Whole Brain Wednesday: Freebies

If you've been to my TPT store or scrounging around in my other WBT posts in search of anything Whole Brain to download, you'll notice all the WBT items are free! I do this because all the folks over at wholebrainteaching.com allow you to download EVERYTHING on their site FOR FREE! So if they aren't making money off of their amazing ideas, ebooks & more than it would be totally uncool of me to be making money off of them...

So anyway, I've neatened up a few of my WBT products, finally uploaded a few that have been sitting in files, and am offering many to you here as freebies in my TPT store or free through my Google Drive. Some I'm sharing here on the blog for the first time (and many I just uploaded last week)... Enjoy!

WBT Rules & Procedures

WBT Rules & Procedures Chevron

WBT Rule/Reminder Cards & Letters

WBT Super Improver Wall Sports Theme 1

WBT Super Improver Wall Sports Theme 2

WBT Super Improver Wall Star/Galaxy Theme

WBT Super Improver Wall Frog Theme

You Are Entering A Whole Brain Classroom Sign

WBT Scoreboard

 *I have these laminated, cut out with magnets on the back, on my whiteboard.*

WBT Lesson Template

I hope you can use one or more of these freebies! I love sharing the joy of WBT, especially when it's with free resources for classrooms! Where do you find you WBT resources?

WBT Wednesday! Lose the Clip Chart Part 2

If you missed part 1 of this post last week, go read it here!

Part 2 of losing the clip chart is all about the Super Improvers Wall!

With a Super Improvers Wall, you don't need to tell a kiddo to move their clip down, because instead they will be trying to IMPROVE academically or on a negative behavior... all POSITIVE reinforcement and no negative, hooray!
 
So what exactly is the Super Improvers Wall (or Super Improvers Team)?
It is a way to help students become intrinsically motivated to improve both behaviorally & academically! (like I said, all positive!)

Every super improver wall has 10 levels... such as the levels used on the WBT website and by Kate over at EduKate and Inspire:

Or something to fit your classroom theme such as the candy theme I'm going to try this year:

Or here's the sports theme Super Improvers Wall I made for my grade level partners:

Keep reading to get either of these themed walls/teams for free!

Okay so #1... a color coded 10 level theme.
(If you're going to use these throughout a building or across a grade level, it's nice for everyone to have the same color scheme to kiddos can talk about their improvements with kiddos not in their class)

Now #2, each kiddo has their name on a colored piece of paper that coordinates with their color level. So for example, everyone in my class will start out on a white piece of paper because they will be "bubblegum" or in my grade level partner's classes they will start out on white paper as "fans." Since I haven't set this up yet in my room (trying to enjoy July & stay out of there!) here is a great example of the beginning of the year from Kate (again) over at EduKate and Inspire.

So how do kiddos change the color of their card & move up in levels???

That brings us to #3, kiddos earn stars for making improvements (hence the name Super Improvers). When a kiddo earns 10 stars they move up a level. Meaning, they take home their star-filled card and get a new card with their name on it, in the SAME PLACE it already was on the Super Improvers wall... see yet another example from Kate (geesh I think I need to thank her for her awesome post when I'm done here!)

I really like that they stay in the same place all year no matter what color they are. It takes away the feeling I know kiddos have about clip charts that "Oh I'm always below everyone" or on the other side "Ooooh I'm always above everyone."
It also is powerful that kiddos are competing against THEMSELVES, not each other!!!

Okay so... to review:
#1 There are 10 levels to the Super Improver Wall/Team
#2 Each kiddo's name is on the color coordinating with the level they are on.
#3 Kiddos need to earn 10 stars to move up a level.

Got it? Okay. So now you may be asking how do kiddos earn a star? Well, that's up to you as a teacher... For me, I'll start the year with a couple class goals... improvements on following class rules such as Rule #1 Follow Directions Quickly & Rule #2 Raise Your Hand for Permission to Speak (check out my post on WBT rules here & go here to get my WBT rule & procedure cards). Then I'll probably add in that making personal improvements on our addition facts can earn a star.

