WBT Blog Bug Finds

We (Misty, Melissa and I) have been working hard and have found some new WBT Blogs to add to our resource list!

Trust me, this is only a taste of the WBT Blogs that we've found. The problem is finding the time to write about all of them. So watch for more coming soon :)

First, some updates to the WBT Blogs that were already on my list...

* Updated link for Teaching - Another Day in Paradise with WBT
- http://adipteaching.blogspot.ca/

* Updated info, Whole Brain Teaching
- Staci is a WBT Intern for the 2011/2012 year!
- http://wbtblogger.blogspot.ca/

and now to the the new blogs!

Jackie's Whole Brain Teaching Blog
- Jackie is a Gifted & Talented specialist from Utah, United States. Jackie has
  been using WBT since 2007 back when it was still "Power Teaching". She is
  also an Administrator on the WBT Forum.
- http://wholebrainteaching.blogspot.ca/

Mrs. Molnar's Whole Brain Teaching Log
- Mrs. Molnar teaches Grade 9 Physics out of Pennsylvania, United States.
  She has been using WBT for about two years and has a great WBT
  Forum presence as well.
- http://mrsmolnarswbt.blogspot.ca/


My WBT Adventure
- Peggy teaches Grade 1 in Arizona, United States. She has been using WBT
  for a few years and works at the same school as Deb Weigel so I'm sure she
  has a great WBT support team :)
- http://mywbtadventure.blogspot.ca/

Mr. K's Whole Brain Teacher Blog
- Bill teaches Grade 4 Math & Science out of Texas, United States. He has
   been using WBT strategies for almost 2 years and has attended some of the
   conferences as well!
- http://misterkswbt.blogspot.ca/

Ramsey's Resources
- Georgia is a Kindergarten teacher from Oklahoma, United States. She found
  WBT during her student teaching placement (just like me!) and has continued
   to use it ever since.
- http://ramseyresources.blogspot.ca/

WBT
- Dana is a Middle School Social Studies teacher from Wyoming, United States.
  She has been using WBT strategies since 2008 and is a  WBT Intern for the
  2011/2012 year!
- http://danawbt.blogspot.ca/

WBT with Susan
- Susan is a Title 1 Reading Teacher from Missouri, United States. She first started
  using WBT 3 years ago and is a WBT Intern for the 2011/2012 year!
- http://wbtwithsusan.blogspot.ca/

Whole Brain Teacher
- This blog is by a Grade 6/7 Math teacher from Ohio, United States. They found
   WBT in 2010 and has had their students show great leadership in the classroom!
- http://wholebrainteacher.wordpress.com/

Whole Brain Teaching
- This blog is by a 2nd Grade teacher from Texas, United States. He has been
   using WBT strategies for almost 7 years now!!
- http://pshieldswbt.blogspot.ca/

Whole Brainiacs
- This blog is by a 3rd Grade teacher from Texas, United States. She incorporated
   some WBT strategies into her classroom in the past but this year is her first year of
    implementing it full time.
- http://wholebrainiacs.blogspot.ca/

Writing the Whole Brain Way
- Denise is a Kindergarten/Grade 1 teacher from California, United States. She has
  been using WBT since 2010!
- http://writingthewbway.blogspot.ca/

Sheltering Vocab and Circulating Grammar Around the World
- Kerby is a Spanish teacher using the TPRS program from Utah, United States. He
   has translated WBT strategies into Spanish and has been using them for over a
   year!
- This website also serves as a social networking site for TPRS teachers.

- http://www.tprsteachers.com/

I will be adding these to my list of WBT Resources under my Fav Websites tab and watch for our lauch of the new WBT Blog list on the WBT Forum in a few days!

Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday! Gestures

“Signs are to eyes what words are to ears. “- Ken Glickman    

     At the core of many WBT strategies is the use of hand gestures while teaching to solidify main concepts/idea/vocabulary. If you have ever watched any of Chris Biffle's lesson videos on the WBT website or their YouTube Channel you'll notice that he gestures almost the entire time he speaks! Before we go any further, I want to clarify that WBT encourages the incorporation of effective iconic/representational and metaphoric gestures that are meant to portray a thought or idea as compared to deictic gestures that are used in pointing. What I've noticed on many blogs and on the WBT forum, however, is that the idea of gesturing while teaching can be a challenge for some teachers who are new to WBT. Some people feel it is too "silly" or a distraction while others feel uncomfortable getting used to gesturing while speaking and/or are unsure if gestures actually benefit learning.

