WBT Basics provides a simple starting point for teachers new to Whole Brain Teaching. Beginning with Class-Yes, the Attention Getter, each of the steps around the instructional circle are described in the sections below.
Deliver a lesson by cycling through our teaching pattern, over and over.
- Start with the Attention Getter (Class-Yes). You can't teach if you don't have your students' attention.
- Activate the Brain Engager (Mirror Words). Choose how you will deliver content: big gestures, tiny gestures, fast gestures, slow motion, etc. The variations are endless!
- Speak using gestures for about one minute of Direct Instruction, talking only about one new point. Breaking your lesson into Lesson Chunks means you only present one new point at a time. When combined with the next step in the cycle, you ensure students understand this one new point before moving on to the next.
- Employ Collaborative Learning (Teach Ok) as students teach their neighbor your lesson using gestures. You will move through the classroom during this, assessing if your pupils are ready for a new lesson chunk or need to review.
Use the WBT Basics circle to give directions, teach content, improve writing ability, polish reading talents ... any classroom activity. Get your students Attention (Class Yes), choose a Brain Engager (Mirror Words), teach for about one minute on one new topic (Lesson Chunks), then have students teach their neighbor what you just taught them (Teach Ok). Then call students back with a Class Yes...and around and around the cycle you go.
Your ultimate goal is to have students leading the class through this cycle, becoming Whole Brain Teaching Student Leaders.
Beginners can use 3" x 5" cards to structure their presentation.
Deliver point #1 on each card, then point # 2 and so on. Update card #3 with each new lesson.
Explore these three links: Classroom Rules , a video demonstrating the Rules' gestures... and a Superb video from a Louisiana third grade classroom demonstrating the One Minute Lesson.
Click here to see the more examples of One Minute Lessons and how to organize an entire lesson with the the Five Step Lesson Plan!
How do I get my students' attention? - The Attention Getter
When you want your students' attention say, "Class!" They respond, "Yes!" For variety, if you say "Class Bazinga!," they respond, "Class Bazinga!" Many other variations are possible. "Yo Class!" "Class Shaka Lacka!" "Yada, yada Class!" etc. Approximately one in five times that you employ the Attention Getter, substitute an entertaining variation.
A second, important feature of the Attention Getter is that when students respond, they fold their hands and look at you. Never scold when kids fail to use a WBT technique properly. Scolding means you haven't practiced enough. Use micro-step practice, training kids that when you call "Class," they immediately stop what they're doing, turn and look at the teacher, and folder their hands.
The wackier your variations of the Attention Getter, the more fun for your kids. As a reward for improvement in behavior, and to develop student leadership, make a few students Call Outers. When you point at them and whisper “Class,” they call out their own wacky version of Class-Yes, to gain their classmates’ attention.
How do I get 100% Student engagement? - The Brain Engager
One of education’s most popular and well researched strategies, Direct Instruction, receives a powerful visual and motor cortex amplification with Mirror Words.
You say, "Mirror Words!" and quickly lift your hands. Students respond, "Mirror Words!" and quickly lift their hands. Then, your kids repeat your words and mimic your gestures as you present a lesson.
Once your students are ready, increase the funtricity by adding variety: use voices, change your pitch, use whispers. The more variety, the more fun!
How do I use direct instruction? - The One Minute lesson
Whether you are delivering content or giving directions for an activity, this much is true: the more we talk, the more students we lose.
To deliver your instruction, speak in short chunks using Mirror Words, talking about one new thing for only one minute. The key is to speak briefly and make engaging gestures. Explain this one new thing in different ways using varied voice and gestures, while students repeat.
Using memory gestures for concepts powerfully engages a student’s motor and visual cortices, thus helping to build stronger memories. When you say "fraction" hold one fist on top of the other. Waggle the top fist when you say, "numerator", waggle your bottom fist when you say, "denominator." To access hundreds of gestures and illustrations for core concepts, explore our Power Pix.
When you're finished delivering your lesson, say, "Mirrors Off" and students repeat "Mirrors off."
How do I turn my students into teachers? - Collaborative Learning
Teach-Okay is WBT's version of Collaborative Learning. Simple as pie ... speak briefly, not much more than 2-4 sentences; clap twice and exclaim "Teach!" Your kids clap twice and exclaim, "Okay!" Then, they turn to their neighbors, use big gestures, and paraphrase what you said. Paraphrasing, of course, is a key intellectual skill. Kids don’t truly understand lessons until they can translate what they’ve heard into their own words.
The Teacher in a student pair summarizes your lesson and makes explanatory gestures. The Student mirrors the Teacher’s gestures. Thus, it is easy to spot off-task kids … they aren’t moving!! Simply stand beside them, whisper, “Big gestures, please!”
As you walk around the room, checking comprehension, you'll know whether to repeat your lesson, or go on to the next point.
We can’t judge students’ understanding by their facial expressions. Too often we are shocked during assessments when we discover how little of our lessons kids absorbed. In place of testing every few months or even every week, in WBT we evaluate student understanding every 60 seconds. Walk the room, check comprehension by listening to students paraphrase your last concept.
Occasionally replace two claps with an entertaining transition. For example, do a disco move or rub your head and pat your belly or stamp your feet … and then say “Teach!” Your class imitates your wackiness and says, “Okay!” If they are laughing, you’ve given them an engagement increasing, Funtricity jolt.
WBT Basics Upgrades