Throughout the year, class goals can change &&& (best part) you can make INDIVIDUAL GOALS for certain kiddos (after all, the whole point is INDIVIDUAL improvements)...

Perhaps you have a child who cannot keep their hands to themselves... you tell them they will have a *special* goal to keep their hands to themselves, if they can make improvements on that, they get a star! Or maybe your class goal has moved beyond not shouting out, but you still have a kiddo who shouts out constantly... make that their *special goal*

The individual goal setting is my FAVORITE piece of the Super Improver Wall! I can't wait to manage behaviors in a POSITIVE way!!! However, I am promising myself here and now that I will not have individual goals for EVERY kiddo, because that just seems very overwhelming to manage!

So here are some ideas for how kiddos can earn stars either as a class or individually:

• Improving...
• following certain classroom rules
• math facts
• spelling certain words
• handwriting
• blurting
• challenging oneself (i.e. not saying "I can't do it!")
• rug behavior
• partner-work behavior
• length/meaningfulness of journal entries
• moving safely in the room
• the list goes on, and on, and on! 

I will definitely be posting more about the Super Improver Wall as the year goes on! I wanted to use it last year but didn't feel I completely understood how it worked. Feel free to leave comments with questions (I will email you back so you definitely see my response!) There is a lot more you can do with the Super Improver Wall too, such as take pictures at certain levels and of course there's the whole "picture on the wall forever" that happens if a kiddo reaches the top level, but we have many more Wednesdays for that!

In the meantime, thanks for sticking it out through this entire post, please click the images below to get a free copy of either of the Super Improver Wall Levels I featured in this post!

Candy Theme

Sports Theme

A final shout out to Kate over at EduKate and Inspire for her "help" with this post! Go check out her blog, she is also a 2nd grade blogger & a "Whole Brainer"

 

You can also check out the Whole Brain Teaching Website to learn more about the Super Improvers Wall

Taming the Wild

Day 4 of linking up with Blog Hoppin' Teacher Week '13

Today's theme is Taming the Wild: Classroom Management

I have a few things I use for classroom management in my room. I have an individual class behavior management system as well as a whole class behavior management system.

Individual Management System: Clip Chart, Tickets & Coupons

Sounds complicated, but I swear it isn't. I used a clip chart last year, and when my kiddos got to outstanding, I had a coupon book where they could choose from fun prizes such as: sit at the teacher's desk for a day, show and tell, bring a stuffed animal to school, no shoes for the day, lunch with the teacher, switch seats with a friend, super supplies, etc.

However, I decided I needed to do something to celebrate my kiddos who are always "ready to learn" or move their clips up but never get all the way to outstanding.

Click to get your own copy of my sweets themed clip chart!

I found my solution when I bought the fabulous new coupons from Laura Martin who described a fabulous ticket system that goes along with her clip chart. Laura is super generous and kiddos who only got one ticket during the week, which would mean they stayed on green for one day, can get a prize from her prize bins.

My plan is a little different, as I feel in order to pick any prizes, my kiddos should have to have good behavior all week, so, my ticket #'s will be as follows...

GREEN (Ready to Learn): 1 Ticket

BLUE (Good Job!): 3 Ticket

PURPLE (Great Job!): 5 Tickets

PINK (Outstanding!): 10 Tickets

My kiddos will then have 6 drawers and the coupon book to choose from. At the end of the week, they will need tickets as follows:

Drawer 1: 3 Tickets: pencil toppers, small stickers, bookmarks

Drawer 2: 5 Tickets: erasers, stickers, sharpeners

Drawer 3: 8 Tickets: small notebooks, pencils

Drawer 4: 10 Tickets: fancy pencils (with shaped toppers), sticker sheets

Drawer 5: 12 Tickets: small toys from the $ store, stamps

Drawer 6: 14 Tickets: bouncy balls, play dough, bubbles, other small toys

Coupon Book: 16 Tickets

My drawer doesn't have ticket numbers on it yet, but here is a pic of the prize drawers...

