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Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning
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.
Paperback, 229 pages
Published
January 13th 2011
by Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development
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Noting that the students from Finland, Japan, and China who lead the world academically are part of educational systems where instructors teach more intensely to fewer standards, Scmoker advocates that teams of teachers within American schools examine standards for their particular subject areas and carefully reduce them by half to a set of workable "power standards". He opines that the U.S. educational system is shortchanging students in terms of literacy because too many boards and administrat...more
I agree with Schmoker that students need to authentically read and write more in school. We all know that basal readers are not the answer. We need to get students into real books and have real discussions about those books. I very much like his approach to the languages arts and history periods. However, I have a few disagreements on the science and math chapters.
He stated that he helped a 6th grade team of science teachers cut the science standards in half and then further cut the physical sc...more
He stated that he helped a 6th grade team of science teachers cut the science standards in half and then further cut the physical sc...more
I gave this a three simply because the title reminds us to focus on the essentials, and Schmoker reminds us of the simplicity and importance of authentic literacy in all classrooms. Reading and writing in all classrooms is essential to learning and to maintaining literacy levels. Additionally, the new Common Core standards (which are more simplistic, at least compared to our old state standards) focus on creating and supporting arguments, which Schmoker emphasized throughout. As far as a magic b...more
This book was a suggested reading at my school. I found that the things that were said that I agreed with were that students need more time on task reading in school, and that students need more time writing in school. This is nothing new. For the most part, I disagreed with lots of what was said beyond those two points. Small group instruction is very important, and differentiation is necessary, as not every child learns in the same way. Also, Schmoker seems to think that standardized tests are...more
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I enjoyed this one, too. Lots of emphasis on reading, reviewing, inferring, debating, and writing. I have to write this review in a hurry so I am just going to list my favorite points below:
The craft of writing begins with the second draft.
Infer, infer, infer! The author places a very strong emphasis on natural reading, which includes great amounts of inferring.
Kids love issues, especially if they are framed in controversy. (This is definitely true in my house. The latest controversy that they e...more
The craft of writing begins with the second draft.
Infer, infer, infer! The author places a very strong emphasis on natural reading, which includes great amounts of inferring.
Kids love issues, especially if they are framed in controversy. (This is definitely true in my house. The latest controversy that they e...more
First things first. The ASCD charges obscene prices for its books. This thin paperback is almost $28, for instance. I bought the Kindle version for $15 and STILL felt slightly taken. Slightly.
Second, get ready for repetition, get ready for repetition. Don't let it annoy you because Schmoker does it a lot (and even admits as much himself). He has a rather simple solution to education's woes and he's going to bang the drum for it six ways to Sunday. At least it's well-documented. And, as I read it...more
Second, get ready for repetition, get ready for repetition. Don't let it annoy you because Schmoker does it a lot (and even admits as much himself). He has a rather simple solution to education's woes and he's going to bang the drum for it six ways to Sunday. At least it's well-documented. And, as I read it...more
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Mike Schmoker poses and responds to this question: What if we were to really focus our teaching, so that students could interact with and learn from a quality curriculum and excellent lessons? His answer is what constitutes "Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning."
And wow.....his answer is stimulating, encouraging and uplifting. He urges us to really think about the essentials in curricula and then consider deeply how those essentials would be taught in content ar...more
And wow.....his answer is stimulating, encouraging and uplifting. He urges us to really think about the essentials in curricula and then consider deeply how those essentials would be taught in content ar...more
This was an interesting read. I'm sure all of my educator friends out there would appreciate it. While there wasn't a lot of new information in it, it did speak a lot to today's school districts. The message behind this book is stripping away the teaching for standardized testing, and teaching the basics: reading and writing. It reminded me a lot of Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer, although I enjoyed her book more and felt like she had better examples of how to teach in the classroom, comple...more
This is quite simply the best book on curriculum and instruction that I’ve ever read… and it didn’t tell me anything I don’t already know. In Focus, Schmoker makes the case for radically simplifying our curriculum and standards (what we teach), and deliver them through well- but simply designed lessons (how we teach). The above, coupled with a commitment to quality, consistent reading, writing, and discussion will benefit all students, and will pay off in terms of student achievement… more so th...more
A "less is more" approach to education. The focus of the book (ha) is to remind the educator that what we really want to teach our students is how: how to read, how to learn, how to think critically and logically.
The "more is more" approach focuses on teaching what: what happened when in history, what happened in a book, etc. The more we focus on "whats," the more and more demands we place on students.
