The Genius Ladder

I've always had a difficult time getting my class to write more than one sentence or even a few words.  Well not this year! I've been using the Genius Ladder for oral writing and writing notebook time. My smarties absolutely love this! The first couple of weeks we started out making the genius paragraph orally. I would first call on a student to give me a Blah sentence. For example, The dog. Then, I would have another student make the Blah sentence Spicy, The large white dog. The next student would make an Extender sentence which was, The large white dog was jumping on the trampoline. I know... it's funny. They are an imaginative class! We then talked about adding two more sentences to make a Genius Paragraph and summing it up with a Genius sentence. So here's what my class came up with the first time we tried the Genius Ladder. The large white dog was jumping on the trampoline. He stopped and saw a cat walking by. He started to chase the cat down the road. The cat ran to the park and the large white dog chased him all the way there. They played and decided to jump on the trampoline after the park. Ok, it's a silly story but I'm wanting my kids to know how to expand and wrap up a paragraph with a Genius sentence. We are still working on it but I can already tell we are on the right track to becoming Genius writers!

Super Improver Wall

Wow! We are starting our second week of school. I have 16 boys and 8 girls! I'm so happy I've fully implemented WBT this year. It's helped to get their attention and the rules have been a success so far. However, with 16 boys I definitely need to keep them up and moving. We are doing a lot of brain breaks which has helped but with our second week starting I feel it's time to implement the Super Improver Wall. I know it's going to help my most challenging students with behavior and staying on task. As I explain this tomorrow I hope they will be as excited as I am! They each will have their own goals to work for. As they earn ten mini stars onto their colored star, they'll move up a level. Their overall goal is to become a legend in my class. I already know I'm going to have some legends and I am looking forward to encouraging my students to work hard. This is all new to me too so here's to improving along with my students!

Emotional Roller Coaster

Well, teachers reported back today for my district. It's always an exciting feeling but sad that summer is over and it's time to get back into the groove. This will be an exciting year for me as a teacher because I'm fully implementing Whole Brain Teaching. I've been working all summer reading, writing and preparing for the upcoming school year. I have to admit, I am nervous. I want to make sure I implement WBT effectively. I'm blessed to have an amazing mentor, Farrah Shipley, to encourage and guide me. I hope to one day mentor other teachers in WBT! So, I'm excited about this new teaching adventure officially starting next Monday!

Next Monday will not only be exciting but a tearful day as my 4 year old, Landon, will start PreK. It's amazing to me how fast kids grow. It was just yesterday I was holding him in the hospital with his older brother, Ethan, looking down at him with excitement. It will be a tearful day as I walk my baby into PreK with his Batman backpack proudly worn. He's ready but I'm still trying to hold on to my baby! I'll then head upstairs to walk my 3rd grade son, Ethan, into his class. He'll probably tell me to go he's got this. He feels pretty cool to be upstairs with the big kids now.

Anyway for me it's been an emotional roller coaster with school starting again. The excitement of  new students. The tears of my babies growing up. The excitement of starting WBT. The tears of waking up so early again! But most of all the excitement of teaching which is my passion. Building new relationships with students and families that hopefully last a lifetime.

Masters

I've heard more info on the Masters in Teaching with emphasis on Whole Brain Teaching. It would consist of 11 courses, 33 units, over 20 months but the cost would be, after government grants, $2,500. The additional feature on the table is the requirement that teachers spend 2 weeks in Louisiana, during one summer, for intensive, face to face training. Apartments on campus would rent for approximately $80 per week according to the WBT status on Facebook.  I've been searching for a way to get my masters and I really want to pursue this! I am not sure how I sign up but want to immediately. It would only be $2,500 and that's awesome!! This is a huge opportunity to expand my teaching and learn from great teachers. 
I am just going to put it in God's hands and put my trust in Him!

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Daily 5 Center Rotation Bookmarks

Here is a sample of the Daily 5 center bookmarks I've created! You can find them in my TpT store! There are six bookmarks. For those of you that are new to Daily 5, this is how the bookmarks work. Each kid chooses a bookmark. The three centers on their bookmark are the centers they do for the day. The first rotation will be the top picture. The second picture will be the second rotation and so on. In my class, we have only so much time and each rotation is 20 mins long. We will not be using the bookmarks until we have rehearsed all the Daily 5 rules and practiced, practiced and practiced. It's probably about 6 weeks into school until they are free to choose a bookmark. Until then, it's teacher's choice so they can build their stamina. I will tell you, when they do get to start using the bookmarks, it's awesome to see them work so quiet while still engaged in learning!

Teachers Pay Teachers

Who doesn't love cute teacher and classroom stuff?! I know I do! I decided I am going to start creating things for classrooms and sell them on TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers). I've been researching on the best and easy way to create worksheets and posters. I am getting more and more excited about doing this along with my journey in WBT! In the next couple of weeks, I will be posting my products on TPT and on my blog. My first product will be FREE!

The 5 Rules

In every classroom, there should be rules but if they are just posted in your room and if you do not use them, then you might as well be running a zoo! Every year, I do a social contract with my class. We talk about how we should behave, treat others and what not to do. I do this the first week of school and I list all of my students' ideas on the board and we go over what is most important for our classroom. Now as you know I teach first grade so you can imagine the answers I get on how they should behave. ;-) I tell the kids I will make our rules chart after writing down all of their answers and will show them the next day. You'll see what I've created for the next school year. These are WBT rules and have been adjusted some. We go over these every morning, after lunch and after recess. They use gestures while saying them because it activates their motor cortex, the brain's most powerful area for creating and retaining memories, (WBT for Challenging Kids). My students love doing the rules because it was fun! After rehearsing the rules every day, my students knew the rules by heart. All I had to say was the rule number and they were belting out the rule and using the gestures. It really helped with classroom management. Feel free to use the rules I've created and teach on!

Masters Degree?!

So, there's a huge possibility I'll be getting my masters in arts of teaching with emphasis in Whole Brain Teaching. Coach B, also known as Chris Biffle (the creator of WBT), has been working on this and announced it on the WBT Facebook page. Since I work in a Title 1 school, my tuition would be be paid for except $2500!! I've already discussed this with my hubby, Derek, and he's all for it. I can't wait to hear more about this masters program and I hope I get accepted! I've been wanting to get my masters but wasn't sure how, when and worried about the money. I truly believe this is a God thing. I've put my trust in Him and He's finding a way!

WBT adventure

I am starting something new in my life and I am here to share with you my new adventure in teaching! Currently I am earning certification points to become a Certified Whole Brain Teacher by reading, Chris Biffle's book, Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids. I have already learned so much! I am excited to get into my classroom for 2013-2014 and implement the strategies I've read about. In addition to reading about how to deal with challenging students, I will be mentored by one the finest WBT teachers, Farrah Shipley! I am thrilled to be able to learn from her and become a WBT teacher myself. I've been wanting to become a WBT teacher for sometime now. Going into my 7th year of teaching, I think it's time! So, sit back and enjoy this new adventure with me as I transform into a WBT teacher!