Classroom Behavior Management: Whole Brain Teaching Scoreboard

There are lots of ways to use the WBT scoreboard including various levels. You can read about all of that on wholebrainteaching.com

I'm going to share how I use the scoreboard... (My kids didn't push me last year to use the "levels" but if you have some tough kids, and are interested in the scoreboard check out the scoreboard levels on the website.

The scoreboard is simple, a smile and a sad face t-chart. You can draw it on the board, have a simple laminated paper like this, whatever works best.

Here's how it works... if the kids do a good job at something, i.e. in a WBT room, at the beginning of the year, you'd give loads of smiles tallies for when students respond to class, yes quickly or do a great job at teach, okay or even as simple as stating the rules correctly with the same gesture. You give the kiddos a sad face tally when the kiddos don't do so well... maybe they weren't being active during teach, okay or they were not following directions quickly.

If they get a smile, when you give them the signal they get to have a 1 second celebration by pumping their fist and saying "oh yeah" if they get a sad face they get 1 second to do a "mighty groan" which is when you give them the signal they give a short "ugh" and drop their shoulders. You could of course change these, but that is what I use.

The trick is not to let the scores get more than +3 on either side, you want to keep it interesting, you don't want the kids to think they're absolutely going to win more smiles or that there is no hope to turn a bad scoreboard around.

Now the class reward is kind of up to you as far as: what happens when the smile faces win?

You can do something as easy as: 1 minute of free talk, around the world, etc. at the end of the day if smiles win.

You could have your kiddos earn something: smiles win for ___ amount of days we earn a celebration.

Being that I switched from basically "earning marbles" to this last year, we had to earn 10 smile face days to get a class celebration. After we earned that celebration, we increased the number of days to 15 and so on and so forth.

This year, I plan on starting with small end of day rewards because I will be having my kiddos learn WBT procedures and have plenty of opportunities for them to earn smiles. As the year goes on, I plan on doing what I did last year but have a class discussion about what exactly we are trying to earn and how many smile days we should take to earn it.

Alrighty, so there is how I "Tame the Wild!"

Tomorrow... Tips & Tricks... I'm thinking maybe some more WBT tomorrow!!!

WBT Mirror

I am so excited to talk about Whole Brain Teaching: Mirror!

 Mirror really gets your kiddos involved WHILE you're teaching. So not only will they be involved as they reteach the concepts to their partner, they will be actively engaged with gestures while you're teaching. Let me tell you, it is adorable to see the little kiddos making big gestures just like you :)

Grab your free WBT Rules & Procedures here!

There are a few different ways to use "mirror" I'm going to talk about the 3 that are most commonly seen in my classroom...

"Mirror" or because my kiddos like to not only gesture but repeat back what I say (see Mirror & Words), a lot of times I'll say "Mirror Only." (You don't have to do this, I just had to add the word "only" because my kiddos were anxious to repeat my words too.) My kiddos repeat back "Mirror" I then use BIG gestures while I teach a concept. I usually do this a few times, having them just copy the gestures. I then move onto...

"Mirror & Words" Usually after I have already had the kiddos use only their mirrors, I will say "Mirror & Words" My kiddos repeat back "Mirror and words" I then reteach what I just taught, still using BIG gestures. My kiddos "mirror" my gestures but in addition, repeat back what I said. For this reason, you have to remember to only say a few words or a short sentences at a time. Otherwise, the kiddos forget what they have to repeat back. The beauty of mirror & words is that the kiddos are listening, speaking and moving. They are using their whole brain, they are internalizing what you are teaching... teacher heaven!

And the last way I use mirror...

Mirroring during "Teach, Okay" When I ask my kids to turn and teach each other about a concept I just taught, to make a prediction, answer a question, etc. I many times will ask my kiddos to mirror each other. I'll say something along the lines of "When I say teach, I want you to teach your partner about ______ using gestures." Then I'll *clap clap* say "teach" My kiddos *clap clap* and say "okay" The kiddos then turn to their partners. One will talk using gestures and the other partner will mirror those gestures.
You can extend this to Teach with Mirror & Words and have the "listener" mirror and repeat back what their partner said. And, while we're add it, let's extend this a little more and point out that you can have the kiddos teach using mirror or mirror & words AND use the SWITCH direction to make sure both partners are talking and coming up with gestures... hooray!

