Our August blog features three of Drs. Harry and Rosemary Wong’s “First Day of the School Year Scripts” to help you with your new script. Also included are the Wong’s lessons on “Procedures”, Dr. Frank’s, “10 Creative Ways to Inspire Students & Curb Teachers Burn Out!” and Mrs. I, a fourth grade teacher shares how she prepared for her first day of school.”
Our blog and Radio Show celebrate the life and work of Dr. Edward B. Lewis, American Nobel Prize winner, Pioneering Geneticist, Developmental Biologist, Professor, musician, husband, and father.
Drs. Harry & Rosemary Wong’s “First Day Of School Scripts”:
https://www.teachers.net/wong/JUN00/
“Middle School Script”:
http://teachers.net/wong/FEB02/
“High School Script”:
http://teachers.net/wong/MAR03/page_2.html
Dr. Harry Wong says, “The very first day, the very first minute, the very first second of school, teachers should begin to structure and organize their classrooms, to establish procedures and routines.” Dr. Rosemary Wong was asked to “give an example of what you mean by procedures?” She responded, “ … if you could close your eyes and say to yourself, “This is something I’d like to have happen in my classroom,”…. then you need to come up with a procedure for it. ..You need to teach the procedure, and there are three basic steps to doing that. The first is to explain it. The second step is rehearsing it, physically going through the procedure and making corrections as needed. And the third is reinforcing it, which you can do by acknowledging that the procedure is being carried out correctly.” Remember to teach all “three steps”. The Wong’s said, “Classroom procedures should cover every second of the school day including what students are to do as they enter the classroom, how they are to be dismissed, and how they are to label and turn in their homework.”
Drs. Harry and Rosemary Wong said they “start by greeting your students at the classroom door each day. Choose one of the “three H’s” every morning: a handshake, high-five or hug.” Have “bell work” or short assignments posted on the board prior to the start of each day. Bell work, even if it’s something simple as silent reading gets students into work mode right away. Posting a daily agenda every day in the same place every day, eliminating questions.”
What procedure do the Wong’s use to quiet their classes?
In their book the technique is called ‘Give Me Five’. “1) Eyes on Speaker, 2) Quiet, 3) Be still, 4) Hands free, 5) Listen. In five seconds, the class is quiet.”
Radio Show Feature Question for August 2017: How did Classical Music play a part in the life of Dr. Edward B. Lewis as an American Nobel Prize winner, Geneticist, Embryologist, Developmental Biology Professor, and Musician and what musical instrument did he play?
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/one-minute-radio-show-2017/
Edward B. Lewis’ Growing Up Years:
On May 20, 1918, Edward B. Lewis was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to Edward Butts Lewis, a watchmaker and jeweler and Laura Mary Histed Lewis. Edward was their second son. Edward’s older brother by five and a half years, James Histed Lewis would be an inspiration and help to him throughout his life.
During the Great Depression the store where Edward Lewis, Sr. worked was closed and the family had a hard time making “ends meet”. Thomas Wyllie, their great uncle, president of Pittston Stove Company, financially helped James, (Jimmy), and Edward, Jr., (Ed), attend college.
When Ed was ten, “his great uncle Tom” gave “him a wooden Haynes flute” and he began studying and playing it. Several years later, his father at great sacrifice, “gave him a silver flute.” Haynes flutes are considered the best flutes available for a flautist. Ed became an accomplished flautist and he played in his high school orchestra and the Wilkes-Barre Symphony.
Ed began visiting the Wilkes-Barre Osterhout Public Library on a daily basis as a teenager to read scientific journals the library subscribed to and to read books. When he was sixteen in 1934, he noticed “an ad for fruit flies” in a science journal. At E. L. Meyers High School Ed was a member of the biology club. “For $1 the club obtained” 100 “fruit flies.” This was the beginning of his scientific interest in fruit flies.
http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/lewis-edward.pdf
After school each day, Ed and a classmate visited the school lab to look through a magnifying glass at the newly hatched flies “searching for mutants, the keys to biology research. One mutant they found, called “held-out,” continues to be “used in genetics research”.
http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2005-La-Pr/Lewis-Edward-B.html#ixzz4l2sESFHe
College & Grad School:
After high school Ed Lewis attended Bucknell College for one year as a music scholarship winner on the flute. He transferred to the University of Minnesota to take genetics classes, as Bucknell College did not offer them. He played flute with the University of Minnesota Orchestra.
http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2005-La-Pr/Lewis-Edward-B.html
In 1939 Edward B. Lewis received his B.A. in biostatistics from the University of Minnesota on Drosophilia with Dr. C. P. Oliver. He went on to California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California to earn his Ph.D. in Genetics in 1942 as a student of Dr. Alfred Sturtevant working with Drosophila. He continued at Caltech earning his master’s degree in 1943 in meteorology and studied oceanography.
