My introduction of the Big Seven

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” These are the words that guided me towards Whole Brain Teaching. Last September I started my first year as a second grade teacher. As a new teacher with a fresh degree I thought I knew it all, but boy was I wrong! I found myself facing challenging behaviors head on and I knew that I needed to do something.

As I sat in my classroom searching for ideas I came across a video for The Big Seven! There I found my answer, the key to changing my classroom for the better. After watching the video I decided to continue my research and perfect my knowledge of the Big Seven so that I could introduce it to my students when we returned to school the following week.

That Monday I began my Whole Brain Teaching journey. I started the day my only introducing Class, Yes. To my amazement it grabbed their attention and they loved it. Every time I tried Class, Yes it worked no matter my voice or the form in which I said it. After that day I started to introduce something new each day. After Class, Yes! I chose to introduce the five rules. I started off by modeling it for them and asking them to mirror me. I combined the introduction of mirroring with the rules and it made all the difference.

After one week of using the five rules, class yes, and mirrors I began to introduce the score bored! I introduced it as a competition and the class had prizes they could earn if they won. The prizes were one-minute dance party, sitting on desks, no shoes, stickers, and Brain Pop videos. My students loved being able to pick prizes if they won and we even would change it up from girls vs. boys to teacher vs. class!

Through my experience with Whole Brain Teaching I have learning just how important it is to teaching using all parts of the brain. Students cannot learn from just sitting there and listening, they must be involved in the learning whether it is through gestures or through teaching their peers. As I embark on my second year teaching I am excited to see what my new batch of students and Whole Brain Teaching has to offer. So once again in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Which is exactly what Whole Brain Teaching offers in my second grade classroom.