Hello!

I just discovered this fantastic website about 3 days ago when I randomly searched on youtube for "teaching" to get some ideas and found Andrea Schindler's video. I've been on this website and watching videos non-stop since then.

I do, however, have a question about how to introduce the idea of lines, seats, and pages. I have seen on several videos how the students repeat the word line or seat or anything else three times. How do you teach this concept to the children when you are introducing WBT to them? How do they know what is a phrase they say three times instead of once like class-yes and teach-ok?

Sorry if this is a silly question, but I just need some clarification so I can be successful with this amazing technique that I will DEFINITELY be using next year and for the rest of my teaching career (which will be a long while...this is only going to be my second year!)

Thanks!

Heather
Maryland

Hi Heather!

I'm so glad you found WBT, trust me when I say it will change your teaching life! The "three-peat" is great for classroom procedures that involve the whole class (lining up, opening books, etc). If you have not already downloaded the free ebook "Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids", I suggest you read through it as it will walk you through exactly how to introduce this concept (as well as other WBT concepts) to your students. It is also chock full of VERY helpful information. At the bottom of this post I pasted the script from "WBT for Challenging Kids" that you can use to help introduce the "three-peat". I hope it helps! Good luck with WBT!


Tiffany
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

Script: Opening books (and other common classroom procedures)
Teacher: Class!
Students: Yes!
Teacher: I’m now going to show you how I want you to open your books. I will say, page 39! and you say “39! 39! 39!” loudly and then open your books quickly. Hold up both hands when you are
at the correct page. Let’s practice. 39!
Students: 39! 39! 39! (students open their books, many raise their hands)
Teacher: Classity! Classity! Classity!
Students: Yessity! Yessity! Yessity!
Teacher: You can put your hands down. That wasn’t too bad for the first time, but I want you to be a bit quicker. I’m going to count to 10. If everyone has their hands up with their books open
to the correct page, I’ll give the class a Smilie! Remember to repeat the page number. 142!
Students: 142! 142! 142! (while the teacher counts 1 to 10, students race to open their books to the correct page.)

Thank you so much for the information Tiffany!

It certainly was a help and I will go and download those references!

Heather

Tiffany there also many videos on you tube and teacher tube that show secondary students doing wbt like it was second nature. I learned so much from watching others and it gave me confidence. Annette

I also wanted to note that you can make it fun by adding movement or a tune~ for example, several years ago we added a "step and snap" to our seats, seats, seats. When we would go get our backpacks we did a "backpack, backpack, backpack" chicken walk, and a little handjive to our "cubbies, cubbies, cubbies." Variety is fun!!!!!

When my class was handing out papers, they liked to chant, "Papers, papers, papers, get them papers going" to the tune of "Rollin' rollin' rollin'." Anyway, they loved it and got papers passed out to everyone in the room in a record time!

Thanks,
Staci Glass
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

Since my first graders are getting the summer wiggles we chant ducks in a row is how we go, quak, quack do you see my back (they make sure they can see the back of the head of the child in front). Then the leader say's lines lines lines. We do it fast as we can.
Annette

I have a question....when using the Triple Repeat for the classroom procedures, do students only repeat it three times? Or do they continue to repeat it until they get the papers or are in line? My fifth graders talk really fast, so I found that they just repeated it over and over, which at times was more than 3.

Thanks,

Laura Caisse
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

My understanding of it is that they repeat it 3 times, then they cheer & clap until everyone has completed the task. Once a student completes the task their hands go up in the air and they say "Woo".

My 5th graders loved doing this, they got to be a little noisy while still being on task. It was great.

Hope this helps.

Tiffany
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

I use the 3 repete and my students tried to rush too, we used a line before the words and said "three magic words, seats, seats, seats. . . I also asked the leaders to show the count with their fingers" If we need practice, we would do it but practice did not count on the score board.
Annette

Hi Heather,

In the beginning it is practicing until they get it right . I use the scoreboard a lot. The key for me after they could line up properly was adding a count down to see if they could do it quickly and sometimes quietly before I got to zero - then they would earn a smilie and get to cheer:)

Liann

I just introduced these procedures as they came up. The first time we used a textbook we would practice how to find the page and what to say several times. When we line up the first day, we practice the procedure. Like Liann said, the scoreboard is very helpful! Throughout the year we might spend some time practicing as the need arises.

The kids picked this up very quickly. In fact they spontaneously started following the procedure even when I hadn't intended them too! Basically, in my classroom anytime I ask them to get something out, they repeat it 3 times.

"Get out your planners."
"Planners, planners, planners!"

"Get out your scissors and glue stick."
"Scissors and glue stick, scissors and glue stick, scissors and glue stick!"

When we line up or go back to the desks the kids just repeat, "lines, lines, lines, lines" or "desks, desks, desks, desks, desks" until they get to their location and put their hands up for a "Wooooo!"

They also learn quickly that they say "Yes" in the same way I say "Class." So in that situation, they just repeat me.

allisong,

What an awesome testament to the power of WBT!!

Thank you for sharing!

Tiffany
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

Hey Heather!
One of the beautiful things about WBT is that you can do it but... your own way:) For example, you would say "class...Yes" One time, depending on how many students paid attention. I teach third grade, and at the beginning I had to say class yes a few times and reward teacher a few points for students missing rule 1... Follow directions quickly. The beginning of the school year there will be some hit and miss. The scoreboard and Mind soccer will be the hook. Furthermore, the power pics are wonderful and they provide gesture suggestions. I have, at times, repeated the gestures 3 times in a row chanting the definition. It almost looks like a choreographed dance routine. We have also changed our voice while we chant it. My students loved it! It's really cool! So, watching the videos and following the steps in model classroom with a pinch of variety you will see how easy running a classroom of 30 plus students can be:)

Thanks!!
Heather Hansen
WBT Intern
2011/2012

Wow!!! Such great responses! I second many of the suggestions! My kinders picked up on the "3 peat" really fast and even started "3 peating" things that I didn't intend them to! I will never forget the first time I told them to get their weather journals out and was going to just count to 10..but before I could start counting I heard "JOURNALS JOURNALS JOURNALS!" This was amazing to me at the time since we were only using lines, seats, and bodies up! LOL! It just carried over to EVERYTHING!

Keep watching videos, read the ebooks, and ASK QUESTIONS!

Farrah Shipley
WBT Texas Kinders
Co-Director Model Classrooms