FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE This guide presents a set of 11 Foundational Teaching Skills (FTS). The guide’s objective is to support the design, implementation and evaluation of effective in-service teacher professional development programs and systems that help teachers improve the quality of teaching and learning processes in the classroom. i © 2022 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved. This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the information included in this work. 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FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. iv Overview ............................................................................................................................. 1 Background ........................................................................................................................ 1 Selection ............................................................................................................................. 2 11 Foundational Teaching Skills ......................................................................................... 3 Using This Guide ................................................................................................................ 5 Complementary Materials ................................................................................................... 7 Structure ............................................................................................................................. 8 Socioemotional Competencies ........................................................................................... 9 Foundational Teaching Skills ............................................................................................ 11 ESTABLISH ROUTINES AND NORMS....................................................................................................................... 12 REINFORCE ROUTINES AND NORMS ..................................................................................................................... 14 GIVE CLEAR DIRECTIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 16 CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES AND BIASES ............................................................................................................. 18 BUILD RELATIONSHIPS ............................................................................................................................................ 20 DEMONSTRATE AND PRACTICE.............................................................................................................................. 22 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING ............................................................................................................................... 24 GIVE FEEDBACK ........................................................................................................................................................ 26 ADJUST INSTRUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 28 PROMOTE DEEPER THINKING ................................................................................................................................. 30 CONNECT LEARNING ................................................................................................................................................ 32 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 34 iii Acknowledgments The Foundational Teaching Skills Guide was prepared by a team led by Adelle Pushparatnam and Ezequiel Molina. The core team comprised Tara Beteille, Jayanti Bhatia, Ana Teresa del Toro Mijares, Elaine Ding, Priyal Gala, Laura Mahajan, Manal Quota, and Tracy Wilichowski. A number of colleagues provided insightful comments, feedback, and inputs on the package. These colleagues include Melissa Adelman, Anna Boni, Michael Crawford, Laura Gregory, Juan Manuel Moreno, and Alonso Sanchez. This version of the Foundational Teaching Skills Guide incorporates recommendations from a broad range of perspectives that were crowdsourced as part of an international public consultation. Specifically, this updated guide (1) provides additional information on the document’s intended use, (2) incorporates a different suggested sequence to the Foundational Teaching Skills, and (3) features changes to some skills featured under classroom culture. The team is grateful to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Teachers Taskforce, Gates Foundation, and Varkey Foundation (Latin America) for hosting consultation workshops in which individuals from multiple organizations provided guidance and feedback on the note. The team also values the conversations with the Central Square Foundation, Education Commission, Commonwealth Education Trust, Varkey Foundation (Latin America), and Global School Leaders, which contributed to revisions made to this version of document. Finally, the team appreciates the written comments received from Davone Bounpheng (Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – DFAT), Kathryn Bullard (Global Partnership for Education – GPE), Brooke Estes (United States Agency for International Development – USAID), Satyam Gupta (Teach for India), Asyia Kazmi (Gates Foundation), Nora Klami (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland), Rebeca Martinez (USAID), Ee-Reh Owo (Justice Rising), Eleanor Sykes (Commonwealth Education Trust), Ramya Vivekanandan (GPE), and Right to Play International. This package is part of a series of products by the Coach Team. Overall guidance for the development and preparation of the package was provided by Omar Arias, Practice Manager for the Global Knowledge and Innovation Team. The package was designed by Danielle Willis. Alicia Hetzner was the chief copy editor. Patrick Biribonwa and Medhanit Solomon provided administrative support. Directions Routines and Norms Understanding Feedback Practice Deeper Thinking Instruction Relationships iv | COACH Overview This guide presents a set of 11 Foundational Teaching Skills (FTS). The objective of this guide is to support the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective in- service teacher professional development (TPD) programs and systems that enable teachers to improve the quality of teaching and learning processes in the classroom. For each skill, the guide provides a clear description of what it entails, step-by-step guidance on how to implement it effectively in the classroom, and a detailed example. The 11 FTS in this guide are written with simple, specific strategies that can be applied immediately in the classroom. Each skill’s description, how-to, and example are presented concisely in two pages. The skills are designed to work in most or all grade levels and in any subject. A broad range of education professionals can use this guide in their work. These professionals include system-level leaders; program designers; trainers; school leaders, pedagogical leaders, coaches, and others whose role is to support teachers in improving their classroom practice; and classroom teachers. The guide can be used to support, among other activities, the design and delivery of TPD programs, the planning and delivery of teacher coaching sessions, and teacher individual self-study. Background Research on the science of behavioral change and habit formation highlights the importance of having a clear vision of the new desired behavior, to successfully affect change. This insight is an important one for the field of TPD, in which many programs have been ineffective in helping teachers to develop new skills and to use these new skills in the classroom. Thus, many past programs have not generated changes in teaching practice or student learning. TPD programs that seek to change teacher behaviors in the classroom must provide a clear vision of the desired new behaviors that teachers should use. Providing such a vision is essential to target the support that teachers receive to help them articulate, unpack, practice, and receive feedback on this set of discrete behaviors and practices. This guide provides detailed information about the set of 11 FTS. The guide demonstrates how these skills should be used in the classroom. The guide also is a resource that stakeholders can consult when thinking through which of the 11 teaching skills they want explore for a particular TPD experience. The guide presents these skills to teachers step by step to increase the likelihood of the TPD program’s leading to meaningful changes in teachers’ behaviors in the classroom and, consequently, in student learning. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 1 Selection The 11 FTS presented in this guide were selected through a rigorous process. The key steps of that process were: 1. Materials from 18 teacher professional development programs from 11 countries1 were reviewed to identify the pedagogical techniques that they included. 2. These pedagogical techniques then were organized in different categories, such as “positive behavioral expectations,” “checking for understanding,” and “perseverance.” 3. Within each category, pedagogical techniques were prioritized for inclusion in the manual if they were: a. Common across teacher professional development programs b. Applicable across a wide range of classroom settings (including large class sizes and different grade levels) c. Relatively easy to teach and learn d. Shown by research to contribute to teacher effectiveness and to improve student outcomes. 4. Last, these prioritized pedagogical techniques were organized into the 11 FTS presented in this guide. Importantly, the 11 FTS identified and selected through this process are not meant to be exhaustive. Rather, they serve as an initial foundation for effective teaching. Users of this guide are encouraged to layer on, complement, and adapt these skills as needed to match the needs of a particular context. The 11 FTS are subject-agnostic and meant to be used across all education levels. Nevertheless, the way that the Teaching Skills can be implemented in the classroom may vary somewhat across subject matter and grade levels. The 11 FTS identified and selected through this process are anchored in, and aligned with, frameworks such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The UDL supports all students’ participation, learning, and success in the classroom. For example, skills such as “Check for Understanding” and “Adjust Instruction” support the teacher in ensuring that all students are making progress. The Foundational Teaching Skills Guide also provides strategies to adjust support to help students who are struggling. In this way, the Teaching Skills are aligned with, and support, a vision of inclusive, high-quality education for all students. This vision is in line with the World Bank Group’s commitment to address global learning poverty and to help advance progress toward Sustainable Development Goal #4, Quality Education. To learn more about the research that links each of the 11 FTS to teacher effectiveness and student outcomes, please consult the Bibliography of this document. 1 Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Myanmar, South Africa, Uganda, United States of America, and West Bank and Gaza. 2 | COACH 11 Foundational Teaching Skills This guide presents a total of 11 Foundational Teaching Skills (FTS). These 11 skills can be put in two categories. The five skills most closely related to classroom culture are highlighted in pink. The six skills most closely related to instruction are highlighted in yellow.2 Table 1. The Foundational Teaching Skills ESTABLISH ROUTINES AND NORMS DEMONSTRATE AND PRACTICE The teacher asks students to follow routines The teacher shows students how to perform a new to create a safe, efficient, and productive task. The students then practice the same task. classroom. The teacher sets the norms to be the standards for student behavior in class. REINFORCE ROUTINES AND NORMS CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING The teacher employs strategies to help The teacher pauses and asks a basic question to students consistently follow her/his routines see whether students understand the lesson so far. and norms. GIVE CLEAR DIRECTIONS GIVE FEEDBACK The teacher gives clear guidance for The teacher tells students what they are doing well academic work. and helps them fix mistakes. CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES ADJUST INSTRUCTION AND BIASES The teacher actively works against the The teacher makes changes in her/his teaching stereotypes and biases that exist in his/her based on how students are performing in the community and provides all students with lesson. equal opportunities to learn. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS PROMOTE DEEPER THINKING The teacher builds relationships with The teacher asks students challenging questions students by getting to know them better as that have more than one correct answer and that individuals. require students to explain their thinking. CONNECT LEARNING The teacher asks students to recall knowledge from previous lessons and use it to support understanding of the new knowledge they will be learning today. 2 There is meaningful overlap between these two categories. For example, Give Clear Directions both helps establish a classroom culture of order and learning and guides students through different instructional activities. Skills are presented across these two categories to facilitate an understanding of each skill’s focus. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 3 Among the FTS focused on building a positive classroom culture, skills are listed in an order in which each skill builds on prior ones. For example, “Reinforce Routines and Norms” builds on the skills developed in “Establish Routines and Norms.” Similarly, among the FTS focused on effective instruction, “Give Feedback and Adjust Instruction” both build on the skill of “Check for Understanding,” which builds on skills in “Demonstrate and Practice.” The Coach Contextualization Guide (Forthcoming) provides a suggested sequence to teach and coach these skills, starting from those that are most foundational so that teachers and coaches can build on prior skills as they progress. The Coach Contextualization Guide also provides suggested sequences for teaching and coaching these skills when time is limited and some skills need to be prioritized over others. Ultimately, however, skills should be presented, taught, and coached in the order that best aligns to the context in which they will be used. What is most important is that the skills utilized, as well as the order in which they are presented, respond to specific teacher needs and context. Users of the guide, therefore, are encouraged to go through the skills in the way that best responds to their needs and context. For example, a province-level program may have the objective of supporting teachers in developing the skills to effectively use early grade reading lesson plans in the classroom. As a result, this program may select the top 5 skills most relevant to this goal, without focusing on the remaining 6 skills. A coach working with a specific teacher may have data from classroom observations about the skills that the teacher most struggles with. The coach then may choose to focus on only the skills that are most relevant for the teacher. For example, if the teacher already has well-established routines in his/her classroom, the teacher and coach may choose to skip the first skill. If you are a teacher using this guide to improve your teaching skills, you may choose not to follow the suggested sequence if you think at any point that it would be helpful to learn a skill out of order. For example, you may think that “Challenge Stereotypes and Biases” is a skill that you would be interested in learning more about so you would start there even though it is farther down the list. You also may choose to return to skills you have covered previously to reinforce these skills in your teaching. For example, after completing “Promote Deeper Thinking,” you may choose to return to “Give Feedback” and “Adjust Instruction.” We encourage tailoring the TPD experience to teachers’ needs by using data and insights from instruments such as the Teach Classroom Observation Tool (World Bank 2019), other classroom observation tools, or needs-assessment instruments to identify and select the skills on which the TPD program or system will focus. 4 | COACH Using This Guide System-level leaders; program designers; teacher trainers; pedagogical leaders, coaches, and others whose role is to support teachers in improving their classroom practice; and classroom teachers can use this resource in different ways. Table 2. Foundational Teaching Skills Guide Potential Use(s) Actor Potential use(s) System-level This guide can be used to support needs assessment and early-stage design of leaders TPD programs and systems. Leaders and program staff may use the guide to (policymakers identify skills that are strengths or areas of opportunity for a group of teachers and staff) and at the national, subnational, system, or school level. Leaders and program staff program staff also may use the content in the guide to initiate design and planning for different support mechanisms to help teachers develop a subset or all of the skills, in either pre-service or in-service training. For example, system-level leaders within a ministry may identify that, to implement a new curriculum that relies on the use of structured lesson plans, teachers must strengthen how they “Demonstrate and Practice,” “Check for Understanding,” and “Adjust Instruction.” These system-level leaders thus would use the content in this guide to start early design on a set of group training sessions for teachers focused on these skills. Program This guide can be used to support in the design of pre-service or in-service designers TPD programs including through group training sessions, 1-1 coaching sessions, school- or cluster-based groupings, or other mechanisms. Program designers can use the guide (a) to identify all or a subset of skills that a TPD program will focus on; and (b) to design program content, materials, and scope. For example, designers may be tasked with developing a program to support teachers in developing better classroom management skills. Program designers may select a subset of the skills under classroom culture to design a structured coaching protocol and initial training focusing on the selected skills. Designer also may use this guide as a template to develop materials for skills not covered in the guide. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 5 Trainers This guide can be used to support in the delivery of pre-service or in-service TPD programs for teachers, including through group training sessions, 1-1 coaching sessions, school- or cluster-based groupings, or other mechanisms. Trainers who are delivering a group training on some or all of the skills may reference directly the material in this guide, or ask participants to do so, to support discussion, modeling, and practice of each skill. For example, a trainer delivering a targeted training on how to check for students’ understanding may ask participants to read the content related to this skill prior to training. Both trainer and students then would be on board with using the step-by-step guidance to carry out a session focused on modeling and practicing the skill. School This guide may be used by principals, school leaders, pedagogical advisors, leaders, government officials, peer teachers, or other individuals who provide a pedagogical coaching or continuous support role to teachers. Depending on the structure leaders, and objectives of the coaching program, the coach and the teacher may use coaches, and the guide to help identify or describe skills that the teacher is doing well or others whose needs to improve. The coach then can discuss, model, practice, and provide role focuses on supporting feedback on a specific skill. teachers For example, a coach providing 1-1 support to a teacher on all FTS may use the guide in the follow-up conversation to a classroom observation visit. The coach may reference the guide to identify a skill on which to focus the conversation and to provide more information about how to use that skill well in the classroom. Classroom Individual teachers may use the materials as they would a book or manual on teachers teaching practices by reading about a skill, trying it in their classrooms, and reflecting on what worked individually or with a colleague. Teacher peer groups, in which teachers learn from one another, could read about one Foundational Teaching Skill, practice it together, try it in their classrooms, and reconvene to discuss what went well and what did not. Individual teachers and groups of teachers who have been trained on all or a subset of the FTS through pre-service or in-service training can use this guide as a reference document during the school year as they implement the skills in their classrooms. For example, a teacher who is seeking to improve how s/he uses “Check for Understanding” in the classroom may open the guide in advance of the class session, to review the different strategies for this skill. 6 | COACH Complementary Materials The Foundational Teaching Skills Guide is accompanied by a set of complementary materials to facilitate and expand its use. Specifically, the guide may be used together with the following three resources from the Coach Tools and Resources: The Foundational Teaching Skills Teacher Training package: A package meant to be used by a master trainer delivering group support to teachers focused on improving their skills across all or a subset of the 11 FTS. The package consists of a training manual, a participant workbook, and video scripts. The manual has been designed in a modular fashion so that a trainer may combine modules depending on which skills s/he is training on. The manual provides detailed, scripted guidance to the trainer to conduct a high-quality, multiple-day training for teachers to understand, discuss, model, practice, and receive feedback on the selected skills. The Foundational Teaching Skills Coach Training package: A package meant to be used by a master trainer delivering group support to coaches focused on supporting teachers in improving their skills across all or a subset of the 11 FTS. The package consists of a training manual, a participant workbook, and video scripts. The manual has been designed in a modular fashion so that a trainer may combine modules depending on which skills s/he is training on. The manual provides detailed, scripted guidance to the trainer to conduct a high-quality, multiple-day training for coaches to understand, discuss, model, practice and receive feedback on how to coach teachers effectively on selected skills. The Coach Companion: A manual meant to be used by a coach who is providing 1-1 support to teachers focused on improving their skills across all or a subset of the 11 FTS. The manual is meant to be used by the coach in the field as s/he conducts regular classroom visits; identifies skills for which teachers need support; and conducts follow-up feedback conversations after each observation that provide targeted feedback, modeling, and practice for the teacher. Contextualization Importantly, the Foundational Teaching Skills Guide as well as the complementary materials described above are meant to be adapted to the needs and context in which they will be applied. Although the materials have been developed with pertinent examples from around the world, it is essential to ensure their adaptation and contextualization case by case. For example, users of the guide may select only a subset of the skills to use or may complement these skills with other teaching skills or knowledge that teachers will be covering. As another option, the content or each skill (including specific strategies and steps) may be adapted to the grade levels or subject taught. As another possibility, examples may be added or adjusted to increase their relevance to a selected context. Other relevant Coach Tools and Resources In addition to the resources outlined above, the Foundational Teaching Skills Guide should be used in the context of a well-designed teacher professional development program or system. More information on the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective TPD programs and systems can be found in the other Coach Tools and Resources: • Structuring Effective 1-1 Support • Facilitating Effective 1-1 Support • Structuring Effective Group Training • Structuring and Supporting School- and Cluster-Based Continuous Professional Development • Monitoring and Evaluation for In-Service Teacher Professional Development Programs • Motivating Changes in Teaching Practices • Teacher’s Guide Diagnostic Tool Manual. All Coach Tools and Resources may be found at www.worldbank.org/coach. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 7 Structure Each Foundational Teaching Skill is structured identically over two pages: Figure 1. Foundational Teaching Skill Structure Skill Name Definition Overview How-to One-sentence Describes the purpose Lists and explains description of the skill of the skill and how it each step for using is typically used that skill in the classroom Sequence Links Example The list of FTS in order When a different FTS Shows how the skill and where you are in is referenced, you will works in a particular that order. see a star. lesson or teaching scenario. 8 | COACH Socioemotional Competencies The FTS in this guide are designed to help students learn both academic content and important socioemotional competencies.3 Socioemotional competencies are how people “manage their emotions, perceive themselves and engage with others, rather than their ability to process information.”4 Research has shown that these competencies help students achieve more in school and have more positive life outcomes.5 This guide uses OECD’s framework (table 3) for socioemotional competencies. This framework groups competencies in five domains.6 Table 3. OECD’s Socioemotional Competencies Framework Domain Socioemotional competencies Task Achievement orientation — Sets high standards for self and works hard to meet them performance Responsibility — Honors commitments and is punctual and reliable Self-control — Avoids distractions and focuses attention on current task to achieve personal goals Persistence — Perseveres in tasks and activities until they get done Emotional Stress resistance — Modulates anxiety and calmly solve problems (is relaxed; handles stress well) regulation Optimism — Holds positive and optimistic expectations for self and life in general Emotional control — Has developed effective strategies to regulate temper, anger, and irritation Collaboration Empathy — Has kindness and caring for others and their well-being that leads to valuing and investing in close relationships Trust — Assumes that others generally have good intentions and forgives those who have caused harm Cooperation — Lives in harmony with others and values interconnectedness among all people. Open- Tolerance — Is open to different points of view, values diversity, is appreciative of different people and mindedness cultures Creativity — Generates novel ways to do or think about situations through exploring, learning from failure, insight, and vision Curiosity — Is interested in ideas and loves learning, understanding, and intellectual exploration; is inquisitive Engagement Sociability — Approach others, both friends and strangers; initiates and maintains social connections with others Assertiveness — Confidently voices opinions, needs, and feelings; exerts social influence Energy — Approaches daily life with energy, excitement, and spontaneity Compound Self-efficacy — Believes in her or his ability to execute tasks and achieve goals skills — Critical thinking — Evaluates information and interprets it through independent and unconstrained combinations of analysis skills that have outsize effect Meta-cognition — Is aware of inner processes and subjective experiences, such as thoughts and feelings; on outcomes reflects on and articulates such experiences Source: Adapted from Chernyshenko and others 2018. 3 Many different models describe socioemotional skills. In this guide, we have followed the model from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) because it is relatively easy to understand; it has an international focus; and currently is being comprehensively studied. 4 http://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/social-emotional-skills-study/about/ 5 https://casel.org/impact/ 6 Importantly, the socioemotional competencies outlined here are context- and culture-specific so may not be relevant or manifest equally across all contexts and cultures. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 9 Socioemotional competencies can be taught directly to students. Many academic programs include such units or modules, with explicit discussion, modeling, and practice of these skills. However, these competencies also are taught indirectly through the classroom culture and pedagogical methods established by the teacher. All the FTS in this guide teach one or more of the competencies listed in Table 3. For example, the first Foundational Teaching Skill, “Establish Routines and Norms,” helps students to learn and practice: • Task performance: Students learn responsibility and self-control by performing routines in a specific way each time to benefit both themselves and the group. • Emotional regulation: Students learn methods for doing work that help them avoid stress and retain emotional control. • Collaboration: Students work together on many classroom routines, which help them collaborate with and trust others. Each Foundational Teaching Skill contains a section entitled “Socioemotional Connections,” linking the skill to embedded socioemotional competencies. These linkages are shown in full in Table 4. Table 4. Linkages between Foundational Teaching Skills and the OECD’s Socioemotional Competencies Establish Routines Build Relationships Adjust Instruction and Norms • Empathy • Persistence • Self-control • Cooperation • Achievement orientation • Responsibility • Trust • Self-efficacy • Cooperation • Optimism Promote Deeper Reinforce Routines Demonstrate Thinking and Norms and Practice • Critical thinking • Emotional control • Self-efficacy • Assertiveness • Stress resistance • Open-mindedness Check for • Creativity Give Clear Directions Understanding • Self-control • Self-efficacy Connect Learning • Responsibility • Sociability Meta-cognition • Cooperation • Cooperation • Self-efficacy • Assertiveness Challenge Biases Give Feedback and Stereotypes • Persistence • Tolerance • Achievement orientation • Empathy • Self-efficacy Source: Chernyshenko and others 2018. 10 | COACH FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 11 ESTABLISH DEFINITION: Routines are series of actions that the teacher asks students to follow each ROUTINES AND day in the classroom. Norms are standards for student behavior in class. Both routines and norms help to create a safe, efficient, and positive classroom environment for students that NORMS supports their learning and success. OVERVIEW: Routines teach students what they should be doing at different parts of the Establish Routines school day. Norms teach students how they should behave in the classroom. Routines and and Norms norms create a safe environment, save learning time, and teach positive habits. They are most effective when established at the beginning of the year, but they can be taught Reinforce Routines anytime. Once you establish a routine or norm, it is important that you remind students to and Norms follow it and consistently reinforce it, because it usually takes time for students to adapt ( Reinforce Routines and Norms). In this Foundational Teaching Skill, you will learn how to choose a routine or norm, break it into steps, and teach it to students. Give Clear Directions HOW-TO: Steps Challenge Stereotypes and 1 Choose a routine or norm. Biases To decide which routine or norm to work on, ask yourself: When does the class lose Build Relationships the most learning time? For example, many classes lose learning time when: Demonstrate • Students enter class and Practice • Teacher takes attendance • Students hand in homework Check for • Teacher hands out materials Understanding • Students talk over the teacher. It is best to choose one routine or norm at a time. Give Feedback 2 Break the routine or norm into steps. Adjust Instruction Complete the routine or norm as you would like students to do it. Record each step as you go. Try to each step simple and concrete. Promote Deeper Thinking 3 Teach the new routine or norm to students. Connect Learning Include time in your lesson to teach the new routine to students. To teach the routine: Explain the routine — Explain 1) what routine or norm you are changing and 2) why Socioemotional it is important. Use short, simple sentences and speak slowly and clearly. Connections Show the routine — Act out what you want students to do step-by-step so students • Self-control see exactly what to do. • Responsibility • Cooperation Practice with a few students — Ask 1 or 2 students to practice the routine or norm in front of the class. Provide feedback on what they did well and what they could do to improve. Practice with the whole class — Ask the whole class to try the new routine or norm. Provide feedback on what they did well and what they could do to improve. You may need to practice more than one time! 12 | COACH 4 Remind and reinforce positive behavior for several days. For at least 3 days after you teach the new routine or norm, remind students how to do it. Then, recognize students doing it correctly ( Reinforce Routines and Norms). EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of establish a routines or norm. STEP 1 You ask yourself: When does the class lose the most learning time? You decide it is during Choose a transitions. In many transitions, students continue working on the last activity while others start routine or chatting. norm. STEP 2 You sit at a student desk. You think about how to you want students to transition. You imagine Break the yourself at the front of the room. You write down these steps: routine or norm 1. Teacher lets students know when there is 1 minute remaining in the activity. into steps. 2. When the time is up, teacher holds up a hand. 3. Students put down their pencils, close their books, end their conversations, and look at the teacher. 4. Teacher gives directions for what students should do next. STEP 3 1. Explain — You say, “Class, today we are going to learn a new routine for transitioning. Right Teach the new now, our transitions take a long time. We are going to learn a new way that will save our time routine or norm for learning interesting topics and studying.” to students. 2. Show — You say, “I’m going to show you exactly what I would like you to do. Please watch and listen. While you are doing an activity, I will let you know when a few minutes remain so that you can get ready to transition. When time is up, I will raise my hand like this. Then, please close your books, put your pencils down, end your conversations, and look at me. Then, I will give directions for what to do next.” 3. Practice with a few students — You ask two students, Sara and Ben, to try out the routine. You say, “Class, watch and see how they do!” Sara and Ben pretend to write. You say, “Class, one minute left in your writing time. Let’s pretend that one minute passes.” You put up your hand. Sara and Ben put their pencils down and their eyes on you. You say, “Thank you. Our writing time is over. Please put away your paper.” You stop and say, “Good job, Sara and Ben. Class, did you see how they put down their pencils and looked at me when they saw my hand?” 4. Practice with the whole class — You say to the class, “Now, let’s all try it! Please pretend you are writing.” You go through the new routine with the class. Then you Give Feedback: “Class, we did a nice job putting our pencils down right away. Next time, please make sure that you keep your eyes on me as I give the directions for the next activity.” STEP 4 The next day, you remind students: “You have one minute left. Remember that when I raise my hand, Remind and you should stop writing and look at me.” When you raise your hand, you reinforce the positive reinforce behaviors: “Fatimah closed her book right away. Abdou has his pencil down. I see lots of eyes on positive me.” Some students are still working, so you say their names. One student continues to write without behavior for looking at you. You decide to talk to him later in class. several days. After two weeks, most students consistently follow the routine. There are still a few students who have difficulty. You remind yourself that change takes time and you commit to continuing this routine. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 13 REINFORCE DEFINITION: Reinforcing routines and norms means using strategies to help students ROUTINES AND consistently follow routines and norms. NORMS OVERVIEW: You already have read about how to Establish Routines and Norms in your Establish Routines and Norms classroom ( Establish Routines and Norms). Now you will learn strategies to reinforce them. The first strategy is to recognize students for positive actions, which encourages students to meet expectations, reminds other students of what to do, and creates a more positive environment. The Reinforce Routines additional strategies are ways to respond to student behavior when it is unsafe or disrupts learning. and Norms Reinforcing is not about punishing students. It is about helping and guiding them toward positive behavior. Using these strategies calmly, consistently, and with compassion will help you maintain a safe and productive learning environment. In this skill, you will learn different methods of reinforcing Give Clear routines, norms, and directions and how to select an appropriate method for a classroom situation. Directions Challenge HOW-TO: Understanding Different Reinforcement Strategies Stereotypes and Biases The ladder below shows different strategies to reinforce your classroom routines and norms. Start with strategies at the bottom of the ladder, especially for more routine behaviors. Move “up” the ladder for more serious or repeated behaviors. Build Relationships Method What it looks and sounds like When to use it Demonstrate and Practice Pause teaching. Stand in front of the class Many students (25 percent or Group Reset and stand still. Restate your expectation more) are not meeting ! and why it is important in a firm voice. Then expectations. Check for use individual reinforcement strategies. Understanding Move to a student’s desk when all the other Student has had several students are engaged in an activity. Crouch Verbal Redirections but Give Feedback One-on-One down to the student’s level. Use a calm voice continues behavior. ! to remind the student of your expectation. Use only when other students Conversation should be less than one minute are engaged in an activity. and may also happen after class. Adjust Instruction Verbal Say a student’s name and calmly remind Student is disrupting other Redirection him/her of the routine or norm. students or Standing Near Promote Deeper ! was unsuccessful. Thinking Standing Slowly and calmly move closer to a student Student is unfocused but not Near who is not meeting expectations while disrupting other students OR Connect Learning continuing to teach. Recognizing Positive ! Behavior was unsuccessful. Socioemotional Recognize Say several students’ names and describe Always your first strategy for Connections Positive the routine or expectation they are meeting in routine behaviors. Behavior a positive way. • Emotional control • Stress resistance START HERE HOW-TO: Steps 1 Look at students often and observe behavior. During pauses in your instruction, look around the room at students. If you see that some are not following classroom routines and norms, ask yourself: Have I been very clear on what my directions are? If not, give clear directions again ( Give Clear Directions). If you have been clear, go to the next step. 14 | COACH 2 Try a reinforcement strategy. You can use the questions below to help you choose a reinforcement strategy: • Are many students (more than 25 percent) not meeting routines or norms? ⇢ If yes, use a Group Reset. • Is the problem serious? ⇢ If yes, start with a method farther up the ladder; If not, start with Recognize Positive Behavior. • Are you willing to interrupt your teaching? ⇢ Sometimes it is worthwhile to pause your lesson to Reinforce Routines and Norms. Other times, you may decide the lesson is more important. When the lesson is more important, you can use Standing Near. As you use the strategy, remain calm. Doing so models emotional regulation (a socioemotional competency) for your students and helps you maintain positive relationships. 3 Move up the ladder if you need to. Sometimes, your first reinforcement strategy will not work; or it will work for only a limited time. If this happens, move up to the next strategy on the ladder. EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of reinforcing a routine or norm. STEP 1 You notice that John and STEP 3 Move up the ladder if you need to. Look at students Miriam are talking while often and notice you are reading to the When you move back to the front of the classroom, John and Miriam if they are class. The expectation is resume talking. They are distracting the students sitting near them. following for students to be silent. routines and You think: norms. It is difficult for me to stand near these two students for too long. You think: Now they are disrupting other students’ learning so it might be worth STEP 2 interrupting the reading. Try a John and Miriam are the reinforcement It is always better to start positive. only students talking so I strategy. do not need a Group You try Recognize Positive Behavior: “I see that Jacob and Kobe are Reset. following along silently.” This behavior is routine so John and Miriam are still talking so you move up the ladder and try a I will start low on the Verbal Redirection: “John and Miriam, please be silent so that ladder. everyone can focus.” They stop talking. I do not want to interrupt After reading a few more pages, you hear the two students talking the reading. loudly again. You decide to try You move up the ladder one to One-on-One. You tell the class to Standing Near. write a response to the story. Then you go to John and Miriam and say in a calm, firm voice, “John and Miriam, is something the matter?” As you read aloud, you They say no. You say, “It is difficult for you and others to pay attention walk to where John and Miriam sit. They stop when you are speaking. When I start reading again, I expect that you talking. will follow along silently.” As you continue reading, you think about having another One-on-One with John and Miriam after class. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 15 GIVE CLEAR DEFINITION: Giving clear directions means giving clear guidance for academic work and DIRECTIONS stating guidelines for student behavior. Establish Routines OVERVIEW: When students know exactly what to do and how to do it, the class saves and Norms learning time and students feel safer. Try to Give Clear Directions often at the beginning of each lesson activity and as reminders throughout an activity. Try to reinforce these directions consistently ( Reinforce Routines and Norms). In this Foundational Teaching Reinforce Routines Skill, you will learn to plan and give clear directions to students. and Norms HOW-TO: Steps Give Clear Directions 1 Choose one lesson activity. Challenge Stereotypes and Look at the next lesson you plan to teach. Biases Ask yourself: During which activities do students get confused, fall off task, or misbehave? Build Relationships Choose one activity to start. You may plan for more directions later. It is important that you Give Clear Directions for every activity during your lesson. Demonstrate and Practice 2 Plan the directions. Ask yourself: Check for • What academic work do I want students to do? Understanding • What process should they use to do it? • How much time will I give them? Give Feedback • Which student behaviors will help all students learn? Group your answers together in short, clear statements. Adjust Instruction Try planning a visual, like writing on the blackboard or demonstrating student actions. Promote Deeper Try planning check-for-understanding questions about your directions to Thinking ensure that all students have understood them ( Check for Understanding). 3 Give directions slowly and clearly. Connect Learning Before giving directions, use a call to attention routine (example: a raised hand) to ensure that all students hear you ( Establish Routines and Norms). Share Socioemotional the directions with students slowly and clearly. Connections When you are ready for students to begin, give a start signal, such as “Go” or • Self-control “Begin.” • Responsibility • Cooperation 4 Recognize positive behavior and give reminders. • Self-efficacy Recognize students who follow the directions right away by calling out their names and what they are doing. This adds positivity to your classroom and reminds other students what to do. If students are not following the directions, give reminders or use strategies ( Reinforce Routines and Norms). 16 | COACH EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of giving clear directions. STEP 1 You look at your next lesson. It has some teacher instruction at the beginning, then partner reading, Choose one and then a discussion. lesson You ask yourself: During which activities in this lesson are students most likely to get confused, fall off activity. task, or misbehave? You think: Partner reading. Students often fall off task and do not complete the reading. You decide to plan directions for partner reading. STEP 2 You ask and answer the questions: Plan the • What academic work do I want students to do? directions Write answers to questions about the reading you will provide. • What process should they use to do it? Students should write the questions on the board into their notebooks. Then, they should read pages 86-89 in their textbooks. One partner should begin reading. At the end of each page, they should switch which partner is reading. After reading, they should write the answers together in their notebooks. • How much time will I give them? 15 minutes. • Which student behaviors will help all students learn? Students should be talking to only their partners, not to other friends across the room. They should be speaking low enough that other students can hear each other. You combine your answers into short, clear statements in your notebook. You decide to use a check-for-understanding question at the end: What are the directions for partner reading? STEP 3 You use your call-to-attention routine to get all students’ attention. Using your notebook, you deliver Deliver directions slowly and clearly. directions • Class, now we will answer these questions in our notebooks. slowly and clearly. • First, copy down the questions from the board. (You give time for students to write.) • We will read in partners today. Point to your partner. • You will read pages 86-89. What pages? (You call on 1 student.) Yes, 86-89. • One partner will begin reading. At the end of a section of reading, switch readers. • When done reading, write the answers to the questions together. • What are the directions for partner reading? (You call on students until they have said all the key directions.) • During this activity, you should talk only to your partner and speak. You have 15 minutes. Please begin. STEP 4 After students begin, you look around the room. You recognize positive behavior: “I see Amare and Recognize Kwame starting to read quietly. I see Daliah starting to read also. I see Asha and Imani starting to positive read.” behavior and You see several pairs of students struggling to start. You remind them: “Zane and Kalifa, open your give textbooks to page 86. Maha and Abena, open your textbooks to page 86.” You circulate to help reminders. students get started. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 17 CHALLENGE DEFINITION: Challenging stereotypes and biases means that the teacher provides all STEREOTYPES students with equal opportunities to learn and actively works against the stereotypes and biases that exist in his or her community. AND BIASES Establish Routines OVERVIEW: As a teacher, you have an important responsibility to create a classroom culture and Norms in which all students are treated with respect and all are given equal opportunities to learn. One way you can create this culture is to challenge the stereotypes and biases that may impede your efforts. Stereotypes are assumptions that people make about others based on Reinforce Routines others’ group memberships. Biases are preferences that people have for or against other and Norms groups. A person may or may not be aware of her or his own stereotypes and biases. As a teacher, it is important that you identify and challenge your own stereotypes and biases as Give Clear well as those of your students. In this Foundational Teaching Skill, you will learn about Directions different types of stereotypes and biases, how to recognize them, and how to challenge them in your classroom. Challenge Stereotypes and Biases HOW-TO: Understanding stereotypes and biases Stereotypes vary greatly from community to community. Below are four common types. Build Relationships Stereotype Racial/ethnic Gender Religious Demonstrate about students stereotype stereotype stereotype and Practice with disabilities Examples: Students Examples: Boys are Example: Examples: Students from one race/ naughtier than girls; Students with from one religion Check for ethnicity are more boys are better than disabilities cannot are violent or do not Understanding hard-working than girls in mathematics; learn as well as value education for others or are less there are some jobs that other students. girls. honest or are smarter. girls/boys cannot do. Give Feedback Stereotypes can cause people to act in a biased way toward that group. For example, the stereotype that boys are better in mathematics may cause a mathematics teacher to call on Adjust Instruction boys more often than on girls. When stereotypes and biases exist in the classroom, they can cause great harm to students who belong to the affected groups. These students may be excluded from lessons, Promote Deeper bullied, or teased. They may learn less, experience emotional difficulties, or disengage from Thinking school. Connect Learning HOW-TO: Steps 1 Reflect on your classroom. Socioemotional Connections It is important to reflect on your classroom culture to uncover any stereotypes or • Tolerance biases in the materials you are using, the relationships students have with one • Empathy another, or the attention you give. Ask yourself: • Class materials — Do the class materials or lessons contain examples of stereotypes or biases? Are any groups underrepresented in the class materials or lessons? • Student relationships — Have I seen examples of students using stereotypes with one another? Do students from different groups treat one another with respect? • Teacher attention — Which students raise hands or are asked questions the most? Which students receive the most feedback, help, and praise? How are classroom duties divided among students? Are there any patterns in my classroom that indicate biases? 18 | COACH 2 Challenge biases and stereotypes. Once you recognize the biases and stereotypes that may be present in your classroom, you can use the strategies below to challenge them. These strategies take consistent time and effort. Students may push back so it is important for you to be firm and consistent over time. Teach against Set and reinforce Discuss class Build knowledge Use systems to stereotypes and norms for respect materials of and empathy give equal biases in the classroom towards others attention Provide students with Create a norm that When class materials Teach students about Use tally marks to see the definitions and students treat all others show a stereotype or bias, different types of which students are examples of with equal respect in the point it out to students. Ask people and groups in raising hands and stereotypes and classroom. If you see a them why the stereotype or positive ways and being called on in one biases. Then explain student using a stereotype bias shown might be provide examples that class period. Look at how stereotypes and or showing bias, correct it hurtful. Ask them how the defy stereotypes. your sheets at the end biases hurt people by using a one-on-one materials could be Celebrate differences of class to see which making them feel less conversation. Check in on changed to eliminate the and show that all students may be left important or students who were the stereotype or bias shown. people have a lot in out and work to unwelcome. targets ( Establish When possible, provide common. include them more in Routines and Norms and materials that do not the next class. Reinforce Routines and include stereotypes. Norms). Vary your patterns for circulating in your classroom (for example, front to back, or side to side). Give feedback to all students, rather than responding only to students with raised hands. Have a rotating system of classroom duties so that every student is included. EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of challenging stereotypes and biases in your classroom. Scenario: The class is 40 percent girls and 60 percent boys. You decide to examine your classroom for evidence of gender- based stereotypes or biases. STEP 1 Class materials — When reading the class stories, you see that most of the main characters are boys, Reflect indicating a gender bias. You also see gender stereotypes: the girls in the stories often are shown on your helping their mothers with housework, and fathers usually are the ones working. classroom. Student relationships — You realize that you sometimes have witnessed the boys ask the girls to do cleaning tasks for them, like wiping the blackboard. Teacher attention — There are 6 students in the class who raise their hands and are called on the most: 5 boys and 1 girl. These are the same students who ask for help. You see a pattern of boys getting more attention from you than girls, even though you believe that boys and girls should get equal attention. STEP 2 You take 15 minutes of your class time to teach students about gender stereotypes and how Challenge Teach they can be hurtful. You add that girls should not be asked to do extra classroom duties biases and because everyone is expected to do equal work. stereotypes. Later in the week, you ask students to clean up the classroom. You see that most of the girls Set and start to help, but many of the boys are playing around. You pause and remind the whole reinforce class that you expect all students to help clean up. The next time you read a story in class, you say to students, “I have noticed that the main characters in our stories are almost always boys. Have you noticed that also? Why do you Discuss think that is? Have you noticed any other stereotypes in our stories about girls and boys?” At materials first, students are not sure what to say. However, once they see there is no “correct” answer to your question, a few students share their thoughts. When talking about current events in your community or elsewhere, you try to highlight Build individuals who have taken on roles that are not common given their gender (such as a knowledge woman who is a politician or a nurse who is a man). You start using the strategy Choose Any Student instead of taking hands so that everyone in class has an opportunity to participate. ( Check for Understanding). You decide to Use Circulate back to front and side to side and give feedback to each student in this order systems ( Give Feedback). You post a duties list that changes every month so that, by the end of the year, each student will have had an opportunity to do a classroom duty. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 19 BUILD DEFINITION: A teacher builds relationships with students by getting to know them better RELATIONSHIPS as individuals. Establish Routines OVERVIEW: Relationships between the teacher and students are the foundation of a safe, and Norms positive, and productive classroom. A strong relationship between a teacher and a student can have a significant positive impact on the student’s behavior and academic skills. These positive impacts also improve the overall classroom culture. Relationships take time and Reinforce Routines effort and require patience. They do not solve every problem. but over time, they can have and Norms very positive effects. This Foundational Teaching Skill will show you how to begin building strong relationships with your students. Give Clear Directions HOW-TO: Steps Challenge Stereotypes and 1 Learn names. Biases Start by learning as many students’ names as you can. Students feel valued Build Relationships when you know their names. To learn students’ names, write them down on a list or a seating chart. Have the Demonstrate list or chart with you when you teach. Use it to call on students by name. After and Practice using it for a few days, see how many students you can call on by name without looking at the list. Check for Understanding 2 Choose a way to continue building relationships. Below are four ways to continue building relationships. Choose 1 or 2 to try first. Give Feedback Greet Learn More Praise Show You Care Once you know Once you know Try praising If you see a Adjust Instruction students’ names, students’ names, individual students. student who seems greet them as they try learning more To praise upset or is arrive at school or about them. What effectively, you behaving Promote Deeper your class or when are their likes and should think of a differently than Thinking you see them dislikes? What is specific action that normal, try to find outside of school: their favorite part the student did time to ask, “Are “Hello, Steven. about school and well. Praising you okay? Is there Connect Learning Hello, Mary. Good what is the students shows something wrong?” morning, Paul!” hardest? What are that you notice Just asking will Your behavior their families like? when they do good show that you Socioemotional shows students When you ask things. Students care. If something Connections that you know students about will feel more is wrong, you may them and are their lives outside motivated when be able to help. • Empathy happy to see them. of school, they will you give praise. • Cooperation see that you care • Trust about them. • Optimism 20 | COACH 3 If necessary, select a subset of students for relationship building. Ideally teachers will try to Build Relationships with all their students through the strategies identified above. All children benefit from a relationship with a teacher. In some cases, teachers may have too many students or not enough time to focus on every student, especially at the start of the academic year. In this case, it is important that the teacher still seek to build positive relationships with as many students as possible, using the strategies identified above. However, the teacher may choose to prioritize students who are struggling for more intensive relationship- building. This choice does not mean ignoring the other students, but it may mean that struggling students get more time and energy from the teacher. You may know that a student is struggling if s/he: • Often misses school • Misbehaves in class • Has trouble doing his or her work • Does not seem to have friends • Fails examinations. It may seem that you are rewarding a struggling student if you give her or him more time and attention. However, students do not choose to do poorly in school. There usually are underlying reasons why they are struggling: for example, extreme emotions, family difficulties, poor nutrition, or lack of academic skills. Having a strong relationship with the teacher can improve the student’s ability to handle difficult circumstances; and the teacher may become a resource to help the student address the issues s/he is facing. It is important to note that although teachers may prioritize some students for focused time and attention, teachers always should seek to build positive relationships with as many students as possible. The strategies identified in Steps 2 and 3 are helpful in this regard because they offer high-leverage ways of doing so, even in large classrooms with many students. EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of building relationships in your classroom. STEP 1 You have a class with a total of 45 students. To learn students’ names, you make a seating chart with Learn names. all your students’ names. You keep it next to your lesson plan. You glance at it before calling on students by name. Although, at first you sometimes forget to use the seating chart, after two weeks, you remember almost all the students’ names. STEP 2 You Greet all your students as they come into class and sit down. You say, “Hi, Trevor! Hi Michael. Choose a way Good morning, Rosa!” After lunch, as students come back to class, you try to say hi to many of them to continue again. building You also try to Learn More about your students. At break time each day, as other students are talking relationships. and eating, you try to stand near a different student and ask him or her questions. At first, the students may not respond very much to your questions; but as you keep trying, they will start to answer more. You learn about their brothers and sisters, their walks to school, and their favorite toys. You make it a point to try to speak to at least five different students each day, to eventually cover all students in your class. STEP 3 While you continue to employ the strategy above to Learn More about all your students, you also If necessary, decide to prioritize 2–3 students for more focused support. You select 2–3 students that have been select a missing classes more often than regular, and you Show You Care by finding time to sit down with subset of each student individually and asking if anything is wrong, and if there is anything you can do to better students with support them in class. whom to prioritize building relationships. