Friday, September 5, 2014
What a Difference a Week Makes!
Last week I was struggling with the Scoreboard and having my students be motivated by it. Part of it was me. I just needed to change my perspective. After a restful weekend, and being determined that I would make it work this week, I started my week on Tuesday with a new perspective, and IT WORKED! My kids were so much more motivated by the Scoreboard than any of the other weeks. We actually earned rewards (extra recess) for three of the four days! Previous to this week, we had only earned it twice the entire school year! This is just proof that sometimes you need to re-evaluate and reflect on how things are going and then make necessary changes. I am glad that I did that, and I am looking forward to the motivation the Scoreboard will continue to provide for my students!
Monday, September 1, 2014
What I Am Struggling With...
There are a few things in WBT that I am having a difficult time grasping. The first comes with the scoreboard. I am doing my best to keep it between no more than 3 tally marks in either column. However, it does not seem like it is motivating my students very much. They have only earned extra recess once, and we have been in school for 22 days. They have had more time off than anything, or we are oftentimes breaking even. I thought that once they finally earned the extra recess it would motivate them more, but it has not.
Something else we are having a difficult time with is that when we do Class? Yes! I want 100% of students dropping everything and looking at me. Is that expectation too high? I don't think so, but we are not quite there yet.
The biggest struggle I have is mashing WBT with our school-wide behavior plan. It is an expectation from my school that I use this behavior plan. It involves a clip up chart where students clip up for good behavior and clip down for good behavior. With each clip up, a child earns a paw that is entered into a basket that can be drawn at the end of the week. The class can earn a paw that is entered into a basket that can also be drawn at the end of the week. If students are drawn, they get their picture taken. If classes are drawn, they earn a reward. Here is a picture of the clip up chart in my classroom:
How do I incorporate this clip up chart with WBT? How do I use the scoreboard and use this chart? I am feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to use both. Does anyone else struggle with an expectation their school has with WBT? I would love to hear how you handled it!
Something else we are having a difficult time with is that when we do Class? Yes! I want 100% of students dropping everything and looking at me. Is that expectation too high? I don't think so, but we are not quite there yet.
The biggest struggle I have is mashing WBT with our school-wide behavior plan. It is an expectation from my school that I use this behavior plan. It involves a clip up chart where students clip up for good behavior and clip down for good behavior. With each clip up, a child earns a paw that is entered into a basket that can be drawn at the end of the week. The class can earn a paw that is entered into a basket that can also be drawn at the end of the week. If students are drawn, they get their picture taken. If classes are drawn, they earn a reward. Here is a picture of the clip up chart in my classroom:
How do I incorporate this clip up chart with WBT? How do I use the scoreboard and use this chart? I am feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to use both. Does anyone else struggle with an expectation their school has with WBT? I would love to hear how you handled it!
Teach! Okay!
I came back from training for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and it was like starting over. I expected it after only having my kids for four school days and a substitute having them for three school days. I came back that Monday morning and reintroduced the classroom rules and Class? Yes! The kids were much quicker at getting back into routine then I thought they would be. However, I made them work for an entire week before introducing them to the newest part of WBT - Teach! Okay!
I introduced it, and we started with something simple. I had them teach each other the classroom rules. At first they were confused between the Class? Yes! and Teach! Okay! but they soon were able to practice it without confusion. I then moved to concepts I was teaching in the classroom. I forgot the part about breaking instruction down into smaller pieces, and when I tried to do Teach! Okay! with a lot of information given to them, my students were not very successful. I tried backing it up and doing it in smaller chunks. They were much more capable of doing this.
I am slowly using this more and more throughout the entire school day. I love hearing the things they teach their classmates. It is a quick and easy way to assess understanding.
I introduced it, and we started with something simple. I had them teach each other the classroom rules. At first they were confused between the Class? Yes! and Teach! Okay! but they soon were able to practice it without confusion. I then moved to concepts I was teaching in the classroom. I forgot the part about breaking instruction down into smaller pieces, and when I tried to do Teach! Okay! with a lot of information given to them, my students were not very successful. I tried backing it up and doing it in smaller chunks. They were much more capable of doing this.
I am slowly using this more and more throughout the entire school day. I love hearing the things they teach their classmates. It is a quick and easy way to assess understanding.
What Whole Brain Teaching Looks Like in My Classroom
I have three parts of WBT set up in my classroom. Two of them I have introduced and implemented in my classroom, and the final one I have not introduced yet.
I have the 5 classroom rules posted in the front of the room. My room is Hollywood themed so I found the Hollywood themed 5 classroom rules on www.teacherspayteachers.com. They were free, and I loved how they matched my theme! I printed them off and laminated them. Here they are:
The second part of WBT that I have posted and implemented is the scoreboard. I use my dry erase board to record the smiles and frowns. This is what my scoreboard looks like:
I also have the Super Improvers wall posted. I have not introduced or used it in my classroom yet, and my kids ask me daily what it is for. I plan on introducing it when we go back to school tomorrow. I am excited to start using this to motivate my students to improve academically and behaviorally. Again, I found this at www.teacherspayteachers.com.