     I think, however, that Wollf-Michael Roth (2001) makes an excellent point when he states that, "Gestures constitute a central feature of human development, knowing, learning, and communication across cultures; even congenitally blind individuals gesture when they communicate." Why then, are teachers and critics of WBT so apprehensive about the use of gestures in the classroom?

     An aspect that may make some teacher's uncomfortable is how to incorporate clear, appropriate and effective gestures that assist student's understanding as opposed to confusing the student, which can happen! This means that deciding to incorporate gestures into our teaching needs to be a thoughtful and purposeful process. For example, having multiple gestures for one idea or one gesture for multiple ideas is likely to confuse our students and results in them not making the connection between the gesture and the concept it is tied to. A great resource for teachers using WBT strategies and accompanying gestures is the gesture brain storming forum thread on the WBT website. Teachers have posted their ideas for subject specific gestures, themed gestures, modified gestures, anything you may need! This can assist teachers in planning and ensure that the gestures used are well thought out and appropriate for the concept they are linked to as opposed to thinking them up on the spot which can easily lead to confusion.

Accompanying gestures are a wonderfully easy way to differentiate instruction in the classroom by providing learning opportunities that appeal to multiple intelligences. Proposed by Howard Gardner, the theory of multiple intelligences speaks to the idea that there are different platforms of intelligence and that material can be understood and manipulated by people differently based on their specific intelligence. For example, a child who can recreate musical compositions by ear (musically intelligent) may not be able to effectively multiply (mathematically intelligent). As teachers, we need to keep in mind that our students are not going to all learn the same way and by presenting information through various means, we can better reach our students who identify with various types of intelligences. By incorporating gestures into our teaching our students are not only hearing and seeing the material (linguistic & spatial intelligence) but they also get to interpret the material though the movement of the gesture (bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence). In actuality, WBT incorporates strategies that benefit all of Gardner's multiple intelligences, but that's a subject for a different post!

     Once gestures have been incorporated into a classroom they can be specifically used to gauge student's comprehension of a topic. Are they using gestures correctly when explaining an idea or topic? Can they explain why a specific gesture is a good representation for that idea? To really get our students thinking ask them, "If you used this gesture without verbal communication could someone understand what it meant? Why or why not?". You could also have your students brainstorm an idea of an effective gesture when you present new information, having them specifically think about what the idea is and how it can best be represented. This encourages students to think of the idea in the big picture and make connections to previous knowledge. So by using gestures you are not only reaching the multiple intelligences that your student's may display but you can also encourage further reflection on the topics being discussed!

695CP
Medallions: Posts (15), Instant Bonus (2), Conference (1), Artistic Blog (1), Blog followers (95)
         
Background Research:

Gesture's Role in the Learning Process

Susan Goldin-Meadow

Theory into Practice , Vol. 43, No. 4, Developmental Psychology: Implications for Teaching (Autumn, 2004), pp. 314-321

Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.

Gestures: Their Role in Teaching and Learning

Wolff-Michael Roth

Review of Educational Research , Vol. 71, No. 3 (Autumn, 2001), pp. 365-392

Published by: American Educational Research Association

Rope Them in With Hand Gestures

The Reading Teacher , Vol. 64, No. 4 (DECEMBER 2010/JANUARY 2011), pp. 282-284

Published by: International Reading Association

WBT Certification Update!

     So a week has gone by since I shared that I am working my way towards becoming an official Whole Brain Teaching Certified Instructor and I am happy to say that it is going AMAZING!

     If you are new to my blog, I blog every Wednesday in a post called Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday. These posts cover everything from my experiences with WBT in the classroom and how WBT strategies relate to what I am learning in my university courses to information on specific WBT strategies and how they work in the classroom. Turns out, these posts are exactly the type of reflection pieces that the Director of WBT Certification, Nancy Stoltenberg, is looking for. Through conversations with her she let me know that these past posts could be submitted for certification points in addition to any future posts I may write.

