Level 4 Certification & Where we are now in class

Time to take the final for my certification.  I love WBT and can't wait to have it my hands that I am certified.  So exciting and tons of work to get here.  Test time!!!!

I find I use most of it but have a bit of a harder time with the Turn and Teach part.  I have a blended class so the older ones do great the younger ones still have trouble.  I imagine it will fall into place soon.

The super improvers wall in moving along.  I have 4 students almost at level 2.

The scoreboard still rocks and everyone loves it.  So it stays :)

The kids have learned 20 site words since September.  Lovin' that!  Our first test we had almost 100% from everyone.  Can I get a 10 finger woo.

Illustrator and Author have really been the funnest for the kids.  I am surprised.  I thought it would be like pulling teeth to get them to do it.  On Mondays and Wednesdays they remind me we are doing it.  Now that is excitement!  Their journals are getting filled with wonderful writing and pictures.  Parents will have the memories forever!

So excited for the next part of my journey.

See ya soon!

Super Improvers Wall

Putting together our Super Improvers Wall "SIW"
This is a place where the students can receive stars for personal improvement.  If a student has problems with staying in their seat, participating, doing better at listen rather than talking and so forth.  After getting 10 stars they move up a level (which is a color).  There are 10 levels so once they get 100 stars they are on top.  It should help my lower performing students perform and get rewarded for doing so.  Everyone does good at some level or another. I can't wait to see who gets eager to move up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioHz85FYpWY
Here is a link to see how it works!

WBT Chapters 8-10

WBT Assignment 3 Chapter 8-9-10

These were some very powerful lessons.  I enjoyed them so much; I read them twice just so I didn't miss a thing. 

Teach Okay is an amazing way to get through to children with chunks (30 seconds or less) of learning. I find that using “Class!” gets their attention quickly, so that I can give quick instructions for activities and lessons.  When students engage in Teach-Okay, they are receiving effective practice in speaking and therefore are thinking, clearly. This is also very helpful for children who speak more than one language.  They are able to practice speaking the language in chunks without feeling embarrassed.  Teaching in chunks, keep the attention of the kids without losing your students to boredom.  I love the Whole Brain Teaching Rule: “The more we talk the more students we lose”.   It is so true!

With Teach-Okay students are able to use their critical thinking skills by paraphrasing what you said as they teach it back to their partner.  They are energetically with passion. This also allows the talkers to learn the skills of listening and the listeners to learn the skills of talking. It also grows the cerebral cortex most rapidly within the first 10 years of life.  That means those dendrites are sprouting and growing like crazy.

The gestures make it fun and allow the students to be involved in each Teaching lesson.  Students are engaged listening, seeing and feeling stimulated by doing. When gestures are being used with Teaching and listening, you are igniting a multi-sensory experience stimulating the whole brain.  The laughter that erupts in the classroom from WBT is great for decreasing stress, tension and boosts our immune system.  The ticklers are; stomping your feet, patting your head, flapping your wings like a bird and such as you say “Teach!”  This just makes it all the more fun for both the students and teacher.

The “Switch!” command gets the talkers to listen and the listeners, to talk.  At the end of the day when listening skills are not so good, the gestures reinvigorate the brain and get them energized again for listening.

Part 2 Implementation

At first my students were reluctant to turn and teach but after role playing with them and showing them how to do it, they had fun.  My quiet ones were so quiet I could barely hear them but they are picking up the tone and figuring it out.  It has been fun watching them learn how to do it.  My Alpha students picked it right up and were like old pros before no time at all.   I am partnering them up with my middle and bottom students so it is helping them mirror their partner.

They all love the hand gestures and ticklers.  It is wonderful hearing the class, so full of joy and laughter.  It's teacher heaven!

Rule 3 Raise your hand for permission to speak

- Today the focus is Rule #3~ Raise Your Hand for Permission to Leave Your Seat. For today's assignment~ write an essay explaining what strategies you introduced (paragraph 1) and reflect on how it went (paragraph 2). 

Using the students to help me reinforce this rule will become instrumental for them to master it.  When someone leaves their seat for any reason without permission, I ask the class “what rule are they breaking”?  The class than follows up with they are breaking rule #3-Raise you hand for permission to leave your seat. (After a while I expect they will do it automatically without me asking). This allows for them to take responsibility for their actions, called out by their peers. This way, I am not the bad guy!

