Power Teachers Training Manual

Power Teachers Training Manual, copyright 2008, Chris Biffle 2
Contents
Introduction 3
Warm up 6
Script 1 Class-Yes 9
Script 2 Classroom Rules 11
Script 3 Teach-Okay 17
Script 4 Scoreboard 19
Script 5 Hands and Eyes 25
Script 6 Switch 26
Suggestions 30
Handouts 32
Evaluation 48
Materials in this book may not be used or

duplicated without written permission from Chris Biffle
email: CBiffle@AOL.com
Introduction
So, you’ve tried Power Teaching in your classroom, watched our online
videos, downloaded all our free ebooks (see page 30 for a complete list of
resources.) You’re itching to spread the good news about this wonderful new
teaching method.
Good for you!
But what does it take to be a
Power Teacher trainer? Please don’t
attempt training groups in our approach
until you’ve done the following:
1. Successfully used Power Teaching
in your classroom for several months.
2. Mastered the Big Six: Class-Yes, the Five Rules, Teach-Okay, the Scoreboard,
Hands & Eyes and Switch.
3. Studied the e-books, “Teaching Challenging Elementary Students” and
“Teaching Challenging Teens” available at: http://homepage.mac.com/chrisbiffle/
Menu38.html
4. Contacted Chris Biffle at CBiffle@AOL.com, describing your experience and
the group you wish to train. Note: You must receive written permission to conduct
Power Teaching seminars or to use or duplicate any material in this book.
Once you’ve completed steps 1-4 above, use the scripts in this manual as a
model to introduce new educators to Power Teaching. The scripts cover the “Big
Six”:
1. Class-Yes
2. Classroom Rules
3. Teach-Okay
4. Scoreboard
5. Hands and Eyes
6. Switch
In addition to detailed instructions for teaching the Big Six, this booklet
contains suggestions for making your presentation a stunning success (pg.30),
handouts on the Big Six to distribute to the group you’re training (pg. 32 for
elementary students, pg. 35 for secondary students), a diagram of the brain
indicating areas activated by Power Teaching (pg. 37), signs for classroom rules
(pg. 38, elementary, pg. 43 secondary) and an evaluation form which your group
members should fill out (pg. 48).
Please send copies of the evaluations to:
Crafton Hills College
Chris Biffle: Philosophy and Religious Studies
11711 Sand Canyon Rd.
Yucaipa, California, 92399
The words in ALL CAPS in the scripts introduce sections of your
presentation and should not be spoken by you. Do not read from these scripts to
your audience. You’ll bore them to tears. Use the scripts as models for your
approach.
Begin with the Warm Up on the following page.

Warm Up
Trainer: Let me see your faces. Over 4,500 educators representing over 200,000
students have attended Power Teaching conferences. Power Teaching websites
receive thousands of hits per week from teachers around the world. Power
Teaching is not a business, it’s a grass roots education reform movement started in
1999 in Southern California by
three teachers: Chris Biffle, a
college philosophy instructor and
two of his former students, Jay
Vanderfin and Chris Rekstad,
elementary school teachers. I’m
going to use Power Teaching
techniques to teach you about Power Teaching. Look at me, please.
Audience: (looks at you.)
Trainer: Great! Now as you probably know transition activities in class breed
challenging behavior. Opening books, handing in papers, handing out papers,
getting materials ready for an assignment are all opportunities for your most
rambunctious students to misbehave. I’m going to start with a sample of our
Power Teaching approach with our routine for handing out papers. We don’t take
time to count out papers, or give them to each student … that takes too long. Give
me an ahhh!
Audience: Ahhh!
Trainer: I’m going to give a few of you a stack of papers. (Give several
members of your seminar a stack of your handouts.) Then, I’m going to shout
“Go!” You are all going to clap and cheer and hand out those papers as quickly as
possible. If you have extra papers, slowly waggle them over your head. If you
need a paper, go to where the papers are being waggled. I’m going to count to 15.
If all the papers are handed out AND back up here in a neat stack, by the time I get
to 15, you’ll all get out one minute early from this seminar. If they aren’t, you’ll
all stay one minute later. (Repeat these directions again … then shout “Go!” and
start counting. A 15 count is appropriate for a group of 30 or so. Use a 25 count
for larger groups. When the papers are all handed out, raise your hands and get
everyone’s attention. Congratulate them for their energy and then go on to the next
section.)
Script 1: CLASS-YES
Trainer: Good job of handing out papers! Now, let’s get started with one of our
most popular Power Teaching techniques, the Class-Yes. When I say class, you
say yes! Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: However I say class, that’s how
you say yes. Class! Class!
Audience: Yes! Yes!
Trainer: (deep voice) Class!
Audience: (deep voice) Yes!
Trainer: (high voice) Class!
Audience: (high voice, many of them
laughing) Yes!
Trainer: Classity, class, class, class!
Audience: Yesity, yes! yes! yes!

