Good-byes

I love teaching, but I hate having to say good-bye to my students on the last day of school.  Every year was tough, but this year was particularly tough.  I had this amazing group of students - my inaugural WBT class - whom I did not want to leave.  We went through the year together and they were my willing guinea pigs.  We laughed together, learned together, and had so much fun together.  I am not sure who loved Whole Brain Teaching the most - my students or myself.

As I reflect back on this school year, there are so many things that I learned.  I can't even begin to tell you how many ah, ha moments I had.  It was a journey that was a lot of hard work, but I will never regret taking it.  I have grown so much as a teacher this past year.  The highlight of the year was becoming a certified Whole Brain instructor.  I am looking forward to the future and am excited about being able to share what I have learned with others.

Over the summer I will begin looking ahead to next year.  I am looking forward to next year in a whole different way.  Last year there was the excitement of beginning something new and the fun of trying to learn and figure everything - and I do mean everything - out.  This upcoming year I am excited about knowing what I am doing and not having to figure everything out.  

Many people have asked me what I am going to change for next year, and my answer is not really a lot.  Yes, I will make a few minor tweaks, and because I know what I am doing, my timeline for some things will change.  However, all of the strategies, techniques, and games that I have used this year will remain.  My motto is "Why mess with perfection?"  After all, in my book WBT is about as close to teaching perfection as you can get.

Another question that I have been asked is what my favorite parts of WBT are.  That is a tough one, because the real answer is everything.  However, as a challenge, I posed the following question to myself:  If you could only implement ten components of WBT, what would those ten components be?  This led to my list of ten WBT must haves.  Here it is:

1.  The Super Improver Wall

2.  Mirror Words

3.  Teach Okay

4.  The Brainies

5.  The Genius Ladder

6.  Red/Green Writing

7.  Puzzlers and Complexors

8.  The Scoreboard

9.  Class Yes

10.  The Rules

I am just thankful that I am not actually limited to only ten. If, however, you are just starting out in WBT and are looking for a place to begin without getting too overwhelmed, these are the ten that I would definitely start with.  My suggestion would be to  master these ten, and then branch out and continue to explore the wonderful world of WBT.  You can find more information on all of these topics right here on my blog, or you can go to WholeBrainTeaching.com for free downloads and webcasts on each of these topics.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful and restful summer.  Maybe I will see you at the National Conference in Louisiana.  Have a great vacation!!! 

Habituation

It is spring time. 
It's getting close to the end of the year.
It's just that time of year.

This is my twenty-fifth year of teaching.  It is also the very first time that one of the above three sentences has not been a part of my vocabulary.  You only have to teach for one year to know that your students never behave the same at the end of the school year as they do at the beginning of the year.  Usually it is around Christmas when the students' behavior begins to change.  We attribute that to Christmas fever.  Then the new year comes.  We start seeing behaviors that we didn't see earlier in the year.  The things that worked so well at the beginning of the year do not seem to be working as well now.  Pretty soon we are calling it spring fever and counting the days until spring break.  Then it is summer fever and we are counting the days until school is out.  Some years are better and some are worse, depending upon our class at the time, but the same pattern always seems to hold true.  After a few years we just accept it.  After all, it is what it is.

What if it didn't have to be this way?  What if our kids responded the same way in May as they did in September?  Impossible!!  Very possible!!!  Read on to find out how.

To understand why students' behavior changes from fall to spring, you have to understand the principal of habituation.  This is a word that I had never heard of before until Coach B. came to town and explained it.  Then the light bulbs all began to come on.  Habituation is a response of the brain's nervous system.  To help explain, please allow me to share with you the example that Coach B. used.  If you turn a slug over and touch it with a probe, the slug will pull away from the probe.  The slug will continue to pull away until about the tenth time that you touch it.  Then it will not respond to the probe at all.  This is known as habituation.  A stimuli that previously caused a reaction within our brains' nervous systems, no longer causes a reaction.