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 21 DEMONSTRATE DEFINITION: Demonstrating and practicing occurs when the teacher shows students how AND PRACTICE to perform a new task and then the students practice it. Establish Routines OVERVIEW: To demonstrate, the teacher shows students how to do a task while describing and Norms what he or she is doing. Students practice the same task as a class, with the teacher helping. Then students practice the skill or task independently or in small groups. This sequence Reinforce Routines sometimes is called “I do, we do, you do.” Demonstrate and Practice is effective because and Norms students can see the process. Also, students get opportunities to practice with the teacher before trying on their own. Demonstrations can last from a few seconds to few minutes. In this Foundational Teaching Skill, you will learn how to break a complex skill into steps, how to Give Clear demonstrate it, and how to help students should practice it. Directions Challenge HOW-TO: Steps Stereotypes and Biases 1 Choose a task to demonstrate. Build Relationships Look at the work students need to do in the lesson. Ask yourself: • What tasks could I show students how to do? Demonstrate • What tasks are new or difficult? and Practice 2 Do the task yourself and decide whether you need steps. Check for Understanding Do a few of the tasks you are going to demonstrate. Pay attention to how you are completing the task so that you can describe it to students later. Some tasks, such as solving new kinds of mathematics problems, are taught Give Feedback more easily when broken into steps. Other tasks, such as finding the main idea of a text, can be demonstrated but usually are not done in steps. Simple skills, such as sounding out a new letter, do not require steps. Adjust Instruction To determine whether steps would be helpful, ask yourself: Is this task complex, and can I complete the task in the same way every time? If yes, then try Promote Deeper creating some steps for your demonstration using the following criteria: Thinking 1. Short — The steps for your demonstration should be short and to the point. In general, you should try to keep the number of steps to five or fewer. Students may have difficulty remembering more than five steps. Connect Learning 2. Specific action — Each step that you identify describes a specific action that students will follow. Socioemotional 3. Easy to use — Students should be able to follow your exact steps each Connections time to produce the desired result. • Self-efficacy 3 Demonstrate. During the demonstration (or “I do”), you show and describe to students how to complete the task. If you can, use a visual or write what you are doing on the blackboard. For tasks with steps, describe each step as you demonstrate it. Students should watch you during the demonstration. Older students also could take notes. 4 Whole class practice. In this step (the “we do”), the teacher leads the whole class through a similar task by asking questions ( Check for Understanding). As you listen to students’ thinking, give feedback on the answers ( Give Feedback). You also should look for signs that you need to adjust instruction. If students are very confused, demonstrate again. If students are answering all your questions easily, let them begin practicing independently ( Adjust Instruction). 22 | COACH 5 Independent practice. In this step (the “you do”), students practice similar tasks on their own, in pairs, or in small groups. You circulate to look at student work, listen to conversations, and give feedback. Try to engage with as many students as possible and avoid focusing on the same students each time ( Give Feedback). As you circulate, look for signs that you need to adjust instruction. If multiple students are confused, return to whole class practice ( Adjust Instruction). EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of demonstrating and practicing. STEP 1 In this lesson, you are teaching students how to identify different triangles. You look at the work they Choose a task will have to do later: identifying whether different shapes are triangles or not. You ask yourself: What to tasks could I show students how to do? You decide that you could show them how to look at a shape demonstrate. and think through whether it is a triangle because this task is new for students. STEP 2 You look at a few shapes and pick out the triangles. You pay attention to how you knew. Ask yourself: Do the tasks Is this task complex, and can I complete the task in the same way every time? You see that, each time, yourself and you could use these steps: decide if you Step 1: Look — Is it a closed shape? need steps. Step 2: Look — Does it have 3 straight sides? Step 3: Look — Does it have 3 corners? You check to make sure the steps are short, describe specific actions, and seem easy to use. STEP 3 You draw a few different shapes on the board (such as a circle, square, triangle, and rectangle). Demonstrate. You say, “Today we are going to learn how to identify a triangle.” You point to a triangle that you have drawn. You say, “First, I look to make sure that the shape is closed. That means that all of the lines in my shape meet at corners. This shape is closed! Next, I look for 3 straight sides: 1, 2, 3! Yes, my shape has 3 straight sides. Finally, I check to make sure that the shape has 3 corners. This shape does! Since this shape is closed, has 3 straight sides, and 3 corners, it must be a triangle!” STEP 4 Now it is time to ask questions to see whether students understood your demonstration. Whole class Teacher: Let’s look at another shape. We need to decide whether this is a triangle. Joseph, is this practice. shape closed or open? Joseph: Closed. Teacher: Why is it closed? Joseph: Because all the sides meet at the corners. Teacher: Good, raise your hand if you know what we look for next. Vanessa. Vanessa: We look for 3 straight sides and 3 corners, but this shape has 4 straight sides and 4 corners! Teacher: That’s right! Triangles are closed shapes with 3 straight sides and 3 corners. So, this is not a triangle. STEP 5 Students answered most questions correctly during whole group practice, so you decide that they Independent are ready for independent practice. You pass out a paper filled with shapes to each student. You tell practice. students to identify the triangles and explain with a partner. As students work, you circulate and listen to the conversations. You notice that most students are describing triangles as shapes with 3 straight sides and 3 corners, but very few groups are describing the triangles as closed figures. You pause the students from working independently and return to whole class practice. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 23 CHECK FOR DEFINITION: Checking for understanding occurs when the teacher pauses and asks a UNDERSTANDING basic question to see whether students understand the lesson so far. Establish Routines OVERVIEW: Checking for understanding means asking brief questions about the content of your and Norms lesson to see whether students are understanding it. These questions usually take between 5 seconds and 2 minutes to answer. Checking for understanding enables you to give feedback to students and to adjust your instruction when you see that students do not understand ( Give Reinforce Routines Feedback and Adjust Instruction). Answering questions also makes students think about the and Norms content, and they will be more likely to remember it later. Checking for understanding does not mean asking students “Do you understand?”; asking them to repeat after you; or giving examinations. In this Foundational Teaching Skill, you will learn when to use Check for Give Clear Understanding, and how to plan questions and decide how students will answer. Directions Challenge HOW-TO: Steps Stereotypes and Biases 1 Decide when to Check for Understanding. Build Relationships To decide when to Check for Understanding, ask yourself: Where in this lesson do I: • Introduce new content? • Review previously learned content? Demonstrate • Demonstrate a new skill? and Practice • Read with students? Plan to Check for Understanding about every 2–3 minutes during each activity and at the Check for end of each activity. Understanding 2 Write questions. Give Feedback Check-for-Understanding questions ask students to remember or explain what was just taught to them. There is usually only one correct answer. Adjust Instruction To write Check-for-Understanding questions, review the content or skill you are teaching or read the text. Then ask yourself: What parts are most important for students to remember? What are students most likely to be confused about? Focus your Check-for- Promote Deeper Understanding questions on these parts. Thinking Then try using the question starters below to craft questions. What does __________ mean? Where is ___________________? Give an example of _________. Connect Learning Who is ____________________? Yes or no: __________________? On your paper, show how to _____. What is ___________________? True or false: ________________? Explain _________________. How does _________________? List the steps of ______________. Describe ______________. Socioemotional Why does _________________? Connections • Self-efficacy 3 Choose a strategy for how students will respond. • Sociability • Cooperation There are 5 main strategies for checking for understanding. Strategies differ in how much • Assertiveness information they provide about student understanding. Depending on the question asked, the type of answer you expect, and whether you want to assess all students’ or some students’ understanding, you might choose a different strategy: If the question is easier, can be answered quickly, or you need less information on student understanding ⇢ Choose one of the strategies below. Choose Any Student means calling on any student Thumbs Up/Down means asking the in the class to answer your question, even if s/he whole class to put a thumb up (for does not have a hand raised. Not relying on “yes” or “true”) or a thumb down (for students to raise hands ensures that all students “no” or “false”) in response to a get equal chances to participate. It also gives you a question. Then you look around the better idea of how many students understand the room to see which answer most lesson. To choose any student, ask the question, students are giving. pause, then say a student’s name. “What is the first letter of the alphabet? … Isaiah.” 24 | COACH If the question is more difficult, requires a longer answer, or you want all students to answer ⇢ Choose one of the strategies below. Quick Write means asking a question, telling all students Turn and Talk means asking a question, telling all students to to write their answers, and giving a time limit. Then you turn to a partner and share an answer, giving a time limit circulate around the room (by a different route each time) (usually 30 seconds to 2 minutes), and reminding them that and read as many students’ answers as you have time for. both partners should talk. Circulate around the room and listen to as many answers as you can. About halfway through, remind students to switch partners. If you want to assess what students learned in the whole lesson ⇢ Use a Quick Quiz. Quick Quiz means giving students 1–4 questions to answer in writing from that day’s lesson. You also may combine these strategies. For example, you could use a Turn and Talk and then use Choose Any Student to share what was talked about with the class. If you are using one of the above strategies for the first time, you should teach the strategy to students as a new routine ( Establish Routines and Norms). 