APPLICATION OF CLASS-YES!
Trainer: Use the Class-Yes whenever you want your students’ attention. You
may use it fifty times a day. It is much more efficient and entertaining than saying
“now, class, I want you to pay attention. Johnny stop that. Marie, put your pencil
down…” (loudly) CLASS!
Audience: YES!
Trainer: See how quickly it works! Now, we’ll go on to our five classroom
rules. Power Teachers use these same rules from kindergarten through high school.
Script 2: THE FIVE CLASSROOM RULES*
Trainer: (the rules should be written on the board, or post signs from our
website.) Rule 1: Follow directions quickly! (As you say this, hold up one finger
and stab your hand rapidly forward in the air.) Now, when I say Rule 1, you say
the rule and make my gesture. I’ll do it again. Rule 1: Follow directions quickly!
(and make the gesture.) Look at me. Here we go. I say Rule 1 and you repeat the
rule and make the gesture. (In a commanding tone) Rule 1!
Audience: (mirroring your gesture.)
Rule 1: Follow directions quickly.
Trainer: Great! Now, here is Rule 2.
(Hold two fingers over your head; make a
“talking” gesture with your hand.) Rule 2:
Raise your hand for permission to speak!
Now, when I say Rule 2, repeat the rule and
the gesture. (In a commanding voice) Rule
2!
Audience: (making the gesture) Rule 2:
Raise your hand for permission to speak!
(* Note: you may want to use “Listen when you’re teacher is talking” as the
“rule above all rules.” Use a hand to the ear as the gesture.)
Trainer; Excellent! Now, here is Rule 3. Rule 3: Raise your hand for
permission to leave your seat. (Hold up three fingers over your head; make a
walking gesture with your fingers.) Rule 3!
Audience: Rule 3: Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.
REVIEW OF RULES 1-3
Trainer: Great! Let’s review. Rule 1
Audience: (making the gesture) Rule 1: Follow directions quickly!
Trainer: Great! Rule 2!
Audience: Rule 2: Raise your hand for permission to speak!
Trainer: Wonderful! Rule 3!
Audience: Rule 3: Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat!
RULES 4 & 5
Trainer: Fantastic! Now let’s go on to Rule 4 … a very important rule. Rule 4
guides students’ behavior in class, out of class, at home, everywhere! Rule 4:
Make smart choices! (hold up four fingers and then, with one finger tap your
temple thoughtfully.) Rule 4!
Audience: Rule 4: Make smart choices.

Trainer: Good job! Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: Rule 5 as you’ll soon see is the teacher’s favorite rule. Look at me.
Rule 5: Keep your dear teacher happy. (Hold your hands up and make a smiley
face.) Rule 5!
Audience: (making the gesture) Rule 5: Keep your dear teacher happy!
REVIEW OF RULES 1-5
Trainer: Excellent! Let’s review all 5 rules. Rule 1 (vary your tone of voice in
the following, using high and low voices and your audience will laugh and mimic
you.)
Audience: (making the gesture) Rule 1: Follow directions quickly!
Audience: (making the gesture) Rule 2: Raise your hand for permission to
speak!
Trainer: Wonderful! Rule 3!
Audience: (making the gesture) Rule 3: Raise your hand for permission to leave
your seat!
Trainer: Rule 4
Audience: (making the gesture) Rule 4: Make smart choices!

