The aim of this article is to identify the mechanisms behind the occurrence of teaching practices of seatwork and recitation across lessons. The study is based on an analysis of 74 video recorded lessons from 4 school classes in Swedish comprehensive schools during 2013. Firstly, the results suggest that teaching practices such as seatwork dominated across lessons when compared to, for example, reciting. Secondly, the study gives a detailed analysis of teaching practices by analyzing video transcripts. Thirdly, using Cox regression the study lends a weak support for the school subject's impact on seatwork and recitation. A weak support was found for recitation and no support was found for seatwork. However, no statistical generalization was possible and further research is needed.