When you focus on the "hows," you realize that you can drastically narrow your curricula --fo...more
The "more is more" approach focuses on teaching what: what happened when in history, what happened in a book, etc. The more we focus on "whats," the more and more demands we place on students.
When you focus on the "hows," you realize that you can drastically narrow your curricula --fo...more
Schmoker acts as a role model in this book, by closely focusing his message. His message is very disciplined, and works across grade levels and content areas...Read the core standards for your area. Cross out all the verbs, choose 50% of the nouns that you believe are vital. Teach those nouns by doing close reading of varied texts, have discussions based on the close reading and annotation of the texts, and write to those texts that have been read closely, annotated, and discussed. There it is....more
This is a good book in that the main premise is we should STOP doing all initiatives until we have focused on the basics of having a strong curriculum, strong lessons, and strong instruction. If we would do these three things consistently, as well as emphasize reading and writing across all disciplines, we wouldn't see the achievement gap that we do now. It's a get back to basics without losing sophistication of thought type of argument that I can support. I think his idea to streamline standard...more
I thought this book said it all about teaching ELA at the secondary level. Present a text, argue it, write about it.
Yes, a good teacher know that scaffolds need to be built into the teaching of reading, but that is what ELA is about - teaching reading. How does one become a critical and analytical reader? Reading and discussing, reading and arguing a point.
Get rid of the stupid art activities in English! Why do we need to learn how to paint Japanese art because we are reading haiku? Granted, t...more
Yes, a good teacher know that scaffolds need to be built into the teaching of reading, but that is what ELA is about - teaching reading. How does one become a critical and analytical reader? Reading and discussing, reading and arguing a point.
Get rid of the stupid art activities in English! Why do we need to learn how to paint Japanese art because we are reading haiku? Granted, t...more
The title says it all. STOP with all the latest and greatest sparkly things that get pushed in education every few years and FOCUS on the basics - and what works!
I gave it three stars because it is a bit on the repetitive side.
However, I highly recommend the first few chapters and the relevant chapter to your subject area.
I am fortunate that I work in a fairly forward thinking school where our administration and faculty are constantly and eagerly looking for ways in which we can can get better a...more
I gave it three stars because it is a bit on the repetitive side.
However, I highly recommend the first few chapters and the relevant chapter to your subject area.
I am fortunate that I work in a fairly forward thinking school where our administration and faculty are constantly and eagerly looking for ways in which we can can get better a...more
I was given chapters 3 and 4 of this book to read in a PD session. As a reading specialist, I FREAKED OUT at Mr. Schmoker's analysis of how to teach reading. No small groups, just give whole classes of kids generous quantities of hard reading to read and respond to and they'll all rise to the occasion. It is not that simple, thought it would be great if it was. Vygotsky??? After that first encounter, I was ready to throw the book out, but I bought a copy instead (I wanted to know my enemy.) I ha...more
Completely simplifies and demystifies how our teachers should be teaching core subjects so that our students are ready for college and careers upon graduation.
1) Agree upon a viable core curriculum
2) Teach well-crafted lessons (Activate prior knowledge; I do, we do, you do delivery loop, with plenty of formative assessment throughout...)
3) Ensure that authentic literacy (close reading and writing) permeates everything we do at school, including in History, Science, and Math.
That's it. The data p...more
1) Agree upon a viable core curriculum
2) Teach well-crafted lessons (Activate prior knowledge; I do, we do, you do delivery loop, with plenty of formative assessment throughout...)
3) Ensure that authentic literacy (close reading and writing) permeates everything we do at school, including in History, Science, and Math.
That's it. The data p...more
Initially, I couldn't decide whether I loved or hated this book. By the end I came to appreciate Schmoker's thoughts on instructional practice. Overall, its a strong text for helping practitioners reflect on their own classrooms. I especially enjoyed the conversation about authentic literacy and believe it's an understudied topic in science, history, and math education. I only wish Schmoker provided a little more meat through research data and concrete examples from additional classrooms. I also...more
This book makes me feel relieved and daunted. Relief: I already know how to be an amazing teacher. Daunted: I don't always do what I know to be best. Schmoker addresses this dichotomy and offers the reader with a simple, yet overwhelming challenge: focus your energy on solid instructional practice. Forget Common Core, Multiple Intelligences, or tomorrow's fad or buzz-word and just teach well. I want my PLC to read this book because he really emphasizes the importance of collaboration, common ass...more
Schmoker claims that reform will work if there is a coherent curriculum set in place (what we teach), sound lessons (how we teach), and provide authentic literacy (purposeful reading and writing) to result in how enduring learning will result instead of promoting complex initiatives and programs that simply complicate the learning process. Promote simplicity, clarity, and priority to learning, and you have a successful program.
