Teach, Okay!!

Today I decided to try to take a quick video of some of the different teaching tools of WBT.  My students saw that I was holding my phone, but I don't know if they realized I was video taping them.  Please excuse the shaky quick clips that I have taken.  I just thought it would be great to have you get a glimpse of my classroom and see how the students are learning. :)

The first video you can see is of the rules.  Since day one of school this year my class has practiced these rules.  We have discussed what they are and how to follow them.  

The second video for you is the video of my students practicing the PowerPix from WBT.  I absolutely love the Powerpix and the Teach, Okay method!  My students are understanding the concepts and I couldn't ask for anything more. It is really cool to watch them answer the questions and really know what they are talking about.  The greatest thing about Teach, Okay is that I get to watch and see who is understanding and who isn't.  I can then pull them aside if they are not understanding and help them understand the concept.  I am very proud of my class and the progress they have made so far.  We recently just added the switch part so some students are still catching on to that but I see them trying and really "getting" the concepts. 

How is your school year going so far?  Are you using any part of WBT in your classroom?

 

SIW Update

This year I am trying out the Super Improvers Wall from Whole Brain Teaching.  

At the beginning of the year I had the white stars placed throughout the whole board.  I soon realized that yes, it looked good, but the students were not able to reach their stars.  If the students couldn't reach their stars to place their stickers on then I didn't think it would motivate the students as well.  I ended up moving all the stars lower so the students would be able to put their own star on.

Last week was my first week implementing this wall into my classroom.  I had to test the students on their alphabet knowledge again for mid-terms.  If they improved from the beginning of the year, I gave them a star.   It was so cool to see how excited the students were to add a star to their star.  I can't wait to have them add more.  I do think this is going to be a great motivator.  

Have you started using your SIW?  How is it going?