This isn’t new but a lot of educators have no idea what a focus wall is. What is a Focus Wall to you?
A Focus Wall is a bulletin board that displays the specific topics and skills you are focusing on at that time. It is simply an area in the classroom that you choose to display the curriculum to direct pupils in terms of key learning targets for the upcoming week.
It is like a vision board that keeps your students/pupils continually logged in towards their learning goals. There are many components that make up the Focus Wall and you can add to it depending on what you aim to achieve.
So we ask ourselves as teachers some pertinent questions: Why do we need a Focus Wall? What is the essence of a Focus Wall?……
Yes, Focus Walls have lots of benefits.
- They are helpful for students (as well as teachers) because all the needed information is organized in one central location. Instead of having to look all around the room or in a few different spots, students/pupils know exactly where to look when they have a question.
- Parents and visitors can quickly find out what skills the students are currently learning by looking at the Focus Wall.
- It forces teachers to keep their classroom up-to-date as you will be changing most of the Focus wall contents on a weekly basis.
- It can be used as a teaching tool as you are reviewing different topics or introducing new topics.
- It creates more independent students/pupils.