Good morning, guys! (Or Good Afternoon/Good Evening.... )

Here's another question I've had floating around in my head.

What kind of format do you use for Lesson Planning with WBT?

I learned the Madline Hunter method in University, and usually tend to stick with that (or did, anyways).

I was wondering, because we're always checking for comprehension and always modeling (which are big deals in my district)

I realize that Checking for Understanding is also done as you walk around the room and observe. Does anyone have anything else that they specifically do?

And what about Independent Practice?

Thanks a bunch in advance! (I've just been GO-GO-GO!! with planning as of yesterday!)

Hello,
Here's how my typical lessons go...
1. Warm-ups (5 to 8 minutes)... when students enter the room they get their warm-up paper out and begin the 2-4 problems that are on the board.
2. The Lesson... This takes up most of the class time. I usually have students take out a blank piece of paper for them to write specific notes on. They write any important formulas or vocabulary terms on the upper half of their paper. During this time I try to incorporate gestures to help them remember the formulas or terms. After they learn the gestures, I usually have them do the "Teach-Okay" method with their partner. Sometimes I will put a problem on the board and ask them to show me what type of problem it is using the gestures I taught them. This is a nice way to check for understanding. I sent Chris Biffle a video of what this looks like in a high school class. I think he is going to post it on the website soon... so keep checking back to see what I'm talking about. After introducing key terms and formulas, I usually practice some problems with the kids. Sometimes I use individual dry erase boards (great for checking for understanding) and sometimes I have them write it below their notes on their paper. I usually spend about 20-30 minutes practicing problems with them.
3. Independent practice... some days I have 10-15 minutes for them to begin their independent classwork/homework and some days they have no time... it just depends on the topic.

I don't know if this format has a name... it just makes sense... warm-up, lesson (must be interactive & engaging), practice problems. By the way... I'm a math teacher... so for me it is especially important to spend a lot of time practicing all of the types of problems they will see in their homework.

I hope this is helpful... please write back if you have more questions.
~Kristin

Hi again, Kristin!

Thank you so much for sharing how you create your lessons with me. Just FYI, this will be my sixth year teaching French, so I'm really excited!

I'm rather lucky, actually, as the new text I picked out last year actually comes with lesson plans, per-se. Howver, since this is my first time WBT-ing, I've actually scripted out my first two days so far, and practicing. (Gotta' get those cues down pat & know what I'm doing!)

I'm not sure if French One students will have "much" of a warm-up the first few days like Twos will (set of pre-made questions for them to ask & answer to during five minutes or so). We did this last year (07-08), and it really helped the students' speaking ability, so I'm going to re-instate it this year.

I had my students keep a Binder this past year (08-09) as a requirement. In it, I had a notes section for them, so they could take notes easily during the micro-lectures. Also, our text comes with vocabulary lists, so I generally have them printed off and ready to distribute to students. We also use the small 2-3 minute videos that come with the text as well for vocabulary demomnstration and grammatical concepts.

I guess it would be a little bit different from teaching math in that the book is organized into sections like such:

Vocabulaire 1
Grammaire 1
Application 1
Culture
Vocabulaire 2
Grammaire 2
Application 2
Prépare-toi pour l'examen! (Prepare yourself for the test!)
Lecture & Ecriture (Reading & Writing)
Test Days

Last year, I taught in that order, and it works for me. (Thinking of putting Reading & Writing after the test days. Perhaps I can do a game with these sections?) The vocabulary sections are rather large. Most likely, we'd be spending a lot of time acting out the vocabulary and completing the exercises in the text. We use whiteboards a LOT! The students (for the most part) absolutely love them. I also wouldn't mind including the SuperSpeed reading game in there for the top 100 French words, and an altered version of the SuperSpeed math for vocab practice for each section. We could do these at the end of the period, as suggested.


