This and that...

Super Improvers Wall
I put up my Super Improvers Wall about 2 weeks ago.  It is so different from any other reward system I've used, but it makes so much sense!

-It's free and easy.
-Simply adding a couple of stars really motivates the students.
-As with all things WBT, the teacher has control to manipulate the wall to create anticipation and encourage all students.
-I love how the challenging students have even more of a chance to earn stars, and "alphas" also have to work hard to improve themselves.

I can't wait for the first students to reach the photo level!!!  Check out the webinar on the Super Improvers.

Smoothy Bumper Planet
I printed the Smoothy Bumper Planet on 11 x 17 paper with the Number Towers on the back.  I like the bigger size so that we have room to work on things like number patterns.  I've ordered some transparent counters to use on the charts.

For the first time I'm using the Number Towers.  I'm realizing that it is very helpful in teaching my 2nd graders to count beyond 100.  They learn the pattern of the ones, tens, and hundreds.  I pulled a small remedial group to count with me while the others counted with their partners.  The free ebook can be downloaded on the website.

Universal Homework Model
As we were counting the total stars for the week one lovely student called out, "I wish we could do homework on FRIDAY!"  :-D 


Allison
WBT Intern, 2011-12

WBT Intern, 2011-12

I came home this afternoon to find an email informing me that I have been selected as one of the 2011-12 Whole Brain Teaching Interns!  I am shocked, excited, honored, and a little nervous as to what I have gotten myself into!  The WBT internship requires blogging and posting on the forum, which I am already familiar with.  It will also push me to try new things and I'm sure I will receive advice and constructive criticism from the official WBT trainers.  If I succeed, I may be able to join the team as a WBT trainer next year!  I'm excited to share my experiences here and share the joy of WBT with others.


Now... on to my original purpose of this post.  I wanted to expound on my Smoothy Bumper post.

This past week I played the Mind Reader game with the almost-first-grader that I tutor.  I called out two numbers, and she used the chart to answer the question, "What number in the middle am I thinking of?"   We also played the Clapper game again to practice +2.  The colors of the number wall on Smoothy Bumper Planet help the students to see patterns.  For example, my second graders noticed last year that when adding 2, the addend and the sum are always on the same color- thus odd plus two equals odd and even plus two equals even.  (Oooo...I'm thinking now that the students could teach each other the pattern they see in complete sentences using air punctuation!)  The little girl that I tutor did a great job hopping her finger to the sums and saying the number sentences, but she isn't to the point where she can communicate the patterns yet.  Here are some wise words from the Smoothy Bumper Planet book:

The more time your students spend on the Number Wall, walking their fingers back and forth, leaping from one row to another, using backward or forward diagonals, the more the numbers themselves become visual, even tactile, rather than mere abstractions.

To add some variety, I changed up the Clapper game and allowed  my student to play independently by rolling a 10-sided dice.  After rolling, she found the number on her Smoothy Bumper Planet, hopped her finger over +2, and stated the complete number sentence.  This would be an easy way to extend the game from a whole group activity to a partner game or math center activity.

Don't forget that all the Whole Brain Teaching books are available online for free!

Allison

WBT Intern, 2011-12

Smoothy Bumper Planet

I introduced Smoothy Bumper Planet to the soon-to-be 1st grader that I am tutoring this summer.  I started out by explaining that it is like a hundreds chart, BUT it has extra special things to help us (like the animals, the smoothies, and the bumpers).  The "bumpers" are the parts of the chart that appear to stick out.  These are numbers that don't follow the pattern you would expect when counting.  For example it is fifty, not fivety; thirteen, not threeteen.  I can see that this would be a great help to my ESL students who struggle with the language of numbers.

My student did not have any difficulty with these numbers but she enjoyed jumping her finger way up high every time she got to a bumpy number.  In fact, a week later I asked her to count something for me and she remembered (I completely forgot) to jump her finger as high as she could every time she saw a bumpy number.  It is fun and it is a great way to incorporate gross motor movements into an activity that could involve no movement whatsoever.  Last year I gave my class party favor witches' fingers to point with whenever we used the chart.  

My tutoring student played the clapper game to practice adding +1.  I called out a number to find and when I clapped she was to add 1 to that number.  She called out the addition sentence.  This is a super easy game that works with one student or the whole class.  I have used this as a quick number sense practice in the mornings with my second graders to practice adding and subtracting 1's, 2's, 10's, 9's, and 11's.  

I love how using Smoothy Bumper Planet incorporates many visual cues, kinesthetic actions, and an oral/auditory element.  You can download the complete Smoothy Bumper Planet book for free when you register on the WBT website.