Some of you may have noticed that our classroom doesn’t run like all other classrooms. We are learning through Whole Brain Teaching, a research based system that utilizes all areas of the brain, keeping children engaged during their lessons, and helping them retain much more information than the standard lecture-discussion model.

Whole Brain Teaching is a way of managing students through choral responses, repeating using the word “mirror” and catchy phrases such as Class/Yes and Classity Class/Yessity Yes.  Whole Brain Teaching is a highly interactive form of instruction that delivers information to students in short “chunks.” Kids then teach what they have just learned to their partners, using hand-gestures to help remember specific vocabulary (teach/okay).  While students teach each other, the teacher walks around the room to discover who understands the lesson and who needs more instruction.

Research shows that children retain more information when they have an opportunity to put it into their own words and use gestures to emphasize key instructional units… plus, it’s super fun! My favorite gesture is “Kiss your brain” where kiddos kiss their hand and touch their forehead as praise for hard work and positive behavior. For more information about Whole Brain Teaching please contact me, come by for a classroom visit and/or go to www.WholeBrainTeaching.com.