While attending Caltech he arranged for take flute lessons with professional flautists and performed in chamber music groups. He also “developed a passion for opera and rarely missed a chance to attend a performance.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448758/
In 1943 during WWII, Dr. Edward Lewis served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a weather forecaster for four years in Hawaii and Okinawa. He began his day at 4am, “stationed on a command ship in the harbor preparing the weather forecast for relay to the reconnaissance planes that flew over the battle zones.” He completed his service in the military as a Captain.
http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/lewis-edward.pdf
Before Dr. Lewis “left for military service President R. A. Millikan of Caltech told him that when the war was over he could return to Caltech as an instructor.” President Millikan kept his promise and when he returned from military service in 1946 he assisted in the laboratory at Caltech and taught “the introductory genetics course”. He became a full professor in 1956. “In 1966 he became Thomas Hunt Morgan Professor of Biology, a position that he held until his retirement in 1988.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1448758/
Dr. Edward B. Lewis’ Awards: *Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal of the Genetics Society of America (1983). *Gairdner Foundation International Award (Canada, 1987). *Wolf Prize in Medicine (Israel, 1989). *Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award in Basic Medical Research (USA, 1990). * National Medal of Science (USA, 1990). *Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (USA, 1991). * Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (USA, 1992).
*The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1995 was awarded jointly to Edward B. Lewis, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric F. Wieschaus “for their discoveries concerning the genetic control of early embryonic development”.
Dr. Edward Lewis “pioneered fine-structure mapping in fruit flies.” He discovered “the cis-trans test for recessive genes and the identification of the bithorax complex and its role in development in Drosophilia.”
https://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v36/n9/full/ng0904-919.html
https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/edward-b-lewis-1918-2004
Nobel Committee said, “In his work, Dr. Lewis laid the foundation for most of what is now known about the genes that regulate the development of specific regions of the body.”
“ Lewis’ work on homeotic genes, “genes that control the pattern of body formation during early embryonic development of organisms” summarized in a major article in 1978, won him the 1995 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.”
http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2005-La-Pr/Lewis-Edward-B.html#ixzz4l4NlXBcu
In Dr. Lewis’ lab at Caltech he kept his flute, music, and stand available so he could play his flute during a break from his research.
Chamber Music on Sundays:
On Sundays, Dr. Marguerite Vogt, virologist at the Salk Institute and gifted pianist, played recitals at her home in La Jolla with Dr. Edward Lewis on his flute and other fellow scientists –musicians. They played chamber music together for forty years. The Lewis’, Ed and Pam, first became close friends of Marguerite Vogt’s when she worked at Caltech from1950 to 1963. “Ed often praised her earlier work on homeotic mutants of Drosophila—conducted under difficult circumstances in Nazi Germany during World War II.”
https://amphilsoc.org/sites/default/files/proceedings/1500213.pdf
Dr. Lewis was the Morgan Professor of Biology at Caltech “until his retirement in 1988”. He remained active as professor emeritus.
Dr. Edward Lewis played his flute with a chamber group as his “guests arrived at a Caltech dinner in honor of his Nobel Prize in 1995”. Dr. Lewis’ “schedule at Caltech remained the same until a few months before his death: he arrived at his office at 8 a.m. and many times worked until midnight, with breaks to practice the flute from 10 to 10:30, swim in the pool, and take a mid-afternoon nap.”
http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2005-La-Pr/Lewis-Edward-B.html
Dr. Edward B. Lewis died at the age of 86 on July 21, 2004 in Pasadena, California. He was an American Nobel Prize winner, Pioneering Geneticist, Professor of Biology, lifelong musician, husband, and father.
http://www.caltech.edu/news/caltech-nobel-laureate-ed-lewis-dies-866
Dr. Frank’s, “10 Creative Ways to Inspire Students & Curb Teachers Burn Out!”
- 1) Effective teachers and administrators agree to have“an assignment on the board” for students to start on the second they walk into the new classroom. “A well-planned lesson eliminates 90% of discipline problems.” –“Before your first day of school have your “First Day of School Script” ready with the “Procedures” you will use for your class and implement them by rehearsing your class until all the students know your procedures and understand them. *Example: What is your procedure for students having a cell phone in class? -In your “Procedures” include Mrs. Hamilton’s definition of “Character”. “Character is knowing the right thing to do, doing the right thing even when no one is watching, and taking the consequences for what you do. The first step to develop character from the First Day of School is to teach that definition, and challenge students to build walls of character around themselves in the weeks ahead.” Remember to decide your procedures and teach them to your class on the first day of school. Dr. Harry K. Wong and Dr. Rosemary Wong’s book “The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher” is a must read for all teachers’.
Have your smile in place, your student’s seat assignments ready, and your first assignment on the board for the students to get started immediately after sitting down and have your classical music on in the background. *
School starts the first minute the students enter for the new school year. Be prepared! Start preparing and rehearsing this summer. Remember students need to feel safe and secure! They need procedures.
2) Before the first day of school decide how you are to dress for success in bright colors to get your students attention. Remember first impressions are the most important.
3) Do you remember the middle school and high school Chemistry and Math teachers playing Classical Mozart Symphonies in the background of their classes and how much better behaved and smarter the students became? Well you can do this too! Put on your Classical music and help your students get smarter, work faster, and calmer.
