Focus Lesson Overview
What is a Focus Lesson?
The focus lesson is a 15–20 minute period of explicit instruction in which the teacher explains and then demonstrates skills or strategies that then become a part of the student’s reading repertoire. The teacher names and models the new strategy and then provides a brief period (Guided Practice) when students try it out under teacher guidance. After the focus lesson, the teacher sends students off with a reminder that they can try out what they have learned in this lesson, along with anything else they have learned in previous days.
The focus lesson is a 15–20 minute period of explicit instruction in which the teacher explains and then demonstrates skills or strategies that then become a part of the student’s reading repertoire. The teacher names and models the new strategy and then provides a brief period (Guided Practice) when students try it out under teacher guidance. After the focus lesson, the teacher sends students off with a reminder that they can try out what they have learned in this lesson, along with anything else they have learned in previous days.
What are the essential components of the focus lesson?
While the content of the focus lesson changes daily, the structure remains the same. Each lesson contains the following components:
Connection
The connection sets the tone of the focus lesson and signals to the students that they are about to learn something important. Teachers use the connection to link the teaching that is about to happen to the work that has been going on in Readers’ Workshop. The connection then ends with the teacher explicitly naming the teaching point of the day’s focus lesson.
Explicit Instruction
During the explicit instruction portion of the focus lesson, the teacher models the new reading strategy. She briefly explains the new strategy or technique, often with an example, and then shows the students exactly how to do it through demonstration (“Watch me do this as I read”) and by thinking aloud. What is most essential is that students are getting a clear explanation and demonstration of the skill, strategy, or technique.
Guided Practice
Guided practice gives students an opportunity to try out what the teacher just modeled. While students are practicing (on their own, with a partner, or in a small group) the teacher listens in and coaches in order to scaffold the work.
Send Off
The send off serves to transition students from the lesson to their own independent reading work. The purpose of the send off is to summarize the content of the focus lesson, and to remind students that their new learning will become a part of their ongoing repertoire of skills and strategies. Teachers may also use this time to remind students of any specific details pertinent to that day’s workshop: where certain materials are located, what needs to be accomplished during independent reading time, which students are meeting in small groups, etc.
While the content of the focus lesson changes daily, the structure remains the same. Each lesson contains the following components:
- Connection
- Explicit Instruction
- Guided Practice
- Send Off
Connection
The connection sets the tone of the focus lesson and signals to the students that they are about to learn something important. Teachers use the connection to link the teaching that is about to happen to the work that has been going on in Readers’ Workshop. The connection then ends with the teacher explicitly naming the teaching point of the day’s focus lesson.
Explicit Instruction
During the explicit instruction portion of the focus lesson, the teacher models the new reading strategy. She briefly explains the new strategy or technique, often with an example, and then shows the students exactly how to do it through demonstration (“Watch me do this as I read”) and by thinking aloud. What is most essential is that students are getting a clear explanation and demonstration of the skill, strategy, or technique.
Guided Practice
Guided practice gives students an opportunity to try out what the teacher just modeled. While students are practicing (on their own, with a partner, or in a small group) the teacher listens in and coaches in order to scaffold the work.
Send Off
The send off serves to transition students from the lesson to their own independent reading work. The purpose of the send off is to summarize the content of the focus lesson, and to remind students that their new learning will become a part of their ongoing repertoire of skills and strategies. Teachers may also use this time to remind students of any specific details pertinent to that day’s workshop: where certain materials are located, what needs to be accomplished during independent reading time, which students are meeting in small groups, etc.
