Pointer Counting WBT Lesson and Activity

Last week I taught my very first math lesson with Power Pix!  It was so much fun!  The kids had a great time because of course it involved a little snack...  These are a bit of a review from Kindergarten but I like to start my year off with them just to see where my kiddos are at!  Here is a little synopsis of my lesson plan:

Class/Yes! "Today we are going to be talking about pointer counting!  Tell your neighbour what we will be talking about!"

Class/Yes! I show them the Power Pix. Mirror! Mirror check!  "The question is: What is pointer counting?"  Mirror and Words, "What...is...pointer counting?" Class/Yes! "The answer is: Pointer counting is pointing and counting!" (with gestures).  Mirror and words. "Pointer counting is pointing and counting."

Class/Yes! "Turn to your neighbour and one partner will ask the question - What is pointer counting? and the other will answer with big gestures - Pointer counting is pointing and counting - over and over until I say switch." Teach/OK! Oh, oh, Switch!

Class/Yes! "Now let's practice.  Let's count these _____________.  Count with me!  Now let's count these ______________ the wrong way." Count and skip a number or begin at 2 instead of 1.  "That is the how not to pointer count!  Oh yeah!"  Give a few more examples.  "Turn to your neighbour and come up with some Example Poppers of how to pointer count and how not to pointer count.  Be prepared to use a Because Clapper in your answer!"    Class/Yes! "What are some of the Example Poppers you came up with?"

Class/Yes! "Now it is time for the Yes!/No Way game.  If what I say is true, say Yes!  If what I say is not true, say No Way!"

Is this pointer counting?
Is this the pointer counting Power Pix?
Is this the pointer counting gesture?

Class/Yes! "Now it is time to play Cutie!  When I say Cutie! put your head down on your desk, cover your eyes and put your fist out in front of you.  If what I say is true, put your thumb up.  If what I say is not true, put your thumb down.  Cutie!"

Pointer counting is pointing and counting.
2, 5, 27, 6 is pointer counting.
1, 2, 3, 4 is pointer counting.

"Heads up! Now we will practice pointer counting with a snack attack!!  Take each penguin and fill the circles.  Starting at the arrow, pointer count as you eat!"

Click on the picture below for your free copy!!

WBT's Top 3 Most Useful Ideas

1. Power Pix: These innovative Pix have revolutionized my teaching style, allowing me to revisit previously taught concepts regularly thanks to the Power Pix Wall, reach all different learning styles, and hone my students critical thinking skills (Compare and contrast those Power Pix!).

2. Teach/OK!: This technique has engaged all of my students by getting them talking and using language during lessons.  Rather than just a few being engaged, everyone is involved and learning.  Moreover, everyone is listening because they know that at some point they will have to talk to their neighbour about what is being taught.  My students are excellent listeners!!

3. Scoreboard: Management wise, there is no other method like the Scoreboard.  Kids love games and the Scoreboard allows me to manage my class effectively in a game-like setting.

ESL Students and Whole Brain Teaching

This week I have been focused on supporting one of my students who has an assistant for various reasons.  His mother wrote me a long e-mail wondering about everything that we were doing in the classroom to support his learning and requesting other concepts, strategies or resources she and her husband could work with or use with him at home.  In her e-mail she described him as an ESL student.  As I was describing to her the various ways Whole Brain Teaching helped her son with his learning in the classroom, I began to think about how WBT and ESL are connected!  ESL students are enormously supported by the techniques in Whole Brain Teaching.

ESL (English as a Second Language) students are students who speak a different language at home and therefore require additional support at school in order to reach their full learning potential in a primarily English speaking school system.  ESL students are mainly challenged by speaking, reading, and writing (http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/esl/standards.pdf).

Whole Brain Teaching supports ESL students by encouraging a lot of communication between students and teacher, as well as student and student, during each lesson.  The Teach/OK! requires students to listen, repeat one another, help one another with language, etc.  Directions are given by teachers in short, succinct, usually one-word cues, that the students then repeat three times.  For example, the teacher may say, "Seats!" to which the students reply, "Seats, seats, seats!" Not only is this encouraging listening, it is providing English language practice three times!!!

