Well, a good fast conference had me going 90 miles an hour today. I finally found the way to keep me from talking so long. It's been the hardest thing to cut my talking and today since I had so many great role models I did it
Thanks - especially coach B

Annette,

Could you please, please share the secret? I talk too much, also. No matter what, I can't seem to break this long-standing habit!

One key trick to cutting down on talking time is to plan it out. Make a loose script for yourself showing talking for thirty seconds to a minute or so, and then stop to have them teach-ok the important points.

Once you have worked on that for a while it will get easier and easier.

Thanks for the reminder. I did that the first days of school, but then life overwhelmed me with all of the demands of back to school.

I've used my Promethean board as a reminder, too, with teach/okay built into the flilpchart pages. It just takes so much time, and I'm short on that! I know - excuses, excuses. Pardon the whine! :o)

I promise to get better!!!

Jeff, I really like this idea. I tend to want to do it all perfectly the first time, and then when it doesn't work, I give up. And I, too, felt that I just didn't have the time. But now I am seeing how it will actually cut my teaching time down, because THEY will be the ones teaching. So although, it may take more time at first, writing down where I want to do teach-okay, but I think it will be so much easier once I've had some practice.

I'm also keeping my little cheat sheet of the 5-step lesson template handy while I'm teaching.

I've even written notes to myself on my whiteboard so I know what to do next - all in the pretext of letting them know what we're doing next!

I totally agree that we want to do it perfectly all the time, but I don't give up knowing that practice makes perfect.
Love the idea of a 5 step lesson plan cheat sheet, and notes on the board!

My students even use a gesture and repeat with me, practice, practice, practice makes perfect...I am not perfect yet"!
Annette

101 rolling fingers woo!!! What's the gesture???? I want to use it in my class!!