Smoothy Bumper Planet

Oh my gracious! What a hit Smoothy Bumper Planet was today. I introduced this fun, interactive counting strategy today. I had my students use the chart to count. They took turns saying the numbers-going back and forth. They didn't want to stop, it was so much fun! I'm glad that we have the room next to us, because we were soooo loud, on task, but loud. My kiddos begged me for it again in the afternoon. I am hoping to post a video of them doing it tomorrow! There are many other games to play with Smooth Bumper Planet. I can't wait to introduce them all. They loved it so much!!

First Week=FANTASTIC

Wow! I can't believe the first week went by so quickly! I have 26 (soon to be 28) firsties, with a co-teacher. They are great students, who did a fantastic job this week. As I stated in an earlier post, I wanted to start this year the correct way with Whole Brain Teaching techniques. Well, I did it! I managed to teach "class, yes", "teach, okay", "papers in", "lines", "seats" and I added "table buckets". Each table has a bucket with supplies like crayons, scissors, glue and markers. I say "ohhhhh, it's table bucket time" and my students say, "ohhhhh it's table bucket time" as one student from each table gets their bucket. It has worked out GREAT!!
I was worried about having this many students, however with Whole Brain techniques I can see that it isn't so scary after all because they are sooooo engaged. My co-teacher is getting the hang of it too and she can see the difference it makes. One thing that I've been focusing on is to say, "rule number 2: raise your hand for permission to speak", whenever a student calls out. I've been pretty successful, however I have caught myself returning to the "shhh" moment. My goal next week is for myself and my students to keep focusing on rule number 2. I think it is going to be a great year! I will post pictures of my classroom later this week, I LOVE my room!

Coming Together

My room is coming together nicely this week!! I am so excited to start this year using Whole Brain Teaching. I put up my "Super Improvers Wall" last week and finally finished coloring and laminating the students' guitars. Students have to try to get 10 strings up the neck of the guitar before moving to the next level. I love the colors! I got it from a fabulous teacher on TeacherspayTeachers, however I made and colored the guitars. I know my students are going to love it as well. I plan on implementing the "Super Improvers Wall" in Septemeber, once students have all our procedures down.

    I love my Super               Improvers!! 

I also put up my PowerPix wall!! I am soooo excited about this wall, because I didn't have one last year and really wanted one. I didn't have the space last year, but made space this year. I think it is going to be very beneficial for my students, especially during daily 5 and math centers. They can use it as a reference and they will be learning graphing skills. It's awesome!! I also plan on using the wall as a review at least once a day to keep concepts fresh on students' minds.

Starting Fresh

Okay, so it's a new school year and I'm ready to begin the correct way! Which way is the correct way? Well, in my humble opinion, it is using Whole Brain Teaching. Last year, I really got into WBT in the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to put it on the back burner. WHY!!! I noted at the end of the year that when I stopped using WBT to the fullest was when my kiddos went crazy. Over the summer I got back on track with WBT and am restarting my certification. I want to start fresh. I went and got the AMAZING book that Chris Biffle wrote, Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids. It truly inspired me to begin this year fresh and implement WBT throughout the year! I read it in three days and then reread some of the chapters twice. I am excited to see what happens this year and how I transform my class. Sooo.....Stay tuned to find out!

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!!