Free Common Core Whole Brain Teaching Lessons You Don't Have to Teach!!

So I have been able to tune into the free webinars every Monday put on by Chris Biffle and his latest series has involved free lessons, using Whole Brain Teaching, that cover Common Core concepts!!  Genius!!  This is just perfect for May and June!!!  

All you have to do is be a free member of the Whole Brain Teaching website, select Free Ebooks from the menu at the top and click on Common Core.  There are several different Adobe files to download and use IMMEDIATELY in the classroom!!!  Topics include verbs, comparing, contrasting, sentences, topic sentences, paragraphs, inferences, evidence, using because, etc!

I have used two lessons in my Grade 1 classroom with GREAT success!  The first one I used was on topic sentences!  Students get to attend Whole Brain College and Coach B had them so revved up and ready to learn!!!  All I had to do was read what was written on each slide!!  The second lesson I used was on verbs and boy was it effective!

Some little tips: in Adobe go to the view menu and select Full Screen Mode.  Use the arrows on your keyboard to move from one slide to the other or back.

I'd love to hear if you tried it out and how it worked for you!! Let me know!!!

Why didn't I start them earlier??!!! Practice Card Freebie - Happy Valentine's Day!!

So I have been taking my time this year to introduce the practice cards to my little muffins.  I wanted to exist with just my Super Improvers Wall for as long as I could.  After a few tough weeks and with so many interruptions because our school is SO busy - wonderful BUT busy - I just felt like I was losing my sanity!  I thought - why not try the practice cards?  Why not - what could they do but move our behaviour to the next level.  That is exactly what they did.  I introduced them as Level 3 in our Whole Brain Teaching game.  Just like a video game, our classroom game keeps getting more difficult!  Who thinks they can beat Level 3, I said!  Most muffins were super enthusiastic and there were more than a few who did not like the results of a practice card.  For those of you new to these cards of joy, here are the guidelines:

1. Students receive practice cards for breaking any of the 5 Classroom Rules.  Cards are placed under their name or number (for privacy - although the kids know each other's numbers anyway) on a pocket chart in the room.  Often I do not say anything - I just go and place a card below that child's name or number.  Sometimes all it takes is me to walk towards the practice cards for the behaviour to stop.  Sometimes, I will give a child a card to keep at their desk to remind them to follow a rule - they must give it back to me if they break that rule - works great for Rule #2!!

2.  Students may receive a maximum of 2 practice cards per session or until they are able to spend their time practicing that rule.

3. Students miss out on any games, free time, centres, etc. earned by the Scoreboard, until they have practiced the rule/s that they broke.

4. Students practice rule/s broken with gestures and repeating of each rule for 2 minutes (a timer works well for this or I just keep them practicing until I say their time is up).  Time spent practicing increases as the months of school go on.

5. Students start fresh again in my classroom after recess, after lunch, and after centre time as we get a reward for winning the Scoreboard at these times.

I LOVE these little cards!  They have really saved my sanity and the kids love the additional difficulty in winning our classroom game.  If you wish, you can send home letters to parents outlining rules that were broken for them to help their child practice at home.  Download the Practice Cards free ebook at http://www.wholebrainteaching.com.  You must sign up for free as a member to have access to these free downloads!

Get your own free bug themed practice cards by clicking below!!!  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Whole Brain Teaching!

First Free Webinar of the Year!

Hey all - the first free Whole Brain Teaching webinar of new year starts in half an hour!  Be there or be square:)

Dear Whole Brainers! Nervous about Common Core? Tune in to the free, live, webcast Tuesday, January 8 at WholeBrainTeaching.com, 5 PM Pacific, 6 PM Mountain, 7 PM Central, 8 PM Eastern. Dig this! The program features a HUGE, MULTI-DAY lesson, in cartoon form, that you can pop into your classroom computer projector and let me, Coach B, teach your kids ... while you sit in the back drinking foamy lattes! Isn't that ULTRA COOL??? Power to the Teachers! Chirs "Coach B" Biffle -- want up to the second news on Whole Brain Teaching, check our Facebook page.

Digital Scoreboard App and Comparison/Contrast with Bears and Power Pix!

Boy, oh boy!  With Halloween and all that sugar and then a long weekend, technology problems, lots of classroom visitors, daily interruptions and trucking over for assemblies I was starting to lose my faith in WBT - that's right, I said it!  Not only that, the kids were tired, sick and cranky...I was tired and my patience was thinning.  After some thought, I realized it wasn't WBT that was the problem.  This week I regrouped, got some sleep and so did the kids.  We had to revert to a little practicing, brought a little more energy to the classroom, and it paid off.  Loving that Scoreboard!!!  To top it off one of the Kindergarten teachers at my school showed me the brand new Scoreboard App she bought!!  So cool!

You can choose different Smilie and Frownie faces!  You can have different Scoreboards for different classes!  It is small and portable!  LOVE!

This month we are learning about bears so I whipped up this little Venn diagram to compare and contrast grizzly bears and polar bears!  We had been orally practicing comparing and contrasting sentences for a few months now.  It was time for a little sentence writing!  Click below for a little freebie!

To help review comparing and contrasting I pulled out the comparison and contrast Power Pix for a little visual stimulation!

Here is what one of my little ones came up with!!

Happy Whole Brain Teaching!!  Stay strong!  Stay consistent!  Never give up!!

Free Whole Brain Teaching sessions this Saturday, November 17th and next Saturday, November 24th!  Click here for more info!

Got Challenging Kids? Free Fall Whole Brain Teaching Seminars in Canada

Do you have challenging students?  Are you struggling to keep your students engaged?  Blogging world - if you are in the Kelowna, BC Canada area and would like to attend some free Whole Brain Teaching seminars to learn the basics email LiannNutini@wholebrainteaching.com for more information OR to confirm that you will be attending!!  Below are the dates I will be presenting!!!

