Must Watch and Must Reads for WBT-The Walls

Last Wednesday we covered the Core Four and the Five Classroom Rules, the foundation of Whole Brain Teaching. The 5 Rules, Scoreboard, Class/Yes, Mirror and Teach/OK make the foundation of the WBT classroom and really will change the way you teach forever. For me I can't teach without these WBT tools and the more I use them, the more I love them and the better my class is. If I have a hard day or a lesson does not go well then I can usually find that some thing with the Core Four was off. I didn't use the Scoreboard as much as I should have or I forgot to have the students Mirror or we didn't do enough Teach/OK.   If you are new to WBT, new to teaching or new to a grade level just start with these and you will have such a strong foundation to build your classroom learning on. You will be blown away by how awesome your class becomes just with the Core Four and the Five Rules but just like a house is not only the foundation, WBT is so much more than the Core Four.

Once you are ready with your WBT foundation, the next step will be the walls. Today let's take a look at the parts of WBT that make up 2 of the walls of the classroom, figuratively and literally :) To me the WBT tools that make up the walls are the PowerPix, Super Improver Wall, Oral Writing, and the Genius Ladder. Each of these WBT tools offer so much bang for your teaching buck that they are the next must haves after the Core 4 and Five Rules. Today we will look at PowerPix and Super Improver Walls. Now I could type up long reviews of each of these and have done one for PowerPix here but the ebooks and webcast are so great let's start there and visit some other WBT bloggers for today's Must Watch and Must reads for WBT.

Our first set of Must Watch videos are the webinars from Coach B. Each one is about an hour so settle down for one an evening or get ready for a little professional development in your PJ's one day :)




Our Must Reads start in the ebooks section of http://wholebrainteaching.com/. To access the free ebooks you will need to register here, which is free :) Now the powers that be are working on the site so there may be issues with the ebooks sometimes. If you are unable to get the ebooks after a few tries please comment below with your email and I'll email them to you.:)
For PowerPix the ebooks have the California State Standards and are avalible for K-3rd grade, though many can be used for upper grades. Currently the PowerPix are on page 2 and 3 of the ebooks section.

You will find information on the Super Improver Wall in the WBT Model Classroom ebook.

Now for the Must Watch and Must Reads from your fellow WBT'ers with lots of Must Have goodies :)

For PowerPix I have been working on PowerPix with the Common Core standards and am working on making Electronic PowerPix. You can find Math for lower grades here and below are the links for Language Arts.

• PowerPix for Reading: Literature and Reading:Informational Teacher Notes
• PowerPix for Reading: Foundational Skills, Language and Writing Teacher Notes
• Over 100 pages of PowerPix for Language Arts K-5

If you need/want to create your own PowerPix you can download my Electronic PowerPix Templates for PowerPoint for free HERE. I'll be sharing more about creating your own PowerPix in another post :)

Here is the fabulous Farrah Shipley about WBT and using PowerPixs. There is a little issue in the video between mintues 6 and 8 but just keep watching because it is great!

Nancy Stoltenberg has a great post with pictures about PowerPix. Click on the picture of her wall below to read the post and don't forget to make sure you are following her.

Mrs. Smith also has a great post on her PowerPix Wall with a camping theme :)

For the Super Improver Walls we have to start again with the fabulous Farrah Shipley who has a great post on setting up the wall and a post with a video :) 

April at Wolfelicious has a rocking post about her Rocking Improvers Wall

The perfect pinetreelia of My Whole Brain Teaching has the cutest Super Improver Wall sets that will have you all ready to go in no time. 

    

Here is the one I'll have up in my room :)

These are just a few of the wonderful posts about PowerPix and Super Improver Walls and I want to make sure we get all of them so please join the linky below with your PowerPix and Super Improver Wall posts. If you are just starting with WBT I hope you are now excited to try these tools and have what you need to get started for you can join the linky too. 

WBT Social Media Intern Project

I am sooooo excited! I am now a WBT Social Media Intern!!! My job is simple, use social media to spread the Whole Brain Teaching movement. We want as many teachers to know about the amazing, life changing tools Whole Brain Teaching offers as possible.What social media are we using?  EVERYTHING! Let's take a look at my favorites.

