I could hardy wait for lunch time today because I wanted to get on the forum to share what happened this morning. I was working with my third grade group. We have been doing the Genius Paragraph everytime we are together. So far, we have done everything orally (we have only been in group for about two weeks). Today one of the third grade boys in my group said to me..wait for it..."Next time could we write the sentences for the Genius Paragraph ourselves" Yes friends, that's right, a 3rd grade boy asking to write!! Does it get any better than this??
What make this so amazing is that this will be the third year that I have worked with this child. He has hated writing! Now he's asking to write! He also said, "If we do good sentences next time, then do even better sentences the next time, could we get a start for the Super Improver's Wall?"
There you go, my friend, proof that WBT can change your students!

All I have to say is five words.
Shock. Ing. Ly. Wonder. Ful.

Susan this is wonderful!! It is so wonderful to see how powerful all of the WBT teaching techniques are! Simply magical it is!!


Heather Hansen
Wbt Intern
2011/12

Hello! This story definitely shows that if you work on the Genius Ladder orally in the beginning, it will build the excitement for the students, and they will be rearing to go when you are ready for them to write out the Genius Ladder. Thank you for sharing this motivating example and the power of WBT for student engagement!

Laura Caisse
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

Susan,

Awesome! I love hearing that kids are ASKING to write. Isn't it great?!?!

Thank you for sharing.


Tiffany
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

Update to the Genius paragraph story. I met with that same groups of students today. They walked in to the room asking "Do we get write our own sentences for the Genius Paragraph today?" I told them "Of course you do." The results were great!! They each did a Blah, Spicy, and Extender/Complexor sentence of their choice. Then they shared all three of their sentences. I, of course, made a big deal out of all of them (they really were wonderful). Then out of the mouth of the one student that was not as excited about writing the sentences as the others, comes the words "When do we get to write the whole paragraph?"

Can you believe it? I went straight down the hall to share with their teacher! What great success!! I love WBT and the Genius Paragraph!!

Susan Floyd
WBT Intern
2011-12

Hey Susan!

That's an awesome story! I can't believe you haven't shared it with me in person! I have to agree about the Genius Ladder though...it truly is amazing! My kids love Genius Ladder time every morning. They love adding the spice, then extending it, and then turning it into a Genius Paragraph. What amazes me about it all is that they are all staying on topic when we add sentences to our Genius Paragraph. The are also sure to always start with a capital letter and end with punctuation (they love making the noises). This is one time during the day that I even have my 6, yes 6, challenging students engaged and anxious to participate. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks,
Staci Glass
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

All I can say is "Woo Hoo" to Susan and Staci!
Let me share another story about BOYS asking to write...
Today I walked into a fourth grade class where I taught the Genius ladder a few weeks ago. They cheered, and 2 boys asked, "Do we get to write a paragraph with you?" Then, they wanted to pull out their writing notebooks to show me what they had been working on.
I saw a "Chesire Cat" grin on the teacher's face..
Later, I passed some more students on their way to lunch, and one of our livelier boys used the "Spicy" gesture and said, "Mrs.Weigel gleamed as her astonishingly bright students created brilliant sentences." Hmm...speaking Genius Ladder Sentences on the way to lunch??? From a 5th Grade boy?!!!!!
I asked him to stop by my office and write it on the whiteboard for all to see!
Teacher Heaven!
Deb