Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College

Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College

Author: Doug Lemov | Language: English | ISBN: 0470550473 | Format: EPUB

Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College Description

Teach Like a Champion offers effective teaching techniques to help teachers, especially those in their first few years, become champions in the classroom. These powerful techniques are concrete, specific, and are easy to put into action the very next day. Training activities at the end of each chapter help the reader further their understanding through reflection and application of the ideas to their own practice.

Among the techniques:

• Technique #1: No Opt Out. How to move students from the blank stare or stubborn shrug to giving the right answer every time.
• Technique #35: Do It Again. When students fail to successfully complete a basic task, from entering the classroom quietly to passing papers around, doing it again, doing it right, and doing it perfectly, results in the best consequences.
• Technique #38: No Warnings. If you're angry with your students, it usually means you should be angry with yourself. This technique shows how to effectively address misbehaviors in your classroom.

The book includes a DVD of 25 video clips of teachers demonstrating the techniques in the classroom.

• Product Details
• Table of Contents
• Reviews

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (April 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470550473
• ISBN-13: 978-0470550472
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

DVD Contents ix

Foreword xi

Acknowledgments xv

The Author xix

Introduction: The Art of Teaching and Its Tools 1

PART ONE

TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION: THE ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUES

1 Setting High Academic Expectations 27
 
Technique 1: No Opt Out 28

Technique 2: Right Is Right 35

Technique 3: Stretch It 41

Technique 4: Format Matters 47

Technique 5: Without Apology 51

Reflection and Practice 55

2 Planning that Ensures Academic Achievement 57

Technique 6: Begin with the End 57

Technique 7: 4 Ms 60

Technique 8: Post It 63

Technique 9: Shortest Path 64

Technique 10: Double Plan 65

Technique 11: Draw the Map 67

Reflection and Practice 69

3 Structuring and Delivering Your Lessons 71

Technique 12: The Hook 75

Technique 13: Name the Steps 77

Technique 14: Board = Paper 82

Technique 15: Circulate 84

Technique 16: Break It Down 88

Technique 17: Ratio 92

Technique 18: Check for Understanding 97

Technique 19: At Bats 104

Technique 20: Exit Ticket 106

Technique 21: Take a Stand 106

Reflection and Practice 108

4 Engaging Students in Your Lessons 111

Technique 22: Cold Call 111

Technique 23: Call and Response 125

Technique 24: Pepper 131

Technique 25: Wait Time 134

Technique 26: Everybody Writes 137

Technique 27: Vegas 141

Reflection and Practice 144

5 Creating a Strong Classroom Culture 145

Technique 28: Entry Routine 151

Technique 29: Do Now 152

Technique 30: Tight Transitions 154

Technique 31: Binder Control 157

Technique 32: SLANT 158

Technique 33: On Your Mark 159

Technique 34: Seat Signals 161

Technique 35: Props 163

Reflection and Practice 165

6 Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations 167

Technique 36: 100 Percent 167

Technique 37: What to Do 177

Technique 38: Strong Voice 182

Technique 39: Do It Again 191

Technique 40: Sweat the Details 195

Technique 41: Threshold 197

Technique 42: No Warnings 199

Reflection and Practice 201

7 Building Character and Trust 203

Technique 43: Positive Framing 204

Technique 44: Precise Praise 210

Technique 45: Warm/Strict 213

Technique 46: The J-Factor 214

Technique 47: Emotional Constancy 219

Technique 48: Explain Everything 220

Technique 49: Normalize Error 221

Reflection and Practice 223

8 Improving Your Pacing: Additional Techniques for Creating a Positive Rhythm in the Classroom 225

Change the Pace 226

Brighten Lines 228

All Hands 229

Every Minute Matters 230

Look Forward 231

Work the Clock 232

Reflection and Practice 233

9 Challenging Students to Think Critically: Additional  Techniques for Questioning and Responding to Students 235

One at a Time 237

Simple to Complex 239

Verbatim (No Bait and Switch) 240

Clear and Concise 240

Stock Questions 241

Hit Rate 243

Reflection and Practice 245

PART TWO

HELPING STUDENTS GET THE MOST OUT OF READING:

CRITICAL SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES

10 How All Teachers Can (and Must) Be Reading Teachers 249

11 The Fundamentals: Teaching Decoding, Vocabulary Development, and Fluency 263

12 Comprehension: Teaching Students to Understand What They Read 283

Conclusion: The End Is the Beginning 309

Appendix: Behind-the-Scenes Interviews 311

Index 325

How to Use the DVD 331

I bought TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION despite its admittedly cheesy title and without knowing that it was featured by the NY TIMES (which I gather from a sampling of other reviews). Before finishing Doug Lemov's introduction, I realized I was reading a book from "the charter camp" or the "standardized tests slash data is everything" camp. OK. Not having a closed mind (last I checked), I took a deep breath and dove in. Coming out the other end of the rabbit hole, I see that Lemov's Wonderland is not for everybody, but there's something in it for everybody. I said someTHING (or things). Others may find it far too elementary (literally -- given the age groups covered -- and figuratively). And though all of Lemov's teachers and examples come from private and charter schools and most of them are from the Uncommon Schools he himself is a part of, public school teachers can glean something from this mixed bag, too.

Let's start with the good: TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION is a practical book with strategies that can be used immediately in the classroom. You can use all, some, or a few if you wish. Why do I mention this first? Many teachers who invest in professional development books complain that their purchases are too much on theory and not enough on practical ideas. That won't be the case here. Satisfied?

Next: this is about as basic a nuts and bolts text as you can buy. Lemov names things experienced teachers might not even bother to, such as "No Opt Out" (meaning: it's bad to let a kid say, "I don't know") and "Right Is Right" (meaning: you have to answer the question fully and accurately). Still, what looks obvious to teachers already in the trenches might not be to newbies and interested parents.

I purchased this book after reading the glowing feature article in the New York Times praising Mr. Lemov and his work. The article in the Times suggested that Mr. Lemov had visited a diverse array of schools "across the country", that Mr. Lemov had methodically determined which teachers were unusually effective, and that he had then thoroughly catalogued strategies used by those effective teachers.

Unfortunately, that's not the case. It turns out that for the New York Times, "across the country" means "from Rochester New York, to Newark New Jersey - with an occasional side trip to Washington DC or to Boston." Mr. Lemov's schools are a very narrow selection of charter schools, mostly the fourteen schools in the "Uncommon Schools" network for which he is managing director. Of his 14 schools:
* Nine are in Brooklyn;
* Three are in Newark, New Jersey;
* One is in Rochester, New York;
* One is in Troy, New York (near Albany).
That's it.

The schools in his book are a very narrow sliver of the American educational experience; they are all almost carbon copies of one another. Lemov shows no interest in, or even any awareness of, how race, ethnicity, immigrant status, or student gender might influence best practice in the classroom.

Lemov's book is based primarily on the fourteen schools in the network he manages, which he has a powerful commercial motive to promote as schools of excellence. He does occasionally mention other schools he has visited - which are almost always charter schools in cities around New York State, such as the Brighter Choice School for Boys, in Albany.
EVERY SCHOOL in this book is a charter school.
EVERY SCHOOL is located in the urban Northeast.

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