So, I made it through back to school night! We do ours before school starts and it is our first chance to make an impression on our parents. I always get so nervous. It is one of the hardest parts of my job - Ha! This is my first time that I have introduced Whole Brain Teaching to my parents because last year I started in the Spring with WBT. I explained the 5 rules, the scoreboard and the Super Improver Wall to the parents and I think it went well. At least no one had questions - is that a good thing???
Tomorrow is Open House where the students get to come in and meet the teacher and drop off supplies before school starts on Tuesday. I am so excited to meet my new students.
Here are some pictures of my class now that it is done.
I also put up a poster size brainies but I forgot to take a picture. :( I can't wait to meet my students tomorrow and get started on Tuesday. I am looking forward to a great year with Whole Brain Teaching starting from the very first day of school!
Other exciting news - my donor's choose project for a tablet was funded. I can't wait to use it this year.
It was good to finally get back to school and see my colleagues. I have been busy working in my room over the last week. I will have pictures soon. On the first day back, our new principal shared this powerful video with us - Ted talks: Rita Pierson. It is a wonderful reminder to teachers that we do make a difference in the lives of our students.
I am also excited to share that even as I am learning about and implementing WBT, another teacher came to ask me a question about posting the rules. I shared with her that there was no right way to post rules and that she could find many examples of the rules on Teacher Pay Teachers, as well as checking out the website: Whole Brain teaching website. There are webcasts there that explain the rules in more detail.
I received my class list yesterday and after talking to their last year's teachers, I know that I will have a wide variety of learners from very low in math (thinking that math time was writing time - all year long!) to very high level learners (one student completed the entire screening which apparently NO other child had done previously). It could be a very interesting year! So, I went to the WBT website to see if I could find anything for my low math learner - I am not sure whether or not he recognizes numbers or if he can count by ones or exactly where he is but I have downloaded the Super Speed numbers and I will have it ready to go, just in case. My plan is to quickly get some idea where he is so that I can start interventions by the end of the first week. I used Super Speed addition and subtraction last year and the students and I loved it. Both the Super Speed numbers and addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are available as a FREE download from the WBT website. :)
Finally, I am a huge fan of donors choose. For the next two days, Bill and Melinda Gates are funding half of some projects including mine, please consider donating or sharing my link:{here}.
I would love to know how you differentiate your instruction for your low learners.
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I am finally in my classroom - Yeah!! I keep seeing other teacher's beautiful classrooms on Facebook and that many teachers already have started teaching. In my district, teachers don't officially go back until next Wednesday but I will be taking a day off later in the week to take my daughter to college so, I was even more anxious to get started. Here is a picture of my before classroom:
I spent about 2 hours yesterday with my daughter, moving furniture and trying to get organized. My daughter put up the bulletin board paper and borders. I will add more pictures as I go! The bad news is that my wardrobe decided that it was old and 3 of the shelves fell and can't be fixed. The good news is that I will get a *new* (to me) one.
Now, I am busy trying to figure out where to put my Super Improver Wall and power pix. I can't wait to use both of these this school year. For more information about whole brain teaching, check out the website: (here)
Are you back to school yet? I would love to know how things are going at the beginning of the year.
Sooo, I am still not in my classroom and I have to admit that I am getting anxious - particularly after seeing many teacher-bloggers posting their finished classrooms. My solution is to stalk follow other bloggers for lots of new (to me) back to school ideas.
I read this post: 5 Common Mistakes that Will Lead to an Out-of-Control Classroom on Corkboard Connections. The first mistake was not having clear expectations and procedures. After discovering Whole Brain Teaching at the end of last year, I think I have that covered. Over the years, I have become a big believer in spending lots and lots of time at the beginning of the year practicing procedures. I use Daily 5 in my classroom and the 2 sisters emphasize that practicing procedures is very important. WBT also emphasizes practicing procedures so that the students KNOW what is expected of them - no excuses. WBT teachers practice the rules and procedures over and over again and not just at the beginning of the year but all year long. WBT teachers also make the practice FUN by timing the kids and having the kids practice in a variety of different ways.
Another post I read is: Why You Shouldn't Let Your Students Decide the Classroom Rules. I admit to doing this for many years. At the beginning of the year, I would take time and have the class create the rules for the year with my guidance, of course, and the kids would sign it. Then I posted it on the wall and I would promptly forget about it! My school became a PBIS school several years ago and so that was the basis for the classroom rules. Now, after learning about WBT, I started with implementing the 5 classroom rules: Rule #1: Follow directions quickly, Rule #2: Raise your hand for permission to speak, Rule #3: Raise your hand to leave your seat, Rule #4: Make smart choices, and Rule #5: Keep your dear teacher happy. I LOVE these rules and when I introduced these to my students with gestures - they loved them. We practiced them several times a day so, there is no excuse for not remembering the rules.
Check out whole brain teaching at: Whole Brain Teaching for more information on the 5 rules and lots of other information about all aspects of whole brain teaching! Best of all - it is FREE! I love free.
I would love to know what you do for classroom rules. Do you let your students help develop the classroom rules? Please share your comments.