     You may notice that I have a new tab at the top of the screen titled Whole Brain Teaching Certification and from now on I will be posting all my WBT Certification information there. This includes any medallions I may receive, links to my certification posts (whether they are on my blog or on the forum) and my current certification points. If I do post certification posts on my blog, however, they will still be in my regular Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday posts (stay tuned for one tomorrow).

     How has WBT Certification been going for everyone else? I'd love to hear updates as I know most of you are still actively teaching, organizing for next year or attending university during the summer, ah! I'm sending out best wishes to everyone as you work on your many projects!

694CP
Medallions: Posts (15), Instant Bonus (2), Conference (1), Artistic Blog (1), Blog followers (94)

Substitute Teaching in "T-Division" 4

     Last Friday I was very fortunate to be called in to substitute teach in "T-Division" again! If you missed some of my earlier posts I am working full-time with Children's disABILITY Services this summer but I asked for every Friday off so I could still have opportunities to substitute teach and network within the school divisions in our area. In our area, school is done this week so I knew that Friday would be my last time to substitute teach this year and I am really happy I was able to get one last day before school is out.

     I was actually in the same wonderfully small French Immersion School I was at during my first and second times substitute teaching in the division, only this time I was in the Kindergarten class! This means that I have now substitute taught every single grade in this school, yay! I am in the high school stream in my Bachelor of Education but I don't mind being in elementary one bit, they are so cute! I was only called in for a half day term as the teacher only needed someone to cover the afternoon while she attended a meeting but anytime in the classroom is time well spent in my opinion.

Unfortunately I can't really update you on what I liked about her classroom the way I did during some of my other substitute teaching posts because, being the end of the year, everything was in various stages of packing and looked pretty bare. Oh well, I spent the afternoon finishing up a unit on paper with the Kindergarten class of six students, yes only SIX! We read two of Eric Carle's books, which are some of my favourite children's books, and discussed the unique illustrations that are present in all of his books.

*Update: Ana over at Teaching Blog Addict reminded me that today is Eric Carle's birthday so this post is perfect timing to celebrate that!

We then went through and organized the classroom's gigantic bucket of construction paper by colour and started a wonderful project, recreating pictures of animals using ripped pieces of scrap paper. This was a great project to tie into the unit the teacher had been working on, allowed the students to practice their fine motor skills, and we practiced colours, numbers and animals names in French as we worked. Ok, for the French part the students actually were teaching me as I didn't know all of the words but teaching someone else is a great way to review and test your knowledge right!?

    

 

I couldn't actually take photos of the student's work but in the end, the pictures looked similar to this: 



Image from Jiggley Mommy's Crafts.

I really enjoyed substitute teaching one last time before school was finished and truly want to thank "T-Division" and their staff for all the support they provided me with this spring!

Resources to Start Off Your Week 23

     This week I found two awesome resources to start off your week! One is the perfect one-stop-shop for adding new ideas into your classroom and the other is a great new way to use Google! As always, I will be adding these to my ever-growing list of ed resources under my Fav Websites page.

1 ) Teacher Tipster
- Organized by Dustin Smith, Teacher Tipster is a jackpot of helpful tips for
   teachers including lesson plans, classroom management strategies, classroom
   organization, printables and videos.
- The Teacher Tipster YouTube channel, click the videos tab on the website, has
   almost 100 videos of great ideas to implement in our classrooms!
- http://www.teachertipster.com/

2 ) What Do You Love? by Google

- How many times have you had your students do a research project only to
  have them type their key words into Google and copy from Wikipedia because
  it is almost always the first link to be listed?
- With Google's new application, What Do You Love, users can type in their key
  terms and rather than getting a list of websites they get a visual idea board of

  information from over 20 of Google's systems including books, videos, images,

  scholarly articles, translation information, popularity trends, and mapping
  information.
- This website is perfect for beginning research projects, getting information from

  multiple types of sources and encourages students to look at different types of

  information rather than reading a Wikipedia article.
- I've had this website freeze on me a few times after I've pressed the search
   button but maybe that is just my computer.
- http://www.wdyl.com/

My screen capture for my search on Whole Brain Teaching.