I have the 5 classroom rules posted in the front of the room. My room is Hollywood themed so I found the Hollywood themed 5 classroom rules on www.teacherspayteachers.com. They were free, and I loved how they matched my theme! I printed them off and laminated them. Here they are:
The second part of WBT that I have posted and implemented is the scoreboard. I use my dry erase board to record the smiles and frowns. This is what my scoreboard looks like:
I also have the Super Improvers wall posted. I have not introduced or used it in my classroom yet, and my kids ask me daily what it is for. I plan on introducing it when we go back to school tomorrow. I am excited to start using this to motivate my students to improve academically and behaviorally. Again, I found this at www.teacherspayteachers.com.
First Two Weeks of Whole Brain Teaching
Sorry it has been a long time since I have posted. I have had an idea of what I am going to say and have jotted those ideas down in a notebook, but I have not taken the time to write them out here. That is why I am going to have several posts today. My goal is to post more frequently for the month of September.
My school year is unique in that we started in school with students on July 31st. That is the first time in my educational career (both as a professional and as a student) that I have been in school in July. I also volunteer with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and the annual training was taking place August 7th - 10th. That would be three days out of the classroom during the first full week of school. Yikes!
I introduced the five classroom rules to my students the very first day of school. We practiced them multiple times throughout the first day along with other classroom and school procedures. Most of the kids participated enthusiastically. Some of them needed a little more work to get fully involved. I also introduced Class? Yes! to my class on that first day. I was pretty frustrated those first two days with the way it was going in my classroom.
It took the weekend to remind myself that it was only TWO days into the school year. It is going to take more time to go smoothly. I came back Monday morning refreshed and determined to make these things work. And guess what? They did! The rules are going so smoothly now. Students lead them every time we do them. I love it! If a student is breaking a rule, I just simply say, "Rule Number (insert rule number here)" and the students know exactly what I expect of them. We are still very much a work in progress, but I am pleased with the progress so far!
My school year is unique in that we started in school with students on July 31st. That is the first time in my educational career (both as a professional and as a student) that I have been in school in July. I also volunteer with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and the annual training was taking place August 7th - 10th. That would be three days out of the classroom during the first full week of school. Yikes!
I introduced the five classroom rules to my students the very first day of school. We practiced them multiple times throughout the first day along with other classroom and school procedures. Most of the kids participated enthusiastically. Some of them needed a little more work to get fully involved. I also introduced Class? Yes! to my class on that first day. I was pretty frustrated those first two days with the way it was going in my classroom.
It took the weekend to remind myself that it was only TWO days into the school year. It is going to take more time to go smoothly. I came back Monday morning refreshed and determined to make these things work. And guess what? They did! The rules are going so smoothly now. Students lead them every time we do them. I love it! If a student is breaking a rule, I just simply say, "Rule Number (insert rule number here)" and the students know exactly what I expect of them. We are still very much a work in progress, but I am pleased with the progress so far!
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
New School Resolution
Here we are...New School Year's Eve. It is the night before I welcome 21 new, impressionable second graders into my classroom. I am so excited, and at the same time, very anxious. The out of control class nightmares started last week. Am I the only one that gets those?
I am also thrilled that I will be introducing Whole Brain Teaching in my classroom this year. I literally stumbled upon Whole Brain Teaching in April of 2014 when I was looking for new strategies to help my struggling readers. I really liked the resources and information available on the website: www.wholebrainteaching.com. I was trying to finish a very challenging year so I did not have time to read about it further. I vowed to learn more over summer vacation.
My summer vacation was quite short this year because of our challenging winter weather in Indiana. I didn't have a chance to start researching until July. About that time, I saw a post on Facebook about applying to become a WBT intern. I decided that even with my limited knowledge, I was going to apply and hope for the best. I was THRILLED when I was accepted as an intern.
My first project has been to read the book:
I have made it through the majority of the book. I am far enough along that I feel like I can successfully launch it tomorrow in my classroom.
The first thing my kids will do tomorrow is to create a New School Resolution. We will attach it to party hats and then do a New School Year countdown similar to what happens on New Year's Eve. I created my party hat today to give the kids an example. What is my New School Resolution?
I am also thrilled that I will be introducing Whole Brain Teaching in my classroom this year. I literally stumbled upon Whole Brain Teaching in April of 2014 when I was looking for new strategies to help my struggling readers. I really liked the resources and information available on the website: www.wholebrainteaching.com. I was trying to finish a very challenging year so I did not have time to read about it further. I vowed to learn more over summer vacation.
My summer vacation was quite short this year because of our challenging winter weather in Indiana. I didn't have a chance to start researching until July. About that time, I saw a post on Facebook about applying to become a WBT intern. I decided that even with my limited knowledge, I was going to apply and hope for the best. I was THRILLED when I was accepted as an intern.
My first project has been to read the book:
I have made it through the majority of the book. I am far enough along that I feel like I can successfully launch it tomorrow in my classroom.
The first thing my kids will do tomorrow is to create a New School Resolution. We will attach it to party hats and then do a New School Year countdown similar to what happens on New Year's Eve. I created my party hat today to give the kids an example. What is my New School Resolution?
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