WBT BASICS-The Five Rules

Oh my gosh!  I wrote a lovely article and then managed to delete it. Here we go again. 

From day one we have used the whole brain teaching five rules. We have posters that clearly identify the rules. We also have gestures for each rule. Our five rules are:

Rule One-Follow directions quickly.

Rule Two- Raise your hand for permission to speak.

Rule Three- Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.

Rule Four- Make smart choices

Rule Five-Keep your dear teacher happy.

We practice the rules throughout each day.  Our class has a rules leader that uses mirror to lead the class in the first rule practice of the day. This is a highly sort after job each week.  If someone is not following a rule I can state a rule number and the children will repeat the rule with gestures and we move on. The rules are also linked to our practice and reward cards. More details about that in another post. 

The fact that every teacher in our building uses the same rules is an added bonus because we all have a common understanding.  The consistency this provides the students is worth gold.  Recently our Prep class taught the rules to the whole primary school as part of their chapel performance. It was super cute and very effective. It is a joy to be working with other teachers who love whole brain teaching and how it can help our children learn. 

The rules we use are also being used by parents at home. Many have said how much it helps them.  This is an added bonus for the children as there is more consistency between home and school. I love that WBT can help build bridges in this way. Coach B talks about teacher heaven, now the five rules can help with parent heaven.

Walking back from the playground the other day, I was talking to a girl about the way she calls out. She told me she was going to make rule two her learning goal for next week. The rules make improvement easier for the child because they know clearly what is expected. Another advantage of WBT is that it helps children identify their needs and what to work on. 

As for me and my class, it is the five rules every day.