First we have the wonderful WBT Facebook pages that I am so loving. Be share to like the mani WBT page and the page for your grade level to get the latest WBT updates and join in on fabulous grade level conversations. Here are the Facebook Pages :

• http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whole-Brain-Teaching/111745338861758

• https://www.facebook.com/WBTKindergarten 
• http://www.facebook.com/Wbt1stGrade
• http://www.facebook.com/WBT2ndgrade
• http://www.facebook.com/WbtThirdGrade
• https://www.facebook.com/wbt4thgrade
• http://www.facebook.com/WBTFifthGrade
• www.facebook.com/wbtmiddleschool 
• http://www.facebook.com/pages/WBT-High-School-9-12/317009311725487
• http://www.facebook.com/WbtSpecialEd

Next we have a new youtube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/WBTWebcast. You can now watch, download and share all of the past WBT Tuesday webcasts! Such must watch tv :)

Finally we have a new Pinterest account, http://pinterest.com/wbteachers/ Please help us get started by following us and sharing your WBT pins so we can all spread WBT across Pinterest!

I can't wait to share more soon but I'm off for some much needed family time. :)

Must Watch and Must Reads for WBT - Core Four and the Rules

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start! This is the first in a series I'm calling Must Watch and Must Reads for Whole Brain Teaching.  Whole Brain Teaching  has so many amazing, exciting,  life changing tools that will improve your teaching sometimes it is all a little overwhelming. Newbies and experienced WBT'ers will want to start with the Five Rules and the Core Four each year. If this is your first year using WBT and the only WBT tools you use are the Core Four you will still be AMAZED at how awesome your class is. The Core Four are Class/Yes, Scoreboard, Mirror and Teach/OK. These are each very simple and VERY powerful. You can start using all of the Core Four in the first hour of the first day of school or the first hour of your new day of school if school has already started. 

The best way to teach the Core Four is to teach the Five Classroom Rules. I LOVE the Five Rules because they cover every possible issue that may come up in class with Rule 4 and Rule 5. The Rules are: 

 

You can get the posters with the red check border for free from http://wholebrainteaching.com/ but I LOVE the posters from the WBT store shown in the last picture. These are one of the few things WBT charges for and you can buy them HERE and support WBT. There are also many posters on TeachersPayTeachers in different themes. These posters should all be free. I like having my posters printed and laminated before the first day. To build community and buy in I have my students share out different ways we can follow the rules and ways we would be breaking the rules to create an anchor chart. You could also create posters with your students and guide them to creating these rules. 

Chris Biffle AKA Coach B is the co-creator of Whole Brain Teaching  and he has been doing wonderful webinars most Tuesdays. Here is your Five Rules and Core Four Must Watch playlist. Think of it as free professional development that you can do in your pajamas :) First we have the webcasts for each of the Core Four then we have how to bring it all together with the First Hour and Day One webcasts.

Now I also have for you some Must Watch and Must Reads from a few of the many awesome WBT Bloggers.

First the Delightful Deb Weigel has a quick post on teaching the Core Four at the National WBT Conference and a post with a Sub Cheat sheet that is also just a great cheat sheet for everyone especially in the first days. Deb is a WBT master so be sure to follow her and read her other post.

 

One of the things you might have heard mentioned on the First Hour video is the Three-Peat. The fabulous Farrah Shipley did a great post with a quick video that I wanted to share because it makes those day to day tasks sooooooo much easier. Check it out and be sure to follow while you are there and check out her other videos.

Next you must hop over to the delightful Deanna's blog, check out her classroom and download her free WBT Cue cards for the first day. She has made many sets and they are AWESOME!

Finally hop over the spectacular Nancy Stoltenberg's blog for a look at how she posted her rules and scoreboard and watch a video of her class doing the 5 Rules last year. On Nancy's blog you will also see a little about the Super Improver Wall, the Power Pix Grid and the Genius Ladder which will all be covered soon in our Must Watch and Must Reads of WBT. 

Hope you have fun watching and reading and don't forget to stop by my main blog for a giveaway.

Math Power Pics in Google Docs

In case Scrib doesn't work for you here are the Math Power Pics for K-1st on Google Docs. I am working on finishing the higher grades :)

The pics are too big to do a preview, Here is the link https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B--i-JeVFp-9ZTJEc2VuV09RWEk

Here are the teacher notes. Click the little arrow on the right or this link to download https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B--i-JeVFp-9ZEx4TGtXdmlxcjQ

PowerPix, PowerPix

So I will be working on getting the Electronic Power Pix up and ready but also wanted to share that I am giving away a copy of My Memories Suite on my other blog. Just click here to enter :) This is the program I use to make the Common Core Power Pics in PDF :)

Electronic PowerPix???

