TEACH LIKE A
CHAMPION
Hamblen County Department of Education
Based on the work of Author Doug Lemov
By PresenterMedia.com
Technique 1-No Opt Out
The belief that a sequence
beginning with a student unable to
answer a question should end with
that student answering correctly as
often as possible.
Technique 2-Right Is Right
Set and defend a high standard of
correctness in your classroom.
In holding out for what is right, you
set the expectation that the
questions you ask and their answers
truly matter.
Technique 3- Stretch It
The sequence of learning does not
end with the right answer; reward
right answers with follow-up
questions that extend knowledge
and test for reliability. This
technique is especially important for
differentiating instruction.
Technique 4-Format Matters
It’s not just what students say that
matters, but how they say it.
Use format matters to prepare your
students to succeed by requiring
complete sentences and proficient
grammar every chance you get.
Technique 5- Without Apology
There is no such thing as boring
content, only boring instruction.
Four ways we are at risk for apologizing for
what we teach:
•Assuming something will be boring.
•Blaming it.
•Making it “accessible.”
•Apologizing for students.
Technique 6- Begin with the
End
By framing the objective first, you
substitute “What will my students
understand today?” for “What will
my students do today?”
Frame each lesson by the learning
goal, not the material.
Technique 7-4 M’s
Given the importance of standards, the
teacher must strive to make the path to
standard attaining proficiency of the
standard useful and effective.
Manageable-break everything into bite-sized
pieces called objectives.
Measurable-be able to assess mastery by the end
of the class.
Made First-design activities to meet the objective,
don’t retrofit an objective to make the activity fit.
Most Important-focus on what’s most important.
Technique 8-Post-It
Post your objective in the same
place every day, so that anyone can
identify your purpose for teaching
that day in plain English.
Technique 9- Shortest Path
All other things equal the shortest
path is the best.
Take the shortest path, and throw
out all other criteria.
Technique 10-Double Plan
It is as important to plan for what
students will be doing during each
phase of your lesson as it is to plan
for what you will be doing.
Technique 11- Draw the Map
Plan the environment to meet the
learning goals of the students.
Technique 12- The Hook
Short, engaging introduction to
excite students about learning
Technique 13- Name the Steps
When necessary give students
solution-specific steps by which to
work or solve problems of the type
you’re presenting. This involves
breaking down a complex task into
specific steps.
1. Identify the steps.
2. Make them “sticky”
3. Use two stairways
Technique 14-Board = Paper
Teach students how to take notes
about they need to retain from your
lessons. Copying from the board is
the start and then as they grow in
the process, they can discern what
to include
Technique 15-Circulate
Move around the classroom to engage and hold
students accountable.
Break the Plane-Move around the entire room within
the first five minutes of every class. (Don’t just move
around to take care of behavior problems.)
Full Access Required- Make sure you can circulate
everywhere in the classroom freely. (No backpacks or
having to move chairs to get around) Keep
passageways wide and clear.
Move Systematically-Circulate universally and
impersonally and unpredictably!!
Position for Power-As you circulate, your goal should be
to remain facing as much of the class as possible.
discussion.
Technique 16-Break It Down
Students learn complex skills by
breaking them down into manageable
steps and, if possible, giving each step
a name so that it can be easily
recalled. One of the best ways to
ensure success with it is to prepare by
identifying potential trouble spots and
drafting both anticipated wrong
answers and possible cues.
Technique 17-Ratio
The proportion of the cognitive
work students do in your classroom
is the ratio. Push more and more of
the cognitive work out to students
as soon as they are ready, with the
understanding that the cognitive
work must be on-task, focused, and
productive.
Technique 18-Checks for
Understanding
Should be constant and should be
called, “Checks for Understanding
and Do Something About it Right
Away.”
Technique 19-At Bats
“Teach them the basics of how to
hit, and then get them as many at
bats as you can.”
Practice after practice!!
Technique 20-Exit Ticket
•1-3 questions
•designed to yield data ( Questions
are fairly simple and focus on one
key part of the objective.)
• Multiple formats.
Technique 21-Take A Stand
This involves pushing students to
actively engage in the ideas around
them by making judgments about
the answers their peers provide.
The key is having them defend and
explain their answers.
Technique 22- Cold Call
In order to make engaged
participation the expectation, call on
students regardless of whether or
not they raise their hand.
Technique 23-Call and Response
You ask a question and the entire class
answers out loud in unison.
Repeat: what the teacher says
Report: Those who have finished the
problems or questions on their own are asked
to report their answers back.
Reinforce: You reinforce new information or a
strong answer by asking the class to repeat it.
Review
Solve
Technique 24- Pepper
A teacher tosses questions to a
group of students quickly, and they
answer back. No discussion! If an
incorrect answer is given, the
teacher asks another student the
same question.
• Head to head.
•Sit down.
Technique 25- Wait Time
Wait Time refers to the technique of
delaying a few strategic seconds
after you finish asking a question
and before you ask a student to
begin answering it.
Technique 26- Everybody
Writes
Set your students up for rigorous
engagement by giving them the
opportunity to reflect first in writing
before discussing. Students
remember twice as much of what
they are learning if they write it
down.
