"Be prepared." - Motto, Boy Scouts of America
Its not often in life that you find something that is just what you need right when you need it. When it happens, you need to jump on it! Watching The First Hour was just what I needed, right when I needed it. As teachers, we all know we need to be prepared, as the motto of the Boy Scouts of America states. But, did you ever have a plan that included pace and comportment along with what to do? I never did. Now that I have watched The First Hour, I have the perfect plan.
One of the strengths of The First Hour is that we learn exactly what to do for the first hour of class. Step by step. Many details provide us with words to use so that we say just what we want the kids to do. There can be no confusion because the words are so clearly stated. It is okay to tweak it even, if we so choose, but it really covers all bases for us.
Throughout The First Hour another strength appears, and that is the frequent reminders about the pace of our lessons. We are reminded to keep a brisk pace at all times. Why? So our kids learn from the very beginning that there is no 'dead' time in class. We will always be busy learning, teaching, doing. This is especially helpful for those of us who tend to slow down at times.
Adding comportment to your lesson plans? Have you thought of that? This is a great strength of The First Hour because many of us (me) have not considered comportment in our lesson plans. We need to because that sets the tone of our classes. If we want energetic, fun classes with lots of learning, teaching, and doing going on, our comportment must reflect that!
The strengths of knowing what to do, how to pace, and being aware of our comportment make The First Hour a must-see. I found no weaknesses because even if you cannot begin teaching in the hallway, other suggestions are given and you can tweak whatever you choose. There is no way to go wrong! Kids can even enhance their critical thinking skills because we are modeling excellent practices for presenting coherent thoughts and ideas. To be effective communicators, our kids must know exactly what they want to say, be brisk in the presentation of their ideas, and be aware of their comportment. Watch The First Hour - it is a win-win presentation! The First Hour Webinar can be found at www.wholebrainteaching.com and will help you immensely.
