practice cards
TRANSCRIPT
Practice CardsA Powerful Addition to Whole Brain Teaching’s
Classroom Management System
Jay Vanderfin
Yucaipa, CA
WholeBrainTeaching.com
Practice Cards, copyright 2009, Jay Vanderfin 2
>> Contents
Introduction 4
What are Practice Cards? 5
More Ways To Use Practice Cards 12
Practice Cards and WBT’s
Classroom Management System 18
Advance Rules Sheet 23
Practice Cards Summary 27
Practice Cards Samples 29
Notes Home Samples 32
For more information about Whole Brain Teaching or our products contact
Jay Vanderfin
or visit our website at
WholeBrainTeaching.com
Practice Cards, copyright 2009, Jay Vanderfin 3
>> Introduction
WHOLE BRAIN TEACHING (WBT) is a grassroots education
reform organization founded by three Southern California
instructors (Chris Biffle, Jay Vanderfin, Chris Rekstad) in 1999.
Since then, we have presented free teaching seminars to over
7,000 educators representing over 300,000 students. Our
websites are visited over 2,000 times per day; WBT videos on
YouTube and TeacherTube have received over 700,000 views.
Whole Brain Teaching is one of the fastest growing education
reform movements in the United States.
For more information about our movement and to access
hundreds of pages of free downloads, visit our website:
WWW.WholeBrainTeaching.com
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1/ What are Practice Cards?
There are many excellent classroom management systems
but one of the most popular uses color cards to underscore a
students’ positive or negative actions. Here is a sample of how
the cards are coordinated with student behavior:
Green card: student had a great day
Gray Card: student receives a warning
Purple card: student receives a time out
Red card: student is given a note to take home
Black card: student is sent to the principal’s office
Not all color card systems are the same but they generally
follow a similar pattern. Colors are used to identify an ascending
set of consequences for inappropriate activity. There are two
problems with this system. First, students aren’t told specifically
what they need to work on. Second, all the cards but one indicate
negative actions.
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To solve these problems, I came up with Practice Cards. I
created one card for each of Whole Brain Teaching’s five
classroom rules. These rules are:
Rule 1: Follow directions quickly.
Rule 2: Raise your hand for permission to speak.
Rule 3: Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.
Rule 4: Make smart choices.
Rule 5: Keep your dear teacher happy!
Each Practice Card (see page 29 for samples) is printed with
one of the classroom rules. Thus, there is a set of Practice Cards
labeled, Rule 1: Follow directions quickly. Another set of Practice
Cards is labeled Rule 2: Raise your hand for permission to speak
... and so forth. When students break a classroom rule, the
teacher places a Practice Card for that rule in their pocket on a
pocket chart at the front of the room.
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Let’s see how Practice Cards work for our imaginary, but
wonderful, Whole Brain Teacher, Mrs. Maestra, and one of her
challenging students, Juana.
Juana has a common problem; she often speaks without
raising her hand. Frequently during the day, Juana breaks Rule 2:
Raise your hand for permission to speak.
Whenever Mrs. Maestra believes Juana needs to practice
following Rule 2, she places a Rule 2 Card in Juana’s slot on the
pocket chart. The advantage to Mrs. Maestra is obvious. She
doesn’t have to stop teaching to address Juana’s problem. Mrs.
Maestra simply continues with her lesson, while she picks up a Rule
2 card and places it in Juana’s envelope on the chart. If Mrs.
Maestra has several disruptive students who are breaking a
variety of rules, she never has to wonder at recess who needs to
practice following which rule ... she simply looks at the cards she
has placed in the pocket chart.
The Practice Card is also an advantage to Juana. She is not
“bad,” she simply needs additional practice in following a rule.
Juana is not scolded by Mrs. Maestra, neither of them like a
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scolding session, she merely receives additional time to focus on a
problem she is having with a specific behavior.
And so, what does Juana do at each recess and lunch? She
sits at a desk with a kitchen timer in front of her; for two minutes
she raises her hand over and over, while she whispers, “Rule 2:
Raise your hand for permission to speak.” Try this yourself for
two minutes to see what a powerful effect it has! Two minutes of
hand raising and whispering feels like forever. If one arm gets
tired, raise the other!
