Monday, September 7, 2015

Whole Brain Capitals and Punctuation-will it affect test results?

Every year, our Iowa Basic tests show the kids have trouble with capitalization and punctuation. I have tried many different ways to get the point across. This year, I am using Whole Brain lessons to try to get the knowledge inside of their beautiful minds.

One day, I was perusing the Internet when I came across a video of two teachers "giving" me a lesson on how to teach capitals and puncuation. The video showed the fun they were having sharing it and it made me think my kids would love it. If you would like to see the video, it is here: Whole Brain Teaching Air Punctuation. These two second grade teachers will have my greatest thanks if the results come out the way I think they will!

Needless to say, when I introduced the idea, the kids were grinning ear to ear. I am using it with their spelling tests because I require them to use their words in a sentence. Practice, practice, practice is my theory!
Capitals are formed by putting hands together and raising the top hand. The period is shown by a hand pushing out, like you are saying, "Stop!" Question marks are shown with a shrug of the shoulders and the hands out like, "What?" An exclamation mark is kind of like shaking pompoms. Easy and fun! I am having the kids practice by reading their own sentences.

We take the tests in two weeks. I'll let you know how it goes!