Catching up with Teacher Week '13 Taming The Wild!

 Taming the Wild! Classroom Management

(I just figured out how to make a collage!!)

Left - Super Improvers Chart, Top Right - Five WBT Rules, Bottom Right - Froggy Power Chart 

I am so excited about my classroom management this year! (kind of weird I know!) This year I am using Whole Brain Teaching (WBT) techniques. I began implementing some of the methods last year and saw unbelievable results! This year I am trying to really implement the techniques fully. With Whole Brain Teaching there are five classroom rules 1. Follow Directions Quickly 2. Raise Your hand for Permission to Speak 3. Raise Your Hand for Permission to Leave Your Seat 4. Make Smart Choices 5. Keep Your Dear Teacher Happy. As simple as these rules are, they are also effective. WBT also encompasses the way lessons are taught. There is a lot of movement and talking. We take "Brain Breaks" where we all get up and dance. I had very little behavior problems last year when I used these strategies.  There is also a super improvers chart that I will be using this year. Any time a child shows any type of improvement they earn a sticker on their 10 frame chart. Once they fill the chart, they move up a level on the super improvers wall. I also use the WBT scoreboard. Please check out the WBT website and YouTube channel for more information.

I also have a "Power Chart". Each day every student starts on green/full power. They can move their pins up to super power and maximum froggy power for making good choices. They move their pins down to low power and no power for making bad choices. Pins can move up and down all day long.

Here is some of the information I give to my parents...
Our Classroom Rules

Follow Directions Quickly Follow all directions quickly, the first time they are given. We want to utilize all our time learning. Raise Your Hand to Speak Raise your hand to speak so that everyone has a chance to speak and listen to each other. Raise Your Hand to Leave Your Seat Raise you hand to leave your seat while we are learning. There will be plenty of “planned” and “free” times to move.

Make Smart Choices Do your Best. “It’s ok to not know, it’s not ok to not try.” Be respectful and kind. Be in charge of yourself! Keep Your Dear Teacher Happy The only thing that makes me happy is for every student to learn. If you are hindering learning, I am not happy.

“Power-Up” with Good Behavior Classroom expectations are handled with a “Power-Up” behavior scale. On the first day of school I will have a discussion with our class about how we all make our own choices about behavior.  Some of our choices are good and give us power and some of our choices are poor and can decrease our power. Here is how the system is set up: Each day your child will start on “Full Power” (green).  If your child is making good choices he/she will move up the power scale to “Super Power” (gold). If he/she continues to make good choices he/she will move up to “Maximum Froggy Power” (purple). However, if your child makes poor choices, he/she will move down the scale from “Full Power” to “Low Power” (yellow) and if the poor choices continue he/she will be moved to “No Power” (red). Your child may move up or down the scale depending on the choices he/she makes all day. The goal for your child should be to end at “Full Power” or above each day.

Rewards/Consequences: Maximum FROGGY Power (purple) – EXCELLENT BEHAVIOR! The student will retrieve a treat from the treat bucket. Super Power (gold) – SUPER BEHAVIOR! Full Power (green) – Good Behavior! Low Power (yellow): WARNING! WARNING! – Rule Broken (recharge): The student will loose 5 minutes of recess and conduct sheet will be marked. No Power (red): Empty – Rule Broken (x2) (reflect/recharge): The student will loose all of recess time. This time will be spent reflecting on the poor choice that was made and what the good choice would have been and conduct sheet will be marked. I will track their behavior daily, and then record it on a behavior chart. This chart will be in the FROG folder. Please initial the box for that day so that I know you have seen your child’s chart.

WHOLE BRAIN TEACHING!!!

As the year progresses, you may notice that our classroom doesn’t run like other classrooms. We will be learning through Whole Brain Teaching, a research based system that utilizes all areas of the brain, keeps children engaged throughout their lessons, and helps them retain much more information than the standard lecture-discussion model.

Whole Brain Teaching is a highly interactive form of instruction that delivers information to students in short “chunks.” Kids then teach what they have just learned to their partners, using hand-gestures to help remember specific vocabulary.  While students teach each other, the teacher walks around the room to discover who understands the lesson and who needs more instruction.

Research shows that children retain more information when they have an opportunity to put it into their own words and use gestures to emphasize key instructional units …plus, it’s amazingly fun! For more information about Whole Brain Teaching please contact me, schedule a classroom visit and/or go to www.WholeBrainTeaching.com.

What are some of your methods for Taming the Wild?