Getting ready

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

You would think that after spending 5 day cleaning my room that it would look better than it does! Why does it seem that no matter what we do, there's always more to do? I even brought along my son and dad to help me get things going last week. The room is almost there, but there's still so much that I would like to do to organize myself.

I have to say, organization is my biggest challenge. I get a bit overwhelmed when I walk into my room after the custodians have cleaned and the desks are all pushed aside. It usually takes me an hour to decide on the configuration that I think will work the best. Since I know the group coming to me is chatty, I went with the horseshoe with a few pairs inside. When, if ever, I get the room done, I will have to take some pictures!

While I was talking a peek at Pinterest (for about 2 hours), I got all kinds of ideas that I would like to try. But I am just not a crafty person no matter how hard I try. If it wasn't for the wonderfully creative people on Pinterest I wouldn't have any ideas! In any case, due to time and money constraints, I haven't been able to do as much a I would have liked to get my room set up. One thing I am doing this time are the dyed clothes pins with thumbtacks on the back. Since I splurged on fadeless paper I'm hoping that I can make it last longer with those rather than stapling everything.

What do I still have to do? Well, there's the Super Improver Wall. My colleague and I are trying to decide on the wording we like the best.  I also need to print out the Power Pix I will be using in the beginning. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the best way use the Pix so that I can get the most out of them. I have always used a gesture for new concepts, but I want to be sure I take the time to review them as well. Lastly, I have a whole LOT of laminating. The problem with laminating is that our librarian is in charge of it because last year someone broke the laminator. Total bummer! Anyway, I don't think everything will get done in time for school to start, so I'm going to have to choose. I don't have time to cut them all out even if she laminated it all. I have an awesome family that helps me with things, but I hate to ask them too often! As it is my 9 year old is already annoyed that I'm a teacher because I drag him along to help me! Anyone else have that problem?

As for Whole Brain Teaching, I think my colleague and I feel a bit more comfortable. We attended the conference in Gilroy last weekend and loved it! Coach B is so full of energy and enthusiasm that it is infectious. It was a good chance for us to finalize some thoughts we had about how to implement WBT and just what we wanted to take on for our first year.

The first thing is the Super Improver wall. I like the idea that I can add levels if I get to that point, but the best part is that it is teaching the kids intrinsic values rather than the extrinsic prize box I used to use! What we especially liked was the idea of the photo levels!

The other idea we had that Coach B brought up was the idea of the "power up." When kids raise their hands they are showing the number of the level they are on. For example, if they are a beginner they hold up 1 finger, a learner will hold up 2 fingers, and so on. Not many people liked the idea, but my grade level partner and I did. We thought the kids would enjoy showing off when they moved up a level in the Super Improver wall. Since not many people were interested it wasn't discussed much, but we are going to try it!

The rules are a given. We are going to implement those because we loved Coach B's logic for using them. Even at third grade we have some REALLY challenging kids, so rules 4 and 5 will help us out quite a bit. Our school rules are to be safe, respectful, and responsible so those will be incorporated as well. We do class meetings daily, so that will be a great time to discuss and practice the rules.

I have decided to use the Power Pix as well because I already did that on my own. It is such a great strategy to help all of our students because they are all English learners!

I would like to incorporate the Universal Homework Model (Program 501 on YouTube), but I think we may tweak it a bit. We are a bit concerned about the writing portion of it and want to see if we can structure it a bit differently. When we have time to think it through I will let you know!

In the meantime, thanks for tuning in and I will be back next week!

And so it begins...

Hi! My name is Shannon and I'm beginning two journeys this year!

 So you know a bit about who you're chatting with, let me tell you a bit about me. Next school year will be my 16th year of teaching, 15 of which have been at the same school. I am teaching third grade now after having taught kinder, first, fifth, and second. I've gotta say, I love third grade!

I've also got an incredible family. My husband is just starting to understand the teacher workday doesn't end, well, ever! My son is always busy with baseball and just being a boy.I think sometimes he gets frustrated with how much I have to do for work, but I try my best to balance it all. The last few days, however, have been grueling.

And now, about those journeys...

I've spent the last two days cleaning out my classroom. I'm getting ready for a new experience. I'm going to implement whole brain teaching this year! I have to admit that I'm a bit nervous to begin this journey, but I think the excitement outweighs the nerves. I've been studying Chris Biffle's book, Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids, and watching as many of his videos as possible on YouTube.

Thus far I have conquered the Class-Yes strategy by practicing in the mirror. I felt pretty goofy, but someone in the forum suggested it (forgive me because I do not remember who) and it's been helpful. The real test will come on the first day of school! Mr. Biffle, or Coach B., says to teach the kids the Class-Yes strategy while in the hallway. I'm not sure I will do that, but the strategy will definitely be the first one I teach! The group coming up is a bit rowdy. I know this because I could hear them through my wall last year. Everyday. All day. That's why I went looking for something new to help their sanity and mine! Whole brain teaching is going to help bring the fun back into teaching. I've been stuck in the hum-drum too long and can't wait to try it!

Then there's my second journey that I am tackling this year. This blog! I'm technologically challenged and have never done this, so please be patient with me as I learn. I promise it will only get better! In any case, I have to thank Sarah Meador at www.wbtforme.com because I have been using her blog page to help me learn. I couldn't have done it without her!

Well folk, seeing as it is Sunday, I think it's time to be with my family. Thanks for stopping by and I will be back soon with more updates and a few ideas!