Audience: (making the gesture) Rule 5: Keep your dear teacher happy!
APPLICATION OF CLASSROOM RULES
Trainer: Class! Class!
Audience: Yes, yes!
Trainer: Make my gestures, please. Don’t say my words .. that slows us down,
just make my gestures (make gestures illustrating the following.) You should
review these rules daily. In elementary school, review them first thing in the
morning, after first recess, after lunch, after second recess. You can have a student,
as a special reward, lead the review … encourage him or her to use a funny voice.
However, just having the rules reviewed isn’t enough … give me an ahhh
Audience: ahhhh.
Trainer: The most frequently violated rule is Rule 2. Students speak without
raising their hand. So, as you’re teaching, and someone speaks out of turn, simply
say, with a voice of command, Rule 2! And what will your students say?
Audience: Rule 2: Raise your hand for permission to speak!
Trainer: Right! Whenever you wish, simply say the name of the rule being
broken, and your students will chime in, restating the rule with the gesture.
Students love this. They love to correct each other. Give me an, oh yeah.
Audience: Oh, yeah!
Trainer: Now, let’s talk about Rule 5. Keep your dear teacher happy. This is our
most powerful rule. Students might argue that they were following directions, or
that they weren’t talking … but they can never argue that they were keeping you
happy. If they try, explain that you are the world’s greatest expert on what makes
you happy … and trying to convince you that you are happy, when you aren’t is, in
itself, a violation of Rule 5! Kids will do weird things that are not covered by rules
… but Rule 5 handles every type of misbehavior. If you’re not happy, just say,
Rule 5 … your class will chime in and then you can explain why a particular action
made you unhappy. Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: When you introduce Rule 5, Keep your dear teacher happy, explain to
your students that the happier you are, the more you can teach them. So, even
though it sounds like the rule is about you, it is really for the benefit of your
students. Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: There are two keys to using the rules. First, review them so that they
become automatic. Second, whenever you need to in class, call out the rule and
students will repeat it. You don’t have to use Rule 2 for every occasion of students
talking … then the rule would be controlling you … just call out rules during class
as you need to.

Script 3: Teach-Okay
Trainer: Class, class, class!
Audience: Yes, yes, yes!
Trainer: Now, we come to the crucial Power Teaching skill: teach-okay.
Teachers must learn to speak more briefly. The longer we talk, the more students
we lose. Notice that I have been speaking briefly, all through my presentation.
Two decades of educational research demonstrates that students learn the most
when they teach each other. Now, look at me. I’m going to say Teach and you say
Okay. Teach!
Audience: Okay!
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: I’m going to say Teach and when you say Okay, turn your shoulders
toward your neighbor, use gestures and teach the 5 rules. Keep teaching the rules
over and over. Then, when you hear me say Class! You say, Yes! and look back at
me. (You may have to explain this a few times, or model it with an audience
member.) Teach!
Audience: Okay. (The audience teaches the 5 rules. As they do, move around the
room and briefly praise those doing well. Typically, some will not be using
gestures; prompt them to move their hands, make gestures. Spend no more than a
few seconds praising or prompting, then move on.)
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: Now, note what I am doing. It’s called a comprehension check. I’m
seeing who is on task and giving them praise. For others, I’m simply asking them
to make the gestures and then I’m moving on. If you are listening to your partner,
make listening gestures, hold your hand up to your ear, roll your hands to tell your
partner “keep it comin’” and so forth. If you’re speaking, then making speaking
gestures. No one should be merely sitting, being inactive. Let’s try it again. If I
clap twice and say teach! You clap twice and say okay! I want you to teach the 5
rules, really get into it, use those speaking and listening gestures. (Clapping
twice) Teach!
Audience: (clapping twice) Okay!
(Move around the room, praise or prompt and go on to another pair of students.)
Script 4: The Scoreboard
(Draw a Scoreboard like the one below on your board.)
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: Now, let’s get to the Motivator … the part of our system that motivates
students to work hard. The Scoreboard. When I make a mark on the Frowny side,
I want you all to raise your shoulders and give me a Mighty Groan, like this ….
awwww! Wait until I point at you to make the Groan. (Make a mark on the
Frowny side. Then point quickly at your audience.)
Audience: Awww!
Trainer; Not fast enough! Some of you didn’t even lift your shoulders! Here’s
another Frowny! (Point at them.) Groan!
Audience: Awww!
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: Almost fast enough. Have another Frowny! (Point at them.) Groan!
Audience: Awww!
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: Better! Much better! Now when I make a mark on the Smiley side,
you can have a one second party. Clap your hands, fling them up over your head
and exclaim, Oh Yeah! (Demo this. Then move your marker over to the Smiley
side.) Okay. Hold it. Hold it until I make a mark. (Make the mark and point at
your group.)
Audience: Oh Yeah!
Trainer: Not fast enough! (Mark another Frowny.) Mighty Groan!
Audience: Awww!
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: Use the Scoreboard to reward for positive behavior and penalize for
negative behavior. Be sure your students have fun with it. That’s why we
encourage the Mighty Oh Yeah and especially the Mighty Groan. When you
penalize your students, you can alienate them … but when they give a Mighty
Groan, they’re on your side, following directions and having fun. I want you to
teach your neighbor all about the Scoreboard, the Mighty Oh Yeah and the Mighty
Groan. Use big gestures. And if you do a really good job, I’ll give you a Smiley
… which will mean you’ll get out one minute early from today’s presentation!
Okay, get ready to teach your neighbor energetically about the Scoreboard. (Clap
three times.) Teach!
Audience: (clapping three times) Okay!
(move around the room and monitor comprehension and gestures. After a minute
or so, get your group’s attention.)
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: (write +-3 on the board near the Scoreboard.) Now, this is very, very
important. Never let the difference between Smilies and Frownies be larger than 3
points. If you reward too much, your students will lose motivation. If you punish
too much, they will quit trying. If you have a rowdy class, then find an excuse to
give a Smiley. Point at some student and say, “Juana earned a Smiley for
everyone. Give me a Mighty Oh Yeah!” If your class is really well behaved, thank
your lucky stars … but find an excuse, even an imaginary one, for giving a
Frowny. “Oh, we have a few students in the back who aren’t trying extremely
hard! Here’s a Frowny!” Now, I want you to teach your partner about the plus-
minus 3 rule. (Snap your fingers twice) Teach!
Audience: (Snapping their fingers twice) Okay!

