What a Cool Idea!

         Classroom time line...                                             

Louisiana Teachers

Just a thought...In the old English system of education if indigent (poor) parents would declare themselves paupers, their children could be sent to specified private or pay schools for a free education... How is this different from what we are asking of families who accept vouchers?


"To be separated from the rest of the community as a distinct and inferior caste, and held out to the world as the objects of public charity, is a degradation too humiliating for the pride of freemen."
- House Journal 1822

An Award...YAY!!!!!!

Thanks so much to Ms. Julie AKA Southern Teacher for giving me the Liebster Award for my blog!

 I googled the Liebster Blog Award and apparently it is a pretty cool honor. I found out that " The origins of the Liebster Blog award are somewhat unclear but the general consensus is that it originated in Germany, Liebster meaning favorite or dearest, to showcase bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Upon accepting he award the recipient must then pass it on to five more blogs of note."

 

But, there are rules for keeping the good karma flowing :)

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. Thank the giver and link back to them.

3. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

This is my favorite part!  Here are my top 5 blog picks. Please check out their blogs.

Miss L's Whole Brain Teaching - Miss L does a wonderful job of giving Whole Brain Teaching details as well as helpful resources for the classroom. Love this one :)

A Whole Brain Teacher (AKA A Wibbeteer) - Allisong goes into great, in-depth detail about the Whole Brain Teaching Method. This site is great for those starting out in Whole Brain. You are awesome. 

WBT with Scrapbunny - This site is good for the younger grades. 

Mrs. Crook's WBT Experience - Here are some good videos!

EduKate with Whole Brain - Kate is awesome at giving you great insight into her classroom and what WBT looks like in action!!!

Legislative Session Wrap Up

This was just sent to me in my email. There is plenty to make note of, but 3 subjects were of great significance to me: abortion update, teacher tenure,  parent conference requirement (lol)...

Legislative Session Wrap Up 

School's Out!!!!!

So I guess I went on a bit of a hiatus????  We have been out for a little over a week, but now I'm in classes for the summer...School Law...sad face.

But, I have a plan for the summer. Remember, this is the most important time of the year for planning. Get a couple of books, review your Whole Brain methods...just get better!!!

My summer review looks like this:

Instruction:
Whole Brain Teaching
Kagan
Capturing Kid's Hearts

Management: 
Whole Brain Teaching
High Trust Classroom
A Framework for Poverty----Done with this one, I'm planning on building our School-Wide Positive Behavior Plan around this. It will be used as our "Framework" :)
49 Techniques (Teach Like a Champion)

Just a note- Whole Brain methods are more than just instruction... the method is three-fold encompassing Instruction----Management----Skills

So, if you have only focused on one aspect of Whole Brain thus far, step out there, get a plan, and wow the socks off of your kids next year! They need you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Video With My Kids....

Whole Brain Teaching and English as a Second Language (ESL) Students

Whole Brain Teaching and English as a Second Language (ESL) Students

Whole Brain Teaching is designed to engage every member of a class, gaining and keeping their attention throughout a whole lesson. The techniques used in Whole Brain Teaching help students stay engaged and make learning fun for everyone. They prevent some students from disrupting the learning of others. All these things are important in any type of classroom, not just in standard K-12 classes in standard school subjects. They are just as important in an ESL classroom. More and more ESL teachers are learning about and using Whole Brain Teaching in their classrooms, whether they are teaching groups of immigrant children, or working overseas.

Whole Brain Makes a Scene

Check out this video...Whole Brain making a scene!!!!!

Getting Started With Whole Brain Teaching

Where to start????

The Big 7!!!!!

Back from Spring Break...and Loving Crazy Professor!!!!!

Well...I knew coming back from Spring Break it would be hard to get my students going. I scheduled Crazy Professor Reading Game as an activity for today. To say the least, they are loving it. There is a youtube video that my students are really into right now, so to help them understand "dramatic" reading, I acted the video out with them :) I love Whole Brain....

Whole Brain Teaching & Social Skills!!!!!

There is an increasing demand for positive social skills in the work place, but many of our students are lacking just that. The following is a list of what employers seek in order of importance:

What About...Whole Brain Teaching Gestures for Math??!!!!!!

These are not mine. A nice guy from Whole Brain's Website gathered these from the forum posts. Way to go JasonS.

What About...Whole Brain Teaching Gestures for ELA?? !!!!!!!

These are not mine. A nice guy from Whole Brain's Website gathered these from the forum posts. Way to go JasonS.

I'm So Tired!!!!!!!

It has been the l o n g e s t YEAR!!!!!! My 9th graders this year came into my classroom on average with a 4th grade reading level...this makes for a long year of trying to compare/contrast, cause/effect, and problem solve on any level.


To add to it, we are taking on the new Common Core Standards, Value-Added performance rating, and our legislature will soon be voting on our governor’s new plan for giving vouchers to students in C, D, or F schools to go to private schools. Also, he is allowing charters a fast track to apply directly to the state. If that isn't enough...our federal dollars may be dispersed throughout the entire parish rather than stay home with our students who have over 80% free and reduced lunches???????????


So, that looks like no pay scale, no tenure, and no funding...


If it were not for whole brain this year I don't know where my students, or myself would be. The direct instruction opportunity it offers is beyond comparison. Direct instruction is 33% more effective for teaching vocabulary than other methods...my students need vocabulary and I need summer.

Webcast, Tuesday, January 31

SUPERSPEED RHYMES, our huge, 500 slide PowerPoint program will debut on our webcast, Tuesday, January 31.

30 word families, 200+ words, every word illustrated with a high quality, cartoon graphic!

What About...The New Year!!!????

Just wanted to check in with you guys and say happy New Year!!!! Back in the classroom full force...refreshing my students and getting them excited about finishing the year.