Diamond Rule Update

Today's post will be short and sweet.  I simply wanted to share with all of you a change to the Diamond Rule that Coach B. unveiled at the National Conference.

Many of you will remember that the Diamond Rule first came out last fall:  Look at the one who is teaching.  This was a very important rule because in Whole Brain Teaching it is often the students who teach each other.  If you would like to know more about this rule, please see the separate post that I have written on this topic.

After almost a year of implementation, we all began to realize that there was something missing and this rule could be made even better.  The problem with the old Diamond Rule is that we don't always want our students' focus to be on the teacher or another student.  Sometimes we want them looking at a chart, a book, or a power point.  This is what led to the new and improved Diamond Rule:

Keep your eyes on the target.

Now when we ask or gesture for the Diamond Rule, our students will know that their eyes are expected to be on the target, whatever that target might be at the time.  I am excited to begin the school year with the new and improved Diamond Rule.  I hope that you will be too.

Super Improver Writing

In this post I am sharing the next big new thing that I learned at the National Conference.  It is called Super Improver Writing.  Super Improver Writing is a way to motivate students to revise and edit their own writing by linking their writing to the Super Improver Wall.  It is very simple and easy to do.  Here is how it works.

1.  Ask students to write for 5-10 minutes, depending upon your grade level.  The topic can be assigned or free choice.

2.  Next, post for the students to see two or three skills that you would like them to include in their writing.  This could be anything from making sure that all sentences start with capital letters to including an adjective in each sentence.

3.  Give the students an additional five to ten minutes to write, challenging them to make sure that they are using these skills in their writing.  They may also go back and revise or edit what they have already written.

4.  Award Super Improver Stars to students who improved their writing by using the skills that you posted.

In looking ahead to next year I am considering using Super Improver Writing during my Red/Green Writing time.  (Please see separate posts on this topic.)  I am also considering individualizing it, based upon the writing levels of my students.  I am still playing around with how I want to do this.

I am also going to use Super Improver Writing with my Genius Ladder.  (Please see separate posts on this topic.)  When students get to the Genius Paragraph level I will give them 10 minutes to write.  I will then post skills based upon what we are working on in writing and give them 10 minutes to revise/edit.

I can also see myself using it at times during our regular writing block.  I already know how motivated students are by the opportunity to earn Super Improver Stars, so my plan is to use this technique as often as possible to motivate them to revise and edit their own writing.