Trainer: Classity, class!
Audience: Yesity, yes!
Trainer: Here is another huge point. The Scoreboard game is fixed! The score
never comes out to be anything other than what you want it to be. In elementary
school, we reward initially with one minute more or less of recess. On the first
day, be sure your students lose by one minute the first few times. Take them out to
the playground with a stopwatch in hand and let them watch the other kids play for
a minute. Make sure they never lose by more than a minute … they might get too
upset. Sometimes, let them score come out even, neither losing nor winning a
minute. Then after a few days, let them win a minute. Explain all this to your
neighbors. Teach!
Audience: Okay! (The group explains what you said to their neighbors.)
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: Now, listen to me very carefully. The smaller the reward you give, the
more valuable it is. Make my gestures. (Spread your arms out very wide. Make
other graphic gestures as you continue talking.) It’s a long year. You’ve got to
give small rewards at the beginning. When you finally give your students two
minutes free time, it will feel enormous to them! Teach!
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: (Draw the following on the board.)
Teacher Students
Now, if you have a very tough class, or you’re teaching middle school or high
school use this diagram. Tell your class that you’re going to be playing a game. If
the students are on task, learning, they score a point. If they aren’t, you get a point.
Explain to them that their goal is to have a few minutes before the end of class to
talk with their friends. Your goal is to talk all period. Tell them that you’re happy
when they are off task because it scores points for you! You get to teach and teach
and teach! That’s what you love to do. Tell your neighbor about that! Teach!
Trainer: Class!
Audience; Yes!
Trainer: This is a very powerful form of the Scoreboard. If a student complains
that the game is babyish, or groans, or makes a face or does anything that is off
task, you don’t scold! You congratulate them! Thank you very much! You’re
helping me! Another point for my side! Teach!
Trainer: Class! Class! Class!
Audience: Yes! Yes! Yes!
Trainer: Now you see the incredible power of the Teacher vs Student scoreboard.
The only way a student can rebel against you and not be on your team is to be well
behaved and score points for the students!!!! Teach!
(Inform the audience that henceforward in the seminar they will be playing the
Scoreboard for real. Their goal is to get out one minute early to their first break in
the seminar, typically after about an hour. Mark Smiles and Frownies as needed
during the rest of your presentation.)

