Doug Lemov's field notes

Reflections on teaching, literacy, coaching, and practice.

04.03.13 TLaC 2.0: Adding Stretch It to No Opt Out (video)

I’m in California this week so have been slow to post and respond to comments…. but the great news (for me) is that I am out here to do a two-day workshop for teachers and leaders at the highly–and justifyably–vaunted Aspire Public Schools. I’m especially excited because I always learn a ton from the smart and reflective…


05.19.23 Steve Kuninsky’s Amazing Habits of Attention Roll Out (Video)

  Two of the most important culture building techniques in Teach Like a Champion are Habits of Attention and Habits of Discussion. Habits of Attention is about teachers shaping the non-verbal signals students send to one another when they are talking. When the people in the room are looking at you–and looking a bit interested–you are…


03.28.23 Notes on Our London “Engaging Academics” Workshop

The TLAC team will be in London April 20 and 21 for a two-day workshop on Engaging Academics. I thought I’d tell you a bit about what we’ll be working on those days. First the content:  We’ll take a deep dive into a series of key techniques focused around the skill of questioning and how it…


01.22.23 A Slightly Annotated Willingham on Science of Reading

  UVA cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham and Barbara Davidson of Knowledge Matters were on the Melissa and Lori Love Literacy podcast a few days ago. About ten minutes into the discussion, Willingham gave a fantastic explanation of the role of background knowledge in reading comprehension. I transcribed the key sections below with a few notes of…