Today I tested out the Whole Brain Teaching method and my students completely loved it! The rules were easy to implement because they are already basic rules we use on a daily basis. Now they have a cute reminder poster and a physical movement to help them remember. Today had a 4 year old student visit my class who will likely join us next year. He was able to get it just as quickly as my second graders who are moving on to the next class in the fall. This was really encouraging because it looks like half my class will be really young ones in the fall.
So far the kids favorite has to be the "mirror." I noticed it really helped my students. I was surprised by the number of things I could apply the strategy to throughout the day. I have one student who really struggles with verbal comprehension. When I used "mirror" along with hand motions, the student was instantly able to understand what to do. He also said he loved it because it make his work feel like it was more fun. I think I'm going to slowly work in one or two strategies a day for this last week and a half of school. I can test the waters and work out the kinks in the system before the new school year.
I'm so glad to see this!!! I want to try some Whole Brain Teaching stuff this year. Do you plan on doing it this year?
ReplyDeleteAngelia
Extra Special Teaching
I plan to implement it as much as possible this year. I need to figure out a different system of attention-getters because I don't always want everyone in my multi-age class. Perhaps I can do "kinders," "firsties," and "second graders" in addition to "class." Then I can get the attention of only the group I want. I have a star theme this year, so I may actually give the groups star colors since they don't actually all work at their grade level. Maybe "red stars," "blue stars" and "green stars." Can you tell I'm still brainstorming?! I really liked it when I tested it out, but I had that group for 2 years and it didn't make sense to completely change it the last week of school. This will be my first year using it all the time.
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