Nov. 3

Whole Brain Teaching has changed my teaching style, dramatically.  Often, I imagine myself as a young, green teacher, and I am certain I would not even recognize my older self.  My stress level is down, the enjoyment level is up!  New to Whole Brain Teaching or are you just starting out?  Come and learn about the basic in Whole Brain Teaching classroom management!  Learn about the Core 4, Super Improvers Wall, the 5 Rules and the Power of the Power Pix!!  Go to http://www.wholebrainteaching.com, sign up for your free account, log in,  and download and print WBT Seminar 1: Classroom Management under Free ebooks - bring this to the session.

Nov. 10

Now that you have been introduced to Whole Brain Teaching come back and take your knowledge to the next level!!  Find out about the 5 Step Lesson Plan, the Genius Ladder, The Writing Game, the Power Pix Wall, Critical Thinking and more!!!  Create and practice your own 5 Step Lesson Plan!!  Be ready to implement it on Monday morning!!  Your students will have so much fun wanting to learn they will beg you to learn more!!

Nov. 17

Whole Brain Teaching has changed my teaching style, dramatically.  Often, I imagine myself as a young, green teacher, and I am certain I would not even recognize my older self.  My stress level is down, the enjoyment level is up!  New to Whole Brain Teaching or are you just starting out?  Come and learn about the basic in Whole Brain Teaching classroom management!  Learn about the Core 4, Super Improvers Wall, the 5 Rules and the Power of the Power Pix!! Go to http://www.wholebrainteaching.com and download and print Session 1 under Free ebooks - bring this to the session.

Nov. 24

Now that you have been introduced to Whole Brain Teaching come back and take your knowledge to the next level!!  Find out about the 5 Step Lesson Plan, the Genius Ladder, The Writing Game, the Power Pix Wall, Critical Thinking and more!!!  Create and practice your own 5 Step Lesson Plan!!  Be ready to implement it on Monday morning!!  Your students will have so much fun wanting to learn they will beg you to learn more!!

Rule #2: Raise your hand for permission to speak!

This year, it is no secret that my crew of squirrels loves to chat.  I love to hear all of their stories!!  Sometimes Often, they like to tell them to me all at the same time which is where Whole Brain Teaching's Rule #2: Raise your hand for permission to speak! comes into play.

Now that I am a Whole Brain Teacher I always remind myself that as I am managing and training my class to create an optimal learning environment - WE are playing a wonderful, exciting, FUN game!!!  This makes me smile and gives me energy!!  Here are some of games I play with my students to help them remember to follow Rule 2:

1. Frequently, at the beginning of the school  year, and as the year progresses, I will occasionally stop the lesson and review how not to follow Rule #2 (I play the part of the Rule 2 breaker and I have a student play me - they LOVE to be the teacher!)  Then, I show them how to follow Rule 2 and we practice.

2. When a student breaks Rule #2, I call out "Rule 2" and the whole class replies, "Raise  your hand for permission to speak" thereby, giving the rule breaker a gentle reminder to remember to raise a quiet hand before calling out.  Smilies are awarded on the Scoreboard for group participation in the response.

3.  Often, I will use the silent hand gesture for Rule 2 by holding up two fingers.  This works well when I am in the middle of speaking, during assemblies/performances, or any other time students need a quiet visual reminder.

4.  Now this is the kicker.  I got this idea from the wonderful, talented Andrea Schindler, and it will work for any of the 5 Rules, but lets look at how it would work to help students remember to follow Rule #2.  Purchase a kitchen timer - I got 2 for cheap at the dollar store.  

Tell your class that for the week we will be working on following Rule #2.  If they can follow Rule 2 for X amount of time (I start out with 2 minutes and increase as the week goes on) they can earn a star (I section off part of my Scoreboard for stars.)  If they have 10 stars by Friday they have the opportunity to win something extra fun!  After brainstorming some possible ideas (slurpees for everyone - lol - not this early in the year, donuts for all - what can I say - my kids think big!), someone came up with a dance party.  I changed it ever so slightly to a 1 minute dance party in class with some fun music - my kids were pumped!  They love a good party!  Well, Show and Share was never so quiet that week - not even a whisper was heard.  Although we didn't earn 10 stars (we got 8) my kids are excited to try and earn 10 next week!  Oh yeah!

5. Last, but definitely not least, the Super Improvers Wall makes its grand entrance to recognize all of the students who are doing a FANTASTIC job of following Rule #2.  They earn stars left, right and centre, especially if they are sitting next to someone who needs a reminder.  When those darlings remember to follow Rule #2 they ALSO receive hoards of Super Improver stars!!!

Hope these tips are helpful friends!  I'd love to hear any more ideas that you may use in your classroom!!

Gobble, Gobble Class!!

Today was a BUSY day!!  This morning I taught my class one of my favourite, if not thee favourite Thanksgiving song, "I Heard Mr. Turkey Say..."  Boy do my kiddos adore wiggling their fingers under their chins like the waddle of a turkey. 

Then, it hit me that it was time to change up the Class/Yes!, Mighty Oh Yeah, and the Mighty Groan!  It is now October and with Thanksgiving on the way we have to add some poultry seasoning!!  Enter "Gobble, gobble Class!" "Gobble Yeah!" and "Dun, dun, dun!  Your goose is cooked!"  It was like everything was new again!  I was getting way more participation and quicker response times!  

That afternoon, I had a bunch of parent helpers come into the class to help us make our crunchy, marshmallowy delicious apple turkeys!  Boy was I a happy teacher when my students responded quickly to my fresh gobble, gobble Whole Brain Teaching techniques!!

My Apple Turkey Zinger

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!