So I have been working like crazy on many things and one of them was the idea of a Smartboard file for PowerPics. After looking at many things I decided that the best option would be an Electronic PowerPics in Power Point. This way people without a Smartboard or Promethian Board could still use the file. Here is a sample of what I think will work. Click the little black box with the arrow to open full screen and download /

Please try to play the show and let me know if you think that having each part come in would be helpful :)

Teacher Tech Tuesday

Come check out my post on my other blog and and some of my favorite WBT blogs to your Google Reader in seconds :)

 Quickly Add Blogs to Google Reader and a blogroll

First 10 Minutes of the First Day

Be sure to join me at http://wholebrainteaching.com/Whole-Brain-Teching/WBT-TV.html tonight for the live webcast!

"WBT: The First Hour!"

Ready for school to start?  Discover what to do on the first hour, first day of your WBT class! 

Tune in live Tuesday, July 24 

5 PM Western, 6 PM Mountain, 7 PM Central, 8 PM Eastern 

WBTKindergarten Facebook Conversations- Class/Yes and the 5 Rules

So I have been busy on the WBT Kindergarten Facebook page with some awesome conversations! Our first conversation has been about Class/Yes. Here are the questions to ponder:

Why do you like Class/Yes?
Why do you use Class/Yes?
When do you introduce it?
How do you introduce it?
How do you change up your Class/Yes?

Our second conversation just started about the 5 Rules and 3-peats. Here are the questions for that:

When and how do you introduce the 5 Rules?
Do you use the WBT 5 Rules or did you have to make some changes?
What gestures do you use and how often do you practice them?
What 3-peats do you use and when do you teach them?
Why do you use the 5 Rules and 3-peats? How have they helped in starting the year?

Come join in the conversations at 

Webinar Tuesday

"WBT Grade Level Teams Now Forming!"

Would you love to meet grade level colleagues

who share your passion for WBT? 

Tune in to Tuesday, July 10, for a free, live webcast

5 PM Western, 6 PM Mountain, 7 PM Central, 8 PM Eastern 

www.livestream.com/wholebrainteaching1

Blog Awards

Everyone loves awards and I am honored that my little blog has won these:

from Farrah at http://mrsshipleywholebrainteaching.blogspot.com/

from Nancy at http://nstoltenbergwbt.blogspot.com/ and Pinetreelia at http://mywholebrainteachingblog.blogspot.com/ 

The usual rules for The Versatile Blogger are :  
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you. 
2. Include a link to their site. 
3. Include the award image in your post
4. Give 7 random facts about yourself. 
5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award. 
6. When nominating, include a link to their site. 
7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

 The usual rules for One Lovely Blog are:
1. Follow the person that gave you the award
2. Link back to the person that gave you the award
3. Pass the award on to 15  bloggers

These blog awards have been around a long time and I think it is time for some new rules so these feel less like a chain letter and are fun again :)

If you would like one of these awards from me you need to do the following:
1. Follow me
2. Comment here that you grabbed the award
3. Include the award and new rules in a blog post, Facebook update or tweet. 


Here are examples for the new posts:

I just got the Versatile Bogger award from Farrah at http://mrsshipleywholebrainteaching.blogspot.com/

If you would like this award from me just do the following:
1. Follow me
2. Comment here that you grabbed the award
3. Include the award and the new rules in a blog post, Facebook update or tweet

I just got the One Lovely Blog award from Nancy at http://nstoltenbergwbt.blogspot.com/ and Pinetreelia at http://mywholebrainteachingblog.blogspot.com/

If you would like this award from me just do the following:
1. Follow me
2. Comment here that you grabbed the award
3. Include the award and the new rules in a blog post, Facebook update or tweet

WBT on Facebook

Make sure you hop over the the WBT facebook page for updates and opportunities to get certification points :)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Whole-Brain-Teaching

We even have grade level facebook pages! I hope you will all hop over to the kindergarten page I started and show some love :)

The logo was created with My Memories Suite which I'm giving away a copy of as part of Miss L's 100 follower giveaway :) 

Miss L's 100 Follower giveaway!

I am excited to be a part of Miss L's 100 follower giveaway! Be sure to comment here and follow my blog for an entry into her giveaway. Stop by her blog to follow her and find out the other great blogs that have donated to her giveaway :)

Facebook Teacher Party

Come join me on my Facebook page and meet a bunch of my teacherific blogging buddies! Many will be posting special freebies on my wall. The fun starts at 6PM Pacific time!

