This blog post will be long because I will share how I introduce WBT on the first day.
I have been using WBT for a little over 6 years. I only use the basic components: Class Yes, Scoreboard, Teach Okay, Rules, Mirror, Switch, hand gestures. Tomorrow will be my first day with the students and I will be introducing some of the WBT components.
All my classes K-5 enter the room while singing our opening songs. I will start them off, but I don't sing with them. The line leader leads them in and they will follow the tapes on the floor. The students sing the song 2 times as they are walking around the tapes. By the end of the second time the line leader and caboose should be on the orange tapes that are up by the Promethean Board. Everyone stays standing until the line leader sits down. Before the leader sits down they will check to make sure everyone is on a tape and are focused and ready to sit down. When a student isn't focused the leader will just say their the name. This usually takes less than a minute.
Usually we do the music rules next, but since it's the first day we will not recite them until later. I will first introduce myself and teach students how to say my name. Next I will introduce Class Yes.
I have been using WBT for a little over 6 years. I only use the basic components: Class Yes, Scoreboard, Teach Okay, Rules, Mirror, Switch, hand gestures. Tomorrow will be my first day with the students and I will be introducing some of the WBT components.
All my classes K-5 enter the room while singing our opening songs. I will start them off, but I don't sing with them. The line leader leads them in and they will follow the tapes on the floor. The students sing the song 2 times as they are walking around the tapes. By the end of the second time the line leader and caboose should be on the orange tapes that are up by the Promethean Board. Everyone stays standing until the line leader sits down. Before the leader sits down they will check to make sure everyone is on a tape and are focused and ready to sit down. When a student isn't focused the leader will just say their the name. This usually takes less than a minute.
Usually we do the music rules next, but since it's the first day we will not recite them until later. I will first introduce myself and teach students how to say my name. Next I will introduce Class Yes.
Class Yes is an attention grabber. The teacher says "Class" in different ways and styles (e.g. Class class classity class). The students will answer back with a "Yes", but in the same way as the teacher said "Class" (e.g. yes, yes, yessity, yes). After I explain what it is to the class we will practice a few "Class Yes". You could sing "Class" to the first phrase in a song like"Three Blind Mice" or to "Row Row Row Your Boat". You really can't go wrong with how you say "Class". The more creative and energetic your are the better results you will get.
After the student say "Yes" they should be giving you the undivided attention. Their hands should be in their laps and eyes on you.
After the student say "Yes" they should be giving you the undivided attention. Their hands should be in their laps and eyes on you.
Sometimes WBT teachers will say "Hands and Eyes". I usually don't ever say this, but I expect them to do it after we do a "Class Yes". We will be practicing this on the first day.
Once they understand "Class Yes" I will introduce the scoreboard.
Once they understand "Class Yes" I will introduce the scoreboard.
My scoreboard has the WBT component (happy and sad face), but I also have added a few other things. My school is an Expeditionary Learning school and we often check with the students to see what our effort score is. We use a rubric of 4-3-2-1. 4 means you are on your best behavior and your are focused and learning something new. 1 means you are being a passenger and are not getting any work done. I wanted to include this on my scoreboard so we know where the crew effort is throughout the lesson. I also have some teachers who use a point system 1-10 for their classroom behavior system. They will often ask me what their score was from 1-10 and if the class gets a certain score then they get to add to their reward jar (e.g popcorn kernels, marbles, fish crackers, etc) then when the jar is full they get whatever reward they were working towards (e.g. popcorn party, extra recess, no homework, etc.)
Here is how the scoreboard works. If they get a sad face the yellow circle moves down 2 numbers (e.g. 10 to an 8). In order for it to go up they must earn 4 smiley faces. I have arranged the effort scores to align t0 the numbers underneath. If the class has a score of 10 or 9 they are a 4 for effort as a crew. If they have a 6 or 5 they would be a 2 for effort. Whenever they get a sad face I will not only move the yellow circle down 2, but I will also write what they need to work on. If I don't have time to write the next step when they get the sad face, then I will write it later when I do have time.
I have a presentation mouse that I can have in my pocket or can hang it on my pants. The presentation mouse helps me to control the Promethean board from anywhere in the room. It's nice to have when I am not close to the board. I can easily slide the yellow circle down using the mouse. Since I have a Promethean board I have set the sad and happy face to "drag a copy". Every time I drag one of the faces down it makes a copy of it.
If you want to get a presentation mouse, make sure it is a presentation mouse and not a wireless mouse. The difference between the two is that a wireless mouse requires a flat surface to make it work. A presentation mouse works by holding it in your hand and you use the buttons on the mouse to make it work. Mine is a Honeywell 4-in-1. Click on the link below to get more details about it.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3004715&CatId=627
Here is how the scoreboard works. If they get a sad face the yellow circle moves down 2 numbers (e.g. 10 to an 8). In order for it to go up they must earn 4 smiley faces. I have arranged the effort scores to align t0 the numbers underneath. If the class has a score of 10 or 9 they are a 4 for effort as a crew. If they have a 6 or 5 they would be a 2 for effort. Whenever they get a sad face I will not only move the yellow circle down 2, but I will also write what they need to work on. If I don't have time to write the next step when they get the sad face, then I will write it later when I do have time.