Let's now apply this to the classroom.  At the beginning of the school year everything is new to our students.  They are working hard to earn the rewards of our management system, our attention getting signals are new and fun, so are all of our classroom procedures and routines.  Over time, however, habituation will occur.  Students will become used to these systems, signals, and routines.  It has nothing to do with how good or effective they are.  The best management system in the world will not work as well in May as it did in August.  It won't even work as well in December as it did in August.  We continue using it because we know how well it works.  We have seen how effective it can be.  We tell ourselves that it must just be the students and the time of year that it is.  The truth is that it is not our management system, our students, or the time of year that is at fault.  It is simply a matter of habituation.

The solution is very simple.  If we change the stimulus, we will get a different response.  This doesn't mean that we have to completely change our management system, attention getting signals, or routines.  Keep the same structures.  Just spice up some of the components, so that it new and fresh for the students.  Whole Brain Teaching is great at that.  Below I have listed some of the ways that WBT keeps things fresh and avoids habituation.

1.  Class Yes is the attention getting signal in WBT.  There are so many variations of it, that the only limit is your creativity.

2.  The scoreboard (see separate blog posts on this topic) has ten different levels to it.  Each level has its own rewards and challenges, so that students are always looking ahead and excited about what comes next.

3.  The Super Improver Wall (see separate blog posts on this topic) also has ten different levels.  Students never know what might happen as they move from level to level.

4.  Mind Soccer, Whole Brain Teachings review game, has a number of different rules and variations which are introduced one at a time over the course of the school year.  This way the game always stays fresh and exciting, and kids are always begging to play it.

5.  Class leaders are used a lot.  Students never know who will be chosen or what they will be chosen for.  This keeps things fresh and exciting.

I have been following this advice all year, and I can tell you that it totally works.  At the first signs of habituation, I just change things up a bit.  It is like having a new class.  It is now May, and the school year is almost over.  The best news is that in twenty-five years of teaching, this is the first time I can honestly say that my students were just as well behaved at the end of the year as they were at the beginning of the year.  I wish that I had know about this principle of habituation years ago.  It sure would have saved me a lot of stress.  Please share this principle widely with others.  It has the power the transform classrooms.

The Big Seven: Learning the Lingo

The posting of this week's blog will mark the one year anniversary of me finding Whole Brain Teaching.  It has been an incredible year.  I have learned so much and grown so much as a Whole Brain teacher.  I will never forget the first time I came across the WBT website.  Although it looked intriguing, I had no idea what Whole Brain Teaching was.  1st Steps looked like a good place to start, so I clicked on that tab and started reading what sounded to me like a foreign language.  I wrote this blog in remembrance of that first trip to the WBT website.  I decided to share with you what I am referring to as a mini-dictionary, defining some of WBT's most common lingo.  You will often hear these terms referred to as "The Big 7", because they provide the foundation upon which Whole Brain Teaching is built.  If you are newbie to Whole Brain Teaching I hope that you will find these definitions helpful to you.

The Big 7 of Whole Brain Teaching

Class Yes:  This is the whole class attention getter.  When the teacher says “Class!” the students respond by saying “Yes!”  Once students have mastered the basic “Class/Yes”, they are taught its many variations.  

The Five Rules:  All WBT classrooms have the same five rules:

            Rule One:  Follow directions quickly.

            Rule Two:  Raise your hand for permission to speak.

            Rule Three:  Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.

            Rule Four:  Make smart choices.

            Rule Five:  Keep your dear teacher happy.

The Diamond Rule:  Look at the one who is teaching.

These rules are not just posted on the wall and forgotten about.  They are practiced and referred to on a daily basis.  

Hands and Eyes:  Whenever the teacher says, “Hands and eyes!” the students respond “Hands and eyes!”, fold their hands, and stare intently at the teacher.  “Hands and Eyes” is used whenever the teacher has a really big point to make.

The Scoreboard Game:  This is often referred to as the class motivator.  It is a reward system that students buy into and participate in.  There are many levels and variations to the Scoreboard.  This ensures that the students never get bored.  The latest version of the Scoreboard is the scoreboard version 2.0, which is patterned after a video game.  There are ten levels for the students to work their way through.

