I can't believe that a new year is about to begin. What happened to 2014??? I am not a fan of resolutions, mostly because I never seem to keep them. I love the idea from Primary Powers to use one word for my resolution. I picked PURPOSE because it sums up my teaching plan for the rest of the year. I find that it is so easy to get distracted by all the things that teachers are supposed to do that I lose my purpose for doing things.
This became very evident to me right before break and I was busy teaching Native Americans and rushing through the Lakota tribe (with 4 -6 kids absent almost each day the week before break), and after having the ELL teacher taking 5 of my ELL kids to do an assignment and when she returned - she told me that they knew nothing about the tribe! They did not know the region they lived in, that they hunted buffalo or anything! This was after 3 days of teaching and doing activities about the Lakota Indians. I quickly realized that 1. I needed to reteach it and that I had not really had a purpose to my lessons. I also realized that I did not use my WBT 5 part lesson plan which is amazing and so helpful to all my students. So, as I am doing a little planning for the new year, I am revising my lesson plans to have a purpose and I will be checking for understanding as I go and not waiting for several days to go by.
For me, purpose also means that as I make choices as to what to focus on as I am teaching, I need to know what my purpose is for the lesson and the unit - what do my students need to know? It means to start from the end and work backwards in my lesson planning - which I do most of the time but not always. I also know that I can't improve everything at once but I need to focus on one thing and decide if other things fit my purpose.
What is your one word resolution for the new year? How are you going to improve yourself in the new year?
When I found Whole Brain Teaching, I was somewhat overwhelmed with all the different pieces and trying to figure out how to make it all work. Coach B. (Chris Biffle) says that teach ok is the unifying piece that ties WBT together. The beginning pattern is to say "Class" and the students respond "Yes." and then to speak briefly. Next, clap twice and say "Teach" and the students respond "OK" and repeat what you say over and over until you tell them to stop. This pattern is repeated throughout the lesson. Coach B. reminds teachers that the longer we speak, the more students we lose. This is a good reminder to keep our lessons short. An important part of teach ok is that the speaker is using big gestures and the listener is mirroring the gestures. This involves both students and it makes it easy for the teacher to see who is not engaged.
Coach B. suggests practicing teach ok at least 5 times per day and after each rehearsal pick 5 - 8 kids as a leadership team (with no more than 2 rebels). Stand next to the weakest rebel and then give a short, sample lesson ending with teach - ok. Observe the full turns and gestures. Praise any improvement by leaders and rebels. There is no place for the rebels to hide.
Teach - Ok is a great way to check for student understanding because it keeps the lesson short and as the teacher walks around, she can listen in to the students' understanding and adjust the lesson as she is teaching.
I would love to know how you engage your students in the lesson. Please leave a comment.
Every teacher has classroom rules. Some teachers, including me in the past, made rules in the beginning of the year and then just let them slide. The rules would be nicely posted on the wall and never discussed again after the beginning of the year. I thought that I had discovered a better way when I got the students involved and had the students SIGN the poster and I revisited the rules after winter break. The problem was that the students did not really know the rules and then I discovered Whole Brain Teaching.
There are 5 rules in WBT. The rules are: rule #1: follow directions quickly, rule #2: raise your hand for permission to speak, rule #3: raise your hand for permission to leave your seat, rule #4: make smart choices, and rule #5: keep your dear teacher happy. These are available at WBT website and you can also find a variety of posters on the teachers pay teachers website.
The rookie level of the rules is to review the rules by saying the rules number and the students respond by saying the rule and showing the corresponding gesture. In the beginning of the school year, the rules should be practiced at least 5 times a day. It is important to get buy in for the rules by explaining that these rules will create a fun and organized class. Ask for a show of hands to support the rules (most children will agree). No matter the result, say I think it is a good idea to start with these and we can change them later if we need to. The rules should be posted and practiced several times a day to keep the rules fresh in the students' minds.
The 5 rules have been a mainstay of WBT for a long time BUT now there is 1 more rule - the Diamond rule. The diamond rule is that the student looks at the one who is teaching. This is frequently the teacher but many times, it is also when another student is talking. I have just started using the diamond rule and I love it! It really helps to focus the students' attention.
The pro level is to choose a student leader to lead the classroom rules. The student leader says the rule number and then the other students make the gesture and say the rule. The mastery challenge is to train at least 5 student leaders to lead the rules. A new bonus for the Master Class is the 3 Freebie Stopwatch. For example, rule #2 - raise your hand for permission to speak can be one of the most challenging. Using a stopwatch, say to your students "Let's see how long we can go without breaking rule #2" and then the first time the rule is broken, say "That's one" and then after the 2nd time, say "that's 2" and then after the 3rd time say "That's 3. Ok, we will try again later." Then write the time on the board. Continue to try to break the class record.
The next level is the all star level. It is used to implement the rules at any point during the day. Rules 1 - 3 are for the most common issues in the classroom and rules 4 and 5 cover everything else. This level is for when the rules are broken during a lesson and the teacher stops briefly and says rule # (fill in with the rule being broken) and the students quickly repeat it. This quickly gets everyone focused without stopping and scolding a child.
I love these classroom rules because they cover everything and I practice with my students at least twice a day. The students know and understand what is expected. You can view the webcast at the whole brain teaching. It is #583 and it free! The rules are just one step on the way to teacher heaven.
