Whole Brain Teaching (WBT)

A 3rd grade teacher in my building uses an approach called Green Light Teaching in her classroom.  At conferences, she was talking about it to a parent and I instantly became intrigued with the idea!  I went home and searched the internet for this approach to see if it was something I could incorporate into my classroom.  In my search, I came across the term Whole Brain Teaching, which I found is very similar to Green Light Teaching....same sort of concepts it seems like.  

Basically, WBT is an approach that integrates an effective classroom management system while teaching your students in a way that their brains learn best. It incorporates lots of movement and gestures into teaching to make learning fun and keep kids engaged! 

Take a look at this amazing video where the teacher is using WBT with her 1st grade class:

Isn't that just the coolest thing?!?!

Now I know SLP's don't have an entire class to work with like this, however some of the techniques used can be used in our small groups or individual sessions.  Here is a picture of the specific techniques I use in my classroom:

Sorry, the camera on my iPad stinks so the picture is a little blurry.  The signs say "Class? Yes!", "Hands and Eyes", "Teach! Okay!", and "Mirror." I got these signs free from a blog but for the life of me I can't remember which one!!  You can go on the TpT website and search for WBT and it will come up with a list of freebies.  One that I don't have up there but wish I did is Bubble. This technique is for the kids who love to blurt out answers! I have way too many of those!  The kids hold up a fist to their mouth and blow the answer into their hand. When you tell the students to "Release!" they hold their hand up over their head, open up the fist, and answer the question aloud.  The Teaching Thief blog that I linked below says that Bubble is also a good way to informally assess students' understanding. They don't have time to look around and see what everyone else is going to say. Love it!

I have been using these techniques in my classroom whenever possible and the kids really seem to like it! The one I use most is Mirror.  For example, I might say "Taylor, mirrors on" (along with the gesture) and he would respond "Mirrors on" (along with the gesture). I would then tell him the thing I want him to repeat. "A Setting is where and when the story takes place." He would repeat that sentence.  So basically you are highlighting important information and having them repeat it so they have a better chance of remembering it/learning it. The more gestures or movements you can add, the better. It gives the kids a break from listening to me talk and gives them an opportunity to interact. The Teaching Thief blog has some examples of the techniques she uses. 

Here is another website that talks about the WBT approach and gives a little background on it.

In my next post, I will talk about Oral Writing which is part of the WBT approach.  It has the philosophy that if students TALK in paragraphs/complete sentences, then they will be able to WRITE in paragraphs/complete sentences.  I have tried this in my classroom and I think it is very beneficial for the kids! I have had so many teachers say the kids don't know how to write in complete sentences. I think Oral Writing may help! Stay tuned for that post :)