4) Don’t just lecture tell a story. Make the material visual. Be creative by becoming a teaching artist! Example: Dr. Madeline Frank’s “Musical Notes On Math”, teaching fractions and decimals to children in K-5 through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent-to-Parent Adding Wisdom Award. https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/musical-notes-on-math
5) Make your course come alive. Make it fun to learn. Remember that Alicia Keys and Dr. Condoleezza Rice both studied the piano learning Classical music and skipping grades in high school. They were both at the top of their high school classes all through school because they played Classical music every day. Playing Classical music made them smarter! Dr. Albert Einstein was able to win his Noble Peace Prize and make his scientific discoveries by playing Classical music on his violin or piano every day. Dr. Judith Resnik astronaut and electrical engineer made perfect scores on her SAT’s through playing her Classical piano music every day for one hour. Louis Armstrong learned Classical music on his cornet at age 13 and his life was changed forever! Your students can be smarter too by playing Classical music every day!
6) Involve your students in your course by posing a problem and helping them solve it! Make them into detectives.(Sherlock Holmes and his side kick Dr. Watson) Help your students work cooperatively. (In a musical String Quartet members work together cooperatively with set goals and without violence.) Put on your Classical music to help your students concentrate better. Mark Reimer & Mrs. Adlyn Reimer said to “Set the tone from the beginning—your class/rehearsal style is fun, informative, and fast moving, and everyone there is important to you.”
7) Help your students gain self-esteem and self-worth by showing them kindness & patience.
8) Romayne Leader Frank, Mother, friend, Family Advocate, teacher, & Lawyer, always said, “Every child has one gift.” Find that gift and accentuate it!
9) Dr. Frank’s favorite saying is “every student is a gem in the raw.” Start with that thought and work with your students. Believe that each of your students, on the first day of school, wants to learn your course and desires to learn.
10) Does anyone here like to work? No, then make it fun to learn. Put on your Classical music! © 2017 Madeline Frank
Remember on your First Day To:
Have your Classical music on your CD or iPod before your students enter your class to improve their concentration, for them to stay focused, relaxed, work faster, and remember more. On your first day of school have your “First Day of School Script” ready and rehearsed. “Have your “bell work” or short assignments posted on the board prior to the start of each day and post a daily agenda every day in the same place.” Be prepared! Have a smile on your face and put your best foot forward!
Students: Classical music has the power to organize the brain while listening to it as background music while you are doing your homework, to help you relax after a hard day of work or while doing exercises. Begin listening or playing your musical instrument for 30 minutes at a time. It helps because of its highly developed mathematics and therefore exercises the brain as physical exercise exercises the body.
Mrs. I, a fourth grade teacher, lists below how she used Dr. Frank’s creative tips from “The Teacher’s 11 Secrets to Success” and “10 Secrets to Stop Students Boredom, Inspire Them & Make Them Smarter” during her August-December public school classes.”
1) Mrs. I began preparing for her new students, a month before the semester began, by studying their files, to more effectively deal with their problems.
2) On the very first day of school, students were informed about procedures and practiced them.
3) Mrs. I dressed appropriately and at times dressed to reflect the theme of the lesson or story.
4) Mrs. I prepared daily so that time was spent on learning activities and not preparation during school time.
5) She encourages her students to do well and gives examples that students can relate to of why it is important to do well and stay in school.
6) Students know that Mrs. I take’s an interest in them and tries to see the good in each student and looks for positive things to say about her students.
7) Classical music is played. This helps students quiet down, stay calm, and focus more on their work with fewer distractions. They really enjoy the Classical music and ask for it.
8) Students are spoken to in private, concerning behavioral issues and are not embarrassed in front of other students.
9) Cooperative learning groups and differentiation are used in the classroom. Students get to be a part of completing tasks successfully as a group in a fun but challenging atmosphere.
10) Articulation, inflection, and timing are encouraged when reading and when learning key phrases and clues.
Mrs. I says, “That by using Dr. Frank’s tips, a classroom environment is created where students want to come to school. They enjoy learning, and every child finds a measure of success.”
“The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is now available in book form, and newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook:
com(Kindle) Barnes and Noble(Nook) iTunes
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/the-secret-of-teaching-science-and-math-through-music/
“Musical Notes On Math” by Dr. Madeline Frank teaches your child fractions and decimals, the fun way, through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award is now available in book form, newly updated as an e-book on Kindle, Nook, or iBook.
com(Kindle)
Barnes and Noble(Nook) iTunes
Tips on how to use “Musical Notes On Math”
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/musical-notes-on-math/
For over 30 years, Dr. Madeline Frank has helped children and adults overcome problems through Classical music. Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM is an award winning teacher, author, researcher, speaker and concert artist. She has found a scientific link between studying and/or listening to musical instruments and academic and societal success. Madeline Frank earned her Bachelor and Master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music. Her education has included scholarships at the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and the University of Cincinnati and she has a violin performance diploma from the North Carolina School of the Arts. (C) 2017 Madeline Frank.