Happy Monday everyone!

One Lovely Blog Award

     I'm so excited to have received ANOTHER blog award! I'd like to thank Becca at Fun 4th Resources for awarding me the One Lovely Blog Award.

     Becca's blog is a trove of amazing ed resources and ideas. She has been blogging for almost two years and shares some great classroom project ideas. If you aren't already one of her almost 600 followers I definitely recommend you stop on over and check her blog out!

To keep the love going, here are the rules:
1 ) Follow the person that gave you the award if you don't already
2 ) Link back to the person who gave you the award
3 ) Pass the award on to 15 more bloggers.

     The 15 blogs I've chosen can definitely be described as lovely blogs! Not only do they have some of the cutest blog designs out there but they share great classroom ideas and lots of freebies! You'll notice that almost all of these blogs are elementary blogs, why do elementary teachers have the best blogs!? I have a really hard time finding high school blogs so if you have any that I should check out let me know.

1 ) Dandelions and Dragonflies

2 ) Wolfelicious

3 ) 2nd Grade Pad

3 ) 2nd Grade Pig Pen

4 ) Down Under Teacher

 








5 ) Teachery Tidbits

6 )  Sweet Times in First

7 ) Strings, Keys & Melodies

8 ) For the Love of Teaching

9 ) Miss Kindergarten

10 ) Just Another Day in... First Grade

11 ) Little Miss Kindergarten

12 ) Lesson Plan SOS

13 ) What the Teacher Wants

14 ) No Doubt Learning

15 ) Teaching in the Early Years

Official WBT "Blog Bug"

I have exciting news!

Chris Biffle got a hold of me yesterday (yes, Coach B!) and offered me a position with WBT as the

 Official WBT Blog Bug.

I'll be using this logo on my blog when I'm posting about WBT blogs!

I will be working with the wonderful Misty from Think, Wonder & Teach and Melissa from WBT with Scrapbunny on all things WBT blog related!

Not only will we be continuously networking with all the wonderful WBT bloggers out there but we will also be in charge of updating the ever-growing list of WBT blogs.

 Together, we will be creating a brand new up-to-date blog list in the WBT forum soon so users can access all the WBT blogs in one easy location.
Plus we will be working on creating new, exciting ways to promote the best WBT blogs!
(I will update the list on my blog as well)

Need to update the info about your blog?

Found a great blog that needs to be added to our list?

Want your blog on the list?

Know a blogger that hasn't posted in a while and needs a pick-me-up?
Want to work on a collaborative blog project?

Let us know and we will take care of it all :)

Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday! WBT Certification Program

     Want to be certified as an official Whole Brain Teaching Certified Instructor? Then the Whole Brain Teaching Certification program is for you!

  

     Unfortunately, I haven't really been on the ball with this program quite yet, although I've been enviously watching everyone else post about it regularly this summer. For some reason my computer or internet connection would not format either the live web casts by Mr. Biffle or the WBT Certification PDF so I was left with minimal information. 

    But that is all in the past now because the wonderful Director of WBT Certification, Nancy Stoltenberg, has set me up with all the info I need. So if you are like me and still just figuring it all out, here is what you need to know:  

     The Whole Brain Teaching Certification program is FREE, available online, allows you to work at your own pace, and has no set time lines. In other words, it can be the PERFECT summer project that we can work on while we prep for our new classrooms and take summer vacations!

     This is how WBT Certification is described by Chris Biffle and Nancy Stoltenberg:

"Whole Brain Teaching certification is available at a variety of competency levels from Novice to International Presenter... A certified WBT educator has demonstrated the ability to effectively use core classroom management strategies and instructional materials available at WholeBrainTeaching.com. Letters of recommendation and awards that accompany WBT Certification can be used as significant supplements to an educator's professional resume."

Level 1:

- WBT Novice:

- 100 Certification Points

 

Level 2:

- WBT Advanced Novice:

- 200 Certification Points

 

Level 3:

- WBT Intermediate:

- 300 Certification Points

 

Level 4:

- WBT Advanced Intermediate:

- 500 Certification Points + score 90% on online certification test
- The next level is the biggie!

