I'm going to tell you a secret, but please don't tell my students. Here goes, I don't know everything. The truth is I'm really good at faking it. Once my beloved class walked in my room last year, I knew it was going to be an interesting year, to say the least. I had a lot of very strong personalities who thought that they could run my class. Sure I had been teaching for like a decade or something, but after having two "perfect" classes for the previous two years, my behavior management skills had gotten a little rusty.
That's when I turned to my trusted friend, The Internet. I'm not quite sure what I was searching for that day in August, all I know is that it felt like I won the lottery when I ran into Whole Brain Teaching. I don't think I went to bed at all that night because I was so busy trying to take in all the videos and resources. If you have never heard of Whole Brain Teaching, then please go visit their website (right after you finish reading this post, of course!) http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/. Basically, Whole Brain is a method that really engages the students and actually brings back the fun in teaching. The best thing about it is that everything on the website is totally free!
I'll admit it though, the first time I saw the videos with all of the chanting, mirroring and movements, I thought it was a little too juvenile for my "way too cool" second graders. Boy, was I completely wrong! I went in the next day and really pumped it up. We started with a brand new set of Whole Brain Rules. I hung up my rule posters and taught them the movements for each rule. They were so excited and actually asked to say them several times that day. It actually gave them a sense of ownership - ownership of a unique brand new set of rules. (I didn't have the heart to tell them that Whole Brain classrooms all over the country share these same rules!)
So what are these totally awesome rules?
Rule # 1 Follow Directions Quickly and Quietly (children put their hands together and move them around like a swimming fish)
Rule # 2 Raise Your Hand for Permission to Speak (children raise their hand then pull it down and put it next to their mouth and make a talking motion)
Rule # 3 Raise Your Hand for Permission to Leave Your Seat (children raise their hand then pull it down and make a walking motion with their index and middle finger on their other hand)
Rule # 4 Make Smart Choices (children tap their head with one finger as they say each word)
Rule # 5 Keep Your Dear Teacher Happy (children make an L's with their index fingers and thumbs, hold them up to their cheeks, smile really big and bob their head back and forth while they say it)
Rule # 6 (My original rule so you won't find this on the WBT website) Act Like You Would if Your Mama Was Here (Children wag their index finger up and down)
I wondered about rule # 5 at first. Then I thought about something that my own mama always said. "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" It's true in the classroom too. As teachers, we have the humongous responsibility of teaching all of our students lists and lists of standards. It is virtually impossible to teach to our fullest if we aren't happy. If they expect me to teach like my "hair is on fire" then they better keep me happy!
So, a year later, how is it going? Well, we start everyday off with reciting the rules. If I notice someone is breaking a rule during the day (rule # 2 is the most widely broken), I just have to say, "Rule # 2" and the class will recite that rule. The person breaking the rule will quickly fix it. They are not called out and embarrassed, they are just given a gentle reminder. If they continue to break it, I will walk over to them and show the number rule they are breaking on my fingers. For example, if they are talking out, I will put up two fingers. They are not getting any unnecessary attention and they are not wasting any of my precious time.
I presented this to a few coworkers at the beginning of this school year. I remember one person looked at me weird and reminded me that I am teaching 3rd grade this year and that there was no way 3rd graders would do that. Of course, I had to invite her in last week to let her see my group of tough 3rd graders actively reciting the rules ;)
I truly think that I have found the first puzzle piece to the makings of a stress-free classroom. Now I'm off to go search for some more pieces!
No comments:
Post a Comment