Teach Okay:  “Teach/Okay” is at the heart of all WBT lessons.  It provides a well -organized structure in which students can dialogue with each other about what they are learning.  It is similar to a "Pair Share", except that it provides students with very clear procedures for sharing with and teaching each other.  It is often used in conjunction with “Mirrors” and “Switch”.  

Mirrors:  Mirrors are key to involving the whole brain in learning.  Mirrors provide students with the opportunity to learn, create, and practice gestures that accompany what they are learning.  Gestures are at the heart of WBT teaching.  

Switch:  This is a strategy that students use during “Teach/Okay”.  It lets students know when it is their turn to share.  There are two types of switches.  The first is "High Five Switch".  This allows the students to take turns at their own pace.  When one student is done sharing he simply high fives his partner.  The other switch is "Uh Oh Switch".  This switch happens on a signal by the teacher.  She says, "Uh Oh Switch" and makes a motion as if pulling down a light switch.  The students repeat her words and motion, and then make the switch.

Please note that the Big 7 are at the heart of Whole Brain Teaching, but they are not all of Whole Brain Teaching.  They are intended to be a starting point.  Once mastered, teachers can dive into the world of WBT writing, the Super Improvers’ Wall, 3 star homework, Mind Soccer, The 5 step lesson plan, Super Speed Reading and Math, Prove It, The Crazy Professor Game… and the list goes on.

Remember, just like learning a foreign language, you cannot learn all of Whole Brain Teaching at once.  Don't get overwhelmed by the lingo.  Start with the Big 7, and then build upon that foundation as you are ready.  Before you know it, you will be fluent in Whole Brain Teaching.

The Victory Line

When Coach B. first introduced us all to the Scoreboard Version 2.0 back in the fall, I immediately began using it in my classroom.  Since then, I have been sharing with all of you my class's progression through the scoreboard game.  Each level has definitely brought with it a new degree of excitement, energy, and motivation.  A couple of weeks ago  my class finally reached the level that I have been anticipating the most - The Victory Line - and I have to say that it has been everything that I had hoped it would be.

Before I get into The Victory Line, I would first like to recap for those of you who are not familiar with it, how the Scoreboard Version 2.0 works.  It works very similar to the basic scoreboard, which is basically a two column grid drawn on your whiteboard.  A smilie face is drawn on one side and a frownie face is drawn on the other side.  When the class, or even a few students, performs well, the class is told what they did (ex. Great diamond eyes and folded hands.) and asked for a "mighty oh, yeah".  Students will quickly clap their hands together and say, "Oh, yeah!"  While they do this, they are given one tally mark on the smiley face side of the scoreboard.  On the other hand, if the class does not perform well, they are briefly told what they did (ex.  Too slow.) and asked for a "moaner groan".  Students will quickly shrug their shoulders and groan.  A tally mark is then placed on the frownie face side of the scoreboard.  It is important to note that children can be singled out for positive choices (smilies), but never should a student or group of students be singled out for negative choices (frownies).  When using the scoreboard the + - 3 rule should always be followed.  This means that smilies and frownies should always be within three of each other.  As coach B. says, "If you reward too much, the students become lackadaisical.  If you penalize too much, the students will become resentful."  This is why the +-3 rule is in place.

The main difference is that with the 2.0 version students progress through ten different levels, beginning with Base Camp.  Each level is slightly different.  When students have earned ten wins at one level, they then move on to the next level.  My students began at Base Camp in the fall, but they have now made it to level five, The Victory Line.  To understand the power of the Victory Line, I first need to back up one level and talk about level four, NO Traitors.

Level four is when the competition becomes between the boys and the girls.  It was a very exciting time in our classroom.  There was a lot of "funtricity" in the air, as students worked together to earn a victory for their team.  It came at the perfect time of the year.  Spring break was quickly approaching and it was time to shake things up a little.  No Traitors did just that.  The best part, however, was that a couple of my boys who are in special education began consistently making gestures.  This is something that we  had been working on all year.  They would do so sporadically, but not on a consistent basis.  It wasn't that they weren't paying attention to what we were doing, they just weren't comfortable with the gestures.  No Traitors changed all of this.  As soon as I told the students that I was going to be looking for who did the best gestures, the boys or the girls, these couple of boys stepped up to the plate and began gesturing beautifully.  I was amazed!  They were determined that their team was going to win and they were going to do their part.