Whole Brain Teaching programs such as Electronic Superspeed 100/1000 and Biffytoons support ESL learners by providing bright pictures and gestures along with sight words to helps students memorize new vocabulary.  The Crazy Professor Reading games requires students to read passages several times, ask one another questions regarding the text, and all in an entertaining manner.  This repetition and fun is excellent practice for ESL students.

The Whole Brain Teaching Genius Ladder encourages ESL students to speak orally in complete sentences while they build up their sentence complexity and eventually create their own Genius Paragraph.  Once this skill is mastered it can be translated into writing, providing added practice.

What makes Whole Brain Teaching different than other methods of support for ESL students?  Talking - WBT requires constant communication and repetition!!!!  Students not only listen, everyone is engaged and participating on a constant basis.  What could be better for an ESL student, then practicing the skill you need all the time?

When I first began teaching I remember my university professors and other teachers telling me the best thing to do for ESL learners was to sit them next to a student who loved to talk - students would pick up English in no time.  With WBT, think of all the extra talking that is encouraged throughout the day!!  Can I get an OOOOOhhhhhhh Yeahhhhh!!!!!!

Autism and Whole Brain Teaching

Wednesday and Friday of this week I had the pleasure of having a lovely lady from POPARD (Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders) visit my classroom to observe one of my students.  She was so helpful and knowledgeable.  I appreciated her feedback.

When she heard me talk about Whole Brain Teaching to a parent, she was intrigued and asked me for more information.  She became interested in the program as she watched my student teacher teach the class using some of the WBT techniques.

In the staff room at lunch, she found and read my article - she was very complimentary to me and wanted to know more.

At the end of the day she mentioned how wonderful she thought WBT was for children with autism.  She loved how students taught their neighbour during the Teach/OK, as well as the gestures and visuals that went along with concepts.  She expressed that she was so happy to have learned so much.  I was inspired so I did a little refresher research on autism.

Autism is known as a spectrum disorder; autistic characteristics are expressed differently in each child.  Children with autism have difficulties with social and language skills; they learn a lot less from their environment and, therefore, benefit from a structured learning environment (http://www.yourguidetoautism.com).

Whole Brain Teaching provides a variety of different teaching techniques that focus on using all different learning styles and multiple intelligences, thus meeting the learning needs of all the possible variances on the spectrum.  Currently, I have taught three children with different variations of autism.  Parents and teachers have commented on how well these students have benefited from WBT.

The Teach/OK! encourages social interaction and the development of language skills.  Speaking clearly and in complete sentences is encouraged.  Voice tone and inflection is practiced and utilized daily.  Students question each other, providing practice with reflective questioning and comprehension.

The repetition that WBT techniques suggest, such as Seats, Seats, Seats and Bodies Up! provides focused, clear directions for students who struggle with language.

Repetition and revisitation of key curricular concepts using WBT Power Pix and the WBT Power Pix wall ensure many opportunities for learning and review, as well as a rich visual environment.

A WBT model classroom encourages structure and thrives on routine - although there are many variations in style (Class! Yes!  Classity Class!), these changes are also consistent.

To all teachers: Whole Brain Teaching will change your life, and will benefit all your students, including your students with autism!  Check out the following posts on the Whole Brain Teaching forum from other teachers and their experience with WBT and children with autism/asperger's:

http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/Fifth-Grade/7625-Autism-and-WBT.html

http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/General-Education/7264-WBT-and-autism.html

http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/Elementary-School/3617-Asperger-s-and-Autistic-Syndrome.html

Beginning Gradually in the Classroom

So here is Andrea Schindler's document for starting Kinder adjusted for First Grade!

