Ask students to synthesise a complex idea in a single, well-crafted sentence. The discipline of having to make one sentence do all the work pushes students to use new syntactical forms.

This technique is all about promoting engagement. Writing Is important as it provides a way for students to reflect and prepare their thoughts in a deeper and more rigorous manner. If you then Cold Call, the response will be properly thought out. Or you might choose to view students’ writing over their shoulders as they write while you circulate.

It is important to praise good work. But you need to ensure that the praise is well deserved, and focused on specific behaviours or actions, rather than characteristics. For example, praise work which goes beyond what is expected, which shows some extra creativity or effort. Don’t praise children for being clever.

“A well-designed packet gives both teacher and students everything they need for the lesson at their fingertips.” You can read more about Double Planning here: http://teachlikeachampion.com/blog/tlac-2-0-excerpt-double-planning/

The aim here is to have everything you and the students need for the lesson all in one place. This cuts down on wasted time handing out bits of paper and looking for materials. You can create a teacher version which also includes notes for you - ie the teacher half of the double plan.

Cold Calling is a way to do a Check for Understanding (CFU) with one student at a time. The aim is to make engaged participation the expectation, so you call on your students regardless of whether they have raised their hands. 

Un-Targeted Questioning is not helpful. We default to asking vague questions like, “Do you have any questions?” or “Does everyone understand?” because we have not pre-planned any other questions.

We all know that reading is important, and promoting reading is a crucial part of our jobs, whatever subject we teach. This is something which is a key aspect of Doug Lemov’s work. Researcher Nic Spaul also emphasises how important this is for our nation.

But there’s reading and reading. Are we really challenging our students to read deeply? In an era where the superficial and the trivial are celebrated, we need to work extra hard to promote deep reading.

In TLAC, there is a basic flow to a lesson: 

• I do - teacher delivers key information/models/demonstrates
• We do - teacher asks students to HELP at key points and gradually offers less assistance
• You do - students practise the work on their own and teacher helps where necessary

How would you achieve this in Google Classroom?