While Juana is practicing Rule 2, Mrs. Maestra is free to
engage in whatever work she wishes. If Mrs. Maestra has yard
duty, then Juana sits on a bench outdoors and practices following
the rule she broke. Later in the year, Mrs. Maestra has the option
of increasing the amount of time spent practicing a rule to three
minutes, four minutes, and so forth.
If Juana refuses to practice the rule, then Mrs. Maestra does
not quarrel with her. Mrs. Maestra simply doubles the amount of
recess minutes that Juana misses.
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Mrs. Maestra believes, along with contemporary brain
researchers, that it is not the size of the penalty, but its
frequency that changes behavior. It is more effective for
students to have five short practice sessions, than one long one.
Thus, it is Mrs. Maestra’s principle that even on Juana’s worst day,
she never receives more than two Practice Cards. If four minutes
of hand raising and whispering doesn’t motivate Juana, then eight
or 10 minutes will be no better. Mrs. Maestra knows it is a long
year; in September she gives her students two minutes of
practice, understanding that late in the spring, she made need to
double, or even triple the rehearsal period.
When Juana receives a Practice Card, this also means she will
receive a note that goes home to her parents (see page 32).
This note informs parents about the rule that the student needs
to work on, and encourages them to have the child practice at
home(!) In most cases, the Practice Card stays in the student’s
pocket chart, until the note comes back from home signed. Thus,
Juana is highly motivated to bring Mrs. Maestra evidence that her
parents have read the note.
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Luckily for Juana and other challenging kids, Mrs. Maestra is a
realist. She knows some parents will follow through and some
parents won’t. Juana’s parents are very involved in their child’s
education; they can be depended to do anything the school asks
of them, including promptly signing notes. And so with Juana, Mrs.
Maestra is quite strict about keeping the Practice Card in Juana’s
card pocket, until she receives the signed note from the girl’s
parents. However, Jack is a different story. Jack’s parents are
space cases. Mrs. Maestra knows, realistically, there is no chance
in the world that Jack can get his folks to do anything to support
his education. Mrs. Maestra cuts Jack a special deal. She takes
her troubled student aside after he fails to bring a note back from
his parents two days in a row and says, “Jack, I know you want to
do your best. If you’ll guarantee me that you’ll work hard today
on following the rule you’re having problems with, I’ll pull your
Practice Card out of your slot on the pocket chart.”
To sum up, students receive Practice Cards, never more than
two, whenever the teacher decides they should spend time at
recess and lunch practicing a rule they have broken. The practice
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involves two minutes, initially, of repeatedly whispering the rule
and making a gesture that reinforces the rule. The cards are not
viewed as punishment, only as an opportunity for additional
rehearsal. If students refuse to practice, they are not scolded
but the time lost at recess is doubled. The Practice Card stays in
the student’s card pocket until a signed note is brought home
from the parent. Students whose parents are unreliable are given
a special deal by the instructor; their Practice Card can be
removed even if a note is not returned from home.
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2/ More Ways To Use Practice Cards
After I had been using Practice Cards for several months, I
realized that they could be used in two additional ways, as
rewards for good behavior and as prompts for in-class practice of
individual rules.
I made three sets of Practice Cards; each card, remember,
has one of the five classroom rules. White cards I used as
described above, to signal that a student needed time to
rehearse a rule. Purple cards (I call them Wisdom cards) became
rewards for good behavior. Green cards were placed on a
student’s desk and guided in-class rule practice.
Here’s how the whole system worked for Mrs. Maestra.
When Juana was having problems with a rule, she received
one, or at most, two white cards. She stayed in two to four
minutes at recess to practice the rule she had broken. After this
had been going on for several weeks (or even longer) Mrs.
Maestra reinvigorated her system by introducing purple cards.
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When Mrs. Maestra noted that Juana was doing a good job of
following a rule, she put a purple card in Juana’s pocket chart. A
purple card canceled the effect of a white card; Juana was always
highly motivated to get back on track and earn a purple card when
she knew she had practice time ahead. If Juana managed to end
the day with one or more purple cards (and no white cards) then
Mrs. Maestra sent a congratulatory note home to Juana’s parents
(see page 32 for samples).
