Hi Massachusetts Teachers....

I'm from western Mass and I'm so excited about WBT. Anyone out there using it? Let's share and learn together. I'm a real novice and can't wait to really learn and utilize this program well in my classroom.

Shelly

Shelly,
What part of MA are you in? I used to live in the Anherst area. Oh, how I miss the trees!!! (And the real maple syrup!!!!)
We moved to AZ in 2001.
Glad to hear you found WBT. You will LOVE it!!!
Deb Weigel
WBT Intern

Yes, the Springfield area, actually East Longmeadow, Mass.

My son plays with many boys from Amherst.
It's a lovely area with plenty of maple trees.
In a few weeks, everything will be red, gold, green, and yellow.

FYI, if you attended UMass, the band director passed away this past Thursday.
He was only 57 and he was with UMAss for 30 years. UMass has a FaceBook page
just about him.

Shelly

Shelly,
Did you find any WBT connections in your area? You can check out the grade specific forums on this site, and find a lot of interesting discussion that may prove helpful in your quest as a new WBTeacher.
Let us know how we can be of help!
Happy "First Day of Fall"!
Deb Weigel
WBT Intern

No one yet. But as of today I get to team-teach with another teacher. She's fabulous and is a wonderful asset to our school. She's going to read all about WBT this weekend. So there's one more teacher from Mass. Hahahahah.

I've starting using my "Handy Helpers" to lead the class in reciting the 5 rules. They love it and I love it. Still trying hard to use the Scoreboard properly. I've divided the day into AM & PM. regarding "FUN FRIDAY". I consistently have 3 students that follow every rule to the letter "T". It isn't fair that they lose their play time due to the poor choices of others. Today they were rewarded with 15 minutes of free time while the others continued to work with me. I know that that didn't follow the Scoreboard.

What's your take on it?

Shelly

Shelley
Welcome to WBT!! In regards to the scoreboard make the reward for each day, and maybe an accumulation reward for the Fun Friday. In other words, Monday AM if they win, great the reward is two minutes of free time, early relasee, or, what we really want, one of the educational games that we have. Then they loose Monday PM, Tuesday AM, Wednesday AM, and then win again on Wednesday PM. The point of the scoreboard is to get most of the class on board and then worry about the other 10% later. (Read the levels section for this.)

You mention that it's not fair, but when you are bouncing the score back and forth they learn how to do the right thing so that it isn't just three kids doing the right thing...you find the challenging kids doing the right thing and reward them for it quickly. The kids need to feel like they are totally engaged with it and bouncing them back and forth will do this.

Chris

Hi Shelly,
I'm on the Southshore of MA.

I've been using some of the techniques in my classes (grade 7-9) and the kids really respond well. I'm going to be making an effort to add in more techniques next year. I have to say that even just using the Class-Yes component has made a HUGE difference in classroom management.
I am fortunate to work in a small private school where my average class size is about 13 kids. But kids are kids....
I love the dynamic and interactive approach to teaching. But I have to warn you, sometimes I actually break a sweat doing it! LOL.

JBaldino,

I do too! I'm so motivated when I use WBT. Love it! Glad to hear that someone else in this statew is using WBT.