It would be easy to get frustrated when you are beginnig to use teach...okay with second graders. When adapting WBT techniques for second graders, I have been really breaking down each step in the Teach Okay Process. Since this is really, Think, Pair, Share, I started by telling them to think about what they were going to say. I demonstrate what gestures they might use as they are sharing. Then, I remind them to be knee to knee ( I call it partner knees,) to remind them to face each other. THEN, I do teach..okay. Then I go around quickly saying, good gestures, goo partner knees,more gestures, etc.

Slowly, my students are now becoming more active participants when doing teach...okay. Powerful stuff!!

Well it's been @ 3weeks since last post. I read another great post @listing the definition of a great partner with the students. I did this today before we started our lessons for the day.They chanted the qualities. 1. Look and listen. 2. Loud voices. 3. Help 4. Big gestures. After the kids rehearsed them with gestures we got to work. Their partner work was much better. I heard students give specific cues to their partners like louder please and make more gestures.

That is so awesome! I may have to "borrow" those good partner qualities from ya!

Happy Teaching

Farrah Shipley
2010-2011
WBT Intern
Texas

What a geat way to compare it to cooperative learning. This explaination might also help teachers with using the "teach/okay". I have shared Jackie's blog, which discusses cooperative learning and WBT, with several teachers who use a lot of cooperative learning strategies. Some teachers believe that you can't use WBT if you follow cooperative learning. However; I agree with you, you are really doing cooperative learning when you teach with WBT. Afterall, how much more cooperative can you be. Plus you have the huge benefit of not having to prepare all the little game cards etc. that sometimes goes along with implementing cooperative strategies.

I like the fact that you have adapted terms older teachers have heard before and made the connection to WBT, yes!

I have copied the "rules 1-4" K...mentioned in her post and thought wouldn't that make a great mini scoreboard. During teach/ok reward smilies and frownies when students follow these rules then add these to the "big" scoreboard as a motivator. Would this help the teach/ok process?

Annette

Question about teach-okay...are both students talking at the same time or does one partner listen while the other is speaking and using gestures? I would then say "switch" and students repeat "switch". While watching the videos, it seems that both students are talking! I've tried it both ways...just wanted the correct WBT way.

Karen

Both ways are correct. It depends on what you want your students to do. It is like you using Mirror/words with your class. If you want both partners talking, one partner would teach/gesture while the other is mirroring with words. If you don't want them both to be talking, then set it up by saying partner one teaches while partner two mirrows with gestures only. When you say switch then partner two would teach while partner one mirrors with gestures only. I use both methods depending on the day, skill, mood of the group.

Regarding who talks when in Teach..Okay....If I don't specify partner a or b, I take a listen as I monitor. If I notice only 1 partner doing all the talking, I'll call out switch.

In second grade though, I do believe that it is important to use the partner a/b approach because they are still learning how to interact correctly with their partners, especially if this is their first year of WBT. Also, it gets them going if they are reluctant to speak.

Another thing that I am beginning to do as I try to figure out how to create a quality WBT lesson for second graders is that I explicitely make a word box of the gestures and vocabulary that the partners should be using as they teach. It is much like the idea of making a word box for beginning writers to draw upon. I am hoping that this will improve the quality of their partner teaching.

Karen Chavez

Have you checked the Power Pix for second grade math and com arts? I don't know if you are making up all the gestures for what you are teaching or not, but the Power Pix have most of the core concepts in these two subject ares with the gestures and lesson plans done for you. I am using the Com Arts Power Pix from K-3rd grade with my small reading groups. It is so nice to have everything there ready for you. The Power Pix comes with a poster for each core concept that includes a title of the concept, a graphic, the opening question, the answer, and the gesture to be used all printed right there on the 8 1/2 X 11 size poster. My reading room has a lot of them and the students use them when gesturing. (I agree about assigning partner a/b to teach first with these younger ones. It just makes life easier.)