Script 5: Hands and Eyes
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: The next technique is very simple. Whenever you want to make a big
point, totally focus your class, you say “hands and eyes.” Your class repeats
“hands and eyes”, folds their hands and stares at you. Let’s try it “hands and
eyes!”
Audience: (folding their hands and staring at you.) Hands and eyes!
Trainer: Great job. The first time you do this, you won’t believe the quality of
your students’ attention. Everyone will be focused, looking at you, wondrous!
I’ve now taught you five Power Teaching techniques: Class-yes, the 5 Rules,
Teach-Okay, the Scoreboard and Hands and Eyes. Using big gestures, teach all
these to your neighbor. Teach!
Script 6: Switch!
Trainer: Oh class!
Audience: Oh yes!
Trainer: Hands and eyes!
Audience: Hands and eyes!
Trainer: In our classes we have chronic yackers and chronic listeners. We want
the chronic yackers to learn to listen and we want the chronic listeners to start
talking. So, imagine I have counted you off in 1’s and 2’s. I want the 1’s to be the
teachers, use gestures, teach everything I’ve taught you. I want to the 2’s to be the
students, use listening gestures, encourage your teacher. When I shout “Switch!”, I
want you to shout “Switch!” and then the 1’s will be the students and the 2’s will
be the teachers. Let’s practice shouting “Switch!” Switch!
Audience: Switch!
Trainer: That wasn’t loud enough. That’s a point for me. (Marking on the
Teacher side of the scoreboard.) Mighty Groan!
Audience: Awwwww.
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: Let’s try that Switch again. Switch!
Audience: (louder this time) Switch!

Trainer: Great! That’s a point for you. (Marking on the student side of the
Scoreboard.)
Audience: Oh, yeah!
Trainer: Great. Now, teach your partner everything I’ve taught you. 1’s teach
the 2’s. Switch when I say switch. Teach!
Audience: Okay!
(After about a minute, shout Switch and everyone switches. Switch a few times
and then get your students’ attention.)
Trainer: Class, class!
Audience; Yes, yes!
Trainer: Hands and eyes.
Audience: Hands and eyes!
Trainer: You’ve now learned Power Teaching’s Big Six. Use the class-yes, with
various tones to get your students’ attention. Review the classroom rules
frequently, and as you teach, call out a rule whenever you want to correct a
student’s behavior. Teach-okay is a powerful technique for involving your students
in your lessons. Students love to teach each other. The Scoreboard is a powerful
motivator. But remember the plus/minus 3 rule. Always keep the Smilies and
Frownies, or the Teacher vs. Student scores within three points. Use Hands and
Eyes whenever you make a large point. Shout Switch when your students are
teaching each other, so that all your students are getting practice in speaking and
listening. Now, explain this to each other, use high energy … and maybe, just
maybe I’ll let you out early for your break! Teach!
PRACTICING TEACH-OKAY
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: Now, that you’ve learned the Big Six,you’re ready to practice the one
difficult skill in Power Teaching. Teach-okay is the hardest aspect of Power
Teaching to master. You must learn to speak in short units, usually from 30
seconds to one minute. We became teachers because we love to talk! I want the
1’s to stand up, teach the 2’s for 30 seconds and then I’ll call Switch! You shout
Switch and then the 1’s will sit and the 2’s will become the teachers. Teach
anything you want about Power Teaching, but try to finish your lesson before I say
Switch! Okay, Teach!
Audience; Okay!
(Continue calling “Switch!” every 30 seconds for three minutes. Then, follow the
list below, switching every 30 seconds for three minutes at each step:
-- your students add graphic gestures and teach for 30 second intervals
(model the difference between “floppy” and graphic gestures.)