The Victory Line took No Traitors to the next level.  As the students got closer to ten wins at the No Traitor level (A win is when the boys and girls combined get more smilies than frownies.), I began to really promote the next level.  I told students that the boys and girls would still be competing against each other, but there was a special prize to be won at this level.  The class could hardly wait to level up.  They worked hard, and when they did, I explained to them the prize.  The winners (boys or girls) would get to line up first all day.  So if the boys won on Monday, then on Tuesday they would get to line up first for the entire day.  They loved it!  This new level brought a newness to the boy girl competition, keeping it fresh and exciting for the students.

Next up is blue dubs.  At this level I will be giving blue tally marks for certain things, like making good gestures.  The secret is that the blue tally marks will count as double.  The competition will still be between the boys and the girls, and the winners will still get to line up first.  The Blue Dubs will just continue to build on what has already been a huge success.

If you have not tried using a scoreboard in your classroom, I would highly encourage you to do so.  It is very easy to implement, will not cost you any money, and will motivate your students and keep them motivated throughout the school year.

Practice Cards

Over the course of this school year I have had many teachers come to me in frustration because they had some challenging students in their classrooms and the basic scoreboard was not working for those students.  This is when I would introduce them to Practice Cards.  Practice Cards are considered to be level two of the Scoreboard Game and are designed to help you reach those students that Coach B. has named our "Beloved Rascals".  They are the kids who need a little extra motivation to follow the classroom rules.  In this post I would like to share with you what the practice cards are and how to implement them in your own classroom.

You will need to do a little bit of advance preparation in order to get started with practice cards.  The first thing you will need is a pocket chart similar to the ones teachers use for red/green cards.  However, you will be using yours for the practice cards.  Assign each student a pocket.  You will then need to run off, and I would suggest laminate, your practice cards.  (I will explain exactly what these cards are in just a moment.)  The good news is that the cards are already made for you.  You can find them under free downloads on the Whole Brain Teaching website,  The address is www.wholebrainteaching.com.  Just remember that you need to register on the site in order to have access to the free downloads.  You will also need a letter to send home to parents letting them know which rule their children have broken.  Finally, you will need a letter explaining this management system to the parents.

Now let's look at how practice cards work.  A practice card is a small card with one of the five classroom rules on it.  The rules are as follows:

1.  Follow directions quickly.

2.  Raise your hand for permission to speak.

3.  Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.

4.  Make smart choices.

5.  Keep your dear teacher happy.

If a child is having difficulty follow a particular rule, the teacher places the practice card for that particular rule in the child's pocket on the pocket chart.  The child then must come in at recess for rule practice.  This is not intended to be a punishment for the child and should not be presented as if it is.  Instead, it is an opportunity for the child to practice the rule that he is having difficulty with so that he will remember to follow it in the future.  To practice the rule the child simply repeats the rule with its corresponding gesture over and over for a specific length of time.  Here, however, is the great part about this.  You let the child decide how long he thinks that he needs to practice the rule in order to remember it and be able to follow it.  It could be as short as one minute or as long as four minutes.  It is not about how long the child practices the rule.  It is about communicating the importance of following the rules and letting the child know that you are there to help him/her be successful in this.

The child is also given a note to take home to his parents letting them know the rule that he needs practice following and asking them to have the child practice the rule at home.  The note must be signed and returned the next day.  The practice card can then be taken out of the child's pocket.  Sometimes you will have a situation in which letters are never returned.  When this happens, you can ask another staff member to do rule practice with the student and sign the letter.

Since the goal is not to punish but to help students follow the rules, practice cards can be covered with purple cards, which means that the student does not have to come in for rule practice.  Here is how the purple cards work.  Let's say that you have a student that began the day blurting out.  He was not following rule two, so you put a rule two practice card in his pocket.  After he got that card, you could see that the child was working really hard at following rule two and did not blurt out the rest of the morning.  You could then choose to cover his practice card with a purple card.  This shows the student that you recognize and appreciate the effort he is making at following rule two; therefore, he no longer needs to come in for rule practice and will not need to take a note home.

