Looking for a great homeschooling resource? Check out Teach by Dennis DiNoia and learn how it can help you homeschool your children more effectively.
When I was brand new to homeschooling, I read everything about it I could get my hands on. I read countless blog posts and books trying to learn as much as I can.
And even now, more than 9 years later, I still love learning everything I can about homeschooling.
One really great resource I’ve come across is Teach by Dennis DiNoia. It offers valuable advice and tips on how to teach your children more effectively and confidently.
In this article, I’ll share some of the best advice I’ve learned from Teach by Dennis DiNoia and why you’ll definitely want to add it to your bookshelf.
I was compensated for my time reviewing Teach by Dennis DiNoia and writing this post. This post reflects my personal opinion about the information provided.
Teach by Dennis DiNoia: Advice on How to Be a Better Homeschool Teacher
TEACH: Creating Independently Responsible Learners by Dennis DiNoia is a must-have for any homeschooling parent. It provides parents with a wealth of resources and tips on how to teach their children more effectively.
The book covers topics such as becoming an independent learner, different learning styles, communication skills, goal setting, and much more.
Dennis DiNoia’s approach is both practical and encouraging. He offers step-by-step guidance and advice on how to teach your children in a way that is effective, meaningful, and engaging.
The book also provides lots of real-life examples so you can see how his tips play out in your homeschool day.
Overall, Teach by Dennis DiNoia is an invaluable resource for any homeschooling parent. Whether you’re just getting started or looking for ways to improve your homeschool experience, this book is sure to teach you something new.
Who is Dennis DiNoia?
Dennis DiNoia is a certified teacher and educational consultant who has taught for over 35 years. He holds an M.A. in Education and is also a homeschooling dad of two children.
Throughout his career, he has worked with hundreds of school districts and organizations to help improve their educational programs. He has also written extensively about topics such as teaching methods, learning styles, academic development, and more.
In addition, Dennis DiNoia is also the creator of Mr. D Math, a popular online math tutoring program for students of all ages.
One of the things I really liked about Teach by Dennis DiNoia is that it’s written by someone with so much experience educating children in a public school setting and a homeschool setting. I feel like Mr. DiNoia has really been able to pick out what he has found to be the most beneficial for students in both of these settings and share it in this book.
Breakdown of Teach by Dennis DiNoia
Teach by Dennis DiNoia is a quick read at only 136 pages. Considering how busy things are, I love that he delivers all the information needed in such a quick read.
The book is divided into 11 chapters:
- Chapter 1: An Accidental Discovery
- Chapter 2: The Independently Responsible Learner
- Chapter 3: The Student Is The Teacher
- Chapter 4: Checking Your Own Work
- Chapter 5: Present Yourself
- Chapter 6: Testing, Testing, 1-2-3
- Chapter 7: Learning How To Think
- Chapter 8: Do What You Love To Do
- Chapter 9: Mastermind
- Chapter 10: The Parent Is The Coach
- Bonus Chapter: Goal Setting
The book is written in a very conversational style. It’s like sitting down with a friend and having a chat.
While reading the book, it felt like I was sitting down with a homeschool veteran and having them share the knowledge they had learned after successfully homeschooling all 5 of their kids. Teach is about more than just how to teach your kids, it’s also about how to teach them to be better learners and prepare them for learning and engaging with the world once they’re grown.
Considering how as homeschool parents, our days are spent educating and parenting our kids at the same time, I feel like this book is right in line with what a lot of homeschool parents are looking for.
Combined with the positive and encouraging vibes throughout the whole book, I wish I had come across this book when I was first getting into homeschooling.
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What I Loved About Teach by Dennis DiNoia
Although Teach by Dennis DiNoia is a quick read it’s still packed with lots of useful nuggets. I actually sat down with my highlighter while reading so I could come back later when needed and reference some of the tips he shares in the book.
Here are some of the things I loved most about the book:
Independent learners
My biggest takeaway from Teach by Dennis DiNoia is the value of empowering your children to be independently responsible learners. It’s a theme you see throughout the book and a lot of the later chapters go over ways to help support your child on that journey.
One of my core principles and ideals when it comes to homeschooling is to not only instill a love of learning, but also the confidence and knowledge that my children are capable of learning anything they want. I want them to feel empowered to learn and the idea of becoming an independently responsible learner falls right in line with that.
Mr. DiNoia talks wonderfully about how much deeper and more thoroughly children will learn a topic when they are active participants in the learning process. And even better, when they’ve gone through the effort to teach themselves and then later share the information with you.
