Review of 'Focus' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I really like Schmoker's overall emphasis here on a strong and literacy rich curriculum across content areas and agree with it strongly. I also felt that some of his suggestions for implementation were useful, and aim to bring some selections from his book to my 8th grade team for further study. I felt sometimes like his tone was a bit overly strident, even when I agreed with him, and I was annoyed by his constant insistence on referring to "national" standards. While I fully agree with his point that students need to read much, much more, I don't agree that so much class time should be spent on simply reading. Elementary schools already set aside 90 minute blocks for reading, but students who are left to read mainly independently with little ability and motivation will not use that time effectively. Any reading done in school must be purposeful and structured …
I really like Schmoker's overall emphasis here on a strong and literacy rich curriculum across content areas and agree with it strongly. I also felt that some of his suggestions for implementation were useful, and aim to bring some selections from his book to my 8th grade team for further study. I felt sometimes like his tone was a bit overly strident, even when I agreed with him, and I was annoyed by his constant insistence on referring to "national" standards. While I fully agree with his point that students need to read much, much more, I don't agree that so much class time should be spent on simply reading. Elementary schools already set aside 90 minute blocks for reading, but students who are left to read mainly independently with little ability and motivation will not use that time effectively. Any reading done in school must be purposeful and structured around the building of knowledge. Other than that, I think this is a useful book for both teachers and administrators.