As the year unfolded, Mrs. Maestra saw that Juana’s number
of white cards decreased and her purple cards increased ... but
the troubled girl needed additional guidance. It was not enough
that Juana knew the rule, had practiced it over and over, and was
taking positive and negative notes home. Juana needed help in
class ... she needed practice actually following the rule when
surrounded by the normal lively atmosphere of a classroom full of
students. To address this issue, Mrs. Maestra put a green
Practice Card on Juana’s desk. The card was labeled with the rule
Juana needed to focus on; in her case it was almost always Rule 2,
raise your hand for permission to speak.
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Mrs. Maestra explained the green cards to Juana as follows,
“You’re doing a great job with the Rule 2 and I really appreciate
the effort you have put into practicing. I love to give you purple
cards because I want you and your parents to know when you are
excelling in classroom behavior. So, here is a green Rule 2 card.
Each time during class you actually raise your hand for permission
to speak, I want you to make a star on the green card. At the
end of the day, I’ll look at how many stars you have accumulated
on the green card, showing that you have been following the rule.
If I think you have been doing a good job ... and I really want
consistency ... raising your hand for permission to speak and not
breaking this very important rule, then you’ll have a good chance
of earning a purple card.”
Thus, green cards guide student practice in class. Juana
now has a chance to apply what she has learned about controlling
her impulse to speak. Her goal is identical to Mrs. Maestra’s, to
see how many times during the day she can follow Rule 2. The
green cards are a simple way of guiding and nourishing her
positive behavior.
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It turns out that Juana eventually went overboard with raising
her hand for permission to speak. She so enjoyed making stars
on the green card that could earn her a purple card, that she shot
her hand up at every opportunity. Mrs. Maestra, ever the wise
Whole Brain Teacher, was prepared for this. She took Juana aside
and said, “You are doing fantastic following Rule 2. You are always
raising your hand for permission to speak. But I need you to let
other students follow this rule as well. If you always have your
hand up and focus too much attention on yourself, then that isn’t
fair to others. In fact, I may think you are breaking Rule 4: Make
smart choices. Or even worse, I might feel you were breaking Rule
5: Keep your dear teacher happy. We certainly don’t want to
start getting Practice Cards for those rules! You’ve lost enough
recess time already with Rule 2.”
Several additional points should be noted. When using the
green card, Mrs. Maestra did not say how many stars Juana
needed to make. Nor did she guarantee that a heavily starred
green card would earn Juana a purple card. Mrs. Maestra deeply
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believed in one of Whole Brain Teaching’s favorite sayings, “We
use the system. The system doesn’t use us.” Mrs. Maestra
valued the freedom of making decisions based upon her best
intuition as a teacher. She did not want to be confined by an
arbitrary rule like, “If you turn make 10 stars on the green card,
then I’ll give you a purple card.” Mrs. Maestra did not want to be
involved in this kind of bookkeeping for 35 kids. In addition, she
wanted the flexibility of being able to give, or withhold, purple
cards whenever she judged it was the best for her students.
Occasionally, Mrs. Maestra had a student who couldn’t be
relied upon to make stars on the Green Card. Paulie nibbled on his
card; Janey could resist tearing the corners off. In cases like
these, Mrs. Maestra gave the Green Card to a dependable
student, someone who could do excellent work and make a star
whenever the troubled student followed the rule on the card.
Finally, Mrs. Maestra knew that one of the most difficult
aspects of classroom management was to keep the system from
becoming stale. Techniques that worked in September, often had
little effect in January. Thus, she saw the Practice Card system as
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having three phases, White Cards, White Cards plus Purple Cards,
White Cards plus Purple Cards plus Green Cards. By stretching
out each phase as long as possible, Mrs. Maestra kept her
students engaged for many months.
In the next chapter, you’ll learn how Practice Cards fit into
the year long WBT classroom management system.
