Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Prove It

I have spent the last couple of days reviewing how to play "Prove It" and thinking about what it will look like in my classroom next year.  In a nutshell, "Prove It" is testing strategy practice in a game format that kids love.  It should be played for twenty minutes each day, with ten minutes being spent on language arts and ten minutes on math.  All you need are individual whiteboards for each of your students.  The game actually has two levels two it.  In 1.0 the focus is on students being able to explain how to solve a problem.  In 2.0 the emphasis switches to proving why one answer choice is correct and the others are incorrect.  As part of the game, students are taught specific testing strategies which they will use when demonstrating how to solve a problem or in offering proof.  For example, students are taught that there are only three types of language arts questions that they will ever be asked:  Answer Now (It is not necessary to go back and look at the passage.), Find and Compare (They are to compare their answer to a part of the passage.), and Read Again (They must reread the whole passage.)  The game in its entirety, along with the strategies is explained by Coach B. in webcast 506.  You can find it by going to www.wholebrainteaching.com and looking under goodies, followed by wbt tv.

I would like to share with you the notes that I made for myself regarding implementation of "Prove It" for next year.  I do have some experience with this game, because I did have the opportunity to play 1.0 with my students at the end of last year.  However, I did not have the opportunity to teach all of the strategies or introduce the game the way that I would have liked to; therefore, what you are about to read will definitely be a work in progress.  It is my tentative plan with notes to myself on how to implement "Prove It".  I am prepared to modify it as needed throughout the school year.  If any of you experienced Whole Brain teachers have any suggestions for me, I would really appreciate it.  After all, everything I am doing this year is definitely a work in progress.

Prove It 1.0

1.  Place question on the Elmo along with four answer choices.  Cover the answers.  Remind students that the key to testing is figuring out how to solve the problems.  

2.  Give students one to two minutes, depending on the problem, to "Solo Solve".  (Students will work independently to solve the problem, using their whiteboards to show their work.)  Students will then be given one to two minutes to "Partner Solve".  (Using "Teach Okay" students will turn to their partners and explain how they solved the problem.)
*Key Point:  If a student finishes early during "Solo Solve", he is to teach his tennis shoe how he got the correct answer.  Also, do not wait on slower students.  The goal would be for them to show their work on their whiteboards, but if they are not able to, this would be a goal for the Super Improvers Wall.

3.  Reveal the answer choices, which are labeled A, B, C, and D.  (I have chosen to wait until after students have solved the problem to reveal the answer choices, because I want the students to focus on the process, and not just choose an answer.  If this doesn't work the way that I hope, I will reveal the answer choices when I show the problem.)  Students write the letter of their answer choice on their whiteboard, and place turn them "boards to chest".

4.  I will then say, "Eyes shut.  Count of three, show me.  1, 2, 3."  Students will then, keeping their eyes shut, flip their boards around revealing their answers.  On the whiteboard I will have written the letters A, B, C, and D.  I will draw a line above each letter indicating the approximate number of students who chose each answer.  I will not be counting.  It is all an estimate.  For example, if the majority of the class chose "A" and only a few chose "B", I would draw a long line above "A" and a very short line above "B".  If nobody chose "C" or "D" I would leave them blank.  I would then call "Eyes Open," and students will open their eyes and look at the results.  This usually results in a lot of cheering or groaning.

5.  Points are then awarded by me in the following three categories:  effort, answers, and penalties.  One to three points per question can be awarded for effort and answers, but this is all at my discretion, and there should be no real rhyme or reason as to how I go about awarding the points.  For effort I am looking at how hard the students worked alone and with each other to find the correct answer.  For answer, I am looking at how much of the class got the problem right.  Penalty is the only category in which negative points are awarded.  If students got off task, lost focus, or argued, one penalty point would be awarded for each offense.  Remember, there is only one rule:  Keep the ref happy, and I am the ref!

6.  Keep a record on the board of all points earned during the week.  On Friday students will receive one additional second of Mind Soccer for every point earned.