The author recommends for educators to go back to the basics. We shou...more
The author recommends for educators to go back to the basics. We shou...more
Wonderful read. I enjoyed the refocusing on the importance of simplifying standards. Education does not need to reinvent new strategies for effective teaching, but rather refocus the importance of good teaching which has been established with years of evidence. Although there were sections of the book I disagreed with I ultimately enjoyed the author's point of view. However, there were definitely times I wondered how much of the information provided was tested in schools with the lowest resource...more
I agree with the overall theme: focus on the essentials, teach well, teach in-depth, and get rid of nonsensical standards. BUT I have some issues with the support (or rather, lack thereof) of his arguments. Shmoaker wants me to teach 20-30 novels/year, 25 non-fictional texts (minimum), 10 minute long presentations, and 9 papers (3-5 page minimum). Where do I have the time for that? Furthermore, how does ALL of that content support his argument of teaching the essentials, teaching in-depth, and g...more
Aug 16, 2011
MrsErica Beaton
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to MrsErica by:
Davestuartjr
Shelves:
non-fiction,
teacher-books
Well goodness, as a teacher in a Project-Based Learning Academy, it was difficult at times to repeatedly hear how little value projects bring to students' learning. I did, however, appreciate Schmoker's overwhelming emphasis on literacy. His ideas are so straight-forward and simple that it's actually ridiculous that teachers don't teach this way. As a new Humanities teacher, I especially enjoyed the chapter "Social Studies with Reading and Writing at the Core." He gave really solid suggestions o...more
Well goodness, as a teacher in a Project-Based Learning Academy, it was difficult at times to repeatedly hear how little value projects bring to students' learning. I did, however, appreciate Schmoker's overwhelming emphasis on literacy. His ideas are so straight-forward and simple that it's actually ridiculous that teachers don't teach this way. As a new Humanities teacher, I especially enjoyed the chapter "Social Studies with Reading and Writing at the Core." He gave really solid suggestions o...more
Although Schmoker has some valid points I feel that he oversimplifies complex issues. Yes, it is important to have all teachers teach the basics but regressing to using overhead projectors and rejecting all technology is ridiculous. This seems like just another extreme viewpoint in the long line of trendy school reform models. Most have valid points, but it would be foolish to swallow everything presented, especially when it seems that many of these new revolutionary perspectives have a very str...more
Schmoker nails it. After my own 12 years of teaching experience and now 2 years as director of curriculum and instruction, I have to say, I wish I could go back and teach again. He cuts through trend fluff to remind us of what makes learning happen. And the core activities of learning and their core counterpart activities of teaching have not changed.
Interestingly, Schmoker does here for educators what Rainer (See "Simple Church") does for church leaders: sets our sights on WHAT we want students...more
Interestingly, Schmoker does here for educators what Rainer (See "Simple Church") does for church leaders: sets our sights on WHAT we want students...more
Even if you disagree with not using small groups to teach reading, Schmoker makes good points about centering curriculum around literacy -- reading, writing, and speaking. As a person who incorporates technology, I was taken back at first when he down-played the role of technology. Then I started to think about how many projects lose the reading, writing, speaking components for the sake of completing a project that uses technology or is fun.
This would have gotten a higher rating from me if the author were not quite so repetitive. I could have summarized the intro in 2 sentences (he stretched it to several pages), and numerous sections of the book were quite possibly copied and pasted from one chapter to the next. Yes, you do want to repeat things for emphasis, but this was a little extreme. I liked Schmoker's basic ideas that the US education system needs to rewrite standards based on things that have been tested and are doable, an...more
Simplicity, clarity, and priority are the threads that bind the ideas of this book. Schmoker uses a number of examples to exemplify how our educational system, with its focus on quantity, drives us away from quality. I especially liked the section on math instruction, that highlighted the misguided approach we are taking in teaching math so abstractly in the U.S. Well worth the read.
We all want our students to be authentic readers, writers, and articulate communicators. Schmoker continues to remind us the need to be clear, simple and authentic with our curriculum, assessment and instruction. I appreciate this work because the message is concrete. We need to place our energy on what is taught, how it is taught, and authentic reading and writing experiences.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What do you think of Schmoker's thought experiment on pages 114-115? | 1 | 3 | Sep 26, 2012 09:04pm |
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“When we unnecessarily elongate the process of "learning to read," we postpone "reading to learn" - learning itself - by years.”
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5 people liked it
“worksheets - the archenemy of abundant, purposeful reading (and discussion and writing).”
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