Another important point about "mirror"... You can have your kiddos mirror casual gestures (like the kind you use when you talk with your hands) this keeps the kiddos engaged with what your saying by connecting the movement with their listening.
OR
You can have your kiddos mirror gestures that have to do with what you're teaching about such as making an "X" with your arms to stand for "multiply" or hitting your two fists together and pulling them quickly apart for "compare & contrast"

Now watch these FABULOUS teachers using: Teach, Okay!, Mirror, Mirror & Words and even more WBT strategies!

Quick Overview...

Use "mirror" for kiddos to copy your gestures &/or words while you're teaching.

Have students "mirror" each other's gestures &/or words during "Teach, Okay!"

Add "Switch" in there so both kiddos are talking and coming up with gestures.

Practice, practice, practice... the kiddos need it & so will you! I remember having a hard time remembering to use "mirror" and coming up with gestures! Luckily during my summer reading I discovered power pix on the WBT website, so I will have some gestures (& a poster) for some of the words I so desperately tried to come up with a gesture for last year! I'll talk about power pix in a future post, don't worry :)

I'll have a classroom update later today or tomorrow! I don't want to overload you with an extra long post this morning!

WBT "Switch"

As promised, I'm back with more Whole Brain Teaching Fun!

The last time, we talked about my favorite part of Whole Brain Teaching: Teach, Okay! In case you missed it, or want a quick brush up, click the link and read on.

So you just taught this great lesson, you used Teach, Okay to make sure you students were engaged and talking about what they were learning. But, as you're walking around, you're noticing that a few groups have a talker and a listener, and it doesn't change.... what to do, what to do... well, you could assign numbers and switch who is the talker/listener each time they teach each other, and as I would agree, you should have 1's and 2's, it's tough to keep track of who you're having talking each time... And besides, there are times where what you are teaching is VERY important, so you want both kiddos in a partnership to listen and talk... and so... introducing: SWITCH!

Switch is super easy to integrate into your classroom especially once the kiddos are doing well with "Teach, Okay."
You teach something (brief, remember, we don't wan to lose their attention).
You clap twice and say "Teach."
Your kiddos clap twice and say "Okay."
Your kiddos then turn and reteach whatever you just taught them.
After 10-30 seconds (depending on how long you taught for) you say "switch" and hold your arm up and pull down like you're pulling a giant light switch.
Your kiddos do the same motion and say "uh oh switch."
They then switch who is the talker and who is the listener.
Easy, right!?
Now your talkers have to learn to be listeners, and your listeners have to learn to be talkers... the start to teacher heaven!

Chris Biffle explaining "switch"... (Starts around 1:50)

So, what do you think? The necessary added piece to "teach, okay!"

If any of you have been curious about more of WBT and have been watching videos or reading materials, I'm sure you've heard the term, mirror!... "Mirror" will be the next WBT post!

Another Classroom Update & Behavior Chart

I promise I will get back to the whole brainer posts soon! However, I worked all day on organizing my room and am excited to show it off...

I still haven't really been able to start "decorating" because everything needs to be organized first, but it's starting to look like a classroom.

I am still avoiding sorting through and organizing all the books though because it is going to be quite the process...

Alrighty, I'll stop blabbing and reveal the updates...

Alright so these are the shelves from the previously very unorganized closet area. The picture on the right shows the now pretty organized math manipulatives and literacy games. The picture on the right definitely may change, but currently there is nowhere else big enough to hold long construction paper and sentence strips. I don't really want to invest in big draw bins, but I may do that. Currently the paper is in hanging folders so I can easily grab one color at a time. I have cute curtains from last year that somehow will fit perfectly (I checked) just have to get a tension rod, hopefully they make one long enough to fit!

The picture on the left shows my now beloved art closet. It turns out there were tons of art supplies in the closet, but they needed to be organized (and there was plenty of other "stuff" to be thrown away). This closet now has very organized art supplies! On the right, I am so excited that I got to use my sparkly curtain somewhere. I am hoping it will discourage students to use the exit near my desk after they hang their coats and backpacks and encourage them to use the other opening.

