaching (the dance) change as well. LeAnn Nickelsen and Melissa Dickson provide you with all the steps to respond to the variety of moves you need to keep your students dancing to success. They provide you with step-by-step instructions, full of ideas and valuable research to make learning stick. From a fast cha-cha to a more subdued waltz, let Nickelsen and Dickson help you sync your dance to the music!" -- Richard M. Cash , EdD, Rich Educational Consulting, Inc., consultant, author, Advancing Differentiation: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century "Move over, former champions.

Nickelsen and Dickson''s Teaching With the Instructional Cha-Chas is an outstanding integration of neuroscience, differentiated instruction, and formative assessment, manifesting in a focused, high-leverage, instructional sequence. Like choreographers, the authors take their reader through the key steps that lead to an effective routine. With multiple exemplars for effective learning strategies, classroom management, differentiated instruction, formative assessment, and student engagement, this book provides teachers with the tools and know-how they need to transform themselves into superstars. This guide organizes the instructional cha-chas into different chapters, explains the steps, and then offers copious exemplars for instruction. For example, in chapter 4, the authors introduce the chunk. They begin by providing a definition and connecting the importance of chunking to neuroscientific research. Next, the reader learns how to integrate chunking in a daily lesson. Following this thorough introduction to chunking, multiple strategies such as think-alouds and mind mapping are presented.

Each chapter consistently identifies the what, why, and how of the instructional cha-chas. Nickelsen and Dickson capitalize on their decades of teaching and coaching experience to create an outstanding teaching guide that emphasizes the most important instructional and learning techniques with step-by-step guidelines. It is a must-have for both new and experienced teachers. I have no doubt that Nickelsen and Dickson will become the new champions of their own dance, Teaching Like the Stars ." -- Katie McKnight , founder, Engaging Learners "One word: practical. This book takes the best of what we know about formative assessment, differentiation, and learning theory and combines it into an easy-to-understand and down-to-earth format that will provide tons of effective classroom strategies. LeAnn and Melissa hit a home run with this resource." -- Bryan Harris , author of Battling Boredom "Nickelsen and Dickson''s instructional cha-chas guide teachers through a four-step process that maximizes learning.

Based on neuroscience and evidence-based research, the cha-chas (chunking, chewing, checking, and changing) result in greater content mastery and student achievement. The four-step cycle enables educators to break down content into relevant, meaningful, manageable pieces (chunk), provide opportunities for students to engage with the content (chew), check for understanding and mastery of a standard (check), and differentiate instruction to move students forward in their learning (change). The authors also provide helpful tables and figures as well as reproducible templates, checklists, and reflective assessment tools to assist teachers in facilitating this four-step process. This practical book leads educators by the hand through a proven process for maximizing learning." -- Diane Heacox , professor emerita, St. Catherine University, author of Differentiation for Gifted Learners.