Five Ways to Reduce Teacher Talk

I think a lot about “teacher talk” or “teacher talking time” (TTT).

My enjoyment of communicating with people is both what initially drew me to teaching and my weakest point as a teacher. I could just go on and on forever.

It would certainly be ironic for me to write a 5,000 word narrative on this topic.

In lieu of that, here are five thoughts for creating and reviewing my lesson plans to limit teacher talk (aka “The Emily Show”):

• Think preschool, not 12th grade. Not in terms of difficulty or nap time, but in terms of a student-centered approach. A pre-K teacher does not go on and on, and those students are busy.
• Think percentage. Is it reasonable for students to listen to me talk for literally 80% of their class time? What about 50%? 20%? 0%?
• Think opportunity cost. Every minute I spend talking to the class…