Okay, so as a basic run-down of any day and any level of French, I'm thinking of doing it like so:

42 minute period template:
1.) Greet-time & Spoken Warm-Up(5 min)
2.) Brief review with Teach-OK (rules and/or contet from previous lesson) (5 min)
3.) Objective for the day with various gestures/input, etc. (10 mins)
4.) Review current objectives with Teach-OK (2 mins)
5.) Guided Practice (miming, whiteboards, get up and speak, etc.) (15 mins)
6.) Wrap-Up and games, time permitting (4 mins)
7.) Good-bye routine (Very simple- stand up, tuck in chairs & say Au Revoir!) (1 min)

I can't wait to see your video! I'd really love to see what this looks like in High School, besides what I'm thinking of doing.

How do you manage their independent practice? (This is something I'm just not quite that good at yet.) Also, do you use the games in your classes? How do your students react to them (if you do)?

~Katie

Katie,

I also teach math, but my lesson plans look very simillar to yours. On days with heavy independent practice, or when I want them to work with their group on an activity, we do the following:

Review the previous days lesson using teach/okay
Go over the directions to the activity use teach/okay
When I want them to get to work, I put up a timer and they do a "work/okay" and I expect everyone to be focused and on task during that time frame, when the time is up, I will issue scoreboard points.

*If I notice during independent practice that they are having trouble with a concept, I will stop the timer and and we will re-teach using teach/okay.

I use tons of games in class, they love Mind Soccer - we have a rough cut of a video on YouTube, if you search Mind Soccer, and a lot of other games. We play games atleast once a week, sometimes more often. I have a a large catalog of vocabulary games and review games, email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you need any.

Bonjour, Madame S!

Thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate it!

I will definitely be emailing you for those games. I always love to learn new ones and find out which games students enjoy the best (and then try to use 'em!).

I really like the way you've structured the Independent Work with WBT. It makes the instructions clear, sets a goal within a time limit, and you can also do some informal assessment. Bonus! (I have a long-ring kitchen timer in my desk drawer for just such occasions. )

So, two questions for you , Madame:

1.) How long are your periods?

2.) When you do the weekly games (I used to do this too, I think during 06-07 until the kids got tired of it and it kinda faded...), how long do you dedicate for the game? The entire period? Half?

Merci beaucoup!
~Katie

Hi Katie,
It looks like you have a GREAT plan. My suggestion is try it and then adapt what you need to adapt. That's the great thing about WBT... you use what works for you! I have used SuperSpeed with math formulas... the students like it... but I need to do it more often. I have also played Mind Soccer. They also liked that. My problem is that I didn't start doing Mind Soccer until the end of the year and I didn't have a pile of quick questions for them to answer. This year I'm going to try to create 5-10 simple, short-answer questions (ones that don't require much computation), for each section. That way I will accumulate a pile of questions as the year progresses.

The game that I play the most often I call the "White Board Game." Each student has an individual whiteboard. They are in groups of 4. They write either an A, B, C, or D in the upper right-hand corner of their board. There are usually 3 groups on a team (each row... front, middle, back... is a team). Students are allowed to help those in their GROUP, but not other GROUPS on their TEAM. I then write a question on the board and give them a time limit. When the time is up I call either A, B, C, or D and that student has to hold their white board up. Since they do not know what letter I am going to call, EVERYONE should have the work on their board. Since there are 3 groups on a team, it is possible to get 3 points for each question if every group gets it correct. Since I only have to look at 3 boards in each row, it doesn't take long to keep the game moving quickly. If I were to check every board, that would be difficult and slow. This game often produces great conversation among the students since they try to help anyone in their group who doesn't know how to solve the problem.

As for managing independent practice, there's not much I do. If I finish my lesson early I allow my students time to start working on their homework. I actually call it classwork/homework so they can't say "It's homework so I'm going to do it at home!" Sometimes I suggest problems (the harder ones) to try first so that if they get stuck they can ask me or their neighbor for help. The only monitoring I do during this time is to walk around the room answering questions.

Also, the VIDEO is posted on You Tube now. If you type in "Whole Brain Teaching" you will see it... it says HIGH SCHOOL next to it. Enjoy!

~Kristin

graphite_quill wrote:


My class periods are about 55 minutes, I will send you some of my games this week. I use Mind Soccer almost every Friday, but only for about 5-10 minutes, they have an ongoning game, that lasts until the first team gets 5 points, then we declare a champion and restart.

