New Structure

In Teach Like a Champion, Check for Understanding (CFU) was a single technique. Teach Like a Champion 2.0  not only begins with CFU, it has a whole section devoted to assessing student understanding. The ten techniques in these two chapters are entirely new to the second edition. They outline how to gather data through questioning and observation and how to build a culture of error in your classroom.

Academic Ethos is about the importance of seeking the maximum level of academic rigor. It includes revised versions of four chapters from the first version of the book: “Setting High Academic Expectations,” “Planning for Success,” “Lesson Structure,” and “Pacing.” Of course, other key factors help determine the level of rigor in a lesson—the content you teach and how deep you go—but these four chapters examine concrete actions that build rigor in a variety of domains.

The chapter “Engaging Students in Your Lessons,” is now renamed “Ratio” and divided into three chapters that explore ways teachers can build two types of Ratio—Participation Ratio (breadth and frequency of engagement) and Think Ratio (depth of engagement). The three chapters focus, respectively, on questioning, discussion, and writing and are preceded by an important “Content Prerequisite” in Chapter Seven. It argues that rigorous thinking requires a commitment to content knowledge.

Part Four of the book focuses on behavior and culture. If your classroom culture is not where you want it to be, assessing the effectiveness of discipline, control, management, engagement, and influence is a great first step. This section frames more clearly the two critical points teachers must understand in building classroom culture: first, that the purpose of order in the classroom is to promote academic learning; second, that great culture entails doing far more than just eliminating disruptions. Lemov explores the latter point in more depth in Chapter Twelve, where he discusses the power of relationships and the importance of joy.