WBT Wednesday

WBT Power Pics are an amazing addition to my classroom because they provide so much bang for your teaching buck. Power Pics help students to use their whole brains to remember important state standards and core concepts. For each Power Pic there is a picture in the center to give you a quick visual of the concept, a Question and Answer prompt to help teach the concept auditorally and a gesture to teach kinistetically and really cement the concept. Even very difficult concept are made fun and quick to learn when you use Power Pics.

Each pic only takes a few minutes to go over and they are fun and engaging so you can get through many in a short time. The biggest strength of the Power Pics is that you can use them in many ways to fit your needs. Most of this year I have shown the pics from my computer on to the projector screen, done the Q and A and taught/reviewed the gesture. I saved ink and the students were all able to see the Power Pics. Key pics I printed and posted on our Focus Wall. Each day we practiced at least our Focus Wall Power Pics and students loved it. I love that I can post them on the wall, put them in a binder, print them smaller for students to review at their desk or even just project them on the wall. There are really no significant problems with Power Pics because once you understand them you can make your own

To help you make your own Power Pics I have made a PowerPoint template.

EDIT Aug 9, 2012
Here is the template with blue, red, green, purple and orange :)
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Electronic-PowerPix-Templates

New Online Home and Linky Party

Just wanted to let everyone here know I have a new online home,

I will still be posting all things WBT here on this blog but will be sharing the rest of my adventures as a Transitional Kindergarten teacher at my new blog. I hope to see many of my WBT friends :)

If you have a Whole Brain Teaching blog please be sure to join the linky party at 

http://thinkwonderteach.blogspot.com/2012/05/wbt-project-linky-party.html

Everything is coming up rainbows

So 8 school days left and I should be working on report cards but I have been inspired to create things for next year instead :) One of my FAV kinder blogs Live, Love, Laugh Everyday in Kindergarten has been sharing many wonderful freebies and tips over the last several days as she does Extreme Makeover-Classroom Edition. Be sure to hop over and follow her blog and TpT store. Her files are awesome and so cute! She made the cutest polka dot name tags here. I have decided to do a rainbow theme for my classroom so using Tammy's great file as inspiration I opened up My Memory Suite and finally used some 6 yr old digi scrapbooking paper to create these name tags. I made them 4 colors on a page with an extra blue and then 4 of each Rainbow color on a page.

Click here to download a copy of these Rainbow Tags if you would like :)

PowerPics Webinar!

Tune in to WholeBrainTeaching.com and discover an incredibly entertaining way to meet one of education's most daunting challenges ... teaching the state standards.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

WholeBrainTeaching.com

"Power Pix:  Learning State Standards the WBT Way!"

5 PM Western

6 PM Mountain

7 PM Central

8 PM Eastern

Ready for Summer

So this blog is one of many things that has had to go to the back burner this school year. We have a few weeks left of school and then I look forward to updating, completing some projects on this blog. 

Webinar Tuesday

 If you want to learn the secret powers of WBT's core instructional strategy, don't miss the next WBT broadcast!

Tuesday, February 21

"The Mighty, Mighty Teach-Okay!"

5 PM Western

6 PM Mountain

7 PM Central

8 PM Eastern

Tune in at WholeBrainTeaching.com ... text in your questions and have them answered live by out panel of WBT experts!

Webinar Tuesday

I'm so excited for the newest WBT webinar! Check out Chris B's Email:

Dear Colleagues: SUPERSPEED RHYMES, our huge, 500 slide PowerPoint program will debut on our webcast, Tuesday, January 31. 30 word families, 200+ words, every word illustrated with a high quality, cartoon graphic! Teach your kids rhymes, sight words, question answering, critical thinking AND with the included Phonics Decoder, a powerful technique for breaking words into letter sounds! Tune in at WholeBrainTeaching.com: Tuesday, January 31 5 PM Western and Mountain 7 PM Central 8 PM Eastern Get the free SUPERSPEED RHYMES download Tuesday night! Power to the Teachers! Chris "Coach B" Biffle Director, Whole Brain Teachers of America

 If you can't make the Tuesday webcast they post the videos http://wholebrainteaching.com/Whole-Brain-Teching/WBT-TV.html Check them out :) Hope to see you Tuesday