Super Improver Wall Update and WBT Certification

Originally posted-April 9, 2013

SIW Update:

So, again, I admit I am struggling with the Super Improver Wall.  I did work on adding specific goals (one academic and one behavior) for each student.  Today, I am blaming not being consistent with the fact that I only have 50 minutes per day with these students.  It is hard to focus on individuals (that's terrible to say) when I have so much to teach and complete.  I am going to try to do better, and I will not give up!  The wall does work!  Even as I write this post, a student asked if she could help me move several students cards to the next level because they had earned enough stars.  She is helping me, and I gave her a star for "keeping me on track with the wall."  

On a positive note, my own son, a 7 year old, whispered in my ear and said this to me at home several nights ago, "Mom, can you start me a wall like the one you have at school?"  I have printed the cards and have it ready to go.  He as already earned 3 stars.  WAY TO GO, EAN!  

WBT Certification:

I have set up a blog through blogger.com for my classroom.  It's gonna be 'a little bit of this, and a little bit of that,' but I want one focus to be my WBT journey.  My plan is to copy and paste a great deal of my online posts from this workshop because we have definitely been learning, and it has all be a journey.  If you have not thought about earning WBT Certification or had no clue this even existed, I encourage you to visit their website at wholebrainteaching.com to find out more.  I am so excited to about earning WBT Certification.

Hook, Line, and Sinker

Originally posted-April 3, 2013

I teach one World Cultures class, which is a nine week related arts class at my school. I call it a nine week trip around the world. We make our own passports, and beginning in Australia, we work our way around the world in a counter-clockwise fashion. I try to talk about as many different countries and cultures as I can, but this last nine week class started a little different. It went something like this: "Students in this class we have 5 classroom rules. We gesture a lot, too." :) Yadda. Yadda. Yadda. You get the idea, right? I started my new and final rotation of the year with, yes, you guessed it, WBT. It was awesome! In one class period, I taught these kiddos the 5 Classroom Rules, Class/Yes, Teach/Ok, Mirrors, and Switch. I had their full attention----Hook, Line, and Sinker, and it was absolutely awesome! It was awesome because a majority of this class does not have me as their history teacher, so it was all new to them. It was awesome because they were enjoying their new class, and learning the rules of the class was a very cool thing. It was also awesome because I got to review everything I had been learning about and using with my history students, but I was so comfortable introducing it this time around. I know know that the whole WBT set up can be taught in one class period (just like Coach B. says). WBT is really a great set up. From the start, the teacher teaches the Classroom Rules and CoreFour by using Class/Yes, Mirrors, Teach/Ok, and Switch. You can use CoreFour to teach CoreFour. How cool is that? It was a really fun class and a great way to begin the first day of the final nine week period. I can't wait to start the new school year with this first lesson (after a restful summer break, of course). Woo Hoo!!!