Interactive, Multi-media Book Learn Your Way! Watch and Listen Inside! This one-of-a-kind multi-media book gives you new learning and life skills strategies in all three learning styles –visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Learn the way you like best! Listen to the authors read each chapter aloud at http://www.howtolearn.com/amazing-grades-audio or you can also listen on author’s websites if they are listed at the bottom of their chapter. Watch videos when you see the scan tags – scan them with your smart phone (get the free app you see below) Read the book and take notes Scan These Tags With Your Smart Phone They open to web pages with additional information on the chapters. Hold your smart phone a few inches from the scan tag and it opens to the video! Download the FREE app first: http://gettag.mobi How To Give This Book Away Corporations, Groups, Individuals and Companies: Your sponsorship will give students the learning and life skills to maximize their grades and open more doors to their success. We rely on you to donate the book. If your social responsibility or corporate program includes programs aligned with schools, students and libraries, we have a special Give Away Package with more information. Contact the Publisher at 1-707-837-8180 or email [email protected] to discuss how to do this. Special Thanks To Authors Special Thanks to All Authors in Amazing Grades The publisher wants to extend a very special thank you to all the authors from 13 countries around the world who donated their time, love and expertise to contribute a chapter to this worldwide goodwill book. None of the authors in this book accept royalties and their generosity to help students of the world is deeply appreciated! Special Thanks to All Proofreaders Judith McCutcheon, Jerry Hollis, Deb Brauneller, Jo Lisa Byers, Shari Hippeard, Debi Mayes, Peggi Rieger, Ralph Sirvent, Barbara Carder, Lanette Perkins, Debbie Keith, Dr. Marva Dixon, Marcia Collins, Linda Vande Voort, Y. Dov Klahr, Pamela F. Quarles, Leslie Putney, Reese Lovett, Suzan Bunn, Debbie Foster, Letticia Torres, Abena Addo-Yobo, Michele Ricoma, Philip Saparov, Donald Hill, John Winter We dedicate this book to the students of the world and value your ability to inspire yourselves and others to greatness... Is This Book for Me? Check the boxes you agree with below. I want to know “how” to get better grades in even my toughest classes. I get nervous before my exams. I feel challenged by courses like algebra, pre-calculus, and higher level math and would love some strategies to make these classes easier. I feel like I know the material before my exams but sometimes can’t recall it during the exam. I want guidance on how to get higher SAT and/or ACT scores. I feel like I could be better organized and wonder how to make it happen. I wish I knew how to cut my learning time and still get good grades. I struggle with a learning difference. I would love to know how to complete college in less than four years and save on tuition. I am motivated sometimes but want to know how to keep myself motivated when I don’t feel like it. I am a student who is required to learn another language and I want to know “how” to cut my learning time and get better grades in these classes. I know I’m smart but sometimes my eyes get tired when I read and I think I might skip lines. I know I’m smart but sometimes I forget what I read. I see other students reading faster, learning the material faster and getting better grades than I do. I sure wish I knew their secret. I’d love to see my teachers, friends and parents be proud of my accomplishments – and feel proud of myself too! Praise for Amazing Grades If you’ve ever struggled in school, I can tell you for sure I was right there with you. Just a few short years ago, I felt like a failure – reading was actually painful for me and this made my other subjects a real struggle. But today is a whole new story. I have a Master’s Degree and am studying for a doctorate in clinical psychology. When I’m finished, I will have achieved my dream of becoming a psychologist. I have so many of the strategies in this book to thank because they truly worked! As a student, I really encourage you to read, watch or listen to them because they are completely life-changing! Kathryn Langley, M.A., Doctoral Student at California School of Professional Psychology FINALLY! ONE innovative and substantive book with specific strategies, and information on the wide range of topics that students really need without 200 pages of fluff. This is what we all want and nobody published until now. Save your time and money reading 50 plus books…it’s all here… One or two chapters alone is more than worth the price of the book and what all students, including my kids, really need. Stan DiOrio, J.D., parent, Legislative