The Teacher Clarity Playbook, Grades K-12
By: Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Taylor Almarode, Kierstan Barbee, Olivia Amador Valerio, Joseph Michael Assof
75% new material
Foreword by John Hattie
Looking for a powerful resource for every teacher? The Teacher Clarity Playbook is the one. Easy to follow templates and tools guide educators to use learning intentions and success criteria and align standards seamlessly. Students achieve because learning is purposeful and expectations are clear.
- Grade Level: K-12
- ISBN: 9781071937310
- Published By: Corwin
- Year: 2024
- Page Count: 208
- Publication date: January 16, 2024
Review Copies
Review copies may be requested by individuals planning to purchase 10 or more copies for a team or considering a book for adoption in a higher ed course. To request a review copy, contact sales@corwin.com.
Description
Unlock the secrets to student achievement with purposeful learning and clear expectations
On a clear day, you can learn forever— that’s the adapted lyric you’ll be happily humming once you’ve covered this playbook, because you will have mastered using learning intentions and success criteria, the twin engines of Teacher Clarity. This template-filled guide shows you how to own it, do it, and live it—and your students will be more successful as a result.
In this fully revised edition, this succinct, smart, and swift book’s nine learning modules take you systematically through a process that begins and ends with standards. With abundant and all new examples that span grade levels, planning templates for every step, key professional learning questions, new videos, revised success criteria and relevance sections, and the latest research, you have the most practical and up-to-date planner for designing and delivering highly effective instruction:
- Identifying Concepts and Skills
- Sequencing Learning Progressions
- Elaborating Learning Intentions
- Crafting Success Criteria
- Modifying Learning Intentions to Include Language Expectations
- Determining the Relevance of the Learning
- Designing Assessment Opportunities
- Creating Meaningful Learning Experiences
- Establishing Mastery of Standards
Designed for PLCs or independent teacher use, The Teacher Clarity Playbook helps practitioners align lessons, objectives, and outcomes of learning seamlessly, so that the classroom hours flow productively for everyone. For any teacher striving to be more organized and have stronger relationships with students, this is the book that shows you how.
Key features
· Designed to be used, not read, this playbook is filled with templates and tools for teachers to practice what they’re learning.
· Can be used( ideally) in PLCs, or informally in teacher groups or even on your own.
· Includes ·step-by-step guide with examples from across the curriculum to guide teacher learning and practice.
· Explains core concepts, then models how the process is applied through examples for all grade levels and subjects.
Author(s)

Douglas Fisher
Douglas Fisher is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is a credentialed English teacher and administrator in California. In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design, as well as books such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook 2/e, Your Introduction to PLC+, The Illustrated Guide to Teacher Credibility, The Teaching Reading Playbook, and Welcome to Teaching!.

Nancy Frey
Nancy Frey is a Professor in Educational Leadership at San Diego State and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. She is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California. She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. Her published titles include The Illustrated Guide to Visible Learning, Welcome to Teaching Multilingual Learners, Teaching Foundational Skills to Adolescent Readers, and RIGOR Unveiled: A Video-Enhanced Flipbook to Promote Teacher Expertise in Relationship Building, Instruction, Goals, Organization, and Relevance.

John Taylor Almarode
John and his colleagues have also focused a lot of attention on the process of implementation – taking evidence-based practices and moving them from intention to implementation, potential to impact through a series of on-your-feet-guides around PLCs, Visible Learning, Visible Teaching, and the SOLO Taxonomy.

Kierstan Barbee
Kierstan Barbee, EdD, is a full-time consultant with Corwin. She most recently served as a project manager of assessment for learning in Dallas Independent School District, which involved creating system-wide professional learning programming for central staff and campuses that promoted the spread of research-based practices. Through an emphasis on relationship-building and human-centered design principles, Kierstan has coached PreK-12 principals, teachers, and district leaders on pedagogical practices that promote equity and student agency. She also previously served as a secondary English Language Arts teacher, academic coach, and professional development supervisor. She holds teaching credentials in Texas and earned her master’s degree from Harvard University and her doctoral degree in educational leadership and literacy from University of Houston.