If you have a child who consistently is breaking a rule, even after coming in for rule practice and sending letters home, it is time to give that child a star card.  I just take a note card and write the rule that the child is having trouble following in the center of the card.  I then ask the child to make a tally mark every time that he is following the rule.  When the child has demonstrated that he can follow the rule, he earns a Super Improver Star. (See my post on the Super Improver Wall.)  It is not about the number of tallies that a child makes on his card.  It is about using positive reinforcement to help a child change a behavior.

Practice Cards should not be started on day one of school.  Students need time to learn and understand the rules first.  At the beginning of the year when I student is having trouble following a rule I keep him in for a talk about the rule he broke and what he can do that would help him follow that rule.  I usually ask if the student would like a short talk, long talk, or no talk.  If they choose no talk they must tell me the rule that they broke and what they will do in the future to make better choices.  In a short talk I share this information with them.  I have not yet had a student choose a long talk, but I always leave it as an option.

Some teachers try not to start practice cards until the end of October or even Thanksgiving.  However, if you have a very challenging class, you might find that you need to start them sooner.  I have been very blessed this year.  For the first time ever, I do not have any real challenging kids; therefore, I have not had to implement practice cards.  I do, however, have them ready for when the need arises.  What I love about using the Whole Brain Teaching management system is that you have all of the tools that you need to work with challenging students, but you only pull them out when you need them.  Every class is different, so each year the tools that you use will be different as well.

For those of you who feel like the practice cards would benefit your students, I am sharing with  you the letter that I had created to send home for when I do decide that practice cards are necessary.  Please feel free to use it with your students

.https://www.dropbox.com/s/3pkdnnkctortbvu/Parent%20Letter%5B1%5D.doc?dl=0

Please note that there are additional strategies beyond the practice cards that you can use with your most challenging "beloved rascals".  You can find these techniques on the Whole Brain Teaching web site on the drop down menu under levels.  I would also encourage you to watch Coach B.'s webcasr called "Reforming Challenging Kids".  It can be found in the video library.  Go to  Goodies on the drop down menu and click on WBT tv.

I hope that the information that I shared with you will help you in working with your "Beloved Rascals".

The Scoreboard Version 2.0 Continued

Let me begin by giving you a recap of the basic scoreboard:

The Scoreboard has often been referred to as the motivator.  It is a reward system that replaces team points, clip charts, cards, names on the board etc.  It is easy to implement; there is student buy-in and participation; and students are never singled out for wrong choices.  To get started all you need to do is draw a two column grid on your whiteboard.  On one side draw a smiley face and on the other side draw a frownie face.  When the class, or even a few students, performs well, briefly tell the class what they did (ex. Great diamond eyes and folded hands.) and ask for a "mighty oh, yeah".  Students will quickly clap their hands together and say, "Oh, yeah!"  While they do this, you will make one tally mark on the smiley face side of the scoreboard.  On the other hand, if the class does not perform well, you will briefly tell the class what they did (ex.  Too slow.) and ask for a "moaner groan".  Students will quickly shrug their shoulders and groan.  You will then place a tally mark on the frownie face side of the scoreboard.  It is important to note that children can be singled out for positive choices (smilies), but never should a student or group of students be singled out for negative choices (frownies).  When using the scoreboard always follow the + - 3 rule.  These means that smilies and frownies should always be within three of each other.  As coach B. says, "If you reward too much, the students become lackadaisical.  If you penalize too much, the students will become resentful."  This is why the +-3 rule is in place.  The reward can simply be the students knowing that they beat the teacher.  Other options are an extra minute of recess, one less homework problem, Mind Soccer minutes, or a one minute dance party.

