What-To-Do Directions
Give directions as actions they can see and do, so everyone knows exactly what you expect
Use this when
What is it?
What-To-Do Directions are instructions framed as the specific, observable actions you want students to take: "Facing forward, pen on line three" rather than "stop messing about". The approach works because some apparent non-compliance is really confusion: a student told to "behave" has to work out what that means, while a teacher cannot fairly check whether the instruction has been followed. Directions framed as visible actions are easier to follow and easier to enforce.
The steps
- Work out the actions before you speak. Picture what you would see if the class were doing exactly what you wanted. "Listen properly" becomes "pens down, eyes on me". "Tidy up" becomes "books in the tray, chair under your desk".
- Get attention before you direct. Use your signal and wait for quiet (see The Attention Signal). A direction delivered over noise reaches only part of the room and will probably need repeating.
- Give two or three actions, in the order students will do them. Students tend to begin with the first instruction they hear, so sequence the actions as they should happen. For anything involving movement, add a release word at the end so nobody begins early:When I say go: stand up, push in your chair, line up by the door. Go.
- Say it once, calmly, and then watch. Deliver the direction as a clear statement, using as few words as possible (see Steady Voice). Then stop talking and scan the room as students follow it. Your attention shows the class that you expect the actions to happen.
- Narrate what is right, and re-give what is missing. Acknowledge the majority first:Most of us lined up, waiting for three more.Then repeat only the missing action for anyone who has not begun, using their name:Dara, chair in, thanks.Keep the same calm tone as the original direction (Narrate the Good, The Quiet Correction).
- Keep the same words for the same moments. Use the same wording each day for recurring moments, such as entering the room, taking out equipment and packing away. Once the class knows the wording, you can begin turning the direction into a routine (Rehearse the Routine).
What it looks like
Mr Novak's class of 9-year-olds is moving from the carpet to tables for maths. "Right, back to your tables sensibly," he begins, then stops; "sensibly" led to yesterday's crush around the equipment trays. He gives the attention signal, waits for quiet and tries again. "When I say go: walk to your table, sit down, take out your whiteboard and pen. Go."
Twenty-eight children move. He scans the room from the front. "Nearly every board's out… waiting for two more." At the back, Theo is sitting with nothing in front of him. "Theo, whiteboard and pen, thanks." Theo gets them and starts copying the date. The whole transition takes under a minute.
How you’ll know it’s working
- Directions are expressed as actions: a colleague at the back could write down each one and tick it off as it happens.
- Most students begin within about five seconds, and you rarely need to repeat the same direction.
- Corrections become a name and one missing action. Arguments about what you meant become rare.
- Recurring moments use the same words each lesson, and the class completes them with less prompting each week.
Pitfalls & fixes
- Vagueness in disguise. Words such as "sensibly", "properly" and "respectfully" sound specific, but students may interpret them differently. Replace each one with the actions it represents: "sitting up, desk clear, eyes this way."
- Chaining too many actions. Beyond about three, students may forget the middle items in the list because working memory can hold only a small amount at once. Give a short sequence, watch students complete it, then give the next.
- Phrasing it as a question. "Can we all face this way?" sounds polite but leaves room for a no. State the direction and put the courtesy at the end: "Facing this way, thanks."
- Directing the stop. "Stop turning around" names the problem, which allows students to argue with your interpretation. Name the replacement action instead: "Facing forward, pen on line three." This is the wording The Quiet Correction uses at every stage.
Weigh it up
Why it’s worth it
- More students follow the first time. Some ignored instructions were not clearly understood, and observable actions reduce that confusion. What remains is a genuine choice, which you can address fairly.
- Corrections become shorter and calmer. Repeating one visible action is quicker than describing someone's attitude, and it gives The Quiet Correction clear wording at every stage. Fewer corrections escalate because there is less to dispute.
- You can check compliance at a glance. Because you named visible actions, you can see exactly who has followed the direction, helping you respond consistently and fairly.
- Task launches and transitions improve too. The same approach works for task instructions: "read the source, underline two causes, be ready to explain one" gets a class started, and multi-step tasks are less likely to break down at step two.
- Students who find school hardest receive particular support. Students who are still learning English, or who find it harder to hold several steps in mind, get directions that require less inference.
The costs
- Turning outcomes into actions is genuinely difficult at first. Expect to script your key directions in your planner for a few weeks.
- Changing an established habit takes time. You may still hear yourself say "sensibly" halfway through October and need to give the direction again.
- Used constantly with older students, the full form can feel like micromanagement. Save it for moments that need precision.
Adaptations
- Early years / lower primary: give one action at a time, paired with a gesture or modelled as you say it. Students usually follow "Hands on knees" more quickly when you place your own hands on your knees as you say it.
- Primary: use the "When I say go… Go" frame so eager students do not begin halfway through the direction. Three actions is a sensible limit.
- Secondary / post-16: keep directions brief and matter-of-fact; older students tend to hear a short direction as normal and a long one as a lecture. For multi-step tasks, write the actions on the board so students can refer back when they forget step two.
- Practical rooms (labs, workshops, PE): when equipment is involved, give directions in a strict order and check between actions: "Goggles on. Show me. Now light the burner."
Where this comes from
Doug Lemov codified this as "What to Do" in Teach Like a Champion, based on the observation that some apparent defiance begins with confusion about what was actually asked. The principle is supported by behaviour research on "effective commands", in which clear, specific, one-at-a-time directions lead to greater compliance than vague or question-shaped ones. Most of that research comes from small studies of individual students, and the whole-class approach has not been trialled in isolation, so this page is graded as craft.
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