-- the teaching student begins with “class” and then uses graphic gestures for
30 second intervals.
-- the teaching student begins with “class” and then uses graphic gestures,
teaching an actual classroom lesson (not information about Power Teaching.)
-- divide the class into groups of three. The teaching student begins with
“class”, uses graphic gestures, teaches an actual classroom lesson and finishes with
“teach!”. The student listens while his mini-class teaches each other and then taps
one of the seated students on the shoulder. This student stands and becomes the
new teacher. You should move around the room and encourage those who are
hesitant. Model speaking and listening gestures; let this continue for about ten
minutes and then conclude as follows.
Trainer: Class!
Audience: Yes!
Trainer: Teach your neighbors everything you’ve learned about Power Teaching.
Use high energy, big gestures, really get into it! Teach!
-- Conclude by guiding your class through the Brain On Power Teaching
diagram (pg. 37). Then ask your class to give you a mighty oh yeah and hand out
the evaluation sheet (pg. 38).

Suggestions
The six scripts above with ample time for your group to practice Teach-Okay
should take about an hour. For a two hour seminar for elementary school teachers,
strictly on classroom management, add the following in this order:
• Jay Vanderfin’s Card Practice System
• Levels
• the Guff Counter
• Please-Okay
• Independents
• Bulls-eye Game
Descriptions of all the above are in “Teaching Challenging Elementary
Students” available as a free download at:
http://homepage.mac.com/chrisbiffle/Menu38.html
For middle school/high school teachers, introduce, in the following order:
• Levels
• Guff Counter
• Please Okay
• Power Detention
• Bulls eye Game

Descriptions of all the above are in “Teaching Challenging Teens” available
as a free download at the site listed above.
For three hour seminars for teachers of any level, move on to “The Power
Student Olympics” available at the site above. “The Power Student Olympics”
download contains descriptions of how to use the SuperSpeed Reading and
SuperSpeed Math games in a highly motivating game in which students set and
break personal records.
Here are answers to several common questions often posed by teachers.
Question: Do you use Power Teaching all day? It seems like it might be
tiring?
Answer: The beauty of Power Teaching is that you can use it as often as
you wish. Like any new system, it will take some time learning and may, initially,
feel tiring. However, every time your class is involved in teaching each other, you
have a small rest. In addition, instead of going home tired from having hassles
with your class, you’ll go home tired from successfully teaching them.
Question: What rewards besides more or less recess can be offered for
winning the Scoreboard game?
Answer: We use anything (except candy and prizes) that we know will
motivate students. Music, videos, art, less homework, anything doled out in very
small amounts can be used as a reward. As the year progresses, you can increase
the reward from one minute of a video to two minutes and so on. If you use more
or less homework as a motivator (extremely powerful) then begin by giving
slightly more homework than normal. You can then reward with less homework
later; your students will end the year doing exactly the amount you wish, but they
will have it doled out in larger and smaller amounts. We especially recommend
using games from the Power Student Olympics as rewards. It is amazing to see
how hard students will work to gain the privilege of setting and breaking personal
records in our SuperSpeed reading and math games.
Question: Do students get tired of all the Mighty Oh Yeahs, Mighty Groans,
and so forth?
Answer: So far as we can tell, no. The key is variety. Change your tone of
voice, let different students lead the rules, add Levels to the game, change the
rewards. Students of all ages like short breaks to be silly ... Power Teaching gives
them lots of opportunities for on task silliness.
Question: What, in a nutshell, is Power Teaching all about?
Answer: Power Teaching’s goal is to create student engagement. That is all
we are trying to do. When the teacher says “class!” and students respond “yes!”
that is student engagement. When the teacher shouts “switch!” and the students
respond “switch!” that is student engagement. Repeating the five classroom rules,
giving Mighty Oh Yeahs and Mighty Groans, energetically teaching neighbors,
using “hands and eyes” ... everything we do is to create the magical beginning of
learning, students engaged with their instructors.

Teaching Challenging K-5 Students

Intro To Power Teaching
The Big Six
(Handing out papers)
1. The Attention Grabber: Class-Yes (Use this technique whenever you want to quickly
gain the attention of your class. For maximum effect, occasionally vary your tone of voice.)
2. The Organizer: Five Class Rules (Rehearse classroom rules and their gestures many times
a day. During instruction, when a rule is broken, call out the rule number and students, with
gestures, will respond in chorus with the rule.)
Note: You may want to use “Listen when your teacher is talking” as the “rule above all
rules.” Use a hand to the ear as the gesture.
1. Follow directions quickly!
2. Raise your hand for permission to speak.

3. Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.
4. Make smart choices.
5. Keep your dear teacher happy!
3. The Whole Brain Activator*: Teach-Okay (Speak briefly and then ask students to
paraphrase, with meaningful gestures, what you’ve said with a partner. Move around the
classroom to monitor your students’ comprehension.)
4. The Motivator: The Scoreboard (Frequently reward positive behavior and penalize for
negative behavior. Observe the plus/minus 3 rule and keep the positive and negative scores
within three points.)
5. The Focuser: Hands and Eyes (Use this technique whenever you want maximum
attention.)
6. The Involver: Switch! (Count your class off in 1’s and 2’s. Use this technique so that
every student has an opportunity to practice speaking and listening skills.)
-- The Brain on Power Teaching (see attached diagram)
*The Reviewer is Power Teaching’s most powerful technique. Speaking briefly is also the most
difficult skill to master!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information, contact: Chris Biffle CBiffle@AOL.com
A good place to learn about Power Teaching is classroompower.com
100’s of pages of free downloads describing Power Teaching’s classroom management, reading and math
strategies. are available at:
Videos demonstrating Power Teaching techniques are available at:
www.youtube.com/chrisbiffle
and at
http://www.teachertube.com/uprofile.php?UID=32259
A model Power Teacher training site is available at
http://www.quia.com/pages/hemet.html:
More about the Power Teaching organization can be found at:
www.powerteachers.org
Teaching Challenging Teenagers

Intro To Power Teaching for middle school/
high School
The Big Six
(Handing out papers)
1. The Attention Grabber: Class-Yes (Use this technique whenever you want to quickly
gain the attention of your class. For maximum effect, occasionally vary your tone of voice.)
2. The Organizer: Five Class Rules (Rehearse classroom rules and their gestures many times
a day. During instruction, when a rule is broken, call out the rule number and students, with
gestures, will respond in chorus with the rule.)
Note: You may want to use “Listen when your teacher is talking” as the “rule above all
rules.” Use a hand to the ear as the gesture.
1. Follow directions quickly!
2. Raise your hand for permission to speak.
3. Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.

4. Make smart choices.
5. Keep your dear teacher happy!
3. The Whole Brain Activator*: Teach-Okay (Speak briefly and then ask students to
paraphrase, with meaningful gestures, what you’ve said with a partner. Move around the
classroom to monitor your students’ comprehension.)
4. The Motivator: The Teacher vs. Students Scoreboard (Frequently reward positive
behavior and penalize for negative behavior. Observe the plus/minus 3 rule and keep the positive
and negative scores within three points.)
5. The Focuser: Hands and Eyes (Use this technique whenever you want maximum
attention.)
6. The Involver: Switch! (Count your class off in 1’s and 2’s. Use this technique so that
every student has an opportunity to practice speaking and listening skills.)
-- The Brain on Power Teaching (see attached diagram)
*The Whole Brain Activator is Power Teaching’s most powerful technique. Speaking briefly is
also the most difficult skill to master!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information, contact: Chris Biffle CBiffle@AOL.com
A good place to learn about Power Teaching is classroompower.com
100’s of pages of free downloads describing Power Teaching’s classroom management, reading and math
strategies. are available at:
Videos demonstrating Power Teaching techniques are available at:
www.youtube.com/chrisbiffle
and at
http://www.teachertube.com/uprofile.php?UID=32259
A model Power Teacher training site is available at
http://www.quia.com/pages/hemet.html:
More about the Power Teaching organization can be found at:
www.powerteachers.org
The Brain On Power Teaching!

