The WBT Infinite Scoreboard

If you haven’t done so yet, it’s time to introduce the WBT Scoreboard to your class!

The first day I use the Scoreboard, I have it illustrated on the white board at the front of the classroom with a Frownie face and a Smiley face. I want students to focus their attention there for the initial instruction. I will show them my portable Scoreboard later.

Teacher: Class! (clap,clap) Class!

Students: Yes! (clap, clap) Yes!

Teacher: You are amazing students! You have already learned Class-Yes and Rule 1!  I think you’re ready for the Scoreboard game! Tell the person next to you with great happiness, “I’m ready for the Scoreboard game! Are you ready for the Scoreboard game?”

Students: (turning to each other with great happiness and big smiles) I’m ready for the Scoreboard game! Are you ready for the Scoreboard game?

Teacher: Classity, Class!

Students: Yessity, Yes!

Teacher: All you have to do is KEEP THE SCOREKEEPER HAPPY!! I’m the Scorekeeper! Tell your neighbor the Scorekeeper is the teacher!!

Students: The Scorekeeper is the teacher!!

Teacher: Class! Oh, wonderful class!

Students: Yes! Oh, wonderful yes!

Teacher: Today, we are playing for more or less recess! Say, “I can dig it!

Students: I can dig it!

Teacher: I will put a tally mark under the Smiley face when you are doing something that keeps me happy! When I put a mark under the Frownie, that means you are doing something that doesn’t keep me happy. Tell your neighbor, “We want Smilies!”

Students: We want Smilies!

Teacher: When I mark a Smiley, I will say Mighty Oh, yeah! As soon as I lift my marker off the board, you need to QUICKLY clap your hands and shout, “Oh, yeah!” (Show students the gesture and practice it several times together. Model the right way and wrong way. Don’t assume they know the right way!)
When I mark a Frownie, I will say Mighty Groan! As soon as I lift my marker off the board, you need to QUICKLY lift your shoulders to your ears and give a very fast “Ugh!” (Show students the gesture and practice it together. Again, model the right way and wrong way. Don’t assume they know the right way!)

Rule 1 Practice

Teacher: To begin the Scoreboard game, what keeps me happy is a class that can follow Rule 1! What doesn’t keep me happy is a class that doesn’t follow Rule 1! (Using the Scoreboard, give more Rule 1 practice)

“Stand up…Too slow!...Mighty Groan…Sit down!...A little slow…another Mighty Groan…Now you have to be really fast…Stand up! Great job!...Mighty Oh, yeah!...Rule 1!...Not enough gesture!...Mighty Groan!...

Again, remind students they have to wait for you to lift that marker off the board before they clap their hands quickly with an, “Oh, yeah!” When you mark a Frownie, they need to hear you say, “Mighty Groan!” before they very quickly raise their shoulders to their ears and make a very fast “Ugh!”

The +/- 3 Rule is a must with the score. Never let the difference between Frownie tallies and Smiley tallies be more than 3! If the game is too easy, or too hard to win, your students will lose interest! Smilies are not easily given, which makes students work very hard to earn them. You control the score to heighten the engagement! By using the Scoreboard consistently throughout the day, and emphasizing that the students in your class work as a team to support each other, student participation will stay high!

Want a fast way to energize your class and your Scoreboard? Use Ping Pong! Students and teachers LOVE this Power Boost!

Extremely important note: Smilies can be earned as a result of even one student’s special efforts, but a Frownie may only be given for a Team mistake, not an individual error. We never chastise or punish an individual student before their peers.

The Scoreboard will be a constant in your room all year! I let my students know that in order to earn a Smiley mark, they will need to work as hard as 4th graders! I ask them if they think they can do it, and they always answer, Yes! So we model what 4th graders look like when they are learning, lining up, using Mirror Words, etc. You will be amazed at how hard they will work for that 4th grade mark! Here is an image of a 3^rd grade Scoreboard:

A complete explanation of the multiple levels of the Scoreboard can be seen at http://wholebrainteaching.com/intermediate/scoreboard/