Technique 27-Vegas
It’s the sparkle, the moment during
class when you might observe some
production value: music, lights,
rhythm, dancing. It reinforces not
just academics generally but one of
the day’s learning objectives. Short,
sweet, and to the point.
Technique 28-Entry Routine
Your entry routine describes how you expect
students to enter the classroom and how
the class session begins. A good entry
routine is planned to proceed quickly and
automatically with little or no narration by
the teacher. It becomes part of the
classroom culture.
The objectives, agenda, and homework
assignments should already be posted in a
consistent and predictable place.
Technique 29- Do Now
A Do Now is a short activity that is written on
the board or is waiting on the table by the
door when the students enter.
Four Criteria for Focus, Efficiency, and
Effectiveness
1.
2.
3.
4.
completed without direction or discussion
3 to 5 minutes to complete
a written product
should preview the day’s lesson or review a
recent lesson
Technique 30-Tight Transitions
The Power of Tight Transitions
1 minute x 10 transitions x 200 days
= 35 hours of instructional time or
one week
Technique 31- Binder Control
1. Have a required binder for
students to take notes.
2. Require an organizational format.
Assign a number to each assignment
Use a student-made table of
contents
Require students to maintain the
binder daily
Technique 32-SLANT
Five Key Behaviors that Maximize
Student Attention
Sit up
Listen
Ask and answer questions
Nod your head
Track the speaker
Technique 33-On Your Mark
Students should be prepared before class
begins.
1. Ensuring Students are On Their Marks
2. Be explicit about what students need to
start class
3. Set a time limit.
4. Use a standard consequence
5. Provide tools without consequences to
those who recognize the need before class
6. Include homework
Technique 34-Seat Signals
Seat signals should meet the following
criteria
1. While seated
2. Nonverbal
3. Specific, unambiguous, and subtle
4. Response does not distract from
learning
5. Explicit and consistent
Technique 35-Props
Props is public praise for students
who demonstrate excellence or
exemplify virtues.
Technique 36-100 Percent
Three principles to ensure
consistent follow-through and
compliance in the classroom.
Use the least invasive form of
intervention
Relying on firm, calm finesse.
Emphasize compliance you can see.
Technique 37-What to Do
To be effective, directions should be
specific, concrete, sequential, and
observable.
Technique 38-Strong Voice
The Five Principles of Strong Voice
•Economy of language
•Do not talk over
•Do not engage
•Square up/stand still
•Quite power
Technique 39-Do It Again
Doing it again and doing it right, or
better, or perfect is often the best
consequence.
Technique 40-Sweat the Details
The key to Sweat the Details is
preparation. Planning for
orderliness means putting systems
in place in advance that make
accomplishing the goal quick and
easy.
Technique 41-Threshold
The most important moment to set
expectations in your classroom is
the minute when your classroom
students enter or, if they are
transitioning within a classroom,
when they formally begin their
lesson.
Technique 42-No Warnings
The behavior that most often gets in
the way of taking action is the
warning. Giving a warning is not
taking action; it is threatening that
you might take an action and
therefore is counterproductive.
Warnings tell students that a certain
amount of disobedience will not
only be tolerated but is expected.
Technique 43-Positive Framing
Making interventions to correct
student behavior in a positive and
constructive way.
Technique 44-Precise Praise
Positive reinforcement is one of the
most powerful tools in every
classroom. Most experts say it
should happen three times as often
as criticism and correction.
Technique 45-Warm/Strict
As teachers, we must be both:
caring, funny, warm, concerned, and
nurturing – and also strict, by the
book, relentless, and sometimes
inflexible.
Technique 46- The J Factor
The finest teachers offer up their
work with generous servings of
energy, passion, enthusiasm, fun,
and humor – not necessarily as the
antidote to hard work but because
those are some of the primary ways
that hard work gets done.
Technique 47-Emotional
Consistency
First, modulate your emotions.
Next, tie your emotions to student
achievement, not to your own
moods or the emotions of the
students you teach.
Technique 48-Change the Pace
Instead of changing topics every ten
to fifteen minutes, which is
distracting, confusing, and
unproductive change the format of
the work every ten to fifteen
minutes as you seek to master a
single topic.
Technique 49-Brighten Lines
Bright, clear lines at the beginning
and end of your instruction. It also
improves pacing because the first
and last minute of any activity play a
large role in shaping students’
perceptions. Get your activities off
to a clean start, and students will
perceive them to be energetic and
dynamic.
Technique 50-All Hands
Managing questions, requests, and
comments that are either off task or
persist on a topic you are ready to
dispense with.
Technique 51-Every Minute
Matters
Time is water in the desert, a
teacher’s most precious resource: to
be guarded and conserved. Each
every minute of everyday.
Technique 52-Look Forward
Use an agenda on the board for a
lesson or daily plans.
Technique 53-Work the Clock
Count it down, parcel it out in highly
specific increments, announcing an
allotted time for each activity, and
allowing you to continually set goals
for you class’s speed in meeting
expectations.