Treading Water

School is fully underway and I feel like I have just barely been keeping my head above water these past few weeks!  Is anyone with me??  (And we are only 7.5 weeks into this school year!)  Thankfully, the classroom is running rather smoothly.  If it wasn't, I don't know what I would do!  It is just all the other responsibilities and never-ending emails that are running me ragged.  Too bad WBT doesn't have a solution to these non-student issues!


Here are some updates:
1) I started the Genius Ladder a couple of weeks ago.  The kids loved it and for the first time I feel like I taught a relevant, engaging grammar lesson.  I've always disliked grammar myself so it was exciting to see everyone having fun.  


I think I made a mistake when I tried to change it up the second week.  We were suppose to be learning synonyms, and it kind of confused the kids since it was different than we did the first week.  If we had better grasp of the Genius Ladder to start with, I'm sure it wouldn't have been so challenging to add in this concept.  Here is the slide I made on PowerPoint.  -->


2) I still love the Super Improvers Wall!  


3) I got a Smart Board this week!  It's amazing but I have a lot to learn to fully be able to utilize its capabilities.  The students who have used them in the past are helping me to learn.  Are there any Wibbeteers out there who use a Smart Board?  I'd love to see any WBT ideas for it.  


Today we played Mind Soccer on the Smart Board!  It was very basic.  I drew a rectangle on each side of the board for the ball and I put in a clipart image of a soccer ball.  The kids thought it was so cool to have an actual picture of a soccer ball after using the white board eraser as the ball for the past few weeks.  


4) Tomorrow I will have 40 second and third graders in my classroom for half of the day.  What is my first item on the agenda?  Class-yes, teach-ok, and classroom rules of course!


Allison
WBT Intern, 2011-12

Practice, practice, practice

The second week of school was a week full of PRACTICE.  I kept reminding myself to practice and not scold.  Boy, is it hard sometimes!  

By the second week of school the class was tired.  The novelty of the first week had worn off and the sleep deprivation from starting school at 7:30 am had set in.  Lets just say....they were not very energetic.  They were not following directions quickly or responding appropriately.  

My first line of defense is the scoreboard.  It is an amazing tool.  According to the +/- 3 rule, neither side should ever be too far ahead so as to maintain the anticipation.  There are some days, like I had last week, where I could have easily had 3 happy points vs. 15 frownie points.  However, I realized that it was important for me to keep the +/- 3 because...

• it forced me to look for and celebrate positive behaviors.
• when we were 3 frownie points ahead it gave me a big reminder to STOP and PRACTICE.  Continuing to add to the frownie points wouldn't be very effective.  The class needed time to focus on procedures.  
• it has the ability to bring amazing energy to the classroom!  Maintain a fast paced volley between Oh Yeah! and the Might Groan and it draws the stragglers in.

Here is a little look at my scoreboard- its not pretty, but it serves its purpose and gets plenty of use!

Here are some ways that we practiced:

• We reviewed proper procedures using Mirror.  (You should have seen my "How to wash your hands" lesson!  We mirrored, taught, non-exampled, exampled, and then actually practiced at the sink!)
• Students taught their partner procedures using Teach-Ok.  (They told their partner many times what to do when the teacher says "Class".)
• We pretended in order to offer practice opportunities.  (Pretend to talk to your partner....."Class, class, class!"...."Yes, yes, yes!")
• We did things over, and over, and over again.  ("Page 32....I don't hear any voices, we need to practice again!  Page 32."   "Page 32, page 32, page 32," as they open their books quickly.)
• Students modeled the wrong way and the right way.

I know that we will continue to practice as needed ALL YEAR LONG.  But I also know that intensive practice now will produce a smoothly run classroom later and a very happy teacher! :)

Check back soon!  I can't wait to tell you more about our new line up procedures and the Universal Homework Model!

Allison

WBT Intern, 2011-12

WBT, Week 1

The first week of school is over, and I slept for 12 hours last night!  Teaching is exhausting, but I am pleased to have Whole Brain Teaching to minimize the stress!

Within the first half hour of the first day, my 2nd graders were answering class-yes,  cheering on the scoreboard, and using the teach-ok like champs!  It was awesome! 

Our school now has a "social skill of the week."  This week it was, "Make eye contact while speaking."  This went along perfectly with learning the teach-ok.  

"Remember, make eye contact with your partner!"  

After a few days I added in the Switch.  They were giggling and smiling with joy as they called out, "ah-oh, switch!" and pulled the imaginary switch to take turns.

On Monday we started by learning only the first three rules.  The students mirrored me as we practiced the gestures.  The rules are a great way for them to start learning the teach-ok.  They taught their partner each rule and then practiced them all in order.  On Tuesday and Wednesday we added another rule.

