Day Three with WBT

Today is number three of me being a Whole Brain Teacher in a seventh grade classroom. So how are things going? I will have to say pretty well. Today was the first day of me falling back into the habit of pleading with students and reminding them over and over again to remain on task. I know I did not use the scoreboard like I should have and students are becoming more settled into the class.

So Monday began with me introducing "Class-Yes" with most of the students buying into the idea. We practiced saying the phrase in many different ways until we both became comfortable with it. Since I teach middle school I also taught the 5 classroom rules and their motions. I tried teaching the scoreboard and "Teach-Okay" also.

What's the problem? The students seem really easy to train. It is this teacher who is struggling. I have said the same things for so long that there have been times the past three days when I became tongue-tied. Has anyone experienced that? While it is certainly easier to return to my old patterns of teaching, they are not the better ones to pull from.  I have forgotten to consistently use the scoreboard. I have not required the students to raise their hands and motion for permission to speak. I was thrilled today when one of my students raised his hand for permission to walk, hand gestures and all. These problems are not the students though. They are mine.

So what is the fourth day's goal? I pulled the students out of small groups and straightened up my rows. Tomorrow we will have some more traditional work for the class so that I can spend time working on training me (the teacher) to consistently implement the scoreboard, "Class-Yes", and  encouraging of students to use the classroom rules.

I am still struggling with creating my Super Improvers Wall. I think what I am going to do is to place all the students names into the computer. I can print out their names and glue the name to the beginning color of my SIW. From there I will add stars to the cards and as the student moves up in rank I will print his name out and place it on the corresponding color card. Initially a lot of work, but I know it will be well worth it. I can see already where a few of my students will get back into line just knowing their name is on the SIW and they see success.

Wow! A super week so far with this being the first year for me and whole brain teaching AND my first blog entry! Here is proof that one is never too old to learn!