Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Spring! Spring! Spring!

Happy Spring Everyone! It's a beautiful season for reflecting on the blessings of Life!!

Third Quarter has ended! We're rounding the corner of the School Year and heading into the Infamous Fourth Quarter! Scary and exciting in the same breath!! If you're reading this and wondering if there's still time to jump into Whole Brain Teaching, I have three words for you...YES! YES! YES! It is Never too late to start! There are some great videos in the Video Library at www.wholebrainteaching.com to help you, or send me questions also.

Test Prep and Test Simulation are very important for your class. Students need to know content, but they also need to understand how to solve! Test questions come in a variety of forms, so being able to read a variety of Directions and Test Vocabulary is a crucial element of test taking strategies. Prove It!, #506 in the Video Library mentioned above has some excellent suggestions you can use to help your students recognize Kinds of questions and strategies to solve. If you're using the Super Improvers Wall, use it to encourage good testing habits during your practice testing sessions. For example, give the students a goal for that session such as simply bubbling neatly. "I really like how neatly Mary is filling in her bubbles today." Then put a star on her card. They may not have the strong interest in that State Test, but they do want those stars on that Wall! The simple step of completing the test neatly "Slows" the student down in order to avoid careless mistakes. You're looking for visible effort by your students that they are using testing strategies to analyze each question and answer carefully during practice sessions. Then you give them that star! Practicing the strategies helps students use them more automatically during THE TEST when you have to step back and "Let them go!" Telling your students to "Do your best!" is not nearly as helpful as saying it and knowing they have a "back pocket" full of testing strategies they can choose from! Help them fill those pockets!!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Fasten Your Seat Belts!!!!

Coach B has been very busy "greasing" those Electronic Superspeed Tracks for an amazing Spring season of Fun and Learning!! Just when I thought Electronic SuperSpeed 100 was the "Cherry on Top", Coach premiers Electronic SuperSpeed 1000 featuring Nightmare Roller Coaster! Using 1000 words presented in colorful power point slides, arranged by order of frequency in the English language, my students are able to build word recognition and fluency in a fun, engaging activity that encourages success for all! But wait! There's more! Coach has now released SuperSpeed Rhymes! Oh, yeah! Phonics and literacy skill builders never looked so beautiful and so powerful as they do in these series of power point slides! 3PEAT with me, "FLUENCY! FLUENCY! FLUENCY!" But wait! There's more! I know! You better put that shoulder harness on too!! "SUPERSPEED GRAMMAR!" This latest "Coach B Created Program" takes students into the world of "Parts of Speech" from nouns to appositives, helping each student to identify, use correctly, and generate original, complex sentences! My class can't get enough of the variety of activities these programs allow me to utilize as I weave the Golden Thread of Fun through an amazing myriad of learning experiences. Usually, at this time of year, it's not uncommon to see students drifting off into their dreams of the approaching Spring Vacation! The class can reflect lethargic to extreme hyperactive qualities, which I find very challenging and tiring . These Speed games are definitely the antithesis to this age old problem. Keep those "Tracks" greased, Coach! The line of students waiting to ride is growing by the minute!!
For your FREE copies of these amazing programs, go to www.wholebrainteaching.com. Your class will never be the same!