By the end of the week the students were tired and getting sluggish.  I amped up the scoreboard, called out the rules for practice when someone broke them, and rehearsed, rehearsed, rehearsed.  I had to keep Chris Biffle's words in mind, "Whole Brain Teachers never scold...they rehearse!"  That sure is hard to remember some times, but it does keep the blood pressure down ;-)


Allison
WBT Intern, 2011-12

Wonderful last day!

I despise chaos and the last days of school always seem to be full of chaos!  I tried to maintain as much structure as I could and WBT was a HUGE help.

As the students worked on a last day project, I just had to smile when I overheard the conversation of my two challenging students.  Student A heard student B say something rude.  Student A automatically said, "Rule number 3!"  Student 2 quickly replied with, "Treat others the way you want to be treated!"  Can you believe it?  The two most challenging students happily correcting each other- that's what I call teacher heaven!

I usually stay away from giving too much freedom on the last day...like I said, I hate chaos!  Today in the last hour, I let the kids choose games to play with friends.  It worked very well in part due to the fact that I still had all the control I needed with the class-yes!

Before the class walked out the door for the last time we had one more class-yes for old time's sake! LOL :)   I had students sincerely thank me.  I had students beg me to join them in 3rd grade.  Two sweet little girls left with tears in their eyes!  Again, I know that this was an exceptionally sweet class, but I truly believe that I can attribute much of this year's success to the positive environment created with Whole Brain Teaching.

Thank you WBT!

For the first time in my teaching career I have not been crossing off the days in anticipation of summer vacation.  For once, I feel satisfied with my year.  I know that I was successful in many areas and accomplished a lot.

A number of positive factors impacted this school year: finally moving to 2nd grade and having an exceptionally sweet class.  But I also feel like WBT has had an enormous impact.  I've probably said this before, but I'll say it again- WBT has changed the way I teach! 

After attending the Joplin conference in February I realized how challenging it is to be a student in a WBT class.  With mirror and teach-ok students always have to be paying attention and thinking and remembering.  I feel that incorporating WBT has raised the bar in my class and has required more of the students.  It seems that WBT gives the students more ownership in their learning.  They actively participate and must work together as a team so that everyone learns.

One of the beauties of WBT is that it is not only relevant in the first weeks of school, but it remains vital all the way to the very end.  This is our last week and I still find myself calmly calling out rules to redirect the class.  Due to the excitement of end of year events, we paused today to allow the class to practice the rules.  It is such a low stress way to manage the class, and it works!

This week we had fun changing up the class-yes.  It is a new idea that Chris Biffle challenged the interns to try and Deb Weigel posted about it on her blog a few weeks ago.  Rather than calling for "Class" I called "Team!"  When the class was working very hard and following all of the rules we moved up to "Winners!" and the ultimate goal was to be called "Champions!"  On the first day we spent the entire morning at Team and moved up to Winners after lunch.  By the end of the second day we got all the way to Champions.  What a way to add new enthusiasm even at the very end!  Students often join in on the WBT by adding their own creative ideas.  For Winners, the class decided to respond with "Yahoo!"  (We had just performed the play, Pushing up the Sky, and they had really gotten into saying "Yahoo!")  For Champions, one smart young man encouraged the class to sing out, "We are the champions!"  So cute! 

WBT keeps our class happy!  My classroom will never be the same again.  Thank you WBT!

WBT with Technology

Well, a nice week followed my awful Monday.  I had a fellow teacher come to check out my class.  It is so much fun to share WBT with others who are eager to try something new.  She said that since she stopped by, she has already tried using some of the techniques and now the kids don't have time to get in trouble! 

At our school we rely a lot on technology.  We often incorporate videos from United Streaming in science and social studies.  We also have online math lessons with our Pearson math.  You expect anything on the screen to be engaging, and maybe it was at one time, but now it it just feels like the same old thing for the kids.  They think of a video as a time to zone out and I’ve actually heard the class groan when they saw me open a Pearson lesson online!