Other games I have are used for anywhere from 20 - 40 minutes. I rotate in different games, for practicing concepts, usually only once a week, sometimes it is every other week, it just depends on how much practice we need. Mind Soccer is the only gaurenteed game, and it is short, so they look forward to playing, the other games have to be worked in for needed practice.

Kristin,
I just watched your class video on youtube. That's fabulous! On the first day, you obviously teach them Class-yes, scoreboard, north-south, speak. Do you always have the students mirror each other when they are doing "speak"? Is the video 9th grade?
Thanks so much.
Nimmy

Hi Nimmy,
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Yes, on the first day I teach them "Class-Yes, North-South (or you can do 1's and 2's... my room just happens to face North-South and I think it's good for kids to know where North is!), "Teach-Okay" (I don't use speak), and the scoreboard. To first introduce all of those concepts I have them learn the class rules (with gestures). Yes, I always have the kids mirror each other when they are doing "Teach-Okay." That way, it is hard for them to talk about something other than what I ask because they have a hard time talking about the upcoming dance party while making math gestures at the same time! Fortunately, they aren't that coordinated! I also use "Work-Okay..." I made that up myself. I use "Work-Okay" when I want them to do independent work on a math problem for a minute or two WITHOUT talking to their neighbor. As for the video, since I teach high school, my class ranges from 9th-11th grade. In the class that you watched, most of them are 10th graders, but there are a few freshman, and also some behind-grade-level juniors! Please continue to post any time you have questions. I hope you are having a nice summer!
Take care,
Kristin

Kristin,
I am a dinosaur teacher but am really interested in the WBT approach. I am planning on using this method in the fall with my low level algebra one students. What type of gestures would you use when teaching some of the basic algebra skills like solving equations, simplifying expressions, exponent laws, etc.

Pam

A couple of my newer less experienced teachers have asked:

Are there any special "extras" or perhaps more detail in creating lesson plans for WBT than in a traditional classroom style? Especially in preparation for micro-lecture.

If so... WHAT? Any hints or ideas will be very helpful.

Good morning, Jason!

When I plan for teaching with Whole Brain Teaching, I find I have to script exactly what I want to say out. (I'm the kind of person who needs to write things down or I'll forget them.) As well, I tend to write out which French commands I intend on using- it helps me to plan for the day's lesson as well.

However, having used WBT before, re-introducing it today and throughout the next week to my classes shouldn't be that difficult. Here's what I've put on my index card (prompts for me) today:

WBT gestures & prompts
1.) Classe-Oui (vary & practice a lot!)
2.) 5 class rules w/gestures
3.)Allez -> D'accord! (Teach-Okay)
*Review all of the aboce w/Allez!-D'accord!*
4.)Scoreboard w/Zut-Ah, ouais!
5.)Mains et Yeux! (*wiggle fingers & point to eyes, fold hands infront of you*)
6.)Faites le mirroir! (*hold up hands beside your face*)
7.)Changez! (whoop!whoop! *circle finger in the air to signal change*)

As I get into leson planning more with WBT, I will share with you how I will combine my district's required template with the WBT techniques I intend to do. It will most likely be very scripted because that works for me.

The beauty of WBT is that you can combine it with any type of lesson plan- you just may want to write out your actions and gestures ahead of time.

Okay, Jason...

Here's my personal scripted version of WBT I plan on using tomorrow with my largest class of the day when I teach them the future tense. Please remember that this is scripted, because it is what I need. I have written this seperatly from the required district template. I hope this helps!

