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.
Showing posts with label Super Improver Team. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Improver Team. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Growth Talk
One of the newest WBT innovations is the use of growth talk on a daily basis in the classroom. Growth talk comes as a result of research by Stanford's Carol Dweck and others, which demonstrates that when we use phrases such as "you're great... wonderful... fantastic" the effect on our students is often the opposite of what we are looking for. Instead of increasing student performance, they will often avoid academic challenges for fear that it will make them less than "great". This is known as a Fixed Mindset classroom (praising for ability).
In a Growth Mindset classroom students are praised for improvement, effort, and determination. The language used in these classrooms is referred to as Growth Talk We want our students to understand that growth comes as a result of effort and determination. It is all about very specific praise: You beat your previous score by 10 words, you never indented your paragraphs before, but now you do it all of the time. Your gestures are very large. Everyone can see them. You are showing me hands and eyes just like a fourth grader would (two grade levels above your own.). The Super Improver Team is a perfect use of the growth mindset because students are rewarded for effort and not ability.
One of the best ways to teach a growth mindset is with examples of this mindset from our own lives. I recently had the opportunity to share one such example with my students. This spring I was taking a Chalk Talk class for professional development credit. This might sound like a fun and easy class, but it terrified me. I only took it because it was the only class available at times I could attend. To say that it terrified me is not an exaggeration. Art is a definite weakness for me. The combination of no natural talent, no desire to learn, and a number of very bad and embarrassing experiences with art have led me to avoid it at all costs. I was the teacher who, before so much could be made on the computer, would pay someone to decorate my classroom. And let's just say that bulletin boards have always been my nemesis. I would rather speak in front of a group of 1,000 people with five minutes notice or write a 20 page paper than make a bulletin board. So, as you can probably tell, I did not enter the class feeling very good about it.
After the first night I had a new appreciation for how many of our lowest students must feel when they sit in our classrooms and try, but know that they can not do what everyone else can. The second night of class was even worse. We were asked to give a very short five sentence chalk talk introducing ourselves. Writing the chalk talk was not a problem, but no matter how hard I tried I could not figure out anything to draw that looked even close to what I wanted it to be. My goal was to draw a dog's face, since I am the owner of three beautiful Papillons, but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't do it. As people started sharing I became more and more panicky. I kept trying to draw a dog, but I just couldn't do it. I found myself beginning to shake and tears started to well up in my eyes. Fortunately, the instructor noticed, and she quietly skipped over me. I was very thankful, but I was also very humiliated.
I did a lot of self-reflecting over the next few days. It was just a few short weeks prior that I had read all that Coach B. had sent us on Growth Talk, and I began to realize that maybe part of my problem was that I did not have a Growth Mindset when it came to art. I had spent so many years telling myself how bad I was at it, that I was getting exactly what I was expecting. So, I decided that I would go to the next class with a Growth Mindset.
The next class I came to with a different attitude. I told myself that my drawing may not look like the instructor's or the other students, but it could be better than what it is now. With this new attitude I really payed attention and did my best to follow the instructor's instructions as she taught us how to draw people, animals' faces, and even cubes. This class was the first time that I had ever received any instruction in how to draw anything. After a little practice I discovered that I could draw legs and arms on people. I knew how to make a simple animal's face, and with a ruler, I could draw a pretty decent cube. For the first time ever, I wasn't embarrassed by what I had drawn. I found that I was actually having fun, something that I never thought I would say about drawing. The last thirty minutes we were given art paper, black markers, and chalk, and asked to draw anything that we wanted. I was pleased with the end result, and I will confess to you that it was the first time that I ever saved a piece of art. Usually, when forced to do anything artistic, my work went straight in the garbage can when I was done.
This piece I not only took home with me, but realizing what a powerful example it could be for my students, I took it to class that day and shared it with them. I also shared with them the same story that I just shared with you, and I let my students know that this was the first time that I had ever shared anything that I had drawn with anyone. The story had a powerful impact upon the students. We talked about the importance of not only using Growth Talk with each other, but speaking Growth Talk to ourselves. As part of this discussion I asked students to identify any negative thinking that they had, anything that began with the words, "I'm not good at,,," and replace that with Growth Talk instead.
I am now very thankful that I took the Chalk Talk Class. It taught both myself and my students a very powerful lesson in Growth Talk. I hope that you are able to share similar experiences with your own students.
