Whisper Wand

Do you ever ask a question or put a problem on the board and have a couple kids just stare at the ceiling tiles? For years, I have tried to encourage my students to be thinkers through the use of wait time and partner sharing, but still I have had students who were reluctant to think when I asked a question whole group. Equity sticks are an option used by some teachers; however, I have found that putting my students on the spot when they do not know the answer is counterproductive. One of the best things I did to get these students thinking about whole group questions, I began asking them to whisper their answers in my ear. I found this method very effective because they know I expected them to give me an answer. I wasn’t simply going to call on someone else and move on. My students let me know when they have an answer my holding thumb up to their chest. I even created a whisper wand. My kiddos get a kick out of whispering into the whisper wand. My original whisper wand was invented the year lice was going through my classroom and I decided I needed to put a little distance between my hair and my kiddos’ hair when they whispered to me.