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3/ Practice Cards And WBT’s Classroom
Management System
Whole Brain Teaching’s classroom management system is set
up in a series of ever more challenging levels, like a video game.
The levels (completely described at WholeBrainTeaching.com) are:
Level One: The Scoreboard Game
Level Two: Practice Cards
Level Three: The Guff Counter
Level Four: The Independents
Level Five: The Bullseye Game
Level Six: The Agreement Bridge
As you can learn at our website, Level One rewards and
penalizes the class as a whole. When the majority of students are
working hard, then the class earns a point on the Scoreboard;
when too many students are off task, the class loses a point.
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Points earn time to play learning games at the end of the day or
week. If the class loses more points than they earn, then extra
homework or lost recess minutes can be a consequence.
Practice Cards, which we introduce at Level Two, address
the behavior of individual students. If Juana is off task or breaking
a classroom rule, she might receive a White Card which gives her
time at recess and lunch to practice following the rule she broke.
Later in the year, if Juana is on task, she might earn a Purple
Practice Card that she can take home to her parents letting them
know about her excellent behavior. Finally, still later in the year,
when Juana needs additional in-class practice, then Mrs. Maestra
might give her a Green Practice Card. Thus, Practice Cards are a
powerful complement to the Scoreboard Game. The latter is used
by the teacher to guide a class as a whole; the former helps
individual kids.
I remember exactly where I was when the Practice Card
System came to me; it was somewhere between clouds 9 and 10.
I believed I had found teacher heaven, until a student saw
something that I missed. I can’t tell you how foolish I felt when a
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nine year old discovered a glaring problem.
My dear little Brielle, asked me, “If the class loses the
Scoreboard Game, why should we ALL suffer for a couple of kids
breaking the rules?”
Her point was wonderfully obvious. The Scoreboard
assessed penalties to the class as a whole, but generally it was
only a few kids who were breaking the rule. These kids were
getting Practice Cards ... but their behavior was also pulling down
all their classmates. How could Practice Cards and the Scoreboard
be integrated ... in a way that was equitable for everyone?
After some head scratching, I found a simple solution. If the
class loses the Scoreboard Game, only the students with Practice
Cards receive the penalty (even those who forgot to have their
note signed by their parents). Thus, if the penalty was five extra
homework problems, and the class lost more points than they won
by the end of the day, only students with Practice Cards in their
card pocket chart did the extra homework. Even more motivation
for following classroom rules!
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A final note. Look again at the six levels of Whole Brain
Teaching’s classroom management system.
Level One: The Scoreboard Game
Level Two: Practice Cards
Level Three: The Guff Counter
Level Four: The Independents
Level Five: The Bullseye Game
Level Six: The Agreement Bridge
Depending on the teacher’s needs, a class can stay at a
level for a week to several months before moving up. At Level
Two we introduce Practice Cards and assess a two minute
rehearsal time. But what happens to Practice Cards at Level
Three through Six? We keep using them, but increase the
rehearsal time to match the level. At Level Three, students
practice for three minutes; at Level Four, they practice for four
minutes, and so on. This underscores the importance of using a
short practice time when the Practice Cards are first introduced.
As you move up levels, the the system becomes increasingly
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challenging, and the Practice Cards become more and more
powerful motivators.
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4/ Advanced Rules Sheet
In Whole Brain Teaching, we like to have “a big back pocket.”
We always want to have a large number of fall back options when
a technique needs supplementing. One year, Mrs. Maestra had a
particularly challenging class. In the spring of that memorable
term, she introduced two of her strongest willed students, Paul
and Benny, to the Advanced Rules Sheet.
Here is what she said, “I have a new challenge for the two of
you and I’m very interested in seeing how you respond. It’s called
the Advanced Rule Sheet. From here forward, instead of
practicing a rule at recess, you’ll be going through a more complex
routine. This will give you additional, very specific practice, in
following rules and also in making smart choices.”
She handed the two boys the two sided Advanced Rules
Sheet.
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Advanced Rules Sheet
At each recess and lunch, your job is to do each of the following practice procedures FIVE times.
Place a check mark beside each one as it is completed. Thus, when finished, each number below will have five checks.