In a Growth Mindset classroom students are praised for improvement, effort, and determination. The language used in these classrooms is referred to as Growth Talk We want our students to understand that growth comes as a result of effort and determination. It is all about very specific praise: You beat your previous score by 10 words, you never indented your paragraphs before, but now you do it all of the time. Your gestures are very large. Everyone can see them. You are showing me hands and eyes just like a fourth grader would (two grade levels above your own.). The Super Improver Team is a perfect use of the growth mindset because students are rewarded for effort and not ability.
One of the best ways to teach a growth mindset is with examples of this mindset from our own lives. I recently had the opportunity to share one such example with my students. This spring I was taking a Chalk Talk class for professional development credit. This might sound like a fun and easy class, but it terrified me. I only took it because it was the only class available at times I could attend. To say that it terrified me is not an exaggeration. Art is a definite weakness for me. The combination of no natural talent, no desire to learn, and a number of very bad and embarrassing experiences with art have led me to avoid it at all costs. I was the teacher who, before so much could be made on the computer, would pay someone to decorate my classroom. And let's just say that bulletin boards have always been my nemesis. I would rather speak in front of a group of 1,000 people with five minutes notice or write a 20 page paper than make a bulletin board. So, as you can probably tell, I did not enter the class feeling very good about it.
After the first night I had a new appreciation for how many of our lowest students must feel when they sit in our classrooms and try, but know that they can not do what everyone else can. The second night of class was even worse. We were asked to give a very short five sentence chalk talk introducing ourselves. Writing the chalk talk was not a problem, but no matter how hard I tried I could not figure out anything to draw that looked even close to what I wanted it to be. My goal was to draw a dog's face, since I am the owner of three beautiful Papillons, but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't do it. As people started sharing I became more and more panicky. I kept trying to draw a dog, but I just couldn't do it. I found myself beginning to shake and tears started to well up in my eyes. Fortunately, the instructor noticed, and she quietly skipped over me. I was very thankful, but I was also very humiliated.
I did a lot of self-reflecting over the next few days. It was just a few short weeks prior that I had read all that Coach B. had sent us on Growth Talk, and I began to realize that maybe part of my problem was that I did not have a Growth Mindset when it came to art. I had spent so many years telling myself how bad I was at it, that I was getting exactly what I was expecting. So, I decided that I would go to the next class with a Growth Mindset.
The next class I came to with a different attitude. I told myself that my drawing may not look like the instructor's or the other students, but it could be better than what it is now. With this new attitude I really payed attention and did my best to follow the instructor's instructions as she taught us how to draw people, animals' faces, and even cubes. This class was the first time that I had ever received any instruction in how to draw anything. After a little practice I discovered that I could draw legs and arms on people. I knew how to make a simple animal's face, and with a ruler, I could draw a pretty decent cube. For the first time ever, I wasn't embarrassed by what I had drawn. I found that I was actually having fun, something that I never thought I would say about drawing. The last thirty minutes we were given art paper, black markers, and chalk, and asked to draw anything that we wanted. I was pleased with the end result, and I will confess to you that it was the first time that I ever saved a piece of art. Usually, when forced to do anything artistic, my work went straight in the garbage can when I was done.
This piece I not only took home with me, but realizing what a powerful example it could be for my students, I took it to class that day and shared it with them. I also shared with them the same story that I just shared with you, and I let my students know that this was the first time that I had ever shared anything that I had drawn with anyone. The story had a powerful impact upon the students. We talked about the importance of not only using Growth Talk with each other, but speaking Growth Talk to ourselves. As part of this discussion I asked students to identify any negative thinking that they had, anything that began with the words, "I'm not good at,,," and replace that with Growth Talk instead.
I am now very thankful that I took the Chalk Talk Class. It taught both myself and my students a very powerful lesson in Growth Talk. I hope that you are able to share similar experiences with your own students.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
The Super Improver Wall Photo Level
In an earlier post I shared with you how much I love my Super Improver Wall and explained how to put one up. (If you are not familiar with the Super Improver Wall, I would encourage you to read my earlier post on the subject.) Nothing has changed. I still love my Super Improver Wall. It still never ceases to amaze me how hard a student will work for a little star colored in on a piece of paper. Just recently we had parent teacher conferences. Most of my students came with their parents to the conferences, and without fail, they all showed their parents where they were on the wall and talked about the number of stars that they needed to "level up". This is the term that we use in my classroom for moving up to the next level on the wall.
