Fast Four: WBT, Hide-N-Seek, and GoNoodle

Hey there all! Man has this been a great week and it's only Tuesday! How often can we say that? Hopefully, very often. At least that has been the case this year. My kiddos are rocking with their use of WBT, our activities, and their responsibilities. Because they have been absolute ROCKSTARS this week, I thought I'd quickly share four of the joys so far. Keep an eye out as this will hopefully be a new section of post this year (Fast Four)!

1. GoNoodle!
"Hey Class!" Hey What? "Are you ready?" For what?.....For some awesome brain breaks, that's what! If you haven't jumped over to GoNoodle you are missing out. We love doing their videos for quick little breaks. With each video our champ gets closer to moving up a level. We only need one more video and we get to head to the transmogrifer! It's always a hooting and hollering good time as our champ grows!

2. Hide-N-Seek
Everyone loves the game. How fun would it be to use this game while learning? That's exactly what we did. For our last math unit over number bonds I created a review activity before our test. I took pictures and material from our series, Math in Focus, and created 16 different question cards. I then hid these around the room while the class waited outside. Pairs were then tasked with 1) finding the cards 2) working together to create the number bond 3)switching roles. The kids had a blast and to make it better.......wait for it.....we did it in the dark and used flashlights!!!! Cue the teamwork and awesomeness!

3. WBT Connection
We have really been working on using our Whole Brain Teaching strategies, tools, and gestures. The students have been rockstars with using the correct responses, following the examples, and trying. That last part is the most important. This isn't just a passing trend. This really is something we are all working on and the students really are trying. For an added bonus I showed a video from the wonderful Mrs. Shipley who has offered me a ton of guidance and support through this journey. The video showed her teaching about sentences with her past kindergartners. Small world....that's exactly what we are learning about now! Students found similarities and differences and then we practiced our gestures!

4. WBT Gestures!
After we reviewed our writing gestures and watched other students using gestures we decided to practice. As an added challenge I gave the presenters the tasks of calling the attention of the class as well as leading them in their example. These are only a few of the amazing examples we had today! Notice they are not only presenting, but also leading their class (who are all mirroring them) and using gestures! Proud teacher moment right here! *insert teary eyes and goofy smile*

They amaze me every day. Here's hoping you are having an amazing week too! 

Weekend Update- Long Weekends are for More Work, Right?

Hey all! If you are anything like me you were not only longing for this 3-day weekend, you were ecstatic when it arrived! What did I have planned for this great weekend you ask? All of the usual of course: sleeping, watching Netflix, relaxing, reading books, and STAYING INSIDE! (It was a game weekend in my college town and I wanted nothing to do with the mix of crowds, chaos, and people.) Well now my weekend is coming to a close and what have I actually done?

Sleeping, Netflix, grocery shopping, newsletter, WBT newsletter, school week plan and prep, copies of homework, SIW update, book box organization, and center organization! And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.

My main focus this weekend involved getting information to my families. Some of this was in the form of our monthly newsletter (our first to be exact). This gives a month snapshot of all we hope to cover this month while also giving important dates and reminders.

The rest came to be with a new newsletter I am starting. Since I am starting some new practices this year with Whole Brain Teaching I need my families to know what we are doing in the room and why we are doing it. Cue our new newsletters.

While we have gotten into the groove of using many of the Whole Brain Teaching practices such as Class-Yes, Mirror, and the Scoreboard....I hadn't taken the leap and started the Super Improver Wall. This week, we take on that challenge.  If you are anything like me a couple months ago, you are asking "What is the Super Improver Wall?"  It looks gorgeous but what is its purpose, how does it work and how will students benefit from it?

The Super Improver Wall, or SIW from here on out, is a great tool that is used to chart and encourage student improvement on both academic and behavior goals. Students are "rewarded" for improvement and not just for academic performance. For example, students don't just earn owls, or marks, for passing tests or scoring a certain score. They get to mark an owl off when they have shown improvement. So a student who normally only scores 5/10 on their spelling test might have a goal of getting 8/10 while a student who consistently gets 10/10 on tests might have a goal that includes the use of bonus words or enrichment. Once students show that improvement they get cross out an owl. Goals are geared specifically towards individual students and relate to their academics or behavior needs.

To start, our class will all start by using a class goal. For us, we will all start by focusing on WBT Rule #1- Follow directions quickly, as well as Showing "ready". (Ready is always 1. Eyes forward 2.Voices Off and 3. Body to yourself.) This will apply whether we are in line or at our desks.

Notice that our teacher names are on the wall as well. It's important that students see their teachers are working towards improvement also. This will also help my intern and I establish our own goals. After students pass the first level by getting 10 owls they will get to take that card home and it will be replaced with a card of the next level color. Starting at level 2 individual student goals will be assigned and monitored. I can't wait to get started with this tomorrow!

Here's to happy activities, big gestures, and lots of improvement this week!

Tackling my Super Improver Wall

Hey there! Let me tell you, I have been a busy bee today. Not only did I get to the park for a little while but I've managed to do breakfast and lunch (my busy friends know how hard it can be to fit multiple meals into a day), laundry and a TpT item! I am so proud of myself today for tackling my Super Improver Wall cards.

So what is a Super Improver Wall (SIW) anways??? Good question! It's a bulletin display of different levels and comes from the great minds behind Whole Brain Teaching (WBT). Students move up the levels as they show improvement on their goals. This isn't a reward system but more like a gaming system. Think about it...When you play a video game you don't get a reward when you beat a level, you simply get to go up to the next level. This works the same way with one catch. There is a photo opporotunity at levels 5 and 6. (I got this idea from the wonderful Mrs. Shipley) Student's goals are academic and behaviorally based. So in order to move up through the levels they must be showing improvement behaviorally and academically! Some people choose to give their levels different names like "Learner, Rockstar, Genius" etc. I chose to stick with simple levels.

 I also made some student cards to go along with it. Students will use these cards as they move through the levels. I plan to print them off in the color of the level they are on. Then as students show progress on their goals they'll get to cross off one of the 10 owls at the bottom of the cards.

Once all 10 owls are crossed off they get to take that card home and will move to the next level. Those that reach level 10 get a slightly fancier card that will be printed in color!

I am super excited to jump into Whole Brain Teaching. If you are as excited as I am and would like to grab these owl themed resources click on the picture below to head to my TpT store and grab them up! The level cards and student cards are both editable! Just make sure you've downloaded the mentioned KG font (Which you can do for free!)

Happy shopping and enjoy your Thursday evening ya'll!