Bestselling author Mike Schmoker describes a plan for radically improving student learning that is built on three core elements: a focused and coherent curriculum (what we teach); clear, prioritized lessons (how we teach); and purposeful reading and writing, or authentic literacy. With this "less is more" philosophy, educators can help students learn content at a deeper level, develop greater critical thinking skills, and discover more clearly how content-area concepts affect their lives and the world around them. Both a call to action and a blueprint for creating more effective classrooms, Focus: Elevating the Essentials for Radically Improved Student Learning will challenge your assumptions about schooling and show how educators who have embraced this approach quickly achieved spectacular results. Instead of piling on one new reform fad after another, here at last is a book that boils down solutions for improved schools to the most powerful, simple actions and structures that ensure you prepare all students for college, careers, and citizenship. Best-selling ascd (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) author and renowned consultant Mike Schmoker explains why and how to take a "first things first" approach to school improvement and focus laser-like on only three essentials: (1) Coherent curriculum (what we teach); (2) Sound lessons (how we teach); and (3) Purposeful reading and writing (authentic literacy). In making his clear and compelling case, Schmoker delves deep into the significance of the three essentials so you get a complete understanding of what they mean to your daily practice, including: (1) How to navigate content standards documents to select just the items that clarify what to teach; (2) Which essential elements to include in every lesson; (3) How to implement lesson templates that simplify teaching and make it more effective with less effort and frustration; and (4) Why including current news in class can have a game-changing impact on student engagement and retention, college preparation, and attitudes toward school. Applying these insights gained from his years of work with schools of all kinds, Schmoker lays out a complete plan for radically improving the way schools teach language arts, social studies, science, and math In focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning, Mike Schmoker comforts the afflicted - teachers, administrators, and students straining under the weight of multiple initiatives - and afflicts the comfortable - education reformers more enamored with flashy process than meaningful results. This book will help new teachers focus on the essentials of curriculum and lessons, and will help veterans, weary of the perpetual hail of silver bullets, to rediscover the joy of teaching with purpose. Most importantly, this book will help students who are depending on leaders and policymakers to listen to the evidence, give up the fad of the day, and focus on learning The introduction states:'The only reason our schools haven't made astonishing progress in the last 30 years of'reform'is quite simple: very few schools ever implemented'what is essential'--the most powerful, simple actions and structures that would dramatically increase the proportion of students prepared for college or careers. What is'essential'for schools? Three simple things: reasonably coherent curriculum (what we teach); sound lessons (how we teach); and far more purposeful reading and writing in every discipline, or authentic literacy (integral to both what and how we teach). The importance of simplicity, clarity, and priority What we teach How we teach English language arts made simple A brief note on textbooks Social studies with reading and writing at the core Redefining inquiry in science Making math meaningful. Best-selling author Mike Schmoker boils down solutions for improved schools to the most powerful, simple actions and structures that ensure you prepare all students for college, careers, and citizenship.