This has been hard for me to reinforce.  I give many reminders through the day and frownie points when it is not followed.  Kindergarteners are learning about the structure of the day, so  I play ping pong and have fun with them, as we transition into learning this rule quickly.

I am also trying a “Caught being good” card.  I found the idea from WBT Summer reading blog.  One of the posters had the idea and I loved it, so we are adopting it. I am hoping this will help reinforce the rule.  Rule 1 and 2 are the hardest for this age group of kids. Anything I can find that will help is always a plus. At this point it is working well.

I am now giving 2 minutes of extra recess time if no one leaves their seats during Round Table time.  I am shocked how the kids are just waiting to remind someone they cannot leave their seat or they lose 2 minutes of recess time. I think this might work for a while.  One happy teacher right here!

Nicole

Hi Nicole,

I do it just as the books outlines it.  I did the 5 rules for 2 weeks before introducing the scoreboard which has been a hit.  My kids love it!  I am eager to give the frowny points so they are eager to earn the smiley points.  It really works!  It is easy doesn't cost a penny and they want to do it.
We are now doing the Teach Okay and that is fun.  It took a while for them to figure it out and learn what I was conveying but they are like sponges at this age.  They pick up things so quickly and are so eager to keep their dear teacher happy.  It makes teaching a complete joy.

Give it a try you will be surprised by the reaction.  I know I was.  I am about half way to my certification to teach it I am such a believer.  It has been about 8-10 weeks since I started it.

I'd love to hear back on how it goes.

Good luck!
Julie

Whole Brain Teaching has really changed my life as a teacher.  I can't believe how quickly the kids have picked up the rules and love them as well.  It is so cute to watch them tell each other what rules they are breaking.  LOL  The behavior has changed immensely.  My job just got easier!  This teacher is so happy I think I might be in teacher heaven.  

EXAMPLE:  Morning round table is where we all get together and discuss what we are doing for the day usually the exciting stuff.  We go over the calendar, do the pledge, talk about the weather, assign jobs for the day, recite the rules for the teacher and rules for our classroom.  During this time kids like to talk out of turn, and my students are quick to call someone out if they are breaking rule # 2 "Raise your hand for permission to speak".

Loving the Teach Okay!  This has been fun.  I need to do more of it and use it constantly as I think it has a ton of merit and will allow the students an easy fun way to learn new things.  I can keep their attention as well.
Having fun with outdoor play now that the weather is in the 80-90's. Water balloons, slip n slide all the fun one can have with water.  Looking to build a water wall so they can have some individual fun as well.
Stay tuned for more updates on how the WBT is going in our classroom!

Chapter 11 Assignment

From the 15+ variations of the Scoreboard in Chapter 11, pick five you will use in the school year. Explain why you picked each one and estimate how long you will use your selection before going on to the next.

I have been using the smiley and frowny face scoreboard for 2 months now and it has been a wonderful tool.  As a teacher of Kindergarten this is easily relatable to the children and it is a great motivator.  After a few months and I see boredom start to rise, I will move on to motivate them by using the gridboard. 

Gridboard: This should allow me to refocus those that are slow to be energetic and adding some fun and a different twist to the game. I will use this strategy for about 3 weeks and find fun ideas to add along the way.

Virtueboard: This will help my kinders learn about kindness of the heart and giving to others.  This could be my favorite, as it gives me many opportunities for teaching. I may keep this one around for a while and I may even keep it separate from the smiley/frowny scoreboard.  Teaching them these values will be life-long lessons. I can’t wait to try it.

Team Scoreboard: I may do this one on Fridays, for the last half of the day for a few weeks. Children love games and competition, so this should motivate them to really dig in and work as a team to gain points. Boys against the girls, Oh ya!  The children will gain a strong idea of learning what it means to have teams and leaders.  I will switch the leaders around so everyone can see how it feels to lead a group. This will also build self-confidence in my quiet students as well.

Boombox: My kids are going to love this one.  At this age music is an important part of learning and gaining an appreciation for different types.  I am looking forward to the reaction they will have when they realize the reward is music.  Even a minute or two will make them very excited to do this exercise.  I will do this one for about 2 weeks, that way when I come back to it, they will be excited to do it again.

Ultimately, I will go back to the smiley/frowny points. I own a school that teaches year round, so we will be changing things up soon and trying something new. I love that there are so many ways to change the scoreboard around to keep it fresh.