I’ve seen the concepts that he shares in his book play out with my own children with hobbies such as Minecraft and Roblox. When children are given the tools and space to educate themselves, their level of understanding seems almost limitless.
Mr. DiNoia does a great job of communicating how this principle can be applied throughout your homeschool.
Actionable advice
Another thing I loved about Teach by Dennis DiNoia is that the advice is practical. He shows you how to take it and apply it to your day-to-day actions with your kids.
I’ve read more than my fair share of books that talk about ideas that sound great in theory, but don’t offer advice on how to apply them in my busy life of homeschooling 3 kids, 2 part-time jobs, and neverending dishes and laundry.
Mr. DiNoia does a good job of giving concrete examples of what it looks like to teach your child how to be an independently responsible learner. Especially in Chapter 3: The Student Is The Teacher, where he uses the example of teaching vocabulary to your student.
I had so many ideas of ways my kids could demonstrate their learning I had to go grab a pen and paper and jot them down right then.
This book isn’t just “theory”, it’s actionable advice and tips that you can walk away with and try out in your home immediately.
Communication tips
Something else I really loved about Teach by Dennis DiNoia is Chapter 7: Learning How to Think where he talks about communication and learning styles. I am a big fan of learning styles and I work hard to pick curriculum that fit with how my children learn best.
But I had never thought about communicating with them in their own learning style. One of my favorite quotes from the book is “…whenever you really want to have your question answered by someone, you can talk to them by talking to their learning style.”
This refers to how you ask the question. By simply changing the wording of the question to better reflect how the other person communicates, you’re more likely to actually get the answer you’re looking for.
With my oldest daughter, I would probably ask her how something makes her feel. With my younger daughter, I could ask her how she imagines something. Or which she thinks would be better and why.
With my son, I might ask him what would be the opposite of something or if something is even possible.
These are easy, small changes to make, but they could open up better communication between you and the person you’re talking to. This is so important, not just for education, but also for parenting in general.
Test-taking tips
The last thing I really enjoyed about Teach by Dennis DiNoia is the chapter that focused on tips for taking tests. Chapter 6: Testing, Testing 1-2-3 is a must-read for parents of high schoolers.
The way he breaks down answering test questions is something I will be absolutely using with my children. His 3-step approach is simple but cuts through a lot of the stress and confusion when it comes to tests.
In fact, I’ll be using it right now with my oldest daughter for things like word problems in math because she often gets confused or distracted by all the extra information. And once my children get to the point where they’re taking tests like the SAT and ACT, we’ll definitely be taking his suggestion of practice tests to help them prepare.
Who Should Read Teach by Dennis DiNoia?
If you’re a homeschool parent who wants to teach your children how to be independent learners, Teach by Dennis DiNoia is a must-read. I think this book is of extra value to working homeschool parents or parents who are homeschooling multiple children at once.
As a mom dealing with both of those situations, teaching my children to be a bit more self-directed and independent with their schoolwork is a big part of how I make homeschooling work with my limited time.
The advice in this book really reinforces a lot of the things I try to do in my own homeschool as well as provides practical tips and advice to help set up a homeschool environment that encourages independent learning.
By helping teach your kids how to teach themselves, you’re setting them up for success, not just in a homeschooling environment, but in college and beyond. So if that’s something you want for your family, I highly recommend Teach by Dennis DiNoia.
I also think that students themselves would really get a lot out of this book. Several of the chapters are written directly to the student.
So much of the book talks about encouraging children to learn for themselves and take ownership of their knowledge and education. Reading this book would be a good first step in learning how to become an independent learner.
I think children 12 and up could get a lot of value from the information and advice shared by Mr. DiNoia.
Final Thoughts on Teach by Dennis DiNoia
Teach by Dennis DiNoia is an excellent resource for homeschool parents and students alike. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to refine your teaching strategies, this book will teach you something new and help you homeschool your children more effectively.
It has some of the best homeschool advice that I’ve heard yet and I definitely recommend giving it a read. Get it today and see what a difference it can make in your homeschool experience!
Have you read Teach by Dennis DiNoia? What did you think? Let us know in the comments or email me at admin@atouchofhomeschooling.com.
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Candice is a mom of 3 who has been homeschooling since 2013. She has an A.A.S. in Early Childhood Studies and cares deeply about helping other parents get the information and resources they need to help them homeschool their children with confidence.