Level 5:

- WBT Board Certified Instructor:

- 700 Certification Points + Exemplary Video + Oral Exam

 

Level 6:

- WBT Board Certified Trainer:

- 1000 Certification Points + Special Assignments

 

Level 7:

- WBT Board Certified District Presenter:

- 1500 Certification Points + Special Assignments

 

Level 8:

- WBT Board Certified Regional Presenter:

- 2000 Certification Points + Special Assignments

 

Level 9:

- WBT Board Certified National Presenter:

- 3000 Certification Points + Special Assignments

 

Level 10:

- WBT Board Certified International Presenter:

- 5000 Certification Points + Special Assignments

For more information on Whole Brain Teaching and the Whole Brain Teaching Certification program check out the Whole Brain Teaching website or get in touch with Nancy Stoltenberg, the Director of WBT Certification.

I can't wait to get started!!

Liebster Blog Love

     About a week ago I posted that I had recieved one of my first blog awards, the Liebster Blog Award, from Ms. Julie aka Southern Teacher. I was so excited and still am! Since then I have seen this blog award floating around some other amazing blogs that I have followed for quite some time and it is such an honour to be included with them in this award.

     Since that time, I was re-awarded this blog by both Roxi Shayne and Nancy Stoltenberg! Now both of these wonderful ladies have AMAZING Whole Brain Teaching blogs that I have followed since before I began a blog of my own. They have a consistent presence on the WBT Forums and have been so supportive as I've made my way through this educational journey. If you aren't familiar with either of their blogs I definitely recommend that you check them out as soon as you can. They are also both part of my list of Whole Brain Teaching blogs under my Fav Websites page.

     If you missed my first post about the Liebster Blog Award, this award is given out to new blogs with less than 200 followers to highlight our efforts in the blogging world.

To keep the love going, here are the rules:

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. Thank the giver and link back to them.

3. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

     I am reposting my top 5 picks from when Ms. Julie aka Southern Teacher awarded me the Liebster Blog, so if you missed them the first time, here they are :)

1 ) My Whole Brain Teaching Blog
- The only other Whole Brain Teaching blog I have found from a Canadian teacher!
- Liann has provided me with so much support both on the WBT forum as well as
  through her blog.
- She is also part of my list of Whole Brain Teaching resources under my Fav
  Websites page.

2 ) Miss Read Gets Schooled
- Miss Read and I have been "blog friends" right since I started blogging!
- She just finished up her degree this past month and I loved hearing all her
  adventures as she went through her student teaching placements and now
  as she looks for a teaching job.

3 ) My Whole Brain Blog
- Carole is one of the WBT interns for 2012/2013 and has a great blog started up!
- Her blog posts are incredibly detailed, insightful and always have great pictures
  showcasing her WBT classroom! Its a great stop if you really want to learn more
  about WBT.

4 ) For the Love of Teaching
- I was referred to a great PLN that lead to me finding Diane's blog shortly after that.
- Diane blogs about education and her use of the BrainSMART program which shares
  some similar ideas about learning as WBT. Since we found each other she has been
  so supportive of my blogging and learning more about education!

5 ) Prairie Inspiration
- Mary is one of my favourite connected educators from Manitoba!
- We share a lot of ideas through Twitter as we are both going through the education
  program in the same province, although at different universities. She has been a
  great support to me and shares all of her classroom ideas on her blog.

Resources to Start Off Your Week 22

     For some of you out there this may be your LAST Monday of the school year! If so, I am sending best wishes to you as your wrap up your school year. I know that some of you have been on summer break for a while already, while some more of you (I'm thinking of some of my Aussie friends) just started classes a while back.Well no matter where you are in your school year, this website should be a great resource for all of us!
     As always, I will be adding this to my Fav Websites page :)

PBLU: Making Projects Click
- This new online social network for teachers is fully centered on Project Based
   Learning. Although it has yet to officially launch (it says on the website
   Summer 2012) it should be a great resource for all of us to connect with other
   teachers, share project ideas and network to create collaborative projects for
   our students!
- PBLU is offering FREE two-week long online courses for those of us who are
   interested in taking part in some professional development this summer. The
   classes listed on the website include how to launch a project, how to create a
   project calendar, how to manage a project, how to grade a project, how to
   showcase student work and how to get PBL teacher certification.
- http://www.pblu.org/

Happy Monday everyone!

Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday! WBT Blogs Part 2

         I had full intentions of writing this post yesterday as I had the evening off of work, but thanks to a wonderful thunder storm our power went off for the evening right after supper! So even though it is one day late, here is this week's Whole Brain Teaching Wednesday... Thursday post :)

     After the success of my post about Whole Brain Teaching blogs I received a ton of emails about other great WBT blogs that should be added to the list! Thats one of the GREAT things about WBT, the support from other teachers is incredible!! So without further adieu, here are some new additions to the list:

** The information I provide about each blog has been taken from Blogger profiles and blog posts so if anything is incorrect please let me know ASAP so I can correct it :)

Collecting Apples
- Christine is currently teaching 5th Grade in Michigan, United States.
  She has been using Whole Brain Teaching in her classrooms for
  almost four years and has found that WBT has made her and her
  students much happier!
- http://collectingapples.blogspot.ca/


Data Junkie Goes Whole Brain
- Corinne is a 5th Grade teacher from Arizona, United States. WBT
  was actually introduced to her by administration during her first  year
  of teaching (yay!) and posts really insightful posts that make you think.
- mrsgettyswbt.blogspot.com


Down Under Teacher
- Kylie is a 2nd Grade teacher from Queensland, Australia! She just
  found Whole Brain Teaching this year and although she was
  apprehensive at the start she has loved how effective the strategies
  have been.
- http://downunderteacher.blogspot.ca/

Fun in Room 4B
- Elizabeth is a 4th Grade teacher from South Carolina, United States.
  She found Whole Brain Teaching through teaching blogs and is
  getting ready to go full WBT in her class next year!
- http://funin4b.blogspot.ca/


Middle School Math
- This math teacher based out of Oklahoma, United States has recently
  started learning more about Whole Brain Teaching and I can't wait to
  see more posts from them!
- http://commoncoremath.wordpress.com/


Mr. Fallis
- Mr. Fallis is a former All-American football player turned 4th Grade
  teacher from Ohio, United States. He takes all different types of
  teaching strategies and modifies them to best fit his classroom. He
  has all types of videos that you can access!
- http://emerson-mrfallis36.blogspot.ca/


Mrs. Slatton's Kindergarten
- Mrs. Slatton is a Kindergarten teacher from Kentucky, United
  States. She has started her blog to connect with other teachers
  using WBT so I recommend everyone stop by!
- http://msslattonwbt.blogspot.ca/


Mrs. Smith's 1st Grade Class
- Like her blog title suggests, Mrs. Smith teaches 1st Grade in
  Tennessee, United States. She began using Whole Brain Teaching
  in her classroom this year and is moving towards being certified!
- http://mrs-smithsroom.blogspot.ca/


Mrs. Valdes' Whole Brain Teaching
- Jan is a 3rd Grade teacher from Nevada, United States. Although she
  has been using Whole Brain Teaching in her classrooms for almost
  four years now she is new to the blogging world. Her posts have some
  great pics of her classroom.
- http://mrsvaldeswholebrainteachingexperience.blogspot.ca/

Musical Bits & Techie Bytes
- Anne is a music and technology teacher from South Dakota, United States.
  She has several great topics that she blogs about and is currently working
  towards obtaining her Whole Brain Teaching certification!
- http://musicalbitsandtechiebytes.blogspot.ca/


Musical Musings with Mrs. Lukow
- Kristin is a music teacher from the Heartland of the United States. She uses
  Whole Brain teaching in her music classroom and has great updates on what
  her classroom is up to.
- http://kristinlukow.blogspot.ca


My WBT Classroom
- Mrs. Voliand is a 3rd Grade teacher from Arizona, United States. She just
  finished her first year of using WBT and is looking forward to attending some
 conferences this summer to learn even more!
- http://mrsvwbt.blogspot.ca/


