WBT Wednesday- Classroom Rules

Updated for 2020

This all still applies but there is a 2020 Rule 5 update! Rule 5 is now "Make our dear team stronger!" See all the gestures, including for the newest Rule 5 HERE

The classroom rules are the first cornerstone to me of Whole Brain Teaching and Step 5 of WBT FastTrack.  Classroom rules are usually one of the first things you teach your class on the first day so they are one thing that is not easily changed after the beginning of the school year. That said if you are looking at this information and it is not the beginning of the year changes are your classroom rules are not working so don't be afraid to switch to these rules. 

The best way to master WBT Basics is to teach the Five Classroom Rules. I LOVE the Five Rules because they cover every possible issue that may come up in class with Rule 4 and Rule 5. 

Here is a great set of Rule posters from the official WBT TpT store with the Diamond Rule and updated Rule 5

 Before the Rule 5 update, I used the posters shown in Chris Biffle AKA Coach B's first book, Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids.

Here is my Diamond Rule Poster

The Amazing Andrea Schindler who is on the WBT executive board and runs the Kindergarten Facebook group showed me one rule I do add, The Big Rule: ALWAYS Listen to your Teacher when they are Talking! This rule is key for our younger ones because they can't follow directions they didn't listen to. Here is a PDF for you to use for The Big Rule, just click HERE to download.

There are many posters on TeachersPayTeachers in different themes. These posters should all be free, just search WBT or Whole Brain Teaching. I like having my posters printed and laminated before the first day. To build community and buy in I have my students share out different ways we can follow the rules and ways we would be breaking the rules to create an anchor chart. You could also create posters with your students and guide them to creating these rules. 

Here are  2 videos on the Rules with the updated Rule 5 with WBT Executive Board member Heidi Martin

WBT Wednesday- Getting ready & First Days

So we have been watching the webcasts, reading the book, reading blog posts and now it is time to get files downloaded, the printer going and planning book open. Time to get ready for the best school year ever!

So what do we NEED to get started with WBT? Here are my must haves to start the year with WBT

1. Need to have some basic knowledge of Whole Brain teaching

Now more than likely you already have this but just in case you are totally new to Whole Brain Teaching I want to be clear that if you haven't visited WholeBrainTeaching.com and downloaded the Ebooks like WBT Quickstart Guide or read the book, Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids you need to do that FIRST.  You don't need to read EVERY ebook or the WHOLE book to get started but the tools like the Scoreboard will only work if you know the basics of how to use them.

2. Pick Rule Posters to download and print

I shared about the 5 rules and the posters I use here . You can find posters to match many themes on TeachersPayTeachers and if they are the WBT rules they should be free. Many of these posters and posters from blogs are pinned in the WBT Basics Pinterest board.

Follow Whole Brain Teachers's board WBT Basics on Pinterest.

3. Pick a place for the Scoreboard and make traveling Scoreboard

The scoreboard can be just a sad face and a happy face made with marker and the travel scoreboard just a 3 x 5 card.

If you want to get fancier there are scoreboards with borders and different icons for Teacher vs Students, Boys vs Girls and such. You can even make a digital scoreboard that you can open on your phone!

http://transitionalkinder.blogspot.com/2020/03/advance-scoreboard.html?m=1

4. Download and print First Day cue cards from Deanna Schumer and Sub cheat sheet 

I mentioned both of these last week and they are great to use as is or help you plan how to introduce everything the first days of school

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/WBT-Sub-Sheet-3253266

5. Download WBT Intro to print or project in class

In my class I use the laptop hooked up to the lcd projecter ALL the time so I use Intro to WBT lessons I was able to create with the fabulous WBT Construction Kit found in the Free Downloads section of wholebrainteaching.com.

There is an Early Education version for PreK-Kinder and a Primary version for 1st-2nd. If you teach 3rd grade or higher I recommend using the original WBT Intro found at wholebrainteaching.com under Free Ebooks in the Common Core section.

The Early Education Edition is a zipped file with PowerPoint and PDF versions of an 84 page presentation based on work from WholeBrainTeaching.com. The presentation will introduce your students to the Five classroom rules and five of Whole Brain Teaching's basic learning techniques:
Class-Yes, Hands and Eyes, Mirror Words, Teach-Okay, and the Scoreboard.

One PowerPoint and PDF contains teacher note on slides to help newbies and experienced Whole Brain Teachers alike teach these lessons. There is also a PowerPoint and PDF that contains no notes on student slides and limited teacher slides for those that prefer.

The Primary Version is a zipped file with PowerPoint and PDF versions of an 103 page presentation. The presentation will introduce your students to the Five classroom rules and five of Whole Brain Teaching's basic learning techniques: Class-Yes, Hands and Eyes, Mirror Words, Teach-Okay, and the Scoreboard AND a lesson on What is a Sentence?


As long as you have 1-3 you will be in great shape to start the year using Whole Brain Teaching but I hope you will find 4 and 5 as helpful as I do. Coach B will be starting up the webcasts soon and will be talking about starting the first day with WBT but until then you can checkout the WBT First Steps playlist on the webcast youtube channel for past webcasts.

Next time will be all about prepping the classroom for what I am calling advance WBT must haves. I do not introduce them the first day but they become the foundation of most lessons and my student discipline so I like to plan where they will be. What are these jewels of Whole Brain Teaching? Make your guess in the comments and check back soon to see :)
Until next time, TTFN Wibbiters

WBT Wednesday-Where to start? The Core 4

Whether you are new to WBT or an experienced WBT'er you will want to start with the Five Rules and the Core Four each year. We talked about the Five Rules last week so now we are ready for the Core 4,which are as the name implies the core of the Big 7. If this is your first year using WBT and the ONLY WBT tools you use are the Core Four you will still be AMAZED at how awesome your class is! If you are feeling overwhelmed ONLY implement these 4 tools of Whole Brain Teaching because they are the foundation of every WBT classroom.
So what are these life changing wonder tools?

 The Core Four are Class/Yes, the Scoreboard, Mirror and Teach/OK. If this is the first you are hearing about this click on each to see the explanation of each from wholebrainteaching.com. These are each very simple and VERY powerful! You can start using all of the Core Four in the first hour of the first day of school or the first hour of your new day of school if school has already started :)

Coach B's latest webcast this week was on the Core 4 so grab your beverage of choice and get ready for a crash course in the Core 4!

Now you already have the basics for the Core 4 and Coach will be doing a new First Hour/First Days type webcast in the coming weeks but if you are ready for more now check out the WBT First Steps playlist on the webcast youtube channel





Here are some more Core 4 goodies, which all can also be found on the WBT Basics Pinterest board.

First the Delightful Deb Weigel created this fabulous cheat sheet to leave for subs.

Next at the delightful Deanna's TpT store you can download her free WBT Cue cards for the first day. She has made many sets and they are AWESOME!

 Also visit her blog and check out her classroom pictures.

Finally hop over the spectacular Nancy Stoltenberg's blog and check out her post from last year on the First Minute, Hour, Day with WBT