Last fall Coach B. introduced us to the latest version of the scoreboard, known as the Scoreboard 2.0, or the Video Game Scoreboard.  It is referred to as the video game scoreboard, because students advance through ten different levels, similar to the way you would move through levels in a video game.  Each level has its own name and brings with it its own set of challenges and rewards.  Last time I shared with you about the scoreboard our class had just started using it.  We were at level one, which is called "Base Camp".  My students have since progressed to level three, which is the Double Bonus level.  The concept of a bonus was first introduced in level two, "Ruleville".  A bonus is a focus on a specific rule or behavior that you want to reinforce in the classroom.  For example, if your students have trouble with Rule Two, "Raise your hand for permission to speak." then you might make Rule Two your bonus.  The bonus is listed separately on the Scoreboard, because it is a behavior that you will be watching specifically for.  When students are caught following this behavior they receive bonus points that count toward their overall score.

Level Three is known as the "Double Bonus".  At this level students are given not just one, but two bonus behaviors to work on.  Coach B. also provided another option at this level.  You could choose to say that all we are working on are the bonus behaviors.  These would then be the only behaviors that you would score for.  I liked that idea.  Overall I have a well-behaved class with no serious behavior issues.  I thought it would be fun and very helpful to focus on two behaviors that can always use a little fine tuning:  Diamond Eyes/folded hands and gestures/Brainies.  Below is what my level three scoreboard looked like when we began.

So far level three has been very successful.  You will notice the numbers one through ten at the top of the board.  I put this there to keep track of the students' wins.  It takes ten wins to move up to the next level.  At the time I took this picture it was the end of day one at level three, and as you can see, the students won.  They have been very excited about this level, and I have definitely noticed an improvement in how quickly students look at me and fold their hands.  I have also noticed that some of my lower babies are trying a lot harder to use Brainies and gestures.  I think that having just those two things to focus on has made a huge difference.  I am really enjoying this level.

I am also looking forward to level four.  It is called "No Traitors!" and looks to be a lot of fun.  At this level the boys compete against the girls and there are no bonuses.  A traitor is someone who scores for the other side, but you would never mention them by name.  Both the boys and the girls earn smilies and frownies.  The winner (boys or girls) is determined by who has the most smilies.  I have decided that the winning side will get to line up first the next day.  This should generate a lot of enthusiasm.  A class win occurs when both the boys and the girls have more positive points (smilies) than negative points (frownies).  I am really excited about this level and so are my students.  I have hinted to them that something really big is going to happen at level four, but I won't tell them what.  As a result, they are even more motivated to get past level three.

If you would like to learn more about all of the levels, then just go to www.wholebrainteaching.com.  From there go to the drop down menu at the top of the page and click on "Goodies".  The first choice under "goodies" is "wbt tv".  When the page opens scroll down and you will find a video library of webcasts by Coach B.  The Scoreboard is webcast 584.  While there, please be sure to scroll through all of the webcasts in the library.  There you will find a wealth of information on Whole Brain Teaching.

The Scoreboard Version 2.0

The Scoreboard has often been referred to as the motivator.  It is a reward system that replaces team points, clip charts, cards, names on the board etc.  It is easy to implement; there is student buy-in and participation; and students are never singled out for wrong choices.  To get started all you need to do is draw a two column grid on your whiteboard.  On one side draw a smiley face and on the other side draw a frownie face.  When the class, or even a few students, performs well, briefly tell the class what they did (ex. Great diamond eyes and folded hands.) and ask for a "mighty oh, yeah".  Students will quickly clap their hands together and say, "Oh, yeah!"  While they do this, you will make one tally mark on the smiley face side of the scoreboard.  On the other hand, if the class does not perform well, you will briefly tell the class what they did (ex.  Too slow.) and ask for a "moaner groan".  Students will quickly shrug their shoulders and groan.  You will then place a tally mark on the frownie face side of the scoreboard.  It is important to note that children can be singled out for positive choices (smilies), but never should a student or group of students be singled out for negative choices (frownies).  When using the scoreboard always follow the + - 3 rule.  This means that smilies and frownies should always be within three of each other.  As coach B. says, "If you reward too much, the students become lackadaisical.  If you penalize too much, the students will become resentful."  This is why the +-3 rule is in place.  The reward can simply be the students knowing that they beat the teacher.  Other options are an extra minute of recess, one less homework problem, Mind Soccer minutes, or a one minute dance party.