Note:  In the beginning of the school year all of my language arts questions will be "Answer Now".  In approximately late October students will be introduced to "Read and Compare" and "Read Again" questions in the following way:

1.  Begin by having students identify the type of question that it is.  They will not be solving.  They will only be focusing on how to solve (HTS) by reading questions and identifying the question type.  For example, on their whiteboards under HTS, students would write Find and Compare.  Do this for a couple of weeks with multiple examples.

2.  After students are able to identify the question type, focus on teaching strategies to solve, based on the question type.  I would teach each question type separately.  Students will have already had a lot of experience with "Answer Now" questions, since that is what I will begin the year with.  They would now be ready for "Read and Compare".  For "Read and Compare" students must underline their proof.  This is easy to do, because the answers to these types of questions are always right there in the text.  They can also be referred to as "In the Text" questions.  For "Read Again" questions, teach students to break the passage down into sections, read each section, and "Talk About It".  I teach my students to draw lines between each section and number them.  If they are able to talk about the section, they are able to continue reading.  If they can not talk about it, they must go back and read that section over again.  For this type of question students will not find proof, but they will find clues.  That is because the answer is not usually written down.  These can also be referred to as "In My Head" questions.  To distinguish between proof and clues, I will have students double underline the clues.

3.  Sometime around Christmas break, I will mix up the three types of questions.  Under HTS on their whiteboards students must be able to identify both the question type and the strategy that they used to answer the question.  Students will have copies of the passages, so that they can actually show their strategy (underlining etc.).

Prove It 2.0

I would introduce 2.0 whenever I felt my students are ready, but my goal would be early February.  This game is played much like 1.0, but the focus switches to proving why an answer is right or wrong.  Students will write the letters A, B, C, and D on their boards.  During "Solo Prove It" the goal would be for all students to have something written by each letter (Proof as to why the answer is right or proof as to why it is wrong.)  During "Partner Prove It" the students would explain their thinking to their partners.  The rest of the game would remain the same.  The Super Improver Wall could once again be used to motivate students to record proof on their whiteboards.
*Key Point:  Spend time teaching the students the differences between strong proof and weak proof.

I am very excited about giving this model a try next year.  I will keep you posted on how it goes and any changes that I have to make.   

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Mind Soccer

Mind Soccer is a review game that kids love.  It is usually played on Friday afternoons as a reward for behavior, homework, or working hard in "Prove It", the WBT test prep game.  If you are not familiar with Mind Soccer, there is a great free download available at wholebrainteaching.com.  I can't wait until next year, when I will have the opportunity to play it for the first time.  The key to success in Mind Soccer is being prepared in advanced with a list of questions.  Since the game is so fast paced, it is important that the teacher is ready to rapidly fire out the questions.  There is no time to come up with them in the moment.  Therefore, I started a list this summer and have been adding to it as I think of questions.  I will continue to add to the list throughout the year, but these are the questions that I am starting with.  I hope that you find them helpful.

