Text guides

Teaching and tutoring

Prepare activities that show what a learner understands. Keep the learning goal visible and check every answer before using it.

12 practical tasks. Each guide includes a sample request and a way to check the answer.

Turn a broad topic into a clear lesson objectiveA topic names what the lesson covers. An objective names what a learner can show by the end of it. Pick one observable task, say what correct work looks like, and decide what evidence you can collect during the lesson itself.
Plan a lesson sequence around one objectiveWork backward from the lesson objective. Decide what evidence you will collect, then plan the explanation and practice that prepare learners for that check. Give each segment a learner action, material and time estimate. Include transitions and room to respond if learners need more help.
Write questions that reveal a common misconceptionBuild each diagnostic question around a mistaken idea you have observed. For a multiple-choice question, connect plausible wrong answers to possible reasoning, then ask learners to explain their choice. Their explanation helps you distinguish a guessed answer from the reasoning you intended to check.
Build a worked example learners can followChoose a problem that fits the lesson objective and show the reason beside each step. Include a way to check the result and another valid approach if one exists. Match the explanation to what learners already know, spelling out any new notation they will need.
Create a gradual sequence of practice tasksMove from a version learners can do toward the target task. Change one demand at a time, such as the number of steps or the amount of help provided. This makes it easier to investigate a difficulty when it appears. State the support available at each stage.
Draft a rubric from the assignment criteriaStart with the criteria you already named for the assignment. For each one, describe what a reader would see in the work at every level, using differences in what the work does instead of words like good or weak. Share the rubric before learners begin.
Turn assessment notes into a useful next stepUseful feedback points to something in the submission, says what to change and gives the student a task to try. Start from your scoring notes and the work itself. Pick one strength and one issue, quote the line or step involved, then assign practice that targets only that issue.
Plan a tutoring session from recent workA good session plan starts with what the learner actually did. Gather recent work and questions, choose one goal, and plan a short diagnostic question that shows their reasoning before you teach. Then pick practice that matches the mistakes you saw and end with a quick check.
Write a substitute-teacher handoff from approved informationA substitute needs to know what happens in what order, where materials are and who to ask. Write the handoff from your own plans and school-approved details only. Keep student information to what the day requires, and list open questions so the substitute does not guess.
Draft a factual learning update for a parentA parent update works best when it names one skill, shows a piece of the child's work and says what happens next. Describe what you observed in plain words. Offer a home activity only as an option, and leave out labels or explanations of why the child struggles.
Write a knowledge check for workplace trainingA knowledge check should ask what a trainee would do, not what they can recall. Turn real situations from the job into scenarios with a decision point. Write each answer with a reason and point to the approved procedure or document that supports it.
Simplify lesson instructions without changing the taskSimpler directions help more students start the task, but they must still ask for the same thinking. Break the original into short ordered steps, replace unneeded words, and keep the terms students must learn. Check that no step now tells students the answer.

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