The current buzz in my classroom is making it to MVK (Most Valuable Kid). This is level five on our wall. What makes this level so special is that it is the "photograph level". (I will explain what I mean by this in a moment.) It is common practice to attach rewards to certain levels on the wall. Not every level has a reward attached to it, but the teacher chooses specific levels at which to reward students, as well as the rewards that go with these levels. I do not tell my students in advance which levels have rewards attached to them or what the rewards are. They find out when the first student reaches that level. There is, however, one exception to this practice. The MVK level has had a small picture of a camera next to it since the beginning of the year. I did not tell the students what the camera meant. I only told them that something special would happen when they reached this level. Just recently my first student did, and it has been so much fun.
Alright, it is time to reveal the secret of this level. When a student gets to this level he gets to choose two of his friends to take a silly picture with. When my first student reached this level I told her to choose two friends that she would like to do something special with, but I did not tell her what they would be doing. She picked them just as the students were heading out to lunch recess. The three of them came back to the classroom with me, still having no idea what was going to happen. When we got back to the room I revealed the surprise, and they took their silly picture together. I then swore them all to secrecy, which they thought was very cool. They liked knowing something that the rest of the class didn't know. That night I printed the picture and the next day I hung it face down on my Super Improver Wall. The rest of the class was very curious about this. I told them that when Dawn (not her real name) earned her ten stars, I would turn the paper over and they could all see what was on the back. Of course, Dawn and her two friends knew, but they were not about to tell anyone.
This created quite a stir, because now everyone wants to make it to MVK and find out what all of the excitement is about. Students are really stepping up. What amazes me is how students will look for ways that they can personally improve, knowing that when I see this, they will earn a star. Here is one example. We have been talking for quite some time about "answering the question that is being asked". My kids are real good about using complete sentences, but with many of them being ELL, they often struggle with understanding what the question is really asking. They will give a great answer, but it often does not match the question. Recently we took a reading test on reading diagrams. The questions were a little tricky, and I assumed that many of my students would have the same struggle. To my surprise a majority of my students actually answered the questions being asked. A few of them had the wrong answers, but at least they showed that they understood the questions. It was a huge breakthrough and very exciting. In the past I had given out stars for improvements on reading tests, and the students knew that this would be a definite improvement and would earn them a star. I did not disappoint them. As soon as I had graded the test, I handed out the stars, emphasizing how proud I was of them for answering the questions being asked.
I can't wait to see the students' reactions when Dawn gets her card turned over. Here is how that works. I simply draw her next ten stars on the back of her photograph. As soon as she earns all ten, the photograph gets turned over for all of the class to see. The photo will hang by the Super Improver Wall until the end of the year. Then Dawn will get to take it home.
Below is a picture of what the wall currently looks like. You will notice Dawn's card on the left side. She currently has one star drawn on the back of it. If you look carefully, you will also see the camera next to the MVK level.
If you have not yet started a Super Improver Wall in your room, I would encourage you to do so. It would be an awesome thing to set up over Christmas break and start when the students return to school in January. It is very easy to do, and I promise you that the payoff is well worth the effort.
Friday, October 17, 2014
The Super Improver Wall
If you do not already have a Super Improver Wall in you classroom, I have just three words for you: Put one up! In twenty-five years of teaching I have tried just about every management system and method for motivating students that you can think of. Never have I found anything that is so effective and so easy to implement as the Super Improver Wall. Below is a picture of what my wall currently looks like.
To get started you need ten different levels. The name of each level should be in a different color. It doesn't matter what you name your levels. Many people will give them names that match their classroom theme. For example, a good friend of mine who teaches at my school has an eighties them in her room. Her levels have names like "Rock Star" and "Producer". All students will start on the first level, which should be in white. In my room it is the beginner level. Students' names are written on cards that match the color of the level that they are on. The cards are placed on the board.
Now here comes the fun part! You start looking for improvements in your students. When you see one, you or the student colors in a star on the student's card. The improvements could be in any area. Below I have listed some examples of some of the things that my students have earned stars for:
1. Making smarter choices
2. Beginning to use the Brainies
3. Better or more consistent gestures
4. Improvements in writing
5. Improvements in Super Speed Math
6. Folded hands and laser eyes
7. Being a better partner
8. Growth in reading
The point is that the improvements can be in anything! The students are not competing against each other, but against themselves. It is often your lower students that have more stars, because they have more room for improvement.