Director for Senator Rob Wright, Public Policy Advocate, Sacramento, CA Thank you Pat! Amazing Grades is so much more than a book! It is an institution, a beacon of hope and light for everyone. You put together such a distinguished group of professionals from all over the world with a broad spectrum of teaching and learning methods, it will resonate with all students. Because I struggled with dyslexia through school, I especially appreciate the section on learning differences and recommend that every student, parent, teacher and professor read this book. Helen LaLousis, CEO Face OFF productions FaceOFFProductions.com With today’s emphasis on student achievement and school accountability, Amazing Grades is a much-needed resource. The fact that it includes student learning styles while appealing to students’ natural proclivity for technology makes the book unique and important for every student. Jeannine R. Studer, Ed.D., Professor of Counselor Education, The University of Tennessee What a great piece of work! Amazing Grades gives a wide range of “what to do,” if you want to improve your grades and your life. You can choose from over a 100 contributions of authors to learn about specific actions that might work for you as a student, teacher, or parent so you can realize your dreams. Robert M. Hooper Ph.D, Director of Special Projects, Eastern Shore Psychological Services, Maryland Amazing Grades 101 Best Ways to Improve Your Grades Faster Pat Wyman, M.A. with 100 other best selling authors and experts This is a worldwide goodwill book written by 101 authors from 13 countries around the world The Center for New Discoveries In Learning, Inc. – HowToLearn.com Nevada The Center for New Discoveries In Learning, Inc. HowToLearn.com 4535 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 200 Las Vegas, NV 89102 Copyright © 2013 Pat Wyman, M.A. All rights are reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any format whatsoever. All authors maintain the copyright to their individual chapter. For information on reproduction rights, send a letter to The Center for New Discoveries In Learning, Inc., Subsidiary Rights Division, 4535 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 200 Las Vegas, NV 89102. First edition, August 2012. E-book edition: 2013, 2014 Corporate, Company, Individual Sponsorships: For information on corporate sponsorships and how you or your company can donate this book to schools, students and libraries, contact The Center for New Discoveries In Learning, Inc. (HowToLearn.com). Email [email protected] or call 1-707-837-8180. For information on special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact The Center for New Discoveries In Learning, Inc. at 1-707-837-8180. If you wish to book any authors in this book for a live or media event, contact us at 1-707-837-8180 or email [email protected] Manufactured in the United States of America. 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 No part of this book is intended to be construed as medical advice, diagnose or treat any condition. Please contact your health care provider if you have questions. Special Thanks: Cover design: Steven Peterson Interior design: Spring Moon Administrative Life Saver! Debra Winter ISBN: 978-1-890047-00-9 ISBN: Digital ebook: 978-1-890047-10-8 Contents Interactive Techniques; Learn Your Way, Scan Video with Your Smart Phone How to Give This Book Away and Special Thanks Is This Book for Me? Praise for Amazing Grades Introduction for Students, Parents and Teachers: How to Remove Learning Roadblocks Part I: Life Skills What is School For? FOCUS: Get What You Want with This One Simple Change How to Become a Very Confident Student in Two Simple Moves How to Have the Attitude of a Winner Use Internal Rewards to Achieve More How to Take Charge of Your Emotions How Brain Healthy Foods Relate to Higher Test Scores Self-Esteem: If It Gets Lost How Do I Find It Again? Smart Foods, Smart Brain = Better Grades Laugh Your Way to Better Grades The Big Breakthrough That Makes Learning Naturally Easy Brain Matter That Make a Difference in Your Grades Office Hours – A Poem How Fitness Fortifies the Brain for Your Students Putting Happiness First How to Choose the Right College Community College Facts to Help You Achieve Your Goals Part II: Study Skills Visual Skills Needed in School: Do You Have Any of These Symptoms Outsmart Your Stress Before the Test Motivation magic How to Use Creative Visualization to Get Better Grades Balance Your Brain to Get Better Grades Goal Getting Goal Setting to improve Your Grades Faster Use Picture mapping to Ace Your Exams How Music Makes You Smarter How to Use Mental Photography to Improve Test Scores Memory Skills Made Easy How to Get Better ACT, SAT, GRE…Test Scores 8 Ways to Beat Exam Anxiety Before and