Instructional Practice Guides

Classroom Observation Tools

Central to our work with partners, the Instructional Practice Guides are classroom observation tools that describe “core actions” associated with standards-aligned content, effective teaching, and meaningful student engagement. Each core action includes indicators and a rating scale, making it easy to identify trends across classrooms and track progress over time.

Instructional leaders can use these free tools to establish a vision for high-quality instruction and focus improvement efforts where they’re most needed.

Download the guides for ELA, reading foundational skills, math, and science. 

“The Instructional Practice Guide gives us the ‘what’ by looking at the standard and the materials that we put in front of the children. It gives us the ‘how’ by really thinking through the facilitative questions that teachers will use to get the kids being able to access that content, and it helps us anticipate what students will do when they have the content in front of them.”

Uli Schneider
Principal, Gladstone Elementary School, Missouri