Friday, July 29, 2011

Back to School letter arrives...

Yesterday, the mailman brought me the 2011-2012 Back to School letter! Summer is coming to a close and the new school year is almost ready to be in full swing. Where does the time go? I am excited for the new school year and all the new WBT strategies that my students will be using everyday!

As I head to my classroom this weekend, I will be printing off the new Designing your Whole Brain Teaching Model Classroom eBook, so I can get busy creating my model classroom! The biggest problem to solve is where to put my Power Pix, since my classroom does not have huge ,empty wall spaces and only one bulletin board.

As you begin to think about the new school year, visit http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/ to download your FREE eBook and begin creating your model classroom!

Laura Caisse
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

Monday, July 18, 2011

Summer Conference (West Plains, MO) tidbit: Prove It!

I was unable to attend the Midwest Conference in West Plains, MO, but I did have three of my team members who attended the conference, and were more than willing to fill me in on what they came away from the conference eager to use in their classrooms!

School districts across the USA give mandatory state assessments each year, whether we like it or not! Teachers are always looking for ways to incorporate daily review and master test taking strategies, instead of cramming the last few weeks prior to testing. I am excited to share with you, WBT has just that strategy, which of course will be highly motivating, engaging, and take your students to the next level in their learning! What is it called you ask? It is called.......Prove It!!

Prove It is a review strategy that students will play for 20 minutes each day! They will spend 10 minutes for math and 10 minutes for language arts. Teachers will provide students with sample test questions (multiple choice) and students will need to prove why the correct answer is correct, as well as, why the other answer choices are wrong. This strategy allows the teacher to guide instruction and correct any misconceptions that the students may have about the problems and answers. Students are also sharing answers within their groups, so peer leaders are being utilized as well.

What a great way to have fun learning and reviewing each and every day! For more information on Prove It! download FREE the eBook: Designing Your Whole Brain Teaching Model Classroom at http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/

Laura Caisse
WBT Intern, 2011-2012

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Summer Vacation: Sharing WBT..You never know where!!

Educators love to share and it is so easy to share with others about WBT. As you begin to share, the excitement comes bubbling out of you and before you know it, others are excited, too! I just returned from being on vacation and as you head out on vacation, be ready to share WBT, as you never know who you will meet. One morning at the pool, I met a couple from Pennsylvania. As the conversation continued, I learned that the couple were retired educators (retired principal and high school math teacher for five years) and they had three daughters that were in education as well. The door was open, so I asked if they had ever heard of WBT. To my shock, they had not heard of WBT, but were very interested in the information and said they would research and share when they got home! WBT here comes another convert! All the resources are available at http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/

On a side note, tomorrow I will have my final conference call and my PhD journey will be complete!!! Then I will have so much more time to focus on WBT and the upcoming school year! I can't wait!

Share away,

Laura Caisse
WBT Intern 2011-2012