Super Improvers!

We have been busy these last couple of weeks, and one my the most exciting things was introducing the Super Improver Wall. This is an idea that comes from Whole Brain Teaching, which we have also implemented in the last couple of weeks. On  the wall I have posted 10 levels with fun names like specialist, pro, genius, etc. The kids can work their way up the levels by earning stars on their Super Improver card. It takes 10 stars to move up to the next level. To earn stars, you have to collect "power poms" throughout the day by doing a fantastic job, demonstrating a great effort, or by improving on something (possibly a behavior or rule that needs practiced, improving a test score, etc). 5 power poms=1 star on your Super Improver card. 10 stars=a move up to the next level. When you move to the next level, you get to take your old card home, and you get a different colored card that corresponds to the next level. Level 10 is the "genius" level. Once you reach the top you get your picture posted on the wall, and you get to participate in a special party for "geniuses". It's a great motivator, and you are competing against yourself and constantly trying to improve and work towards your goal. The best part is, there is no real "prize", it's just the satisfaction of knowing that you worked hard and achieved a goal. Now that I like! Check out a picture of our Super Improver wall in action:
Notice all the cards are currently on level 1, so they are all white at this point. They will begin to change colors as kids work their way up the wall.

In addition to the Super Improver wall, we have also been practicing the callbacks for Whole Brain Teaching. We are getting pretty good at "Class-Yes", but we still need to improve our speed!!! It's all about how quickly you can follow directions. And Whole Brain Teaching means you have to be on the ball all. the. time. You can see how well we are doing (or not doing) by checking out our class scoreboard. When the happy face side has more tally marks than the sad face side, we get 1-5 minutes of something fun at the end of the day like a dance party, game time, or extra recess. And the exciting part is....the scoreboard will eventually begin to morph, and the game will change. More on that to come...

In addition to lots of Whole Brain fun, we have also been building our Daily 5 stamina, and working on patterns and problem solving in math. This week we read Diary of a Worm and learned about diaries/journals. I showed them my personal blog so they could get a feel for what a modern diary might look like. They will be getting monthly journals starting next week so they can write about all the fun first grade stuff going on in their lives.

We also started daily problem solving in our math journals, which unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of so I will catch one next week. The kids really loved getting out the linking cubes this week to practice patterns, and we learned the correct mathematical name for the patterns we were creating.

Next week we will introduce word work for Daily 5, and I know the kids are going to be super excited to see the fun word work centers they will be able to choose from! I am also working on some fun math tub games and activities, which we will start using on Fridays. Check back later to catch the fun!