Doug Lemov's field notes

Reflections on teaching, literacy, coaching, and practice.

11.14.23 The Bug That Didn’t (Disprupt Dayla Bedford’s Lesson): A Mini Case Study

  Our weekly team meeting gives us the chance to do what we love most: study great teaching. This week, we had the privilege to study Dayla Bedford of Emma Donnan Elementary School in Indianapolis, IN. Dayla joyfully and skillfully executing a phonics lesson with her first-graders. [We’ll share a longer video of Dayla’s impressive phonics…


08.31.16 Virginia ODP’s Kelvin Jones and the Art of Modeling During Training

This summer, with help from Virginia Youth Soccer Association Coaching Education Director Paul Shaw, I’ve been studying some of Virginia’s top soccer coaches and videotaping their sessions. This week I’ll start sharing some reflections from Kelvin Jones’ session. Kelvin is a coach with Virginia’s ODP program and is Director of Coaching at Virginia Legacy Soccer Club…


03.30.16 How to Start Class: Starring Alonte Johnson

The first moment of your class is in many ways the most important in setting expectations for what will happen there for the next hour.  That’s why I love this clip of Alonte Johnson starting his 7th grade English class at King’s Collegiate in Brooklyn.  He’s clear and direct. His routines are simple and efficient.  He…