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William Pomfret
National University
September 4, 2019
TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION 2.0 BOOK REVIEW p. 2
Abstract
Teach Like a Champion 2.0 is a textbook that was given to me during my new teacher
orientation for San Bernardino City Unified School District. It was written by Doug Lemov,
Joaquin Hernandez, and Jennifer Kim. Its purpose is to provide “practical guidance and hands-
techniques for students’ success in the classroom” (Lemov). Essentially the book is a how-to-
guide to building positive relationships in the classroom through strong classroom management
Book Review
Teach Like a Champion 2.0, written by Doug Lemov, Joaquin Hernandez, and Jennifer Kim.
Published in 2016/
This book was so well-written and easy to follow. Like most education textbooks, the teacher
jargon can get a little heavy and make the book hard to comprehend and tough to get through.
However, this book was written in a way that allows the reader to follow along and even
provides specific areas in the book for the reader to make notes and fill in boxes to provide
themselves with context after reading. It allows the reader to not only read the book but also to
interact with what they are reading. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in the
TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION 2.0 BOOK REVIEW p. 4
teaching profession that wishes to improve their abilities and discover new strategies for teaching
students.
The idea I most enjoyed reading and learning about was the idea of tracking vs. watching
students complete their work. We all fall into the trap from time to time. We watch students
completing their work, and they are breezing along through the material. Everything seems to be
going well so you move on quickly to the next topic. However, when the test time comes, the
students are unsuccessful on the test, and we realize that even though they were breezing through
their assignments, they were doing the assignments incorrectly the entire time. This is where
tracking comes in. Students should not just be observed about whether or not they are working
and completing their assignments. They should also be observed based on their progress towards
the learning goals of the lesson. In addition to stating the need for this kind of tracking, the book
also provides ideas about how to accomplish this. One idea is tracking specific errors and
success points. This involves teachers planning ahead and understanding the key points for
success and the most common errors. The teacher can then walk around and track with a
purpose because he/she is looking for specific points in the students’ work rather than trying to
Is the book current in terms of education technology tools and instructional ideas?
This book is very current in terms of the current climate and culture of education. The strategies
collaborations and student conversations to further learning, which is a big emphasis across the
TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION 2.0 BOOK REVIEW p. 5
board in education at this time. The strategies included are in-tune with the modern-day student
and their individual needs as well as the needs of the group. There is lots of discussion about
differentiation and even how to work better with English learner students. Although the book
does not discuss technology much, specifically, the book contains a DVD that allows the reader
to watch and follow along in the book simultaneously, so that the book is interactive and visual.
These are key components to a technological lesson. So, although the book doesn’t spend much
time directly addressing the idea of technology lessons, it does encourage it through its own
formatting.
The best part about this book is that there is something in there for everyone. Younger, less
experienced teachers would find it most useful, but experienced teachers could come away with
many new strategies as well. This is a perfect book for anyone in the teaching profession that
has a desire to better their strengths and improve their weaknesses. Teachers can read this book
and come away with new strategies that can instantly be implemented in their classroom without
having to drastically alter their existing lesson plans or classroom rules. The strategies are
simple ideas that can easily be adapted to match the existing class structure.
I enjoyed the content being in book textbook and DVD format. However, some of the content
was only in DVD format and then left room for the teacher to make notes in the book based on
what was seen on the DVD. The issue I have with this is that it makes it much more difficult to
reference what was said in the content because you have to go pull up the DVD again and find
TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION 2.0 BOOK REVIEW p. 6
the part you are looking for, which is much more difficult than skimming a chapter for the
passage you want. Additionally, in my own particular case, I can easily go to a room for some
quiet time, but it can be more difficult to access the DVD player due to my family using it. So
that content is either lost or cannot be accessed at the same time I am reading the accompanying
passage. So my suggestion would be to expand the book to include the information from the
DVD into the book more so that everything goes together, and it makes the DVD an optional
Artifact 2 relates directly to the content in Teach Like a Champion 2.0 where it call and response.
“Call and response means using group choral response to build energetic, positive engagement”
(Lemov 359). This relates directly to Biffle’s style of teaching that is mostly based off of call
and response, which he uses to engage students and bring the class to order. He has basic
commands that he gives students and they repeat back or respond aloud then move to the next
activity. This then leads into the turn and talk part of the book, which is a “short discussion
between a pair of students” (Lemov 439). This is demonstrated in the video when he tells the
students to “teach.” This is when the student turn to each other and engage each other with a
conversation about what was just discussed by the teacher. Lastly, the teacher uses a scoreboard
system to keep students on task. This would fall into the precise praise strategy in the book,
which states that teacher must be “strategic about the positive reinforcement they give to students
in the classroom” (Lemov 605). Ultimately, the book provides the reader with strategies to
improve classroom management and student engagement, which are areas of concern for me.
The strategies themselves are not necessarily professional development, but when connecting the
TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION 2.0 BOOK REVIEW p. 7
book with the video in Artifact 2, I was able to connect the two together and understand the
importance of student engagement and develop strategies to create that level of engagement.
Conclusion
we are used to being in control. We stand in front of the room every day and provide the
instructions. We evaluate our students and assess them on their understanding. Sometimes that
assertiveness, confidence, and vibrato that we bring to the classroom gets in the way of our own
progress. We spend so much time analyzing student progress that we forget to focus on our own
progress. What are we doing to improve ourselves so that our students can improve along with
us? This book provided so much insight into how to improve ourselves. The best overall thing
about the book is that it points out flaws in your teaching repertoire that you did not even know
you had. This allows teachers to self-reflect and fix errors in teaching methods before they
manifest into bad habits. Overall, the book was well-written, helpful, and leaves its readers
excited to get into the classroom and try their new strategies. I would highly recommend this
References
Lemov, D., & Atkins, N. (2015). Teach like a champion 2.0 62 techniques that put students on