I–We–You
Model it, practise together, then let them try alone, stepping back in when they struggle
Use this when
What is it?
I–We–You is a three-stage structure for teaching something new: you model the work while explaining your thinking (I), the class solves the next example with you steering (We), and then students practise alone (You). Support falls away in stages rather than all at once, and the middle stage shows you whether students are ready before you let go. Two handover points call for judgement: when to move on, and when to move back.
The steps
- Plan three examples of the same type. Before the lesson, prepare one example to model, one to solve together and one for independent work. Vary the surface details while keeping the method identical.
- Model the first example yourself, thinking aloud. This is the I stage. Ask students to put their pens down, then narrate each decision as you make it (Think Aloud).Watch first, pens down. I can't add these yet, so my first job is matching the denominators.
- Solve the second example together, with the class steering. This is the We stage. Keep the pen in your own hand; students supply every move. Use Cold Call or Show-Me Boards so that each student commits to each step.
- Watch the success rate before you hand over. Most of the room should be getting most steps right. Around eight in ten correct is a reasonable guide; if the rate is lower, solve another example together.
- Set the third example for independent work. This is the You stage. Give the same problem type with the support removed, and circulate to read students' work while they attempt it.
- Move back a stage when the room tells you to. If hands go up everywhere, or the same error appears in several books, return to the We stage for one more example.Pens down for a moment. Lots of us are stuck at the same step, so let's do one more together.
What it looks like
Miss Pollard's class of 11-year-olds is adding fractions with different denominators. She works the first example on the board, pens down: "I can't add these yet, so my first job is matching the denominators." For the second example, the class steers. "First move, Kian?" "Change them both to sixths?" "Why sixths?" A pause. "Because two and three both go into six." She writes only what students supply, checking each step on show-me boards.
Then comes the third example, attempted alone. Within a minute five hands are up, and the same wrong denominator appears on three of the nearest books. "Pens down. Lots of us tripped at the same step, so we'll do one more together." They do, more slowly on the first move, and the second attempt at working alone runs quietly to the end.
How you’ll know it’s working
- During the modelled example, pens stay down across the room and the reasoning is spoken aloud, decision by decision.
- In the We stage, the moves come from named students, and wrong suggestions surface and are worked through.
- Count the hands that go up in the first two minutes of independent work: three or four, where this class once produced a dozen.
- Some lessons include a visible return: independent work pauses, the class solves one more example together, and practice resumes within a few minutes.
Pitfalls & fixes
- A "We" stage that is really more "I". If you supply the moves and the class merely agrees, nothing has been handed over. Ask for every step by name, and write only what students give you.
- Releasing on the clock instead of on evidence. A plan can say that independent practice starts at twenty past, whether or not the class is ready. Let the success rate in the We stage decide, and be willing to solve one more example together.
- Running out of lesson before You. The structure only pays off if independent practice actually happens. Protect the final third of the lesson for it, and model one example rather than three.
- Making the move back feel like a punishment. Students read your tone, and if returning to the We stage sounds like disappointment, they will hide their confusion to avoid causing it. Announce the move as routine, briskly and warmly.
Weigh it up
Why it’s worth it
- It closes the gap between following your explanation and doing the work unaided, because students attempt the method with support before attempting it without.
- The We stage doubles as a check for understanding: every guided step samples the room, so misconceptions surface during the lesson rather than in your marking.
- Independent practice tends to run more calmly. Students who have just succeeded twice with the method mostly start work, and much of the disruption in practice time begins with students who cannot start.
- The shape becomes a shared routine. Once the class recognises the stages, instructions shrink: "pens down, watching" and "you're on your own now" are enough to carry the whole structure.
- The You stage leaves a written attempt from every student in every lesson, which makes the next lesson's whole-class feedback specific and cheap.
The costs
- It is slower than explaining and then setting an exercise. With confident classes the We stage can drag, and part of the skill lies in shortening it honestly when the evidence says you can.
- It requires a supply of parallel examples: three or more of the same problem type for each teaching point, which is real planning work in subjects without ready-made sets.
- Used for every lesson, it flattens them. Open-ended tasks, discussion and extended practice days call for different shapes.
Adaptations
- Early years / lower primary: shrink the cycle to a few minutes and repeat it. Show one letter formation, write one together in the air, let them try one, and go round again. Several short cycles tend to work better than one long one.
- Secondary, extended work: stretch the cycle across several lessons. Model a paragraph on Monday, co-write one on Tuesday, and set the independent essay once the co-written one is secure.
- Post-16 / adult: name the stages aloud: "I'll do one, we'll do one together, then you have twenty minutes on your own." Adults tend to work more willingly inside a structure they can see.
- Practical subjects: the demonstration is the I stage, the walk-through at half speed with your cues is the We stage, and individual practice is the You stage. The move back is simply a matter of calling the group back around the bench.
Where this comes from
The three stages come from the gradual release of responsibility model, set out by P. David Pearson and Margaret Gallagher in 1983: the idea that the work of a task should pass gradually from teacher to student, with joint practice in between. Guided practice in this position also runs through Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction, while the classroom label "I do, we do, you do" was popularised by Doug Lemov and many others. The labelled three-stage lesson format has not been trialled as a package.
Sources
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