The picture on the left is the fabulous book shelf behind my desk that is the perfect size for all my teacher manuals, curriculum binders, etc. On the right is a future post in the making. This is part of my new revamped behavior management system. I will post about it soon! But in the meantime, check out the "polka dots & sweets" behavior management clip chart from my TPT store by clicking the image below. It's only $1 and I will happily make you your own that fits your theme or has different words/color theme if you ask :)

   

Okay, a few more classroom pics...

On the left.. the BEST purchase I've made for my classroom! $28 at Big Lots... I saw a similar one (different colors) at Michael's for $50 which was too much for me, $28 I could handle, thank you Big Lots! On the right, the best piece of furniture found in my room! Love that this fits perfectly near the coat closet and can be used for the kiddos mailboxes. Plan on dressing it up with cute little polka dotty or striped numbers.

Last pictures...

On the left, another good find in the room (still in the box) put it together then didn't know what to use it for and it dawned on me how wonderfully organized my small construction paper could be with it! On the right, my room is looking like a classroom... the most important part of my room (learning circle) is looking like a learning circle, yay!

Alrighty, hopefully I can refrain from posting pictures until the room starts looking cutsie and like a classroom :)

WBT Teach, Okay!

I am so excited to tell you about my favorite part of Whole Brain Teaching...
"Teach, Okay!"
The idea of "Teach, Okay!" is to get your students to either share their thoughts and predictions with a partner OR (even better!) reteach their partner what you just taught!

Get your own copy of this poster and other from a Teacher on a Mission's TPT page *Freebie*

So, how does it work?
We all know our kiddos don't have the best attention spans in the world and even the ones with fantabulous attention spans have trouble staying focused for more than a couple minutes.
So, what do you, the teacher, & your kiddos do?
1. Teach a quick or important point (no more than a minute)
2. *Clap clap* (or any variation of clapping) "Teach"
3. Kiddos: *clap clap* "Okay!"
4. Kiddos: Turn to their partner and reteach whatever they just heard you teach.
    You: Walk around, listen, check in, check for understanding, judge how long this "teaching" should go on.
5. You (when you find appropriate, could be as short as 30 seconds or as long as 2 minutes): "Class" or "Hands and Eyes"
6. Kiddos: "Yes" or "Hands and Eyes"
7. Teach for another short time & Repeat process

In my class, my kiddos have assigned seats in our learning circle AND assigned partners. That way, the kiddos know EXACTLY who to turn to in order to "teach." I also then have control over what kiddos are partnered together. That way I can be pretty certain they will stay on task. Having assigned seats and partners also made the process get going right away with almost zero transition time between the time I said "teach" and my kiddos start reteaching their partner.

Check out how these teachers use "Teach, Okay!"

Skip to 1:20 and you'll see a great example of "Teach, Okay" and teacher monitoring

Another way to use "Teach, Okay"

In my class I also use "Teach, Okay" for my kiddos to answer questions, especially comprehension questions after a read aloud.

When my kiddos would answer any question in my room (especially during the 2nd half of the year), I would ask them to use T.A.P. (Turn it Around, Answer it, Prove it). 

T.A.P. has gestures as described below. 

We would do our T.A.P. gestures as a class first before using "Teach, Okay"

"Turn it Around" *one hand flat out, other hand with pointer finger down, make a circle over other hand*

"Answer It" *one hand flat out, other hand pretending to write on hand that is flat out*

"Prove It" *one hand flat out, other hand in a fist, "stamp" down on hand that is flat out*

I would then ask the question and say "teach" my kiddos would say "okay" and then turn and teach their neighbor the answer to the question. I would listen in to make sure they were using T.A.P.

Next steps...

In order to make sure my kiddos were all being teachers, and not just listeners, we used "Switch" which I will share with you the next time I blog about WBT!

And then?...

Maybe you noticed in the video above the kiddos "mirrored" their teacher... I'll tell you all about that too!