Always a Lesson

Step-by-step advice to help teachers master classroom management, lesson design, student engagement, and beyond Always a Lesson: Teacher Essentials for Classroom and Career Success is the book that can turn every good teacher into a great teacher. The art and science of teaching can be difficult to navigate. There are moving pieces that change how teachers should approach instruction, like unique student needs year after year, curriculum changes, updated research on best practices and more. It's essential that teachers of all levels continue to learn and develop their craft so that they can best manage these moving pieces. Using personal stories and tangible next steps gained from her experience as a teacher and teacher leader, author Gretchen Bridgers can level-up your teaching, filling the gap left between traditional teacher-training programs and the real world. With high teacher turnover rates in the wake of the great resignation that occurred post-COVID, teachers need support more than ever. Always a Lesson offers a systematic process for strengthening the skillset of any teacher. The sequence of what teachers work on is the key to move through obstacles and increase effectiveness. No matter their level of expertise, Bridgers takes the stance that all teachers are learners. By applying the principles and strategies in this book, novice to veteran teachers will see a positive impact on student learning and their proficiency as an elite educator. K-12 teachers, teacher mentors, instructional coaches, school administrators, and anyone else with an interest in improving teacher retention will thank their lucky stars for this book.

Foreword ix Part One The Beginning, the Pathway, and the Formula 1 Prologue Where It All Began 3 Lessons from the Trenches 3 Introduction The Teacher Success Pathway 17 How to Use This Book 18 How This Book Will Help You 20 Chapter 1 The Formula 25 More Than a Toolbox 25 The Teacher Success Pathway 29 Part Two Brick 1: Lesson Design 33 Chapter 2 Obstacles to Lesson Design 35 Less Time to Plan 36 Too Much to Plan 36 The Lesson Plan Vortex 37 Less Time to Collaborate 38 Chapter 3 Lesson Design Phase Overview 41 Backwards Design 44 Gradual Release 48 Chapter 4 Effective Design 51 Pacing/Time Management 52 Checks for Understanding (CFUs) 53 Transition Routes 55 Teacher/Student Actions 56 Material Organization and Distribution 56 Differentiation 57 Chapter 5 Getting Started with Lesson Design 59 Lesson Plan Components 59 Sample Practice Script 66 Chapter 6 Mastering Lesson Design, Part 1 69 Standard, Objective, and Assessment Example 72 Direct Instruction Example 73 Guided Practice Example 74 Independent Practice Example 76 Chapter 7 Mastering Lesson Design, Part 2 79 Creating In- Class Data Collection Procedures 81 Developing Your Own Systems and Habits 83 Lesson Design Scenario Practice 89 Part Three Brick 2: Classroom Management 93 Chapter 8 Understanding Classroom Management 95 The Three Rs of Classroom Management 95 The Impact of Classroom Management 101 Chapter 9 Getting Started with Classroom Management 105 R1: Relationships 105 R2: Routines 108 Chapter 10 Addressing Misbehaviors 117 Chapter 11 Mastering Classroom Management 131 R3: Rope Students into Your Lesson 133 Part Four Brick 3: Student Engagement 145 Chapter 12 Understanding Student Engagement 147 What Student Engagement Does 147 Why Student Engagement Matters 151 Chapter 13 Getting Started with Student Engagement 157 Approaching Engagement from Three Directions 157 Building Engagement into Your Lesson 162 Chapter 14 Mastering Student Engagement 169 Strengthening Student Engagement 170 Part Five Brick 4: Student Choice and Ownership 179 Chapter 15 Understanding Student Choice and Ownership 181 Why Student Choice and Ownership Matters 183 Building In Student Choice and Ownership 187 Chapter 16 Getting Started with Student Choice and Ownership 191 Characteristics of Student Choice 192 Chapter 17 Mastering Student Choice and Ownership 199 Communication 199 Decision-Making 200 Environment 202 Equity and Equality 203 Co-create Norms 206 Data Collection and Reflection 207 Flexible Seating 208 Peer Evaluations 209 Project-Based Learning (PBL) 209 Part Six Implementing Your New Learning 215 Chapter 18 Teacher Success Next Steps 217 Chapter 19 Ongoing Learning 221 Ongoing Learning Opportunities 224 Continuous Collaboration 227 Chapter 20 Conclusion 235 Appendix 1: Reproducibles 239 Appendix 2: Using This Book to Mentor Others 295 References 305 Acknowledgments 311 About the Author 315 Index 317