When a student has received ten stars, he moves up to the next level on the board, and his new card is the color associated with that level. I will sign the back of the old card and send it home with the student, along with a certificate for moving to the next level. I tell my class when a student reaches level four, I will take his picture with two of his friends. They will be asked to pose for a silly picture. This picture will go face down on the board and the stars the student earns will be colored on the back of the picture. When a student has earned ten stars, the picture will be turned over and revealed for the first time. We haven't got there yet, but I am very excited. I can see how motivating this will be.
I would like to share with you my favorite story so far this year about our Super Improver Wall. I have a little boy in my class who I will call Johnny. (This is not his real name.) Johnny is in special education and one of the lowest students I have ever had. Johnny entered my room three days into the school year, not knowing how to read or write anything. When he did write a letter or two, there was no letter/sound correspondence at all. I had been working with Johnny, showing him how to sound out words and write down the sounds that he hears. He was beginning to get the idea and would do this when myself or another teacher was sitting with him and giving him a lot of support, but he would not do any writing independently. So one day, about the middle of the third week of school, it was the end of the day and we were doing red/green writing. I had given Johnny a very simple sentence frame: I like ________. The day before I had helped Johnny write "I like video games." The next day, however, I wanted Johnny to fill in the frame on his own. He had sat for the first five minutes of red/green writing and done nothing. So I walked up to him and whispered, "If you can write an "I like" sentence before we clean-up, you will get a super improver star." I have to be honest. I did not expect him to do it, but I figured that it was worth a try. A couple of minutes later I looked over and he had his journal in the air shaking it. He looked very excited. I went over and saw that he had written: "I like fit video games." I was so excited! He had sounded out the word fight, and copied video games from the day before. I did not care that it wasn't spelled right. What mattered was that he had written that sentence in under two minutes, along with his very first word that had letter/sound correspondence. Not only did he get a super improver star, but I had the class give him a hundred finger Wooh. (Okay, maybe I did get a little carried away with the hundred finger Wooh, but it was a very exciting moment.) This is the power of The Super Improver Wall. It is amazing!
I also have a card on the wall. I decided to put it up after my mentor, Nancy Stoltenberg, suggested it. Having my own card up has brought another layer of fun to the wall and has shown my students that everyone has something that they can improve in. Right now there are two things that I am working on. In the morning I always hand the bag that had our breakfast cards to a student to hold while we are going through the line. However, I always forget to take the bag back after I've passed out the cards, and the student has to remind me. I was told that if I remember on my own I might even get two stars! I am working very hard on this. The other area in which the students have told me that I can earn a star is our "Beat the Clock" section of the scoreboard. I am constantly writing our seconds for "papers out" next to "line" by accident. My students have promised me a star if I quit doing that.
As you can see, the scoreboard is very motivating and a lot of fun. Coach B., the founder of Whole Brain Teaching, has done a great webcast on the scoreboard. You can view it by going to www.wholebrainteaching.com. Under "Goodies" click on the first link entitled "wbt tv". There you will find a library of webcasts that Coach B. has done. The Super Improver Wall is number 503. You can also find many examples of walls that other teachers have done by simply going to Google and typing in "Whole Brain Teaching Super Improver Wall".
To get started you need ten different levels. The name of each level should be in a different color. It doesn't matter what you name your levels. Many people will give them names that match their classroom theme. For example, a good friend of mine who teaches at my school has an eighties them in her room. Her levels have names like "Rock Star" and "Producer". All students will start on the first level, which should be in white. In my room it is the beginner level. Students' names are written on cards that match the color of the level that they are on. The cards are placed on the board.
Now here comes the fun part! You start looking for improvements in your students. When you see one, you or the student colors in a star on the student's card. The improvements could be in any area. Below I have listed some examples of some of the things that my students have earned stars for:
1. Making smarter choices
2. Beginning to use the Brainies
3. Better or more consistent gestures
4. Improvements in writing
5. Improvements in Super Speed Math
6. Folded hands and laser eyes
7. Being a better partner
8. Growth in reading
The point is that the improvements can be in anything! The students are not competing against each other, but against themselves. It is often your lower students that have more stars, because they have more room for improvement.
When a student has received ten stars, he moves up to the next level on the board, and his new card is the color associated with that level. I will sign the back of the old card and send it home with the student, along with a certificate for moving to the next level. I tell my class when a student reaches level four, I will take his picture with two of his friends. They will be asked to pose for a silly picture. This picture will go face down on the board and the stars the student earns will be colored on the back of the picture. When a student has earned ten stars, the picture will be turned over and revealed for the first time. We haven't got there yet, but I am very excited. I can see how motivating this will be.