PAWsitively Wild for WBT
- Deanna is a 3rd Grade teacher who was introduced to Whole Brain Teaching last
  year as she prepared to move to 3rd Grade from another classroom. She has been
  introducing WBT strategies over time and is ready to go full force!
- http://pawsitivelywbt.blogspot.ca/

Shepherd's Shining Stars
- Mrs. Shepherd is a 4th Grade English teacher from Lousiana, United States. She
  has been using Whole Brain Teaching strategies in her classroom for a while now
  and loves the change in her classroom environment!
- http://ericashep.blogspot.ca

Southern Teacher WBT
- Miss Julie is a 3rd Grade teacher from Lousiana, United States. She has been
  using Whole Brain Teaching strategies for the past 2 years and has an
  adorable blog set up to document her adventures.
- http://southernteacherwbt.blogspot.ca/

Sweet Times in First
- Sandra is a 1st Grade teacher from Arizona, United States and has a ridicously
  adorable blog! She has been using WBT in her classroom for a little over a year
  and has great posts about her strategies, complete with pictures.
- http://sweettimesinfirst.blogspot.ca/

The Whole Brain Blogger
- Rand is currently teaching 3rd Grade in Oregon, United States. Rand's blog
  documents the first year of Whole Brain Teaching in their 3rd Grade class. I
  can't wait to read more from this blog!
- http://wholebrainraynor.blogspot.ca/


Think, Wonder & Teach
- Misty has extensive experience as a Kindergarden to Grade 4 teacher. She first
  found Whole Brain Teaching after her son was diagnosed with an issue dealing
  with his brain and is now well on her way to being Whole Brain Teaching
  certified!
- http://thinkwonderteach.blogspot.ca

Whole Brain Paradise
- Bethany is a 1st Grade teacher from Arizona, United States. She describes
  herself as a "rookie Wibbeteer" but has posted some great posts as she
  learns more about WBT. She is also very active on the WBT forums.
- http://wholebrainparadise.blogspot.ca

WBT
- This is Mr. Fallis' original blog (see his current one earlier on this list). He
  has added a few different teaching styles together which lead to creating a
  new blog that wasn't just dedicated to WBT. I believe, however, that this
  original blog still has lots of good posts!
- http://mrfallis36-mrfallis.blogspot.ca/


WBT in the Middle
- Mr. Wilson is a middle school teacher who has a resource classroom as
  well as a ELA classroom. He has used WBT for over a year and got the
  co-teacher in his ELA classroom hooked as well!
- http://wbtwow.blogspot.ca/


Whole Brain Teaching
- Staci is a 3rd Grade teacher who first learned about Whole Brain Teaching
  back in 2009! Over the years she has incorporated more and more strategies
  and is now just getting ready for her newest maternity leave.
- http://wbtblogger.blogspot.ca/


Whole Brain Teaching with Mrs. Chavez
- Mrs. Chavez is a 2nd Grade teacher from California, United States. She
  found Whole Brain Teaching in 2010 after a tour of another school in her
  district.  She has been doing so well and has even worked on making
  some of her own classroom videos!
- http://wholebrainteachingwithmrschavez.blogspot.ca/

Wolfelicious
- April is a Kindergarten teacher in Florida, United States. She is new
  to Whole Brain Teaching but not new to the blogging world! I know
  that she is plunging into the WBT pool this summer and I can't wait to
  read updates on how she is doing.
- http://wolfelicious.blogspot.ca/

Yearn to Learn
- Denise is currently teaching Grade 3 and is spending this summer learning more
  about Whole Brain Teaching strategies. Although she has already been using some
  strategies in her classroom she really wants to work towards using it to its full
  potential!
- http://yearn4learning.blogspot.ca

The entire list of 50-ish Whole Brain Teaching Blogs is available on my Fav Websites page under Whole Brain Teaching Resources!!

Resources to Start Off Your Week 21

     I found two GREAT Resources to Start Off Your Week that can add so much to our student's classroom experiences. Both of these websites have so many possibilities in our classrooms and can be used for Social Studies, English, History, Geography, World Issues, Math, etc! As always, I will be adding these to the lists under my Fav Websites page.

