Whole Brain Teaching

     Well....I am finally doing it! My first post on Third Grade Thinkers! 
As I was contemplating what to post, I was thinking about all the great things the 3rd graders have been doing so far in the year--- they know: how to make inferences, tell a 5-finger retell, all about adjectives, nouns, and verbs, rhyming words, poetry, everything about multiplication, division, place value, predators and prey, habitats, pollution, parts of a plant, the transformation of a butterfly....the list goes on and on! We have even started our Boot Camp!
     Clearly, it was a tough decision trying to figure out what to post. Well, I decided on the topic that I am MOST excited about for the whole year...Whole Brain Teaching!
     General Delk and Mrs. Jackson were lucky enough to attend SIOP Training and brought back a few things regarding Whole Brain Teaching. I read a little about this topic last year, but only enough to incorporate small pieces into daily routine. Well- I was PUMPED about what they had learned and decided that I was going to go into it full force!
     I am not going to try to explain Whole Brain Teaching in one post, but I did take a picture of a small part of the idea- here is a picture of the classroom rules and classroom procedures that go along with Whole Brain Teaching.

    The top row has procedures/routines that we do throughout the day- Class? Yes!; Hands and Eyes; Teach! Okay!; Mirror; and Switch. All of these are pieces of the Whole Brain puzzle that keeps our children engaged and interested throughout the lesson. 
   The bottom row has our classroom rules: 1. Follow directions quickly, 2. Raise your hand for permission to speak, 3. Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat, 4. Make smart choices, and 5. Keep your dear teacher happy :) My kids like Rule #5.  Each day, one student will come to the front of the class and lead our classroom rules. Each rule has a body/hand motion to go along with the words.
    This is just a small part of Whole Brain Teaching, but we will continue to post about this exciting new way of teaching for the teachers of Third Grade Thinkers! 

     If you would like to find out more about Whole Brain Teaching, you can go to their website at www.wholebrainteaching.com.
    Also, I am currently reading The Whole Brain Child, by Seigel and Bryson. This book is a great read for anyone who is part of a child's life- parents, teachers, aunts/uncles, grandparents, babysitters, etc.