I began the year using this basic scoreboard, and it has been very successful. I think it has worked so well because it is simple and motivating.  Students love the "mighty oh yeahs".  They have fun counting the tallies on each side and working hard to make sure that they do end the day with more smilies than frownies.  I see the value of the + - 3 rule, because a close score is part of the fun.  I compare it to a ball game.  When the game is a blowout, it is not as interesting.  It is the close score that keeps the spectators' attention.  The same philosophy applies to the scoreboard.  Without a doubt, it has been the best management tool that I have ever found.

There are a number of variations to the basic scoreboard that are designed to keep the scoreboard fresh and motivating.  These variations can be found in Coach B.'s book Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids.  However, the latest and best version of the scoreboard just came out.  Coach B. has labeled it "The Scoreboard version 2.0".  It is also known as the Video Game Scoreboard.  The premise behind this score board is very simple.  It is played like a video game with ten different levels.  Each level has its own name and a unique set of challenges.  Bonuses are attached to each level, beginning with level two.  The first level is called Base Camp.  This level is designed to introduce the students to the scoreboard.  Students will earn smilies when they perform like students in the grade two years above their grade.  They earn frownies when they perform like students in the grade two years below their grade.  So in my room students earn smilies for performing like fourth graders and frownies for performing like kindergartners.  This is a very important part of the scoreboard, because it serves a dual purpose:  it provides a built in structure for practicing the rules and a motivator for students to follow the rules.  Let me explain:

When teaching students a new rule or procedure, wrong way/right way practice should always be used.  During wrong way practice students are asked to model the rule the wrong way.  In my case, I would ask my class to show me what it would look like in a kindergarten classroom.  Students demonstrate this and are praised for doing such a good job of showing me what kindergartners would look like.  We then talk about what the rule or procedure would look like in a fourth grade classroom.  Students would be asked to model what it would look like and would be praised for doing it like fourth graders.  The students are given the goal of always following the rule or performing the procedure like fourth graders would.  This is where the scoreboard comes in.  When students perform a rule or a procedure like a kindergartner, the tally goes on the kindergarten (frownie) side of the scoreboard.  When they perform it like a fourth grader, the tally goes on the fourth grade (smilie) side of the scoreboard.  Since kids always want to be perceived as older than they really are, they will perform at the higher level.

Level one also has a wildcard, if you choose to use it.  Instead of using smilies and frownies, you can name your levels and change the sound effects that students use when earning a tally.  For example, you might use "Captain" and "Crew" and change your sound effects to "Yo ho ho" and "Arg".  Another idea that works well for this time of year is "Farmer" and "Turkey".  Your sound effects could be "Yum Yum" and "Gobble Gobble".  My plan is to throw in a Wild Card at level two, but for level one, I am going to stick with smilies and frownies.

Advancing to the next level is easy.  It takes ten wins to advance to the next level.  A win is simply earning in one day more positive marks than negative marks.  I have chosen to place ten numbers at the top of my scoreboard and mark off one number with each win.  When all ten numbers are marked off, the class will advance to the next level.  I just began the Video Game Scoreboard this week.  My kids love it.  After all, what kid does not love video games.  Below is a picture of what my scoreboard looks like.

You will notice at the bottom that I did choose to keep "Beat the Clock".  I use this for lining up and passing out papers.  I simply count how long it takes for students to either line up or pass out papers, and I write that number down on the scoreboard.  The next time they try and beat that time.  If they do it is a positive mark.  If they don't it is a negative mark.  It is super simple and the kids love it.

As I already mentioned, there are ten levels to the scoreboard.  I have only talked about the first, because this is as far as my class has got.  Throughout the year as my class moves through the levels, I will share with you more about this exciting new scoreboard.  If you are ready to learn more about all of the levels, then just go to www.wholebrainteaching.com.  From there go to the drop down menu at the top of the page and click on "Goodies".  The first choice under "goodies" is "wbt tv".  When the page opens scroll down and you will find a video library of webcasts by Coach B.  The Scoreboard is webcast 584.  While there, please be sure to scroll through all of the webcasts in the library.  There you will find a wealth of information on Whole Brain Teaching.