I have a presentation mouse that I can have in my pocket or can hang it on my pants. The presentation mouse helps me to control the Promethean board from anywhere in the room. It's nice to have when I am not close to the board. I can easily slide the yellow circle down using the mouse. Since I have a Promethean board I have set the sad and happy face to "drag a copy". Every time I drag one of the faces down it makes a copy of it.
If you want to get a presentation mouse, make sure it is a presentation mouse and not a wireless mouse. The difference between the two is that a wireless mouse requires a flat surface to make it work. A presentation mouse works by holding it in your hand and you use the buttons on the mouse to make it work. Mine is a Honeywell 4-in-1. Click on the link below to get more details about it.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3004715&CatId=627
This is what it looks like
To get it to hang on my pants I used two gel bracelets and tied them together and then hooked them onto one of those ID badge holders that has the strings that pull out.
After I discuss the score board with the class and how it all works. I will have them practice "Class Yes" again. I will be checking to see if they immediately go into hands and eyes. If they don't they will get a sad face. Then I will let them try it again. If they do get it, they can earn a happy face. I might give them two happy faces if they not only go immediately into hands and eyes, but for saying the "Yes" in the same style and with energy.
If it's your first year to use the scoreboard I would recommend just using a basic scoreboard (just sad and happy face) and not one like mine above. You can get my scoreboard in the download section on my website. You will need to have a Promethean board to make it work. It was made in ActivInspire which is the software program for my board. Sorry, that I cannot make it useable to everyone.
On the first day make sure that the sad and happy faces are not far ahead or behind each other. Give happy faces for everything you see that they are doing right. Only give sad faces when they have to do something more than once, you have to be careful not to be too harsh on the 1st day. You basically want the happy faces to win, but don't just give it to them. Make them work for it. You want them to leave the first day feeling capable of getting a good score. During the next lesson you can be a little more stricter on them and of course you will make it harder as the year goes on.
After they have Class Yes and they have an idea on how the scoreboard works I will have them get up and move. I will be doing the Jump In Jump Out activity (see my website for details 2nd -5th grade are doing this activity). First grade will get up and move to a Different beat. They will also do it after we discuss the rules (repetition works well with the primary grades). I will not be introducing WBT to kinders on their first day. They will get it in a week or two. We'll be spending the first day learning how to come into the room, getting to know each other, and how to be a good listener. I will be leading them and singing the song. They will just follow me. I will do this for 3-4 lessons. It will be a month or two before they can come in without my assistance.
After the movement activity I will go over the music rules. I will first demonstrate rule 1. I will say it with hand gestures. I will do it again for them. Then I will discuss what "Mirror" is. I have adapted this for my needs. I will be explaining that when I do the hand gesture with just one hand it means to just do the gestures. I use American Sign Language for most of my gestures. When I use two hands it means to not only do the gestures, but they must say what I say.
On the first day make sure that the sad and happy faces are not far ahead or behind each other. Give happy faces for everything you see that they are doing right. Only give sad faces when they have to do something more than once, you have to be careful not to be too harsh on the 1st day. You basically want the happy faces to win, but don't just give it to them. Make them work for it. You want them to leave the first day feeling capable of getting a good score. During the next lesson you can be a little more stricter on them and of course you will make it harder as the year goes on.
After they have Class Yes and they have an idea on how the scoreboard works I will have them get up and move. I will be doing the Jump In Jump Out activity (see my website for details 2nd -5th grade are doing this activity). First grade will get up and move to a Different beat. They will also do it after we discuss the rules (repetition works well with the primary grades). I will not be introducing WBT to kinders on their first day. They will get it in a week or two. We'll be spending the first day learning how to come into the room, getting to know each other, and how to be a good listener. I will be leading them and singing the song. They will just follow me. I will do this for 3-4 lessons. It will be a month or two before they can come in without my assistance.
After the movement activity I will go over the music rules. I will first demonstrate rule 1. I will say it with hand gestures. I will do it again for them. Then I will discuss what "Mirror" is. I have adapted this for my needs. I will be explaining that when I do the hand gesture with just one hand it means to just do the gestures. I use American Sign Language for most of my gestures. When I use two hands it means to not only do the gestures, but they must say what I say.
As I teach rule one I will start with one hand Mirror. I will say the rule with gestures and they just do the gestures with me. Then I will do it again using a two hand Mirror. Once I think they know the words and hand gestures I will introduce Teach Okay.
Teach Okay is where the teacher says "Teach" and the class will say "Okay" as they say Okay the will immediately turn to their neighbor. I will have them practice saying "Okay" and turning to their neighbor before I actually have them start to "Teach" their neighbor. It is important to make sure students to do this right. Don't forget to give them happy and sad faces as they are learning to do this. Once they have it down I will have them "teach". Basically they will both say rule 1 with hand gestures at the same time. The say it over and over until they hear the teacher say "Class". Score them on how they're doing. While they are teaching each other you should rove around looking to see if they are using hand gestures and listening in to see if they are saying the words. If they are not doing the hand gestures with energy then give a sad face, then have them do Teach Okay again to see if they can fix it. Same with if they don't say the words correctly or loud enough. Sometimes you have to stop them right away when you are not seeing or hearing what you should. It is very important that you make sure they are doing it right.
