WBT Week 2 Hands and Eyes

I was struggling recently in my first year using WB with integrity using hands and eyes and getting my students attention but it was my two students who I did not anticipate as leaders who showed that hands and eyes as an effective way to get my students attention.  Whenever my two students teach the class they always mirror first and use hands and eyes.  It give a verbal and visual cue to get the class to refocus on the task that is at hand.

WBT with Teach Switch and a Goofy Lesson

Recently we had picture day.  Personally I always dread it because they have this crabby old ladies who  don't know what they are doing and enjoy making  you wait as you get your picture taken and for special education students. this is pure torture and cruel punishment on earth for both the students and the teacher. I have tried bribing, threatening and scolding but it has never been effective waiting for pictures.

For this year  I decided to use teach, okay and switch with giving the directions with short simple phrases that we often use with autistic students and then have them repeat the directions and teach each other.  I also added switch to the lesson and they had to teach the lesson to each other.  For the part of the lesson where they had to smile for the picture I made a goofy face.  They absolutely were shocked a teacher would make a funny face and happlily taught each other the lesson.  The directions were sit, wait a LONG time  using the ASL sign for long and funny voices for long, smile, sit and wait ASL sign for wait.  It worked like a charm and for the first time in 24 years I was not stressed out during picture time.  In fact I liked both of my own shots and it took me quite a long time to pick my own picture.  We used a similar scenero for a tornado drill.  It worked great and my students were the best behaved in the hall.  No bribery or scolding needed.

Lesson 6 WBT Teach Okay

I have been starting to use teach okay in my classroom.  I like the fact that students are learning to teach each other and to hold discussion about the micro-lecture I just gave on any academic topic.  It is going slow though and I feel that they are very uncomfortable talking in front of each other.  But I am keeping on plugging away with my self-contained group.  My resource group has been more able to use this method because they are used to a larger class setting where they have had to converse with a variety of students and ideas.  I will try this method this week mixing up the resource and self-contained students and maybe that will spur my students on to success.

WBT 5+1 Rules

As the year has been progressing I am a huge fan of the Whole Brain Rules.  For many years I thought I had the perfect rules.  They were short and easy to understand but as I transitioned to WB I easily became a believer.

Unlike most WB teachers I chose to use Practice Cards pretty early because most teachers in my school have kids sit out when they had rule infractions in class.  I found out that many of my students would go do the rules automatically when they lost recess or even offered to give up their time on the Ipad or Computer to do their rules so that they did not have to lose their time outside. 

We also use the rules to find one that we want to improve upon each week.  It is so nice to have found a system where instead of having to invent or add rules  because they are measurable  and are are already intact.

Rule 1: Follow directions quickly. (Hold up one finger, then waggle your hand quickly, like a rapidly swimming fish.)
Rule 2: Raise your hand for permission to speak. (Hold up two fingers, then lower your hand and make talking motions beside your mouth.)
Rule 3: Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat. (Hold up three fingers, then walk two fingers down your arm and then jump the fingers upward off the back of your hand … as if leaving a seat.)
Rule 4: Make smart choices. (Hold up four fingers, then tap you temple four times, once for each syllable in Rule 4.)
Rule 5: Keep your dear teacher happy! (Hold up five fingers, then use both hands, framing your mouth, as you happily smile)
Diamond Rule: Keep your eyes on the target, please! (Point two fingers at your eyes, then two fingers at your class.)

WBT Beloved Rascals and Sweetie Pies

I was at Starbucks today and I ran into a teacher who has some of the students I had last summer this school year.   In the past I would dread having those beloved rascals but now I look forward to having those kids because they help me grow as an instructor and I use my experiences with them to help me with other kids.  They also help me gauge what type of teacher I truly am because if I can get the beloved rascals on board I can teach anyone. 

I really enjoyed the Power Point and the talk Coach gave and I am excited to use the Star Cards.  I also think that Juice Box and Crayons also had a great resource made this last month to have kids in my classroom show improvement using the Super Improver Card goals at their desks.

I can't wait to use this method of star lines to help my students instantly improve their behavior.  I will use this along side of these.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Super-Improver-Cheat-Sheets-2075481

WBT Week 3 Mirror Words

 When I started studying the methods of WBT I was not really on board with the terminology of Mirror Words.  I personally did not think it would work.  But then I started teaching Whole Brain with integrity in my classroom and I found that my students really focused with I mirrored my instruction when they took turns mirroring instruction.  I am now a big fan of the Mirror Words in WBT.  I love the fact that it is a way to get students refocused and you can stop briefly and engage learners not only through their voices but also with their hands and eyes.  It is another low tech method that I have engaged learners in some rather unorthodox teaching places such as the hallway, bathroom and even waiting to go to lunch.  So everyday you walk into my classroom we will be mirroring all day!

Whole Brain Lesson 1 Class Yes

For the last few years I have used music to direct my class back to attention but I am a huge fan of the class yes.  First of all it allows the teacher to call their class back to order no matter where the class is at.  Second it is a fun game where both the teacher and the class may use variety to get the class focused back on the assignment.

I have even found success using the class yes in a variety of environments.  I have been able to use class yes at various volumes with different groups whether I am working with my self-contained class as a special education teacher, a resource teacher using a quiet or silent voice in another classroom or in a loud but not yelling voice as I directed a group of children before and after recess lunch duty.

Last I like class yes because it involves students with positive peer pressure.  The kids are willing to listen to you when they can influence their less complaint friends in their classroom.  No matter what the age we all want to  please the teacher.