Day One:
Class Yes!
Rules 1-5
Scoreboard Game
Hands and Eyes!
Criss Cross Applesauce
Bubble in your mouth
Lines, Lines, Lines
Seats, Seat, Seats
Cubbies, Cubbies, Cubbies
Backpacks, Backpacks, Backpacks
Tell your neighbour

Day Two:
Practice all the routines introduced so far

Mirror

Mirror/Words

Switch!

Teach your first 5 Step Lesson

Pencils and Erasers, Pencils and Erasers, Pencils and Erasers

Name, Name, Name

Work, Work, Work

Papers, Papers, Papers

It’s cool
Ten finger woo



Day Three:
Practice all the routines introduced so far

Continue to teach one 5 Step Lesson a day - try to make them short as it is the beginning of the year.

Week 2:
Practice all the routines introduced so far
Weekly Stars (When students get 10 stars, which usually takes about a week, they earn a special reward, like a five minute game of Mind Soccer).

Introduce the Practice Cards when you feel the time is right and approximately 85% of your students have bought into the Scoreboard Game. If you start the Practice Cards too soon you will have a ton of students practicing and the goal is not to have any if possible. Some teachers wait until Thanksgiving or January to introduce them and some do not use them at all. It really depends on your class:) Begin with the white cards. Gradually, introduce the purple and green cards - this may happen days, weeks or months later. Remember, it is a long year:)

Month 2:

Begin teaching two Five Step Lessons plans per day. You may even increase this to 3 or 4.

“Milestones to Reach for Further Routines”:

*If you have used the individual pocket chart and still have a select group of students who are exhibiting undesired behaviors, use the Independents Group

*Once students are comfortable with “Tell your neighbor”, move to “Teach! Okay!”, with both students talking

*Once students are comfortable with “Teach! Okay!” add in the "Switch!"

*Once students are comfortable with "Switch!" add in "Tag Team"
*Once students are comfortable with the “Teach! Okay!”, teach the students the Crazy Professor Reading Game.


Here it is in google.docs

Scoreboard Turnover

So the scoreboard turnover to students continued this week.  As the interest grew, I started to have the class vote on who they thought were excellent leaders and teachers.  I chose one for the scoreboard and two for other leadership jobs (calling students to the carpet, etc.).  I LOVED giving the scoreboard job out to a student as I was not forever searching for a pen.  I would just say, "I think the class deserves a smilie for that!" and my student leader would say, "Wait for it!" to which the class responded, "Oh yeah!"

During Library, we read a book about the digestive system and students initiated a discussion comparing and contrasting plant stems and blood vessels.  Students stood up and taught the class their higher level thinking connections!!

I taught a lesson on expanded form after watching Farrah Shipley's amazing video on compound words. To help I had a slide on the SmartBoard for each section of the lesson: the rules, the power pict, examples, non-examples, Yes/No Way!, Cutie, Critical Thinking, written work questions to be completed in a notebook or on a recipe card.  I added a target bullseye to discuss and provide class and teacher objectives near the beginning.  It worked really well and the lesson had better flow.  Next time I want to have a clipboard so that I can assess and record student learning during Cutie.

In other news, I started saying, "Quiet on set!" when Sharing time was about to begin ~ I borrowed this from another post on the forum.  The class responds, "It's show time!"  Way fun!

Also, we did an animal unit this week.  Each student wrote a report about their chosen animal after reading a book and writing down four fact words and an opinion word about their animal.  I demonstrated how to gesture through the title and each of the sentences created from the collected words.  Then, I had the students return to their desks to silently make up and gesture through their own sentences using uppercase letters and periods at the end.  Next, using the Teach/OK, they practiced saying and gesturing their sentences with their partner.  Finally, they wrote down their prepared sentences.  In the end, they produced fantastic reports with beautiful complete sentences!!  OH YEAH!!!

The week ended with a field trip a golf course to learn about our community  The Class/Yes! and the rules were well utilized (although silently with hand gestures by me due to golf course rules:).  The parents and golf course staff were extremely impressed with my students' manners.

Phew!  I think it's time for a vacation!