Mind Soccer Questions

1.  What is a noun?
2.  What is a verb?
3.  What is a sentence?
4.  Show me the gesture for main idea.
5.  Give me an example of a setting.
6.  Give me a synonym for happy.
7.  Give me a synonym for said.
8.  Give me an antonym for cold?
9.  Give me an antonym for tall.
10.  Give me a word with a long "a".
11.  Give me a word in the "all" family.
12.  Give me a word with a long "e".
13.  Give me a word with a long "i".
14.  Give me a word with a long "o".
15.  Give me a word with a long "u".
16.  How many syllables are in the word elephant?
17.  How many syllables are in the word pentagon?
18.  Give me an example of a fact.
19.  Give me an example of an opinion.
20.  If you had two quarters, how much money would you have?
21.  If you had a quarter and your friend had two dimes, how much would the two of you have altogether?
22.  How many sides does a hexagon have?
23.  How many sides does a pentagon have?
24.  How many angles does a triangle have?
25.  What do you call the bottom number of a fraction?
26.  What do you call the top number of a fraction?
27.  Give me an example of a math problem that is a double.
28.  Name an odd number greater than ten.
29.  Name an even number greater than ten.
30.  How many inches are in a foot?
31.  What is 7+5?
32.  What is 4+4?
33.  What is 10-2?
34.  What is 14-4?
35.  Which of the 5 W's refers to the characters in a story?
36.  Which two of the 5 W's refer to the setting of a story?
37.  Give me an example of a noun.
38.  Give me an example of a proper noun.
39.  Give me an example of a verb.
40.  Show me the gesture for sentence.
41.  Name a shape that is a quadrilateral.
42.  How many tens are in one hundred?
43.  How many hundreds are in one thousand?
44.  Name a number that is greater than 115.
45.  Name a number that is less than 200.
46.  Name a math problem that equals 9.
47.  Name a compound word.
48.  Make a compound word that contains the word man.
49.  What number can you double to make 4.
50.  What number can you double to make 14?
51.  What number can you double to make 18?
52.  What number can you double to make 10?
53.  What number can you double to make 100?
54.  What number can you double to make 20?
55.  What number can you double to make 16?
56.  Name an adjective to describe the noun dog.
57.  Use the adjective sneaky in a sentence.
58.  Name any non-fiction text feature.
59.  What do you call the writing under photographs in non-fiction informational text.
60.  Which non-fiction text feature would tell me the page number that a chapter starts on.
61.  What is the plural of the word child?
62.  What is the plural of the word goose?
63.  What is the plural of the word man?
64.  What is the plural of the word woman?
65.  What is the plural of the word tooth?
66.  What is the plural of the word fish?
67.  What is the plural of the word wife?
68.  What is the plural of the word shelf?
69.  What is the plural of the word calf?
70.  What is the plural of the word knife?
71.  Spell the word "boxes".
72.  Spell the word "munches".
73.  3+___=5
74.  4+___=7
75.  3+1=___+2
76.  Give me a number bond for 7.
77.  Give me a number bond for 10.
78.  Give me a number bond for 5.
79.  Counting by 2's, what comes after 18?
80.  Counting by 2's, what comes after 12?
81.  Counting by 5's, what comes after 25?
82.  Counting by 5's, what comes after 50?
83.  Counting by 5's, what comes after 95?
84.  Counting by 10's, what comes after 60?
85.  Counting by 10's, what comes after 30?
86.  Counting by 10's, what comes after 90?
87.  How much is 13 tens?
88.  How much is 9 tens?
89.  How much is 20 tens?
90.  How much is 25 tens?
91.  Give me a number sentence that is equal to 9+8.
92.  Give me a number sentence that is equal to 9+2
93.  Miss Ray picked 11 red roses and 8 pink roses.  How many roses did she pick altogether?
94.  What do 30 and 1 make?
95.  What do 10 and 5 make
96.  What is 26+4?
97.  What is the base word in the word reheated?
98.  What is the prefix in the word unwanted?
99.  What is the suffix in the word quickly?
100.  When talking about "Author's Purpose", what do the letters stand for in the word "PIE"?
101.  Show me the gesture for "Flip the Sound".
102.  Show me the gesture for noun.
103.  Show me the gesture for verb.
104.  Show me the gesture for adjective.
105.  Show me the gesture for preposition.
106.  Name an inside character trait.
107.  Name an outside character trait.
108.  What does the prefix "pre" mean?
109.  What does the prefix "re" mean?
110.  What does the prefix "un" mean?
111.  Which suffix means that something happened in the past?
112.  Name a word that rhymes with tickle.
113.  Name a word that rhymes with honey.
114.  What is the past tense of drive?
115.  What is the past tense of grow?
116.  What is the past tense of teach?
117.  What is the past tense of make?
118.  In the word bacon, which syllable is open?
119.  In the word tiger, which syllable is closed?
120.  Is "re" an open or closed syllable?