1. Get out your math book.2. Open to page 147.3. Sit with your hands folded for ten seconds.4. Put your math book away.5. Raise your hand for ten seconds.6. Put your hand down.7. Stand up for ten seconds.8. Sit down.(Begin over at #1 above)
Turn this paper over and answer the questions on the back about making smart choices.
When finished practicing the procedures FIVE times, sign and date this paper and turn it in to your teacher. Use the rest of your recess for a bathroom break and getting a drink of water. If you have time, head over to the playground.
Student____________________________________
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Date___________________Smart Choices Practice
Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence. Be sure to think about what the BEST possible answer would be.
1. What is one smart choice you have made recently?
2. Why do you think it was a smart choice?
3. What is one foolish choice you have made recently?
4. Why do you think it was a foolish choice?
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Mrs. Maestra believed the Advanced Rules Sheet was a good
supplement to the Practice Cards. Paul and Benny needed even
more structure than was provided by practicing a single rule at
recess. She wanted the boys completely inside a structure that,
for at least five minutes, canceled their impulsive, unthinking
behavior. Having a detailed set of instructions to follow was a
much stiffer requirement than sitting at a desk and raising their
hand over and over. Also, Mrs. Maestra thought that the boys
needed to spend time each day thinking about the difference
between smart and foolish choices. Often she used their answers
as a prompt for additional discussion with her beloved, but strong
willed boys.
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5/ Practice Cards Summary
1. Kids receive a maximum of two White Practice Cards to
practice the rule(s) broken in class. Initially, the practice is for
two minutes per card at each recess and lunch.
2. A note is sent home to parents describing the rule
broken. If the note isn’t signed and returned, kids continue to
practice (unless the teacher decides that the parents can’t be
relied on to sign the note.)
3. Later in the year, Purple Practice Cards are awarded for
positive actions. A note is sent home informing parents about
their child’s excellent behavior.
4. A Purple Practice Card cancels a White Practice Card.
5. Still later in the year, at the teacher’s option, Green
Practice Cards are placed on a student’s desk during class.
Students make a star on the card each time they follow the card’s
rule. At the end of the day, the teacher may decide that the
student’s work with the Green Practice Cards merits a Purple
Practice Card.
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6. If the student cannot be relied upon to put stars on the
Green Card, another student may be given this task.
7. If the class loses at the Scoreboard Game, only kids with
Practice Cards receive the negative consequence.
8. Practice Cards are introduced at Level Two of Whole Brain
Teaching’s classroom management system. For each level the
class moves up, an additional minute of practice time is assigned
to the Practice Cards.
9. The Advanced Rules Sheet is used for students who need
highly structure practice time.
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6/ Practice Card Samples
Samples of the Rules Cards, using Whole Brain Teaching’s symbols for the five classroom rules are on the following pages. To make a set of white, green and purple Practice Cards, print each symbol (as you might expect) on white, purple or green card stock.
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7/ Note Home Samples
Samples of the Practice Note and the Reward Note that
should be sent home to parents are on the following pages. Print
the former on white paper and the latter on purple paper.
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Note To Parents: Your Child Needs More Practice
Help!!!!!!!! I need practice. Today at school I broke the circled rule(s). I agreed that all of these rules are fair and I am fully capable of following them. I would never do anything to spite my wonderful teacher or break one of the rules on purpose; therefore, I need you to help me practice.
Family, Please have your child practice the rule at home for as long as you feel necessary. We have practiced at school already, but PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT! Sign and return this paper tomorrow. If you have any questions, please give me a call or e-mail.
My son/daughter practiced for _____________ minutes at home.
Student_______________ Parent_________________
Date_______
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Note To Parents: Your Child Deserves A Special Reward!
I ROCK!!!! Today at school I was a model student following the circled rule(s). My teacher acknowledged me in front of the class for doing such an amazing job and for sharing my wisdom with my classmates!
Family, Please give your child some extra one on one time or a special reward. Your student’s actions today in class were better than expected and displayed strong, virtuous character. Your child was a model of what we look for in our students! If you have any questions, please give me a call or e-mail.
Teacher____________________________
Date____________
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