Genius Ladder

Oh my gracious! It's been forever since I've posted. School has been CRAZY!!! The past week or so we have been working with the Genius Ladder. Today was the day that I thought they really got it! It was so exciting. They watched me us the Ladder, then we made a story together and then they went back to their seats and created their own. They had so much fun doing it and they worked very hard. The picture below is the story we created together. I ran out of room, so I wrote the story on the top. Next time, I need a larger space for the Genius level. I love how the Ladder helps students visualize their writing. I've seen them catching themselves during our regular writing time, they say, "ugh, what a blah sentence. I need some spice!"  I have seen those students who struggle with writing do so much better, even with their spelling. It is such a great tool! I love it and so do they, which keeps them motivated. They begged me today to do the Ladder with them and we did. They really got it today and I think the picture below demonstrates their understanding.

Mind Soccer

"What a game, what a game!" said one of my first graders after playing. All week they worked hard to get Mind Soccer stars. They earn stars by being absolutely incredible either at their work or behavior. They needed 8 stars in order to play Mind Soccer on Friday. They finally reached their goal last week. I drew up the "field" on the whiteboard, had the easer in place as the ball and my students were yelling in excitment. I broke them up into two groups and we got started. I fired off questions and they were cheering when they got it right, groaning when they got it wrong. It was so much fun and were reviewing ideas, concepts and sounds from our previous lessons. It was awesome!! I saw my class working together to solve problems, talking to each other about the right answer and showing that they understood many concepts. It was great!!!  This past week they didn't earn enough stars to play Mind Soccer and they were very bummed out. They told each other that they were going to have to work hard next week so that they can play. I love seeing how motivated they are. This game is amazing!!

Crazy Professor Game

So I introduced the Crazy Professor Game last week and my kiddos went crazy for it!!! I saw students who usually do not really enjoy reading become thoroughly involved in the reading process. I saw students who usually have a hard time with comprehension ask their partner tricky questions and then help them answer. It was incredible. At first I was a little nervous about doing this with first graders, however we used a text they have read several times, so those who were struggling could participate. Students were helping each other and asking great questions. One of the things that we need to work on is being quieter. I love the noise, however I worry about bothering the other classrooms. I was so excited to see how they completed the game. They begged me for more, however of course I had to leave them wanting more. I am so glad that I have found this wonderful tool! Once again, WBT has rocked my world!!

Procedure, Procedures, Procedures

As any teacher knows, procedures take up a lot of time during the day, especially if students are talking and dillydallying. Whole Brain Teaching has completely changed this in my room. Now, procedures are quick and simple; my students have even commented how much we get done during the day. The first procedure I put into place was "seats". All I have to do it say "seats" and my class immediatly says, "seats, seats, seats" and they are all in their seats within a couple of seconds. Next, I introduced "lines". Again I say it once and they say it three times. They are so quick because they want smilies on the scoreboard and they want stars on the Super Improver Wall. They remind each other how to act and look at me to see if I notice. It's amazing. Another procedure is "papers in". This procedure alone has given me my sanity back. All I have to say in "papers in" and they repeat it three times while passing their papers to the person closet to me at their tables. It's amazing, it takes seconds and we don't waste anytime. They also repeat, "papers out" if I have papers to pass out. The final piece to the puzzle is "eyes up here". I love this one! I use it along with "hands and eyes." I say, "eyes up here" and my students reply, "eyes up there" then I immediately say "hands and eyes" which they repeat back, "hands, hands, hands and eyes". After they do this we are quiet, listening and ready for the next activity. After they do the procedures correctly they get a smiley and a Mighty Oh Yeah! If they do not do the procedures correctly or fast enough then they get a frowny and a Mighty Groan. They actually requested to practice these at the end of the day because they love it. I mean really, what class wants to practice procedures? This one! That's who! To learn more about procedures there is a ton of information on www.wholebrainteaching.com

Super Improvers!!

"What is the Super Improver Wall, Mrs. Folsom?" said my class in unison.
Last weekend my husband and I went into my classroom to create this amazing tool!! It is a wall with a color code bar, and a card for each student. On the cards there is a box for stars and a box for the color level they are on. For every ten stars they receive they get to move up a level. Some levels have leadership roles, other levels are photo levels where I put their picture on the board. It's awesome!!
"How do we get stars?" they asked. I made them inference, using the name of the board. Their conclusion was that they had to improve. "What do you have to improve at?" I asked. They proceeded to talk and came up with that they have to improve at everything. I explained that I will give stars when I notice students are improving whether it be in academics, or on our procedures such as following directions quickly. It has to be a major improvement. We also discussed how this is not a competition between friends, but that we each have things we need to improve on. We are competing against ourselves. Now, when my students notice that they got a star their friends say, "Way to go, you are a super improver!" or they remind each other, "remember to be an improver!" It's incredible to see them encourage each other to be better.

 

Smilies Anyone?

This weekend after watching more webcasts with the wonderful Chris Biffle I created a new "rules" area of our classroom. I have it in the front of the room where we have our morning meetings. I think it is a great reminder to the students and me. The chart is our class rules, which we recite many times throughout the day. Below that chart is our scoreboard. Sometimes we play smilies and frownies, sometimes we play it differently. After deciding how we will play we decide what we are playing for. There new favorite is "desk sitting time". We play silent ball while sitting on their desk the last couple minutes of the day. They go crazy for it! Next to that is our practice cards. They have been doing great with these and really reminding each other what to pay special attention too. Today I introduce the Guff Counter, which almost killed it for them. They didn't realize how much they talk after they say, "class, yes". One students even commented, "Mrs. Folsom, how do you teach with us talking so much." I loved this comment and we had a great discussion about it. Half way through the day the Guff counter really sunk in because they were losing and weren't going to have "desk sitting time", they quickly changed their behaviors. It was amazing, we accomplished so much.
Below is a picture of our "rules" area. I still have so much to learn and cannot wait to learn it.

Starting Out Right

     After learning about Whole Brain Teaching last year and implementing only a few small parts into my routine with my preK class last year, I was determined to use all of it this school year. After teaching three years in preK I was able to move up to 1st grade. I couldn't be happier. The whole summer before school started I was watching videos and reading about Whole Brain Teaching (WBT) to prepare for coming year. I had no idea how many wonderful ideas there were with WBT, it's amazing. I decided to start small, but do it right. The first week of school I concentrated on the rules. I did them, the students did them with me, then they did them by themselves. We did this everyday for about a week and a half to really get them down. Then I introduced the game, which they went crazy for!! I have slowly introduced "teach, okay" and mirror. My principal came in the other day when my students were doing "teach, okay" with pronouns, she loved it and had me explain it to my colleagues. I found these great signs on teacherspayteachers.com for free! They now hang up in my classroom as a reminder (two of them are pictured). I cannot wait to see what else I learn through this wonderful program.                                

 Whole Brain Teaching Posters