To combat this sense of boredom, I have been incorporating gestures and the teach-ok with my use of technology in the classroom.  Here is an example of a lesson we did yesterday with a 15 minute video about natural resources:

Teacher in red, Students in blue

Class, class, class!
Yes, yes, yes!
Today we will be watching a video that teaches how we can take care of the Earth. 
Tell your partner what we will be learning about AND give an idea about how YOU can take care of the earth. Teach!
Ok! (The students explain to each other what they will be learning about)
I start the video and they watch the introduction. Pause.
Class, class!
Yes, yes!
Natural resources.
Natural resources.
Materials from the earth that people use. (with gestures)
Materials from the earth that people use. (copying gestures)
Teach your partner the definition of natural resources AND give examples.  Teach!
Ok! (They turn quickly to their partners and start talking)
Classy, class class!'
Yessy, yes yes!
Natural resources.
Natural resources.  Materials from the earth that people use. (as they act the definition out with our gesture)
Raise your hand to share an example of a natural resource.
We have a trusty stuffed animal that we throw across the rooms at times when students share.  I toss it to 3-4 students as they quickly respond with examples of natural resources. Everyone wants a chance to catch the dog and throw it back to their teacher!
Watch some more of the video.  Pause.
Tell your partner why we need to conserve natural resources.  Teach!
Ok! (Partners start talking)
Natural resources. (sometimes I use the vocab words to get their attention)
Natural resources.  Material from the earth that people use.
Watch some more.  Pause.
Reduce.
Reduce.
To use less of something.  (As I bring my hands together to show less)
To use less of something.  (The class  mimics the gesture)
Teach your partner what reduce means and tell them something you can reduce your use of.  Teach!
Ok!

You get the idea.  The videos offer much more information than our out of date textbooks.  Now I feel like I am using the videos as a tool to provide more depth, not just as a filler.  They are actively involved.  The students come away acutally retaining the information.  As always, these WBT techniques are especially helpful to the ESL kids.  Most of the video would go in one ear and out the other without some time to stop and process what they are learning.

Hopefully I will have a Smart Board next year.  I can’t wait to see how I can use that to engage the students and incorporate WBT!  Air Smart Board, anyone? ;-)

Field Day!

Today I proved that WBT isn't just for teaching, it is for surviving amongst chaos!  This was Field Day.  My class, along with 300 other kids at one time, rotated through 15 games.  To say that the kids were excited is an understatement.  Even the "good" kids had trouble containing themselves as they ate popsicles while seeing the crazy water games ahead of them! 

WBT certainly created my own bit of "teacher heaven" today.  Even with all of this stimulation, I had control with my class-yes and "lines".  I don't have the voice to make myself heard above the crowd, but the students have been conditioned to respond when they hear these commands!  We took a couple of minutes to practice in the classroom before we even went out to reinforce the expectations.  I thought it might be fun and novel to have a new call and response today.  Some students came up with saying "Go!" and the class responds "Team!"  That was nice but the old standby worked sooooooo well,  so I mostly relied on class-yes. 

It was helpful to line up the class to move to each activity and have them ready to listen to directions.  I just had to say one word, "LINES!"  and they all began to chant "Lines! Lines! Lines!"  I was really impressed with how well they followed this procedure even in this atypical situation.  It was wonderful!  This reminds me of another blog I read recently where the Wibbeteer used WBT to manage a cross-country team.  Check out Pinetreelia's blog here.  WBT is so versatile!

Class-yes

The class-yes was the first whole brain strategy that I tried.  I enjoyed it instantly because it is an easy attention getter and the students really respond well to it.  There are similar strategies like clapping, but the special thing about the class-yes is that there are endless possibilities to change it up and keep things new.  When things are new, the students are instantly interested and quickly comply with little effort on my part :) 

Generally in my class I use something like...
Class, class, class     and they respond with...  Yes, yes, yes
Classy, class                                                    Yessy, yes
Alrighty class                                                    Alrighty yes
Oh my class                                                     Oh my yes
Yo ho class                                                       Yo ho yes

I also love to use vocabulary words for attention. For example, I would say, "Prevent" and the class would respond, "Prevent- to stop from happening" as they act it out with the gesture we have practiced for this word.  Last year I did a lot of math facts. 
5 x 3                   and they respond                       5 x 3 =15

There was an interesting post about class-yes variations on the forum: http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/General-Education/5531-Class...Yes-variations.html

Recently we have had some fun new additions to our class-yes procedure!  First, I began to use a classroom leader.  This is a new WBT strategy that I learned about at the conference in February.  I let my class vote on a leader that would be a good example.  They made an excellent choice.  So far I have only used the leader for the class-yes, but it has been an amazing success.  While the class might be getting bored with responding to me, I simply point to my leader, he says "Class!" and they they eagerly respond with "Yes!"  It is so cool!  The class thinks it is awesome!  They smile in wonder at the thought of a student having the class-yes power!

I have also started allowing the students to use the class-yes when they are called on and ready to share with the class.  Again, they are excited with the power that they feel, and the rest of the class is highly engaged and more focused on the speaker.

This is just another reason that I love WBT!  It is so easy.  It becomes second nature.(Sometimes I say "Class, class" to other students...and they look at me funny.)  And it has so many possibilities to grow and change with the class to add new exciting elements throughout the year.