Focus Walls in the Elementary Classroom

In the classrooms today there is so much learning taking place every minute of the day. I'm a first grade teacher and we are learning from the minute we walk in the door until the bell rings at the end of the day. We don't even have time for birthday parties anymore. Parents can still send in goodies or cupcakes, but they are distributed to the students as they are walking out the door at the end of the day. This may seem sad, but students are leaving first grade so much more advanced than they did 10 years ago. My students are currently writing a 5 sentence paragraph when in the past they could only write a few sentences by the end of the year. I have 5 students reading at a second grade reading level or higher. I attribute much of this success to the addition of focus walls in my class.

What is a focus wall?

A focus wall is a bulletin board in your class that makes the students aware of what they are learning for the week. My language arts focus wall takes up my whole 10 foot x 4 foot bulletin board. We change the information on the focus wall every Monday morning and the students are involved in this process.

What goes on the focus wall?

Story of the week

In our reading book we generally read one story every week. I made a copy of the title page and that goes on the focus wall.

Comprehension strategy

Summarize, Compare and Contrast, Question, Predict and Infer, Monitor and Clarify, and Evaluate are the major comprehension strategies that we focus on during first grade. Each week we focus on one of these comprehension strategies. A small poster describing the strategy is placed on the focus wall.

High Frequency Words

Each week we learn 6-9 high frequency words. These words are not able to be sounded out, the students must just memorize the words. I put each high frequency word on a flash card and put the flash cards in a pocket chart that I have on my focus wall.

Spelling Words

Each week we have 8 spelling words and one dictation sentence. I put the spelling words on flash cards and put the flash cards in the pocket chart on my focus wall.

Vocabulary words

Each story has 5-10 vocabulary words for the students to learn. I place the vocabulary word with an illustration on the focus wall.

Phonics skill

Each week we learn particular phonics skills. This week we are learning about long vowels. I put several long vowel words on the focus wall.

How is the focus wall used?

It is important that you don't just have a pretty focus wall up, but that you actually use it. Every Monday morning take down the information from the focus wall with the students. This is another chance to review what was learned last week.

After the focus wall is empty except for the titles, slowly add the information to the focus wall. Introduce what is put on the focus wall and have the students help put the information on the focus wall

During the day refer to the focus wall several times. When you read a book with a long vowel word, stop and ask everyone to turn to the focus wall. Ask a volunteer to read the long vowel words on the focus wall. The more you refer to the focus wall, the more likely the students will remember the information by the end of the week.

One of the centers my students can go to during the week is the focus wall center. One student gets to be the teacher while the others in the group sit in front of the focus wall. The "teacher" reads and asks students to read information and words from the focus wall.

Math Focus wall

My math focus wall shows what we are learning in math with activities for the students to interact with. I have a hundreds pocket chart that is missing numbers. Students need to fill in the pocket chart by adding the missing numbers. My math focus wall also have vocabulary words with samples that pertain to math.

Why is a focus wall important?

The focus wall is a very valuable tool for the class. I have seen students read the focus wall during their free time. By the end of the week most students are able to read all the words from the focus wall.

Another advantage to the focus wall is that if the teacher is out sick a substitute teacher can look to the focus wall and see what the students are learning for the week.