I should make this post part one because there is so much to say about focus in delivering a dynamite lesson plan.  For now, I will say that focus is something teachers and institutions have sought to find for decades in the educational transaction.  At the risk of sounding gauche, I will say that it really doesn’t matter what your focus is when teaching as long as you have one.  It’s been said if you aim at nothing you will surely hit it.

So have focus.  Write it in a lesson plan book, on the board.  Call it a learning objective.  When I was an undergraduate, I used to write my class schedule on a 3×5 card and carry it around in my wallet.  Later, it became a PDA.  The same habit is needed for a teacher.  As you roam around the metaphor of a new college that is your classroom year, you need that 3×5, you need that PDA.  A final thought: kids will learn more and show more results when you’ve narrowed your focus. We all have a huge amount of standards to cover in a year.  Breaking them down bit by bit and lesson by lesson will get you there in style.  Don’t overwhelm yourself or your kids.

Readers of this post also read:

1. The Best Behavioral Strategy is a Dynamite Lesson Plan
2. Goal Based Teaching and Focus
3. Focus on Three Things Today
4. Lesson Plan Search Engine | The Teaching Lab