Whole Brain Teaching Strategies

There are seven essential steps in whole brain teaching that teachers must incorporate into their
classroom. Here we will take a closer look at each one of them.

Step 1 – Attention-Getting Teaching Strategies: Class Yes!

Before beginning every class (or lesson), the teacher uses an attention getter. The teacher must
say “Class” in any way or tone that they wish, then the students must mimic the teacher’s voice
and respond with the word “Yes.” There are a few ways that you can do this. The teacher can say
the word once or twice. For example, the teacher would say “Class, class,” and the students
would respond “Yes, yes.” Another option is to switch up the word (such as “Classy class,” or
“Classity class”) and say it three or four times, and the students would respond saying “Yes” in
the same way. After the teacher has gotten the attention of the students, you move on to step
two.

Step 2 -- Classroom Rules

There are five set classroom rules that students must follow. Before the lesson, the teacher must
go over these five rules to ensure students understand. Each rule is said with a gesture. The rules
are as follows.

 Rule 1 – Follow directions quickly (move your hand or finger in a swimming motion
forward).
 Rule 2 – Raise your hand for permission to speak (raise your hand then make a talking
motion with your mouth).
 Rule 3 - Raise your hand for permission to leave your chair (raise your hand and make a
waving motion with your fingers).
 Rule 4 – Make smart choices (tap your temple on your head).
 Rule 5 – Keep your dear teacher happy (Make the letter “L” with each hand and place it
by the corners of your mouth to motion a smile).

Step 3 -- Teach/OK

This is the instructional part of the lesson. The teacher breaks students into groups and teaches
small sections of information while using gestures, or some kind of movement. Songs, chants,
and poems can also be used during this informative time. When the teacher is done with the first
part of the lesson, they chant “Teach” and the students respond with “OK,” then they turn to a
partner and mimic the lesson that was taught by the teacher. During this time the teacher
monitors the students looking for comprehension. Then, he moves on to the next portion of the
lesson, and repeats the same process again.
Step 4 -- Switch

This step is to be used in conjunction with the Teach/OK step. When students are “Teaching” to
their classmates, they must take turns using the gestures and mirroring the gestures. Any easy
way to do this is to count your students off by 1s and 2s so all you have to do is say “Switch,”
and the person knows it’s their turn to do the opposite of what they were just doing.

Step 5 -- The Motivator: Scoreboard

The scoreboard will depend upon the age of your students. Here are two examples of what this
step should look like.

Smile/Frown (K - age 4)

Students receive a point on a smiley face or a frown face depending upon if they performed well
or badly. Each time the teacher marks the face (each face only goes up to three points), the
teacher points and/or chants “One second party” for when they performed well, and “Aww” for
when they performed poorly. Then the students respond by clapping once and responding “Oh
yeah” or “Aww,” depending upon how the preformed. At the end of the day, if the smiley points
outweigh the frown points, students get extra time to play.

Teacher vs Student (5 – age 12)

Same rules apply for this age group, the only difference is that the teacher is awarded the points,
and there is not a frown face. The reward can be anything from extra minutes of play, to a get out
of homework pass.

Step 6: Focusing Hands and Eyes

There will come a time when the teacher will need to gain the attention of their students. For this
process the teacher would say “Hands and eyes” and make a gesture. The students would then
mimic the teacher’s words and movements.

Step 7: Mirror Mirror

In order to get the class deeply involved in a lesson, all the teacher has to do is say the word
“Mirror, mirror” along with a gesture. Then the students would yet again mimic the teacher. This
step can be used at any time throughout the lesson.

Whole brain teaching is a method that can be used with all of the steps mentioned above, or with
just a few of the steps mentioned. Many teachers find that they like to incorporate the attention
getter step and the Teach/OK step. While others choose to use the scoreboard step or all of the
steps. It is ultimately up to you to choose what best suites your teaching style, as well as how
your students learn best.