Genius Ladder

Today I helped teach a Saturday morning Writing Camp for bilingual students. These students need just a little more to reach Advanced High in the state TELPAS rating system so they can be exited from the bilingual program.

Part of my instruction included using the Genius Ladder. I have used the Genius Ladder in my Science classes over the past two weeks to help build writing skill; however, today, I was able to use it in a concentrated way. My students now have a vision of their ability to write advanced sentences. Here are some examples of their work:

Blah sentence: The lion ran.  
Genius sentence: The hungry lion chased the frightened zebra in Africa because she wanted to bring food to her cubs.

Blah sentence: The fireman slept.
Genius sentence: The heroic fireman dozed quietly in his house because he wanted to wake up in the morning with lots of energy.

After we practiced with the Genius Ladder, the students worked on a draft of an essay about Christmas Traditions. Everyone was pleased with their work, and we are looking forward to next week when we will revise the essays using techniques from the Genius Ladder.

It was a very good morning's work. Thanks Whole Brain Teaching!