Future Tense, the WBT way:

Objective: We’re going to conjugate verbs in the Future tense *bounce fingers in open palm from cheek twice* today. Turn to your neighbour and tell them, “Talking about the future is going to be easy!” *thumbs up*
Allez-d’accord! (1 min)

Classe-oui!
First key point: The future tense uses verbs in the infinitive. Model me, please! Hold up both hands. An infinitive is a verb with (ASL, both hands) ER, IR, and RE on the end. (repeat 1x, if needed) Show your neighbor what a French infinitive looks like using ASL.
Allez-d’accord! (30 sec) Changez! If you were listening AND gesturing, now it’s your turn to model! (30 sec)

Classe-oui!
Second key point: The future tense is formed by adding the following endings onto the infinitive- Model me, please! -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont. I remember this because they’re just like the verb avoir. Show your neighbor what the future tense endings are using ASL.
Allez-d’accord! (30 sec) Changez! If you were listening AND gesturing, it’s your turn to model! (30 sec)

Classe-oui!
Third key point: RE verbs lose their E in the Future tense. Model me, please! Make an R and an E. *bounce RE as you speak* RE verbs lose their E *drop ASL E* in the future tense. Show your neighbor what happens to RE verbs in the future tense!
Allez-d’accord! (30 sec) Changez! If you were listening AND gesturing, it’s your turn to model! (30 sec)

Classe-oui!
Guided Practice: We’re going to conjugate a few verbs in the Future Tense *bounce fingers in open palm from cheek twice*. I’m going to give you the subject pronoun, and I want YOU *gesture @ them* to SHOW and SPELL the endings using the letters we modeled. Ready? (Oui!)

Future Tense Verb conjugations:
1. J’aimerai
2. Tu chanteras
3. Il commencera
4. Elle dansera
5. Nous demanderons
6. Vous détesterez
7. Ils écouteront
8. Elles étudieront

9. Je jouerai
10. Tu mangeras
11. Il nagera
12. Elle parlera
13. Nous penserons
14. Vous regarderez
15. Ils travailleront
16. Elles trouveront

17. Je visitera
18. Tu voleras
19. Il habitera
20. Elle attendra
21. Il entendra
22. Nous perdrons
23. Vous répondrons
24. Ils vendront
25. Elles rendront
26. Je rendrai visite à
27. Tu préféreras
28. Il répétera
(I can cut this list short, if I feel they’ve got it.)

Classe-oui!
Independent Practice: While listening to the Cyclope version of Hymne à l’amour, I want you to circle *circling motion* all of the verbs you see in the future tense *bounce fingers in open palm from cheek twice*. Turn to your neighbor and model what you need to do while listening to the song.
Allez-d’accord! (30 sec) Changez! If you were listening AND gesturing, it’s your turn to model! (30 sec)

Classe-oui!
Get ready to écoutez *shhh sign* et encirclez *circling*! When I say écoutez, I want you to hold up your finger and say, “Shhhh!!”
Ecoutez ! Shhhhh !!

PLAY HYMNE A L’AMOUR BY CYCLOPE

Classe-Oui!

If you were able to find examples of the future tense *bounce fingers in open palm from cheek twice*, show me the sign for “oui” (ASL A, “nodding back and forth”).
*ASL yes*
When I throw the koosh ball to you, please tell me your example, and how you were able to tell it was a verb in the future tense. Please sign your letters! I’ll help you if you get stuck.

Throw koosh ball to students who have their hand raised to call out their examples & ask them how they could tell it was the future tense.

Classe-Oui!
Before you leave today, I would like five *hold up 5 fingers* things you are going to do tonight using the future on a scrap piece of paper. Give them *palm up, wiggle all fingers together* to me before you walk *walking gesture* out the door *point to door*. Turn to your partner and tell them what you need to do before leaving.
Allez-d’accord!

Classe-Oui!
Please write down the five things *hold up 5 fingers* you are going to do tonight.
Allez-d’accord!

When announcements play:
Classe-Oui!
Ecoutez! Ssshhhhh!!

Hope this helps!

I just want to give you a Boomshakalaka for how awesome your lesson plan is!!!! It is so nicely laid out and it utilizes WBT well!! I read it through and I think I could teach your class!! Thanks for sharing!


Liann

graphite-quill

While going over earlier posts and realized that I did not respond to your gracious and very complete lesson plan post. I have copied it and now use it in teacher training as an example.

THANK YOU!

Jason

I also have to script out EVERYTHING! This is my first year as a whole brain teacher and I have simply started with the Class! Yes!, and will move on to teach/okay very soon. Scoreboard starts tomorrow! Give me an OH YEAH! RAWR!