4 Ask the question and give students time to think. When you ask your Check-for-Understanding question, ask it one time clearly. Then pause and be silent for at least three seconds. Students need this time to think. Then use the strategy you selected in Step 4 to have students answer. EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of checking for understanding. STEP 1 Your lesson teaches students about the parts of a story and how to identify them when you read. Ask yourself: Decide when to Where in this lesson do I: Check for • Introduce new content? Understanding. • Review previously learned content? • Model a new skill? • Read a story or text with students? In this lesson, you are going to introduce the four main parts of a story. This idea is new for students. You decide to stop and Check for Understanding. STEP 2 You will teach students that the four main parts of a story are setting, characters, problem, and solution. You will Write define each one. questions. You ask yourself: What parts are most important for students to remember? What parts are students likely to be confused about? You decide that you want them to remember the parts of a story and what each part is. Next, you look at the question starters. You write these two questions: • What are the four parts of a story? • Explain each of the four parts of a story. STEP 3 You think about how you want students to respond to each question: Choose a Question: What are the four parts of a story? You think: This question is easier and can be answered quickly so I strategy for could do Thumbs Up/Down or Choose Any Student. It is not a yes or no question so Thumbs Up/Down does how students not make sense. I will use Choose Any Student. will respond. Explain each of the four parts of a story. ⇢ You think: This question is harder and takes longer to answer so I could use a Turn and Talk or Quick Write. Writing takes my students a long time so I will choose Turn and Talk. STEP 4 Teacher: What are the four parts of a story? (You give three seconds to think.) Felipe? Ask the Felipe: Setting, characters, problem, and solution. question and Teacher: Yes, those are the parts of a story. Now I want you all to Turn and Talk to a partner. Explain each part give students of a story. The first partner should explain setting and characters, and the second partner should explain problem time to think. and solution. Think about what you want to say. (You give six seconds to think.) You have 30 seconds. Please begin. (You circulate around the room and listen to several pairs talking.) Teacher: Please switch partners. (You continue circulating. Fifteen more seconds pass.) Your time is up. Please end your conversation and put your eyes back on me. Good job, class! You explained the parts of a story correctly. Note: Students may answer Check-for-Understanding questions incorrectly. In this case, you can give feedback to help them ( Give Feedback). Note: The ‘four parts of a story’ activity is an adaptation of activities included in the Tusome English Teacher’s Guide Grade 3, developed under the USAID Kenya Tusome project, which has been adapted and reproduced with permission from RTI International. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 25 GIVE FEEDBACK DEFINITION: Giving feedback happens when the teacher tells students what they are doing well and helps them fix mistakes. Establish Routines OVERVIEW: Feedback is a critical part of teaching. Students need to know when their work and Norms is good and what makes it good. When students make mistakes, they need to be guided to improve in a supportive way. Mistakes are not bad; they are a normal part of learning. If all students consistently receive feedback from their teacher, the quality of their work will Reinforce Routines improve more quickly. In this Foundational Teaching Skill, you will learn how to identify likely and Norms student mistakes, listen to answers, circulate, and provide feedback using a positive tone and language. Give Clear Directions HOW-TO: Steps Challenge Stereotypes and 1 For each question, anticipate likely student mistakes. Biases After you write your questions, answer them. Try to predict mistakes that students are likely to make ( Check for Understanding and Promote Deeper Build Relationships Thinking). Predicting mistakes will help you to identify them more quickly in class. Demonstrate Ask yourself: What mistakes are students likely to make on this question? and Practice 2 Listen to or read student answers. Check for Understanding 1. Listen — When a student is answering a question verbally, listen carefully. Try to understand how the student came to his/her answer—not just whether the answer is correct or incorrect. Give Feedback 2. Circulate — If students are talking to partners or writing, circulate around the room. Listen or read what they have written. Note whether answers are correct or incorrect and try to understand each student’s thinking. When Adjust Instruction circulating, choose different routes around the class each time. Try to listen to or read the work of as many different students as you can. Promote Deeper 3 Provide feedback using a positive tone and language. Thinking Below are four different types of feedback. You may combine these different types of feedback based on what the student needs. Connect Learning 1. Clarify — If you are confused about a student’s thought process OR if the student made mistakes that s/he might catch when explaining, ask the Socioemotional student clarifying questions before any other feedback. Examples: Connections o “What do you mean by _____?” • Persistence o “How did you get that answer?” • Achievement o “Please explain your thinking.” orientation • Self-efficacy 2. Praise — If the student did something well, be specific about what it was. Do not say only “Good job.” Rather, say, “Good job finding so many rhyming words.” If a student gave a partially correct answer, tell the student which part was correct. 26 | COACH 3. Identify Mistake — If a student made a mistake, point it out without revealing the correct answer. Try to avoid telling the student the correct answer immediately. Instead, encourage the student to identify the mistake. For example, “There is one more rhyming word that you missed.” 4. Prompt — Tell the student what to do next in his/her work. For example, “Try to find the last rhyming word!” Or, “Keep saying the words out loud to find the rhymes!” It is important that feedback is always given in a positive tone and using encouraging language. Examples: “Keep trying!” “The more you practice, the better you will get!” Also give recognition when students fix their mistakes: “Nice work finding your missing rhyme!” EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of giving feedback. STEP 1 Your lesson is about solving addition and subtraction word problems. The first problem students will For each solve on their own is below. question, Question: Thomas has 12 mangoes and 16 bananas. His friend Judith gives him 11 apricots for 5 of anticipate his mangoes. How many fruits does Thomas have altogether? likely students’ Answer: 12 + 16 + 11 - 5 = 34. Thomas has 34 fruits altogether. mistakes. Ask yourself: What are the most likely mistakes students will make on this question? Why? • Students may not read carefully and instead just add all the numbers together: 12 + 16 + 11 + 5 = 39 fruits. • Students may accidentally subtract 11 instead of 5 because they mix up what Judith and Thomas give each other: 12 + 16 - 11 + 5 = 22 fruits. • Students may do the correct steps but add or subtract incorrectly. STEP 2 Students are working individually and answering this question in writing. As they work, you circulate up Listen to and and down each row and look at student work. You give one piece of feedback to each student. read student answers. STEP 3 You see that Layla has the correct work and answer. You Praise her by saying, “Layla, good job Provide reading the question, carefully, so you knew when to add and subtract. Keep going!” feedback You go to the next student, Kwame. His answer is: 12 + 16 - 11 + 5 = 22. He has subtracted 11 using positive instead of 5. You ask him questions to see if he can catch his error. “Kwame, explain your thinking in tone and this problem (Clarify).” He says, “I added 12 and 16 because Thomas has those already. Then I language. added 5 because Judith gives him mangoes and subtracted 11 because she took the apricots.” You say, “You’re right about Thomas’s fruits, but you made a mistake on Judith’s fruits (Identify Mistake). Read it again (Prompt).” He does, then says, “Oh, she gives him 11 apricots! I need to add those, not the 5 mangoes!” You say, “Nice job finding your error.” You walk away and let Kwame try to work on the problem some more. If he still is stuck when you come back, you will identify the mistake more precisely for him and help him change it. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 27 ADJUST DEFINITION: Adjusting instruction means the teacher makes immediate changes to the INSTRUCTION lesson based on how students are performing. Establish Routines OVERVIEW: The goal of any lesson is to help students learn as much possible. One way and Norms to increase student learning is to notice students’ levels of understanding and make needed changes to the lesson right away. Although it can be challenging to change a lesson in the moment, doing so will increase student learning. In this Foundational Reinforce Routines Teaching Skill, you will learn how to recognize when you need to Adjust Instruction and and Norms choose a strategy for adjusting. Give Clear HOW-TO: Steps Directions Challenge 1 Recognize when you need to adjust. Stereotypes and Biases You may need to Adjust Instruction if you notice: Your timing is off. Build Relationships • More than half of students are finishing their work more slowly or more quickly than you had planned. Demonstrate Students are confused. and Practice • You ask a question and more than half of students get it wrong or cannot answer. Check for Understanding 2 Choose a way to adjust. If your timing is off ⇢ If students are confused ⇢ Give Feedback Ask Simpler Questions. Break the question Give more time or less time to work. into a series of easier questions. If students are trying hard but working slowly, give them more time to work. Turn and Talk. If some students know the Adjust Instruction answer, ask students to turn and talk and If many students are finishing early, explain the answer to their partner. Hearing move on to the next activity more the right answers from partners may help to Promote Deeper quickly. Thinking clarify for the students who are confused. Quick re-teach. Explain or demonstrate the content again. Ask a Check-for- Connect Learning Understanding question at the end ( Check for Understanding). Socioemotional Connections • Persistence • Achievement orientation • Self-efficacy 28 | COACH EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of adjusting instruction. STEP 1 You are teaching students to identify synonyms. You have just explained what synonyms are. Now you Recognize are checking for understanding. You say, “Class, is ‘happy’ a synonym for ‘sad’? Thumbs up if yes, when you thumbs down if no. Is ‘happy’ a synonym for ‘sad’?” You look around the room. Most students have need to their thumbs up, which is incorrect. adjust. More than 50 percent of students have given the wrong answer on one question so you decide to Adjust Instruction. STEP 2 The students’ confusion shows that they do not understand the definition of synonym. You choose to Choose a way Ask Simpler Questions. You break your original question into two questions. to adjust. Teacher: Hmm, half of us say yes; half of us say no. Let’s review. What is the definition of synonym? Alicia? Alicia: Synonyms are words with similar meanings. Teacher: Yes. Words with similar meanings. Class, is “happy” a synonym for “sad”? Thumbs up if