Red and Green Markers, Webcast #531

This evening, I went straight to my computer and the WBT website. I started Webcast #531 and there was Coach B with his straightforward advice, “We need to teach each of the tiny skills of writing – isolated.”  Being a fourth grade writing teacher, this simple quote made a great deal of sense to me.  I wrote down all the micro skills on the video and I now can’t wait to start breaking my writing lessons down into micro skills.

I plan to use the red and green markers today in my class. Although Coach B demonstrated red and green markers mostly with writing, I’ll start with context clues in reading, since that is our word work topic today. I also have shared the red and green marker procedure with my grade level colleagues and my principal during a planning session, giving credit, of course, to Coach B and WBT.  We plan to use it with respect to writing complete sentences and topic sentences  on our next Wednesday Writing Day.  We all loved the idea of releasing control of the red and green markers to the students to help them become better self and peer editors.

The paragraph sketching also has me intrigued. As an adult, it’s the way I pre-write, yet I’ve always had my students draw a graphic organizer before actually beginning to organize ideas on paper. I think I’ll simplify this process for my students, and I think they’ll love me for it.

Finally, I love the WBT Super Improvers Wall! For me, it answers the question “How do I get gifted and high achievers to strive for excellence instead of mediocrity?”  Yet it also motivates lower achievers to improve. It will most assuredly increase the level of critical thinking among my students.  As soon as possible, I will get my wall set up. Oh goodness! I wish I had known about WBT this summer. Then I’d have my room all set up by now! I have so much to learn and do with my students!  Thank you WBT and Coach B for adding to my passion for teaching.

The Big Seven

                                            

“Reform has to be free and voluntary!”   A profound statement from Coach Biffle, indeed.  Last year was a year filled with tough kids and new, more rigorous standardized tests – and I wasn’t prepared.  Determined to be a better teacher – yes, to reform my classroom—I tuned in and turned on to Whole Brain Teaching.

I absolutely love it! My students are moving.  They are laughing.  They are on task.  They are learning.  The Big Seven are seven simple procedures for class management.  I started with Class-Yes.   Never has getting the class’ attention been so easy and so fun, and never have I smiled so much while teaching. Yet it was simple, simple, simple to teach!

Next I taught the five rules. My students always grin when we chant Rule No. 5. As Coach recommends, we chant the rules several times a day as a reminder and way to gain focus. I included a Score Board with Smilies and Frownies.

On Day 1, we moved on to Teach-Okay and Switch. Now, I’ve always had kids share with a partner, but that type of “turn and talk” has never been as successful as Teach-Okay. With WBT and Teach-Okay, kids are using their hands as they clap and say “Okay.” The micro lectures eliminate boredom. Students use their arms as they gesture widely. They smile. The noise is task-oriented. I soon learned pairs were more successful when I assigned the “1” to the more advanced student of the two students. That way, partner No. 2 had heard the micro lecture both from me and from another student before Switching and teaching it back to the No. 1 partner.

The most powerful part of Teach-Okay is the high level of thinking it requires. My students must listen to the micro-lecture, process the information, and synthesize it into their own words as they repeat it. Each and every student has the opportunity to synthesize the information in this way, moving the new information from short-term memory to long-term memory.

I also taught Mirror, and added in the Ten-Finger Woo. My kids loved both. With Mirror, students are focused completely on me and what I have to say. 

Finally, for complete and total anticipation and focus, I taught Hands and Eyes.  It's never been so simple and quick for me to garner my students' attention before teaching.  I feel so loved, and my students are fully engaged in learning. It’s truly Teacher Heaven!

For more information about the Big Seven, go to wholebrainteaching.com and click on the First Steps drop-down menu.

Teaching the Rules, Webcast #515

            Today, in Webcast #515, Coach B stated my sentiments exactly. “Power to the teachers and God bless us all. We’ve got the greatest profession on earth.” But this wonderfully passionate statement is true only if you have classroom management well in place.  Thus, I taught the Five Rules to my class within the first hour of the first day of school this week.

 As recommended by Coach B, I’ve been weaving the Rules instruction into our daily routine several times a day. This is the first time I’ve taught kids to memorize the rules, but they took to it really well. They had fun with the gestures I taught them.  My fourth graders can recite the rules in any order – quickly.  I think this week we’ll have fun reciting them in a whisper or a silly voice.  

More importantly, they can not only recite the rules.  They can tell me why it’s important to have good rules.  They all agreed that we need to create an atmosphere where learning occurs and everyone feels safe.  When we voted on each rule, my class overwhelmingly agreed each rule was a good one.

This year, my students are really good kids, so I don’t anticipate any major problems. That is, unless constant talking can be considered a major problem, which I do, because learning isn’t taking place.  I tried the timer a couple of times on Friday, but the alarm clock I got wouldn’t time for just a few minutes. I’ll head to Wal-Mart tomorrow for a better timer.  I think I can get the talking throughout the class period stopped that way.

           But what do I do about dismissal time?  I can’t even pretend it’s organized chaos.  It’s just chaos.  I don’t mind if the kids talk a bit among themselves, but they go crazy.  How can I stop this loud frenzy at the end of the day so kids can hear last minute P.A. announcements and instructions from me?  I would appreciate some insight or advice from one of our experienced WBT teachers.  Thank you very much!

           Note: After I posted this reflection, a kind blogger recommended that we practice the dismissal procedure earlier in the day. So we did that today with great results. Dismissal was much calmer today. My students understood that they had not earned the talking time at the end of the day because we had one more Frownie than Smilie. As one of my former excessive talkers explained to the class “We’ll do it [earn the free time] tomorrow!”  He was compliant in a very positive way. Teacher Heaven!

Introduction

My name is Michaelene Kasper, and I teach Language Arts to fourth graders in a small town in Texas. I first learned about Whole Brain Teaching (WBT) in August this year, just a couple of days before my students returned to school. I was immediately hooked! I'm not sure what to expect as I embark on this journey, but I know what I want to happen.  I want my students to learn joyously. I want them to look forward to coming to school each day because they can't wait to come to my class. As Coach B so aptly states, I want to be in Teacher Heaven! This is where I will write to record and discover what I am learning about becoming a WBT teacher. I invite you to join me, to observe me, to coach me, to comment on my successes and challenges, and to cheer me on!  My thanks to all the wonderful teachers at WholeBrainTeaching.com, but especially to the insightful genius professor, Coach B, for sharing his passion for WBT.  

My Blog Site Is Up!

I'm so excited!  It took me many hours of research, trial and error, but I've finally published my blog site! Now I have a place to share my Whole Brain Teaching experiences with all the wonderful teachers in the growing WBT community. I've posted blogs on my first few WBT experiences, and I have several more in the works. The WBT bug has bitten me, and I can't get enough! In place in my classroom are my Scoreboard, Rules, Super Improvers Wall, Power Pix, and Cosmic Genius Ladder, as well as twenty-three wonderful little fourth graders each morning, and another twenty-three each afternoon.

I've watched several videos on which I haven't yet been able to blog. This week, I hope to post blogs about The Writing Game, Parts 1 and 2; The Cosmic Genius Ladder; and Brain Toys, Parts One and Two.  In addition, Coach B's live webcast on Tuesday evening is a must-see.  So, to all my new WBT colleagues, I'll see you on Tuesday!

Rose2001