We are back with Technique 10 from Doug Lemov's book, Teach Like a Champion. Technique 10 is again a planning technique.
Technique 10: Double Plan
You might be tempted to think that this means plan twice as much as you need. But successful teachers double plan.
Most teachers focus on what they do as they are teaching. A lesson plan focuses on what they are do. But what are the students doing? What do you ask them to do to support their own learning? Fill in a graphic organizer? Take notes? What kind of notes.
It's funny how many high school teachers will fret and fume that students don't take notes. But have they ever taught them? I was in "honors" English, science and history in high school, and my English teacher my junior year taught us how to make an outline. It stuck with me for years, and I will sometimes still commit an outline to paper when I am writing (these articles are short enough that I can project it in my mind.) But, if you want students to take notes, what will they look like? Do you know if the students can make notes, or do you need to give them a format?
To succeed at Technique, Lemov recommends that you make a T chart for your plans. At the top you put the objective for the lesson. On the left you write what you, as the teacher, do. On the right side you write what the students do for each activity you put on the left. Do they fill in a graphic organizer? Do they make a list of important facts? Do they brainstorm with a partner? Do they create flash cards? There are all kinds of ways to support and reinforce a lesson. Be sure that you have plans and materials to support your objective and collect information about their success.
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