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Focus, Focus, Focus Back to School - Keeping Students Focused
It’s that time again…or at least almost that time. If you guessed back to school you would be right. It’s that time when kids are returning to the public schools and no longer simply have their evening tutorials to look forward to, but also a full day of curriculum. Now I know when I look back on my time in elementary or middle school, September always stands out as being one of the most difficult months, the month that I now like to refer to as the “readjustment month.” That’s right, readjustment, the time when kids have to remember that most of their time is no longer going to be spent playing video games or chasing friends around a park. Instead, they will be doing sitting, sitting and more sitting. Now as frustrating as it may be for teachers who are trying to maintain the focus of the group, it is even more challenging for the students in these classes who must deprogram their minds and bodies. Their focus must once again be on math, science and of course English lessons, and this is also where you come into place. There are a few things you can do at the start of the year that will not only make your students’ lives easier but also your own.
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• Review, review, review (as wonderful as it would be if your students were reviewing all summer, this quite likely has not happened. Therefore, it is up to you to review with them any new material learned the previous year.)
• Remember that the basic formula for a child’s attention span is normally equivalent to their age. Therefore, if you are dealing with 6 year olds and you are relaying important information or instructions, try to do so within the span of 6 minutes before they start to drift. Then do something fun, perhaps a song or game, followed by further instruction.
• This may seem obvious for small children, but the same applies for teenagers or older children, they need time to move about. Take time in between each lesson for a stretch break or some jumping jacks, basically anything to get the blood pumping and the body moving. Both children and adults needs this and will learn better because of it.
• Bribery is not always wrong. Kids need to be motivated and no matter what age you have in your classroom there will always be a little competition in all of us. So with that said, use this competitive nature to your advantage. Play games that force your students to think and try hard while competing against their peers. Make sure to let the students know that there is a prize, then offer the winning team a treat such as a sticker or a pencil - best to stay away from candy due to allergies and parental preference. No matter what age we are, we always enjoy a little winning.
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