Jaman,

I'm just wondering how your class is going with WBT? I see that you started just over a month ago.

Roxi,
WBT Intern, 2011/12

I have been so busy, I haven't been able to post here on the forums, or even think about beginning a blog! LOL

It is going well. I still have some students that don't buy into it, however they aren't disruptive and they DO participate, just not very enthusiastically. I teach chemistry, so trying to come up with some of the gestures has been... challenging, to say the least! There are also things that are almost impossible to teach with WBT methodology, such as the historical aspects of atomic theory. With that being said... what I have done is pretty much what Chris did with his college class. No gestures, just telling each other about the experiments, and making the connections between their experiments and the advancement of the atomic models.

I can't say I've seen much of an increase on quiz scores... but that's to be expected, really. Chemistry is difficult, abstract, and my students aren't really good about studying outside of class, nor are they good at making inferences from the material they already know. That being said... my admistrators LOVE it! (This includes a walkthrough of one of the assistant superintendents!) The students are engaged in ACTIVELY learning material, and do very well on the basic knowledge and vocabulary.

This is ALSO the best year I've had yet in teaching electron configuration (the pattern of filling specific orbitals around an atom). They GET IT!! *falls over*


zomg! I'll have to finish this later... I just got a present from my hubby... a brand new LAPTOP!!! WOOHOO!!! *dances off to play with the new toy*

Ok, so it was a couple of weeks ago that I got my new laptop.... and I failed to come back and finish my post. So here's how my typical WBT scripting flows: (This is what I used today in class to introduce The Mole.)

Class! YES!
Today we are going to learn about... The Mole. Gimme an ooo! "oooo!"

The mole is a quantity that we use to count atoms. We count eggs by the... "dozen!" We buy shoes by the... "pair!" So how do we count atoms? We count them by the mole. Turn to your neighbors and tell them about the mole, and how it is like a 'dozen' or a 'pair', a number that we count atoms with.

Teach! OK!

ClassClassClass! YES YES YES!

The mole is a very LARGE number that we use to count atoms that are very small. Because they are so small it takes trillions of them to make a simple period on a piece of paper, we have to use a very large number to count something so small. Tell your neighbor why the number has to be so big.

Teach! OK!
Class! YES!

One mole of anything is 6.02 x 10²³ representative particle of that substance. You can have that many paper clips, that many staplers, that many cars... but of course it wouldn't be possible to put that many of any one thing big enough to see in a room... not even grains of sand. Tell your neighbors what number a mole is, and how you can have a mole of anything.

Teach! OK!
Class! YES!

(I give an example just how enormous this quantity is... and wow them.)

So how are we going to use this in chemistry? Gimme a hmmmmmm... "hmmmmmm"

Well, it just so happens that some of those really smart people figured out that one mole of any element happens to be exactly the same as the atomic mass! How cool is that? "WAY COOL!"

So if we have one mole of Carbon, we'll have 12.001 g of Carbon. And if 12g = 1 mole, then 12g also equals 6.02 x 10²³ atoms of carbon. Gimme an AHHHH! "AHHHH!"
Tell your neighbor how the atomic mass and the mole are related.

TEACH! OK!


And so on and so forth. I found a couple of ASL signs that I use for atoms, elements, etc, and try to use as many guestures as possible, but I'm about as creative as a rock, so I usually have to steal ideas from others.

This is how it works... and I often play The Scoreboard Game for Friday music, or quiz questions, but sometimes I even use Fun Food Friday! and let them bring a snack to eat in the classroom. (It can't be anything messy and NO TRASH can be left behind.)

This has been working very well for me, and the more I use it, the more I am ABLE to use it, if that makes sense. It is becoming easier and easier for me to run without a script, and/or use a powerpoint running in the background to keep my scripting on track.



I hope this gives an idea of how I'm using power teaching in my classroom, and how it can be used in even the most difficult of subjects.

I will say this: They still can't pass the quizzes unless they study, but at least I am doing EVERYTHING in my power to get them to learn the material!

Thank you for this wonderful step-by-step explanation. Love it! So glad to hear how well it is working for you.