1 ) Women in World History
- Created by The Center for History & New Media (CHNM), this website houses
   a collection of primary documents, support materials and lesson plans centered
   around women and women's issues throughout world history.
- The CHNM has a strong focus on comparing women in different societies, the
   contact different societies have had with one another and how global issues such
   as technology have impacted women.
- Well this is obviously perfect for a history classroom this website could also provide
   valuable insight if you are studying a novel such as Lives of Girls and Women by
   Alice Munroe.
- http://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/modules.php

2) Google World Wonders Project
- This Google endeavour is currently a virtual encyclopedia of 132 historic sites
   from five different continents. Not only do users have imagery from Google
   Streetview and Google Earth but they also have information from UNESCO
   World Heritage, pictures and videos!
- World Wonders has a specific tab for Education where teachers can download
   resource packages that have some pretty interesting project ideas that could
   work with math, English, social studies or science curriculums.
- Google will continually be adding more sites to the list which I think is good
   because I was disappointed that entire continents were left out and they didn't
   have the pyramids of Egypt.
- http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/worldwonders/

Happy Monday everyone!

Substituting in "T-Division" 3

     On Friday I was able to have another substitute teaching day in "T-Division"! I have already had some experience with the division as I was able to substitute teach in an English classroom and in a Grade 2/3 classroom in their French Immersion school a few weeks ago. This time, however, I was in a K-12 school only about 15 minutes from our house. I was so excited because this is a school that I might be applying for a job in next spring! (I have actually even applied to do one of my student teaching placements in this school for next year but I am still waiting to hear back about that.) The teacher I was in for is responsible for some Phys-Ed classes as well as some French classes.


I wasn't able to take pictures during the class,
this image is from Creative Commons.

 The teacher had left a straight-forward lesson plan for the day's activities that included different variations of fast-pitch outside on the school's baseball diamonds. Unfortunately it had poured the night before and it was still overcast and misty outside all day too! Here is where some of my on-the-spot thinking had to come in. Now for those who know me know that I am far from athletic. I was one of those students that didn't want to participate in gym class and when I did I was pretty clumsy! A few years ago I probably wouldn't have even been willing to substitute teach in a gym class. My fiance, however, is quite different from me and grew up his whole life being an award-winning hockey, football and baseball player. (He even had some offers for football and hockey after high school but chose to go to university instead). He is now in the Education Faculty with me after majoring in Phys-Ed. Thanks to him, and all of the low organized games he has taught me, I was able to pull out 5 different versions of dodge-ball that I modified for the Grade 2, 3 and 6 classes that I had throughout the day! The students were so excited because it was variations that they had not played before and they loved it! I was really pleased with how well everything went and the students were amazing.
*I left a note for the teacher letting her know that we had to change the plan because of the weather and let her know exactly what we did during the class.

I only had one French class during the day with a Grade 7 class and it was interesting. For a long time now I have regretted not continuing with French classes through school. Although different divisions do things differently, our school division had the option of having a French Immersion School or a regular English school. I was enrolled in regular programming but still had mandatory French classes from Grade 4 to Grade 7. After this you had the option of continuing in French until Grade 12 if you chose but it was an elective, not mandatory. I, unfortunately, chose not to continue. Since leaving high school I have regretted not learning French and over the last little while I have been thinking more and more about taking classes to learn it. I've been looking into the AIM Language Learning program even more since I was introduced to it during student teaching. Back to our class... The Grade 7 class was more or less self-managed as I was not able to deliver a lesson in French (which the teacher knew when I was booked). The students were working on an assignment that required them to survey ten of their classmates, in French, about their hobbies and their collections if they had one. Using this information they then completed a worksheet that had them compile their results and compare them to others. I found that many of the students did not have an interest in French which broke my heart because I know that some of them will regret it later on like I have. I am wondering how to make learning another language desirable?

     All-in-all it was a really great experience! After classes were done for the day I was even able to meet the Social Studies teacher and introduce myself in case I do get to student teacher there in the future or if he needs a substitute teacher one day!