yes; thumbs down if no. (There is still a mix of thumbs up and thumbs down. Students are still confused. You decide to do a Quick Re-teach synonyms using a different explanation and examples.) Teacher: I see we are still a little confused. That’s okay. Let’s go back. Synonyms are words that have almost the same meaning. For example, “loving” and “caring” are synonyms because they have almost the same meaning. They both mean that you are kind to others. “End” and “finish” are synonyms because they have almost the same meaning. They both mean that you are done with something. Now, let’s think. Are “happy” and “sad” synonyms? Do they have almost the same meaning? Turn and talk to your partner for 20 seconds. Make sure both of you talk. (Students Turn and Talk and you listen. Students whom you listen to have the correct answers. You now decide to Choose Any Student to check further whether students understand.) ( Check for Understanding) Teacher: Are “happy” and “sad” synonyms? Aisha? Aisha: No. Teacher: Why not? Aisha: They do not mean almost the same thing. They are opposites. Teacher: You are right, Aisha. “Happy” and “sad” are not synonyms. (You Check for Understanding using two more examples before you decide that students understand what synonyms are. At that point, you move on with your lesson.) FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 29 PROMOTE DEFINITION: Promoting deeper thinking means asking students challenging questions that DEEPER THINKING have more than one correct answer and that require explanation. Establish Routines OVERVIEW: Answering challenging questions and explaining thinking improve students’ and Norms understanding of content. Students may be more engaged because questions have more than one possible answer and they can answer in their own way. Deeper thinking questions are more difficult for students so they will take patience and practice by you and Reinforce Routines your students. In this Foundational Teaching Skill, you will learn how to decide when to use and Norms deeper thinking; how to write and answer a deeper thinking question; when to anticipate student mistakes; and how to choose a way for students to respond. Give Clear Directions HOW-TO: Steps Challenge Stereotypes and 1 Choose the right time and topic. Biases Deeper thinking works best when students have a lot of knowledge on a topic— they need knowledge to think deeply! Do not try to ask a deeper thinking Build Relationships question about a topic that students barely know. Choose a topic that is important at a time when students have lots of Demonstrate knowledge of the topic. and Practice 2 Write deeper thinking questions. Check for Understanding Think about what students know about the topic you chose. Write a question that: Give Feedback • Has several possible correct answers. • Requires at least 1 sentence of explanation—definitely not one word! Deeper thinking questions can ask about just one topic or can ask students to Adjust Instruction relate two or more topics! Examples: Promote Deeper Thinking • What do you think…? • What do you think is going to • Why do you think…? happen next in the story? Why do • Why…? you think that? Connect Learning • How do you know? • Why do animals migrate? • How is X similar to Y? • Explain how you solved this • How is X different than Y? problem. Socioemotional • How is malaria different than Connections • How are X and Y related? • What did you learn today about tuberculosis? • Critical thinking X? • How are addition and multiplication • Assertiveness • What would happen if…? related? • Open-mindedness • Explain/describe why… • What did you learn today about • Creativity • Explain/describe how… the water cycle? • What would happen to plants if • Explain/describe what… the sun were blocked? Why? • Summarize… • Explain what caused World War I. • Summarize what we learned today about ancient Mali. Sometimes deeper thinking questions appear on their own and sometimes they are paired with a more basic question. For example: Basic question: What operation should I use to solve this equation? Deeper thinking question: How do you know? 30 | COACH 3 Answer the questions in several ways. When you ask deeper thinking questions, there should be several correct ways of answering. Try writing a few correct answers. Note: If students have never been asked to explain their thinking before, you can teach them how to do it ( Demonstrate and Practice). 4 Choose a way for students to respond. Deeper thinking questions are difficult, and you want most students to have a chance to answer, so it is best to ask students to: • Quick Write — Ask all students to write down their answer. • Turn and Talk — Ask all students to turn and talk to each other. You may want to follow these with Choose Any Student so that students can share with the whole group ( Check for Understanding). As you are listening to the Turn and Talk or looking at student work during the Quick Write, you should use the strategies you learned in previous FTS to give students feedback and adjust your instruction. Students are more likely to struggle on deeper thinking questions. You should expect to give more feedback and adjust instruction more often. Their having to work harder and make more mistakes will increase students’ learning overall ( Give Feedback and Adjust Instruction). EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of promoting deeper thinking for a science lesson. STEP 1 You look at your next lesson. You have been teaching students facts about our solar system. You think Choose a that they will be ready for deeper thinking questions because they have a lot of knowledge about the topic sun and planets. students know a lot about. STEP 2 You look at the question starters. You think it would be a good idea for students to answer a question Write deeper that involves both the sun and the planets. You look at the examples containing more than one topic, thinking and you write this one: What would happen to the planets if the sun disappeared? questions. STEP 3 You write a few possible answers to this question: Answer the • The planets would become cold and dark because all of their heat and light comes from the sun. question in • The planets would drift off into space because they would no longer be held in orbit by the sun’s several ways. gravity. STEP 4 You want all students to answer. However, you do not want them to have to write all their thinking, Choose a way so you choose Turn and Talk. You plan to circulate during the Turn and Talk and listen to answers. for students After bringing students together, you will use Choose Any Student to share his/her answer with the to respond. group. FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING SKILLS GUIDE | 31 CONNECT DEFINITION: Connecting learning in a lesson means asking students to recall knowledge LEARNING from previous lessons and using it to support understanding of the new knowledge they will be learning today. Establish Routines OVERVIEW: Students will understand new knowledge better when you clearly explain what and Norms they will learn and show how it connects to previous knowledge. In this skill, you will learn how to write a lesson opening that connects what students learned yesterday to what they will learn today. You will also learn how to design retrieval practice activities that ask Reinforce Routines students to recall previous knowledge from their memory; this strategy has been shown and Norms through rigorous research to improve how much knowledge students retain in the long term. Finally, you will learn how to connect each activity in a lesson back to a learning goal so Give Clear students are constantly reminded of what they are learning and why. Directions HOW-TO: Steps Challenge Stereotypes and Biases 1 Plan a lesson opening using simple language. In a lesson opening, you remind students what they learned yesterday and you Build Relationships tell them today’s learning goal (a sentence that explains to students what they will be able to do by the end of today’s lesson). Demonstrate To plan a lesson opening, ask yourself two questions: and Practice • What did students learn yesterday? • What is the learning goal for this lesson? Check for Understanding Write your answers in simple language that students can understand. 2 Plan a warm-up activity that includes retrieval practice. Give Feedback Retrieval practice means asking students to recall knowledge from their memory, which increases how much students remember over the long-term. Adjust Instruction Recalling previous knowledge also helps students learn new knowledge more easily. To select previous knowledge to review, ask yourself: What previous knowledge Promote Deeper Thinking is useful for today’s learning? If you can’t think of anything, then work on knowledge from yesterday’s lesson. Students may have started to forget what was learned from that time, and retrieval practice will strengthen their memories. Connect Learning It is simplest to design retrieval practice for the beginning of class, as a 5-minute “warm up” activity before the new lesson begins. To design a warm-up, write 1- 10 questions that ask students to recall the knowledge you selected. Socioemotional Connections Warm-up answers can be written or verbal. • Curiosity • Energy At the beginning of the lesson, do the warm-up activity and say 3 your lesson opening. You may choose to do the warm-up first, or you may choose to do the lesson opening first. The order does not matter. At the start of each new activity, explain how the activity connects 4 to a learning goal. When you start a new activity in a lesson, say a sentence that explains to students how that activity will help them meet today’s learning goal or how it connects to a previous learning goal. 32 | COACH EXAMPLE: Going through all the steps of connecting learning. Scenario: You are teaching early-grade English to students. Today’s lesson teaches new words in English for common animals as well as two new English verbs. STEP 1 You ask yourself: What did students learn yesterday? You think: We learned the English phrases stand Plan a lesson up, sit down, and turn around. opening You ask yourself: What do I want students to be able to do at the end of today’s lesson? You think: using simple Identify English words for classroom objects like the desk, chair, and pencil. language. You put the answers together in simple language: “It’s time for English class! Yesterday, we learned words for stand up, sit down, and turn around. Today, we are going to learn words for common objects in our classroom.” STEP 2 You ask yourself: What previous knowledge is useful for today’s learning? This lesson uses the words Plan a warm- ‘teacher’ and ‘classroom’ from a lesson a week ago, so you decide to review those words. You think up activity you will have more time in the warm-up, so you decide to review the words from yesterday. that includes You write these questions to put on the board. retrieval practice. 1. Point to the teacher. 2. This room is called our ______________ (classroom). 3. What is this called? (Teacher sits down.) 4. What is this called? (Teacher stands up.) 5. What is this called? (Teacher turns around.) 6. Tell your partner what I do. (Teacher sits down and turns around.) You decide that you will read the questions and students will answer orally as a whole group and to a partner. STEP 3 You decide to do your lesson opening first, and then your warm-up. You say: At the “It’s time for English class! Yesterday, we learned words for stand up, sit down, and turn around. beginning of Today, we are going to learn words for common objects in our classroom. First, we are going to review the lesson, do some words from a few days ago.” the warm-up activity and Then you ask the warm-up questions. say your lesson opening. After your warm-up, the first lesson activity is reading a story. You say, “Now we are going to read a STEP 4 story that has our new words for classroom objects!” At the start of each new After reading the story, the next activity is hearing, seeing, and saying each new word. You say, “Next, activity, we will hear, see, and say each new word.” explain how As the lesson continues, you say how each new activity connects to the learning goal. the activity connects to a learning goal. 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