For Immediate Release

Cody's Quirky "Memorics" Transform Learning into Fun and Games

Laguna Hills, CA, September 1, 2006 – Stan Cody introduces Teaching Out of the Box: A Teacher's Guide to Making History Fun…and More, a 194-page book chock full of all the fun things – mnemonics, acronyms and the wildest stories – that help teachers get children to laugh, connect and truly enjoy learning history and other subjects.

Teaching Out of the Box also helps instructors derive day-by-day pleasure from the teaching experience, replacing dry, staid presentation techniques with a treasury of gimmicks, exercises and memory tricks that can be personalized for each class, student and teacher.

"My students inspired me to keep using these 'memorics'," Cody says using a term he coined early in his 33-year public school teaching career. Reminiscing is a favorite pastime for this history teacher whose antics and characterizations of historical heroes had school superintendents and fellow teachers scratching their heads in wonder, while students – even those with learning disabilities – perked up and learned.

"Students told me later that they couldn't wait to get to my class, that they talked with other students about what Mr. Cody was going to do today."

Cody's classroom, full of historical memorabilia and artifacts, was known as the school "museum." It offered the perfect setting for days when he appeared in full dress regalia as George Washington, General Robert E. Lee, early day pioneers and trappers and even Susan B. Anthony.

"It was always fun. I made it fun for the students, because that's what it took to help them get the idea, to get them interested and excited about learning."

What Stan Cody is best known for among the students is his History Timeline, a chronological listing of major United States historical events from the year 1215 (the Magna Carta) to the Twentieth Century. The Timeline assigns the first letter of each event to a word in a statement, presenting a string of mnemonics to help children learn the events, dates and descriptions. Interspersed for testing purposes are the names of U.S. presidents in the order they served our country.

Book Details. Teaching Out of the Box: A Teacher's Guide to Making History Fun … and More, by Stan Cody, was published by Stan Cody Publishing (stancody.com). It retails for $16.95 and is available from: StanCody.com and Amazon.com. Libraries may order through Baker & Taylor Books.

Email Stan Cody's Publicity and Promotions Team or call 714 228-1101 (Wordpix Promotions)