Come on people ...where are the fiFth grade teachers?

I'm here!

Joni

New Fifth Grade Whole Brain teacher!!

I am in New Zealand and have been looking at the whole brain teaching website and am so excited about trying this with my lot!!! I teach 11 year olds and Whole Brain teaching might just be what is needed! How did you find starting it off - where your kids buying into it or did it take a while?

My kids bought right into it. They love it! Start off with the Class-Yes and Teach-Okay. Then introduce the rules and scoreboard. You'll be off and going before you know it!

Joni

i started by showing them a video clip from the site...I asked them what was the same as what we did and what was different (we are big on pair share)

First the Teach Okay then the Teacher V Student same as and the rules...

I want to use Mind Soccer though!

How are we working with the "too cool for this" preteen ? That's the one who's the king of the recess but did not have to be accountable on a personal level in the class room-no engagement, just comfort zone of passive learning. Everyone else buys in , this is the one who has the hidden eye-roll guff.

New-to Whole- Brain-Teaching 5th Grade teacher here, too.

I'm very interested in the answer to the too-cool-for-this problem, as well. Granted, I've only been working with WBT for a very little while, but I see it rearing its ugly head.

I've taught 5th grade with whole brain teaching methods for multiple years. It is exactly what 5th graders need/want. Think about it; kids like to talk and move....sounds a lot like teach/okay with gestures to me. The scoreboard game keeps my kids in check for the entire year, with a tweak now and then. We play a week-long game with the points....total minutes of chess time or superspeed on Fridays. They are working to play a reading game or to work on visual spacial thinking. How about that?

Jay, when you are first introducing WBT, and you have the too-cool-for-school kids rolling their eyes and making comments about how it's beneath them, what do you do with them to turn them around? Do you put them in the independents for awhile? Or do you do the guff counter?

I'd go directly to the GUFF counter. Practice what guff looks like at first and let those guff givers be the practice people. I think of GUFF as the ultimate slap in the face and sign of disrespect, so I'm firm on eye rolling and the mumbling. Once you get the class to understand how disrespectful it is and how much it can mess up THEIR day, the sooner the GUFF will diminish in your classroom. I'd try the Guff Counter for a full month before I'd go to the independents, but sometimes you have to use your best judgement and bring it in quicker if the situation calls for it.

One thing I learned the hard way : when you get a new studnets in the room midyear, go over the Guff concept again. The class can help you aculutarize the new student. And you will save the headaches and communication issues.

So, hey Jay, what do you say about reintroducing or refining the things we introduced in the first month? Experiences?

BTW , Jay did you come up with the CA Standards cards you were planning.. like 4th grade?

Oh I had our Translators make me a Spanish set of the Practice Notes (going home). Next year... Happy to share.

I CAN spell too!

Absolutely refine things to fit the needs of the class. This is where we would say, "Okay, you've done good at level one of the guff counter (or whatever it is), but now I want to show you the guidelines for level two." The kids don't know there aren't any levels to the management system, so we can alter and tinker whenever it is needed.

As for the 4th/5th grade standard cards...I have them completed and am working with a photographer to make the images for the cards (that way I own the image and not microsoft....legal garbarge).

And as for the translation, please send them my way. I'd love to include them in the packet...if that is okay with you.



So, hey Jay, what do you say about reintroducing or refining the things we introduced in the first month? Experiences?

BTW , Jay did you come up with the CA Standards cards you were planning.. like 4th grade?

Oh I had our Translators make me a Spanish set of the Practice Notes (going home). Next year... Happy to share. [/quote]

I will dig up your email and send you the Spanish translations. I asked the translators to keep the humorous/pleasant tone. I think it works but do get a second opinion.
When is the next conference with grade level pullouts? I am in Riverside, CA area. Wish we could have one before we go back to school for the new year.

I am a new fifth grade teacher as well. I am new to my school and was shocked that they gave me the most challenging class in fifth grade (Most of my other friends who came in with me got Third Grade). Even before I went in, I have heard that the class has a reputation of being rowdy and many of the students were involved in disciplinary cases.

So now I have been with the class for a month and some of them are starting to show their ugly true colours. Misbehaviours include walking around while lesson is going on, chit-chatting to each other while I am talking in front and the list goes on. Many a time homework was not done or done in a can't-be-bothered way.

My school is big on cooperative learning and I have been watching some of the Power Teaching videos. Seems like the techniques such as 'Teach! Okay' works well when the teacher is delivering an important concept/formula (Maths) but how do I get it to work during group work? Or while I am going through questions which they have already done at home?

Tomorrow I will start my class on the Class! Yes and Teach! Okay! rule as well as the scoreboard system. I have read the e-book and it is really enlightening, but I think I will get the class to be comfortable with these two rules first before moving on to the other types of 'games'.

I will be new to fifth grade this year. Last year was 1/2 time in fourth and the year before fulltime third. I am in a small Lutheran school and have just happened to have moved up with my students. I am anxious to see how WBT will work with my students as we are a title I school with lots of struggles! I will have them for the first 3 of 8 periods and then other teachers come to the room for other subjects. (I wonder how that will be. I will let you know.) School starts Wed so we will see how this goes. I like the positive stuff!!

I'm an old hand at fifth grade, 19 years. We are a title school also. If I can be any help, let me know.

Help SEL! I am doing something wrong I think. I think I am not using the scoreboard quite right. I am finding it hard to give points to the students and can think of more times to give teacher points. I am keeping to the no more than 3 rule. If I ask for cleared desks and to stand for pledges could one row earn the class a point for the class instead of trying to get all to comply? I feel I could put a lot more negative points and do not want to do that and so not much is getting on my 5th grade scoreboard. The class/yes is working pretty well. The teach/ okay generally works except I assigned "learning partners" for 2 weeks and I always seem to have some reluctant ones. Do I change daily?? I like it because they seem so much more on task when they are asked to work on reading pages together, etc. than whole class listening to a couple read. I had many of the kids last year and was pleased their first reading story test scores were higher than previous! Also is there anywhere I can get help with hand movememts??

Hi all! I've been using WBT since the beginning of the school year with my 5th graders...my first year in 5th gr as well, having moved up from 2nd grade. I have temporarily put away my scoreboard because I was having a hard time remembering to add points to it and/or having a good idea for the reward. I need some fresh ideas for scoreboard rewards...I was having the kids work for a daily reward...should I go to a weekly reward? Suggestions for those? Any advice would be appreciated!