• Coherent curriculum (what we teach).
• Sound lessons (how we teach).
• 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

• How to navigate content standards documents to select just the items that clarify what to teach.
• Which essential elements to include in every lesson.
• How to implement lesson templates that simplify teaching and make it more effective with less effort and frustration.
• 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 implementing Common Core Standards, infusing authentic literacy into teaching, and radically improving schools. 

(ASCD Premium, Select, and Institutional Plus Member book, January 2011) 6” x 9", 238 pages.

Also available as an E-Book!

Related Resources:

• Sample Chapters
• Study Guide

Rave Reviews for Focus

“Once again, Mike Schmoker takes a wide array of complex concepts and initiatives and weaves them into a framework that is not only easily understood but translates into immediate action.”
Robert J. Marzano, CEO, Marzano Research Laboratory, Englewood, CO, Author of The Art and Science of Teaching

“Mike Schmoker nails it again. His guidelines for clarifying what we teach and how we teach should bear positive results across this great land. What matters most is what happens in the classroom."
Carol Jago, President, National Council of Teachers of English

“In his most ambitious book to date, Mike Schmoker moves beyond generalities about education in the United States to offer very specific advice on how to improve schools, the curriculum that should be taught in different subject areas, and the way in which it should be taught.”
Rick DuFour, Consultant and Author of Professional Learning Communities at Work

“This book will help new teachers focus on the essentials of curriculum and lessons, and it will help veterans, weary of the perpetual hail of silver bullets, rediscover the joy of teaching with purpose.”
Douglas B. Reeves, The Leadership and Learning Center, Author of Leading Change in Your School

“If you admired his earlier writings in the Results trilogy you won’t be able to put this newest entry down. Once again, he provides a simple way to do a complex thing while at the same time supplying a roadmap for real classroom and school improvement.”
Greg Netzer, Principal, Van Horn High School, Independence, Missouri

“Few writers on education ever get close to the clarity provided by Mike Schmoker. He is a pleasure to read, but always makes me angry. I keep thinking, why can't the rest of us see schools this clearly?”
Jay Mathews, Washington Post education columnist and author of Work Hard. Be Nice: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America