I would like to share with you my favorite story so far this year about our Super Improver Wall. I have a little boy in my class who I will call Johnny. (This is not his real name.) Johnny is in special education and one of the lowest students I have ever had. Johnny entered my room three days into the school year, not knowing how to read or write anything. When he did write a letter or two, there was no letter/sound correspondence at all. I had been working with Johnny, showing him how to sound out words and write down the sounds that he hears. He was beginning to get the idea and would do this when myself or another teacher was sitting with him and giving him a lot of support, but he would not do any writing independently. So one day, about the middle of the third week of school, it was the end of the day and we were doing red/green writing. I had given Johnny a very simple sentence frame: I like ________. The day before I had helped Johnny write "I like video games." The next day, however, I wanted Johnny to fill in the frame on his own. He had sat for the first five minutes of red/green writing and done nothing. So I walked up to him and whispered, "If you can write an "I like" sentence before we clean-up, you will get a super improver star." I have to be honest. I did not expect him to do it, but I figured that it was worth a try. A couple of minutes later I looked over and he had his journal in the air shaking it. He looked very excited. I went over and saw that he had written: "I like fit video games." I was so excited! He had sounded out the word fight, and copied video games from the day before. I did not care that it wasn't spelled right. What mattered was that he had written that sentence in under two minutes, along with his very first word that had letter/sound correspondence. Not only did he get a super improver star, but I had the class give him a hundred finger Wooh. (Okay, maybe I did get a little carried away with the hundred finger Wooh, but it was a very exciting moment.) This is the power of The Super Improver Wall. It is amazing!
I also have a card on the wall. I decided to put it up after my mentor, Nancy Stoltenberg, suggested it. Having my own card up has brought another layer of fun to the wall and has shown my students that everyone has something that they can improve in. Right now there are two things that I am working on. In the morning I always hand the bag that had our breakfast cards to a student to hold while we are going through the line. However, I always forget to take the bag back after I've passed out the cards, and the student has to remind me. I was told that if I remember on my own I might even get two stars! I am working very hard on this. The other area in which the students have told me that I can earn a star is our "Beat the Clock" section of the scoreboard. I am constantly writing our seconds for "papers out" next to "line" by accident. My students have promised me a star if I quit doing that.
As you can see, the scoreboard is very motivating and a lot of fun. Coach B., the founder of Whole Brain Teaching, has done a great webcast on the scoreboard. You can view it by going to www.wholebrainteaching.com. Under "Goodies" click on the first link entitled "wbt tv". There you will find a library of webcasts that Coach B. has done. The Super Improver Wall is number 503. You can also find many examples of walls that other teachers have done by simply going to Google and typing in "Whole Brain Teaching Super Improver Wall".
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Room Decorations
I have been hard at work all week decorating my room. My students do not arrive for two more weeks, but I like to set up early, so that I have time to relax before the year begins. Below are pictures with brief captions. The only thing that I do not have up yet is my homework thermometer. It was ordered and has not yet arrived.
This is my language arts and math pics board.
This is one of my whiteboards in the front of my room. Since I will be playing Prove It each day, I decided to create an area to record student answers, along with effort points, answer points, and penalty points. You will also notice my Wacky Star Fun Button, a place to keep track of Mind Soccer minutes, and oral writing reminders. By the side of the board are posters that will be used during Mind Soccer.
This is my Genius Ladder. I decided to place my stop light transition words on the side of the ladder, so that my students will have easy access to them.
Here is my scoreboard with rule one above it. At the bottom of the scoreboard is an area for Beat the Clock, and a space for the Guff Counter, if I need it.
I decided to create a board with all of the Brain Toys.
Here is my Super Improvers Board and classroom rules.
I call this my Brainies Board. I was originally going to create a tree map, but I did not have the space. I created this board for me as much as I did for the kids. If I forget one of the gestures, all I have to do is peek at the board. Having all of the Brainies posted will also be helpful when we play Competition Brainies.
Here is a view of my classroom from the back.
This is the wall by the classroom door. The black bulletin board you see next to the language arts pic board is my writing skill focus board, which will be used in conjunction with red/green writing. Right now the only skill listed is neat handwriting. I will add skills to the board as they are introduced.
I hope that you enjoyed this mini-tour of my classroom. Be sure to check back next week. I will be posting my complete day one lesson plans.
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