This document discusses effective teaching practices based on chapters 1 and 2 of the source text. It makes 3 key points: 1. Schools often fail due to a lack of a common curriculum, ineffective lessons, and not utilizing authentic literacy. Simplicity, clarity and priority are important. 2. An effective curriculum has a coherent set of meaningful power standards, structurally sound lessons, and the development of authentic literacy skills like argumentative reading, writing and speaking. 3. Literacy is crucial for student success. Students must be able to read deeply, support arguments, resolve conflicting views, and write multi-page papers. Reducing standards and focusing instruction allows for the development of these skills.

1. What We Teach, How We
Teach
(Focus--Chapters 1 and 2)

2. Where Schools Fail
 Failure linked to 3 things:
A. Failure to implement a Common Curriculum
B. Failure to implement sound lessons
Not
C. Failure to utilize Authentic Literacy Jim
Collins
 Simplicity, Clarity, Priority
Jim Collins—“the key is not innovation, it is ‘simplicity
and diligence’ applied with fierce devotion to our
highest priorities.”

3. What we Teach
 Coherent Curriculum:
A. # of power standards should not exceed ½ of total
B. Are the standards meaningful?
 Structurally sound lessons
A. Appealing?
B. Provide for re-teaching?
C. Standards-based?
 Authentic Literacy:
A. Purposeful and argumentative—reading, writing and speaking

4. Power of Simplicity, Clarity and Priority a.k.a. The
Hedgehog Test
Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Hedgehogs writes:
“To succeed…we must ‘attain a piercing clarity about how to produce
the best long-term results, and then exercise the relentless discipline to
say, ‘No thank you’ to opportunities that fail the Hedgehog test.” –Jim
Collins
The Hedgehog principle in real life:
Football team wins with simplicity
Hospital stays healthy by washing hands?

5. Clarity
“If you can do nothing else…be clear”
o Best Buy—reduced product line to 50%
o Whole class lessons focused on a clear
learning objective in short instructional
chunks
 Guided practice and formative assessment

6. What We Teach
Adequate amount of essential subject are
content, concepts and topics.
Intellectual/Thinking Skills
Authentic Literacy

7. A Truly Universal Education
 ACT study—90% overlap between
needs of workers and those who
attend college.
 Prepareall students for a
successful life—College vs. No-
College debate doesn’t concern us.
 Developskills for meaningful life
—reading, writing, thinking,
speaking.

8. Education Demands:
“The 21st century demands that all
students can ‘read, write and cipher…
think, solve problems…draw upon a
rich vocabulary based on deep
understanding of language and the
human condition.”

9. Timeless skills
 Are students asked to read and resolve “conflicting views” to exercise
judgment?
 Are we producing problem solvers?
 Teach content before we critique
“The ability to analyze and think critically requires extensive
factual knowledge…facts must be taught, ideally in context…” –
Willingham

10. Literacy is crucial!
 According to Vince Ferrandino and Gerald Tirozzi:
“Under-developed literacy skills are the number one
reason why students are retained, assigned to special
education, given long-term remedial services and why
they fail to graduate from high school.”
 Marc Tucker, author and founder of the Carnegie Task
Force On Teaching as a Profession, “recommends a
broad liberal arts curriculum that includes ‘a very high
level of preparation in reading, writing, and speaking.’”
 Textbooks!?
 Asking penetrating questions

11. Questions and Texts:
 A good text and a question
 Teach them to read deeply through well-formed
questions
 “Literacy is integral to what and how we teach; it’s
the spine that holds everything together and ties
content together in every subject.” (Schmoker, 37).
 Best teaching = good question(s) and good text(s)

12. Conley’s
5ish “Standards for Success”
1. Read to infer/interpret/draw conclusions
2. Support arguments with evidence
3. Resolve conflicting views encountered in
source documents
4. Solve complex problems with no obvious
answer
5. Prepare students to write 3-5 page papers

13. Success in the
Language Arts:
 Reduce standards by 50%
A. “highest achieving countries teach fewer
than half of the standards that we teach”
(44).
 Tempe Prep Academy
A. Charter in Phoenix, AZ
B. Close, analytic reading; monthly formal
writing assignments; and daily Socratic
discussions where students debate, resolve
conflicting view points and draw their own
conclusions.
C. Scores skyrocketed!

14. Guide to selecting standards:
Decide on a reduction target
Criteria for deciding—
A. ENDURANCE—will standard provide students with knowledge
beyond test date?
B. LEVERAGE—will the standard provide knowledge and skills that
are of value in multiple disciplines?
C. READINESS FOE NEXT LEVEL—will the standard provide
knowledge and skills necessary in next level of education?