I am also providing you with a link which will allow you to watch a group of elementary students playing Mind Soccer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAD9pHMbvS8

Saturday, July 5, 2014

"Flip the Sound" Language Arts Pic

The Power Pics Wall is a central component of Whole Brain Teaching.  Every language arts or math skill  taught to your students should have a Power Pic to go with it.  A Power Pic is a picture associated with the skill and a gesture that accompanies the picture.  On the Power Pic will also be a definition of the skill.  After introducing the skill as part of the WBT five step lesson plan, the Power Pic goes on either a math or a language arts wall.  The math wall should have a red border and the language arts wall should have a blue border.  Along the side and across the top of each board will be letters and numbers to create a grid system.  The walls are used as review boards, and the grid system makes it easier to find the Power Pics that you want to review.  Daily students will practice the gestures and repeat the definitions for the skills of your choice.  The great news is that many of the skills that you teach your students already have Power Pics created for them.  You can find them under free downloads on the WBT site.

For the skills that do not already have Power Pics created for them, you can easily create your own.  I would like to share with you a language art pic that I created for the decoding skill "Flip the Sound".  If students are having difficulty decoding a word, they can try the other sound that a letter makes.  For example, I tell my students that if a short vowel doesn't work, they should try a long vowel.  If you click on the link below, you can get a copy of this Power Pic.  You can also make changes to it, so that it becomes a template for other language arts Power Pics that you might want to create.





Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Brainy Game

I am very excited about the latest Whole Brain Teaching innovation from Coach B., the founder of Whole Brain Teaching.  It is Competition Brainies.  Brainies are concepts that all students need to know in critical thinking, grammar, and punctuation.  There is also a category of "special" Brainies.  Below is a list of the Brainies in each category:

Critical Thinking:  because, and, Also, For example, In conclusion, but however, If-then, Triple Whammy, detail adder, simile/metaphor 

Grammar:  independent clause, dependent clause, adjective, appositive, dependent/independent clause, independent/dependent clause

Punctuation:  capital, end marks, colon semi-colon, coma, indent, quotes, apostrophe

Specials:  Complete sentence please!, shallow, Help me!, change(s), topic sentence, deep, deep citation

There are also three very special Brainies that make up the Einstein Triangle.  They are compare, contrast, and connect 5W+H.

Each Brainie has both a gesture and a picture associated with it.  You can download a copy of all of the Brainies along with complete descriptions of each at www.wholebrainteaching.com.  Just go to the free downloads section and look for the Brainy Game.  

The Brainies form the foundation for oral writing in the classroom.  The concept behind oral writing is that if a child can speak it, he can write it.  So students are asked to write orally many times through out the day using these gestures.  Once they have learned and practiced these gestures through oral writing, they are ready to play the Brainy Game.  There are two levels to this game.  In the first level the teacher selects a topic and one or more Brainies.  Students work with a partner or partners to create as many oral sentences with  Brainy words and gestures as possible within one minute.  Students keep track with tally marks of the number of sentences that their team was able to create within one minute. The game is then played again, and students try to beat their score.

The second level of the game is called Coach B's Competition Brainies.  In this game the teacher provides students with an academic topic.  Students are given one minute to work with partners and plan how to use the highest scoring Brainies in an oral essay on the topic.  Within a three minute time limit, with a video camera recording the action, the teacher selects at random one student after another to use Mirror Words and speak a sentence in a triple whammy essay on the topic.  If a student needs help, he/she can call "Help me!"  The rest of the class will then call out ideas.  If a student makes an error, the teacher calls, "Your still cool!"  The student then fixes the error, calls "Help me!" or the teacher, if needed, can correct the error.  At the end of three minutes the class watches the video (instant replay) of the game and calculates their total score.  (Each Brainy has a point value attached to it.)  The class can then play again and try to beat their score on the same topic.

It is recommended that all students have a copy of the Brainies at their seat, and that during the Brainy Game, the Brainies are projected for all of the students to see.  I decided that since we will be using the Brainies on a daily basis during oral writing, I would create a bulletin board out of them.  I am trained in Thinking Maps, so I have decided to create a Tree Map of the Brainies with four branches:  critical thinking, grammar, punctuation, and special Brainies.  I have printed in color all of the Brainies to place under the appropriate branches.  I am also going to post their point values on small stars next to each Brainie.  When I have the bulletin board done and up, I will post a picture of it.

For more information click on the link below to watch a webcast that Coach B. recently did on the Brainy Game.
                                                                        http://livestre.am/4RjGb