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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Focus in Writing

This brief lesson will help students recognize when a paragraph loses focus and will help them understand the concept of focus.

A lesson plan for grade 10 English Language Arts

By Peter Bobbe

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

  • examine a sample paragraph
  • determine where the paragraph loses focus
  • write a paragraph, concentrating on keeping it in focus.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

20 Minutes

Materials/resources

Overhead of Focus Paragraph

Technology resources

Overhead projector or LCD projector

Pre-activities

None.

Activities

Modeling/Mini-lesson

  1. Explain to students that focus in writing means, among other things, maintaining a central idea throughout the piece.
  2. Show the students the first sentence of the Focus Paragraph, covering up the rest. Discuss with students what they might expect the paragraph to focus on and the kinds of things it might discuss.
  3. Lead the class through the paragraph, uncovering each sentence one at a time. After each sentence, ask the class whether they think that the paragraph has stayed focused up to this point.
  4. After several sentences, the class should notice that the paragraph has wandered off topic. Discuss where the writer lost focus, how they know this, and why they think the writer may have done so.
  5. Ask students to brainstorm titles that they think convey the writer’s one main point or theme about their room.

    6. Guided Practice

  6. Ask students to write a similar paragraph describing their own rooms, concentrating on staying focused on one theme.
  7. Peer review of these paragraphs gives students a good way to reinforce the skill. In partners or small groups, have students read the descriptions sentence by sentence. Then have each group member, including the author, write a title that conveys the main focus of the piece. Reread the piece and delete any sentences, phrases, or words that don’t support the focus of the piece.

Independent Practice
Have students choose a piece of writing from their writing folders to revise for focus. Have students use the same sentence-by-sentence and title strategies to revise their piece. Then have students write an explanation of the changes they made and how the changes improved the focus of their piece.

Assessment

Read student paragraphs and assess them insofar as they maintain focus. If the students have written a paragraph that maintains an appropriate level of focus, they have succeeded.

Read students’ explanations of their revisions to their work.

Supplemental information

Attachment: Focus Paragraph

Related websites

N/A

Comments

This lesson was created as part of the NCDPI Writing Lessons for Writing Features Workshop.

Target feature: focus

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 10 — English II

  • Goal 4: The learner will critically interpret and evaluate experiences, literature, language, and ideas.
    • Objective 4.03: Analyze the ideas of others by identifying the ways in which writers:
      • introduce and develop a main idea.
      • choose and incorporate significant, supporting, relevant details.
      • relate the structure/organization to the ideas.
      • use effective word choice as a basis for coherence.
      • achieve a sense of completeness and closure.
    • Objective 4.04: Evaluate the information, explanations, or ideas of others by:
      • identifying clear, reasonable criteria for evaluation.
      • applying those criteria using reasoning and substantiation.