Wait Time Cheat Sheet

Giving students time to think before answering questions encourages a higher-quality initial answer instead of the first answer a student can think of. Also, there are several steps necessary to teach and remind your students to use their Wait Time effectively. Charlie Friedman, principal of Nashville Classical Charter School, created a Wait Time Cheat Sheet after noticing that teachers on his team struggled to make Wait Time transparent. He wanted to give teachers guidance on a consistent way to signal quickly, efficiently, and transparently to students that they would get plenty of time to think before answers would be taken and to teach students what to do with the Wait Time they receive. This month’s download equips teachers and leaders with clear instructions that include prompts to launch Wait Time (cues), prompts during Wait Time (the routine), and prompts for after Wait Time (the reward).

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