Teach Like a Champion - Part 4 (Reading Together)

This chapter is all about how to get your students involved.

- Cold Call
Call on students regardless of whether they have raised their hands or not. Make sure you don't use this as a "gotcha" technique, but rather call on all students at random.

- Call and Response
You ask a question and the entire class responds. Make sure that everyone participates.

- Pepper
You ask questions quickly, bouncing constantly between yourself and the students. This is best used to review material.

- Wait Time
Delay between asking the question and calling on someone to answer. This gives your students the ability to think about the question first.

- Everybody Writes
Have students write down their answers before you call on them.

- Vegas
Use something flashy and short to engage your students in the material.

Now to you: What stood out to you in this chapter?

Teaching Like a Champion - (Reading Together)

I apologize, but there will be no summary for this week. Please check back next week for the summary to chapter 4.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Teaching Like a Champion: Part 3 (Reading Together)

This chapter deals with how to structure and deliver your lessons in a way that helps your students gain and retain knowledge.

Lemov recommends using the I/We/You approach in order to move the knowledge from the teacher to the student.

I Techniques*
- The Hook: Use a short, engaging introduction to excite students about learning.
- Name the Steps: Give students specific steps by which to work or solve problems of the type you're presenting.
- Board = Paper: Model for students how to track the information they need to retain from your lessons.
- Circulate: Move around the classroom to engage and hold students accountable.

We Techniques*
- Break It Down: Respond to a lack of clear student understanding by breaking a problematic idea down into component parts.
- Ratio: Push more and more of the cognitive work out to students. Feigned ignorance (by the teacher) and unbundling can be especially useful.
- Check for Understanding: Determine whether students are ready for more and if they need the material presented again.

You Techniques
- At Bats: Students have the opportunity for lots of repetition.
- Exit Ticket: A single question to answer at the close of class.
- Take a Stand: Students make a judgment about the answer of one of their peers.

*taken from pages 73-74

What stood out to you? Leave your comments below.
Read chapter 3 for next week and come back here to join the discussion.

Teaching Like a Champion: Part 2 (Reading Together)

I found this section about planning helpful and I'm already thinking about ways I can implement the techniques that were discussed.

This week's chapter focused on planning that ensures academic achievement. Unlike the other techniques, these six are designed to be done before you enter your classroom.

Begin with the end
- start your planning with what objective you want to achieve

Four criteria for effective objectives
- manageable (should be completed within a single lesson)
- measurable
- made first
- most important (focus only on what's important for your students on their journey to college)

Post your objective in your classroom

Shortest path
- the simplest explanation or strategy is best

Double plan
- plan what your students will be doing while you're teaching

Draw the map
- plan how your classroom layout will reinforce how you want your students to engage with you, the material, and each other

What stood out to you? Leave your comments below.
Read chapter 3 for next week and come back here to join the discussion.