Olivia Amador Valerio

Joseph Michael Assof
Joseph Michael Assof is a high school and community college mathematics teacher and the math department chair at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego, CA. He is also an educational consultant and presents internationally on a wide array of topics including teacher clarity, mathematics teaching and learning, visible learning, and more. Joseph coauthored Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, High School, Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades 6–8, and The Teacher Clarity Playbook, and his classroom is featured in a number of Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K–12 videos. Joseph holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics and a doctorate in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Mathematics Teacher Leadership. Mathematics and mathematics education are Joseph’s second passion—his first being his two beautiful boys, Joseph Fred and Jamie Beau.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Module 1: Identifying Concepts and Skills
Module 2: Sequencing Learning Progressions
Module 3: Elaborating Learning Intentions
Module 4: Crafting Success Criteria
Module 5: Modifying Learning Intentions to Include Language Expectations
Module 6: Determining the Relevance of the Learning
Module 7: Designing Assessment Opportunities
Module 8: Creating Meaningful Learning Experiences
Module 9: Establishing Mastery of Standards
Moving Forward
Reviews
"The new videos for each module on the Think Alouds give teachers an explanation of how practitioners are using a specific component of teacher clarity in a comprehensible way. It is a game changer when teachers discover the best hidden secret to learning (success criteria). By adding the seven different ways of sharing what success looks like with learners, Module 4 becomes even more powerful as teachers realize the different opportunities they have to reach and empower students."Chasity Gray
Director of Professional Learning
“Just like Teacher Clarity demystifies how to be successful teachers and learners, the authors of this practical playbook demystify Teacher Clarity for their readers. It’s a must-read, must-practice book used by all educators across our school district. It’s not another thing; it’s ‘the thing’ for targeted, successful teaching and learning!”Dr. Angela Lyon Hinton
Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services, Spartanburg School District Two
"This playbook equips educators with a wealth of strategies, examples, and practical tools to amplify their impact on student learning. These resources empower educators to cultivate a learning environment where students are actively engaged, while also helping teachers develop a profound understanding of their expectations, thereby enhancing the overall learning experience."Kelly Jensen
Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Palmdale School District
"With a through line of alignment and intentionality, this second edition of The Teacher Clarity Playbook emphasizes the cognitive complexities to consider in purposeful planning. This book truly highlights and reminds us of both the art and science of teaching and deepens our appreciation for teachers and leaders."Amy Miles
Professional Development Coordinator
"In this second edition of the playbook, teacher clarity is explicitly linked to alignment and the intentional moves teachers make when planning for and facilitating instruction. The authors provide a metacognitive roadmap for developing instruction that meets the cognitive complexity of content standards and supports students in knowing where they are now and where to next."Angie Schultz
Director of Curriculum and Innovation
Other Titles in: Student Engagement & Motivation | Personal Growth & Development | Developing Pedagogy
Review Copies
Review copies may be requested by individuals planning to purchase 10 or more copies for a team or considering a book for adoption in a higher ed course. To request a review copy, contact sales@corwin.com.
Related Professional Learning
Related Institutes- 2026 Annual Teacher Clarity Conference - opens in a new tab
- Teacher Clarity Playbook Certification - opens in a new tab
- Teacher Clarity Playbook Institute - opens in a new tab
Related Webinars
Related Resources
- #CorwinTalks: Making Sense of Visible Learning - opens in a new tab [Blog]
- Access to companion resources is available with the purchase of this book.
- Introduction to the Teacher Clarity Playbook Second Edition - opens in a new tab [Lessons and Strategies]
- State what students will learn: crafting and sharing learning intentions - opens in a new tab [Book Excerpt]
- Three Things All New Teachers Need to Know to Be Successful - opens in a new tab [Blog]