Friday, May 7, 2010


Uncommon Schools' Doug Lemov has penned an uncommonly helpful book. Teach Like a Champion offers much more the subtitle "49 Techniques..." promises. We've all seen seemingly magical champion teachers, and here Lemov lifts the veil on some of the tricks that make the magic believable.
Nearly every page offers one of those moments that makes a teacher say, "I'm trying that tomorrow." It also come with a DVD showing the techniques being used in real classrooms.
Most PBIS-ish quote: “In schools we spend a lot of time defining the behavior we want by the negative: 'Don't get distracted.' 'Stop fooling around.' 'That behavior was inappropriate.' These commands are vague, inefficient, and unclear. They force students to guess what you want them to do."

Thursday, April 1, 2010




The title sounds like one of those 'teacher books' that suggest what to do if Johnnie calls out/steals/bullies/etc/etc. Actually The Educator's Guide... by Raymond J. Walker is not that at all. It's an inspiring and entertaining guide to taking your classroom management bull by the horns. It offers problem solving ideas and starting points for effective, nonpunitive, and positive behavior management .
Most PBIS-ish quote: "Break up any task into small enough pieces...to be taught successfully, and teach those skill over and over. Make sure they understand. How many times do you teach them? Until the kids are bored with hearing what you are teaching, until every kid gets it right every time."