On the first day I will help them to figure out who they turn to. They won't have assigned partners, but they need to turn to the closest person. My students will be on the risers in their assign seats at this point so I will be telling them to turn to their right. If their is no one on their right because they sit on the end, they will turn to their left and tap the shoulder of this person to let them know that they will be joining their group. It is okay to have groups of 3. You will not be able to be anyone's partner because you need to be rover and listening in.
2nd - 5th grade will be able to just turn and teach each other, but first grade will not be able to do this on their own. I will teach them Teach Okay and I will have them turn to a partner, but I will lead them in what they need to say. I will be saying and doing the hand gestures with them and I won't be roaming around. I will be looking to see if they are facing their neighbor and doing the hand gestures.
I will not be doing this with all 5 rules on the first day. I plan to do rule 1, rule 2 and rule 3. They will work on rule 4 and 5 during the next lesson. I watched Chris Biffle's webinars the last two weeks and he was discussing how to start WBT on the 1st day and in the 1 hour. He only suggest that the teachers work on rule 1 only (follow directions quickly). Since I only see each class once a week I have to do more than one rule. My rules are also a little different that the original WBT rules. I adapted them to meet my needs. You can see my rules on my website. If you want a copy, you can go to the download page and download them. After we are done with rule 1-3 I will have them get up and move. 2nd-5th grade will do the dance Sasah and first will do the "Good Morning" dance. I might have them get up and move before they get through the first 3 rules. I will have to see how they are doing and are they staying focused. I might I have them learn one rule then do the dance, learn the second rule, get up and do the dance again, then learn the last rule. I will play this by ear. I also need to watch the time. I might not have a choice and I might just have them get the rules learned without doing the dance.
All this sounds like a lot, but it's all important and it must be done. If you don't set your expectation and routines up in the first few lessons, then you will never be able accomplish what you want in your lessons. It's okay if it takes you a few lessons to get everything in place. Just make sure you do it and don't rush through or water anything down. I promise in the end it will all pay off.
All of this will go pretty quickly for me because my students know most of this stuff. There will be new students in each class and I want them to know the correct way to do things so I will be treating each class as if they don't know this stuff.
I will make my WBT posters available to everyone, but it will take a few days to get them on my website. I plan on finishing them up tomorrow and hopefully they will be on my website by tomorrow or Friday.
It's getting late and tomorrow is our first day with students so I will sign off. I will blog about my first day and how things went. I will do this on Friday.
Tami
On the first day I will help them to figure out who they turn to. They won't have assigned partners, but they need to turn to the closest person. My students will be on the risers in their assign seats at this point so I will be telling them to turn to their right. If their is no one on their right because they sit on the end, they will turn to their left and tap the shoulder of this person to let them know that they will be joining their group. It is okay to have groups of 3. You will not be able to be anyone's partner because you need to be rover and listening in.
2nd - 5th grade will be able to just turn and teach each other, but first grade will not be able to do this on their own. I will teach them Teach Okay and I will have them turn to a partner, but I will lead them in what they need to say. I will be saying and doing the hand gestures with them and I won't be roaming around. I will be looking to see if they are facing their neighbor and doing the hand gestures.
I will not be doing this with all 5 rules on the first day. I plan to do rule 1, rule 2 and rule 3. They will work on rule 4 and 5 during the next lesson. I watched Chris Biffle's webinars the last two weeks and he was discussing how to start WBT on the 1st day and in the 1 hour. He only suggest that the teachers work on rule 1 only (follow directions quickly). Since I only see each class once a week I have to do more than one rule. My rules are also a little different that the original WBT rules. I adapted them to meet my needs. You can see my rules on my website. If you want a copy, you can go to the download page and download them. After we are done with rule 1-3 I will have them get up and move. 2nd-5th grade will do the dance Sasah and first will do the "Good Morning" dance. I might have them get up and move before they get through the first 3 rules. I will have to see how they are doing and are they staying focused. I might I have them learn one rule then do the dance, learn the second rule, get up and do the dance again, then learn the last rule. I will play this by ear. I also need to watch the time. I might not have a choice and I might just have them get the rules learned without doing the dance.
All this sounds like a lot, but it's all important and it must be done. If you don't set your expectation and routines up in the first few lessons, then you will never be able accomplish what you want in your lessons. It's okay if it takes you a few lessons to get everything in place. Just make sure you do it and don't rush through or water anything down. I promise in the end it will all pay off.
All of this will go pretty quickly for me because my students know most of this stuff. There will be new students in each class and I want them to know the correct way to do things so I will be treating each class as if they don't know this stuff.
I will make my WBT posters available to everyone, but it will take a few days to get them on my website. I plan on finishing them up tomorrow and hopefully they will be on my website by tomorrow or Friday.
It's getting late and tomorrow is our first day with students so I will sign off. I will blog about my first day and how things went. I will do this on Friday.
Tami
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