The Big Six
1. Class-Yes activates the pre-frontal cortex, the reasoning center of the brain. Think of this area
as a “light switch” that must be turned on, repeatedly by Class-Yes, for the rest of the brain to
process information information.
2. Five classroom rules because they engage seeing, hearing, saying, doing and the limbic
system engage the pre-frontal cortex, Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, the limbic system,
hippocampus, visual cortex and motor cortex.
3. Teach-Okay is the most powerful of Power Teaching’s learning activities. Students have their
pre-frontal cortex engaged, activate Broca’s area as they listen, Wernike’s area as they speak, the
visual and the motor cortex as they see and make gestures. This whole brain activity powerfully
stimulates the hippocampus to form long term memories.
4. The Scoreboard keys directly into the limbic system’s emotions and the amygdala which
registers pleasure (Mighty Oh Yeah) and pain (Mighty Groan!) as students accumulate rewards
and penalties.
5. Hands and Eyes focuses all mental activity on seeing and hearing the teacher’s lesson.
6. Switch helps students fully develop both their listening (Broca’s area) and their speaking
(Wernicke’s area) abilities.
POWER TEACHING EVALUATION
Name ___________________________________________________________
You are: circle one (teacher, administrator, support personnel, student teacher,
substitute teacher) other _____________________________________________
State/School/District ________________________________________________
To receive announcements of Power Teaching conferences and free downloads
(please print neatly!) Home email:______________________________________
School email _______________________________________________________
What is your reaction to today’s seminar? ________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Your overall grade for the seminar is: A, B, C, D, F because _________________
__________________________________________________________________
How many people could you forward our emails to? ____________
How can we improve? ________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
I want to join Power Teachers of America to help spread Power Teaching’s
methods and free downloads: Yes _____ No _______

Power Teachers Training Manual

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Power Teachers Training Manual, copyright 2008, Chris Biffle 2

Script 2 Classroom Rules 11

Script 5 Hands and Eyes 25

Materials in this book may not be used or

But what does it take to be a

Power Teacher trainer? Please don’t

attempt training groups in our approach

until you’ve done the following:

1. Successfully used Power Teaching

in your classroom for several months.

Hands & Eyes and Switch.

3. Studied the e-books, “Teaching Challenging Elementary Students” and

“Teaching Challenging Teens” available at: http://homepage.mac.com/chrisbiffle/

4. Contacted Chris Biffle at CBiffle@AOL.com, describing your experience and

Power Teaching seminars or to use or duplicate any material in this book.

5. Hands and Eyes

The words in ALL CAPS in the scripts introduce sections of your

Begin with the Warm Up on the following page.

students have attended Power Teaching conferences. Power Teaching websites

1999 in Southern California by

three teachers: Chris Biffle, a

college philosophy instructor and

two of his former students, Jay

Vanderfin and Chris Rekstad,

elementary school teachers. I’m

going to use Power Teaching

techniques to teach you about Power Teaching. Look at me, please.

Audience: (looks at you.)

challenging behavior. Opening books, handing in papers, handing out papers,

rambunctious students to misbehave. I’m going to start with a sample of our

start counting. A 15 count is appropriate for a group of 30 or so. Use a 25 count

say yes! Class!

Trainer: However I say class, that’s how

you say yes. Class! Class!

Audience: Yes! Yes!

Trainer: (deep voice) Class!

Audience: (deep voice) Yes!

Trainer: (high voice) Class!

Audience: (high voice, many of them

Trainer: Classity, class, class, class!

Audience: Yesity, yes! yes! yes!

down…” (loudly) CLASS!

Script 2: THE FIVE CLASSROOM RULES*

rule and make the gesture. (In a commanding tone) Rule 1!

Audience: (mirroring your gesture.)

Rule 1: Follow directions quickly.

Trainer: Great! Now, here is Rule 2.

(Hold two fingers over your head; make a

“talking” gesture with your hand.) Rule 2:

Raise your hand for permission to speak!

Now, when I say Rule 2, repeat the rule and

the gesture. (In a commanding voice) Rule

Audience: (making the gesture) Rule 2:

Raise your hand for permission to speak!

walking gesture with your fingers.) Rule 3!

REVIEW OF RULES 1-3

Trainer: Great! Let’s review. Rule 1

Audience: (making the gesture) Rule 1: Follow directions quickly!

Trainer: Great! Rule 2!

Audience: Rule 2: Raise your hand for permission to speak!

Trainer: Wonderful! Rule 3!

Trainer: Fantastic! Now let’s go on to Rule 4 … a very important rule. Rule 4

guides students’ behavior in class, out of class, at home, everywhere! Rule 4: