How to Teach Children to Focus Their Attention

One of the biggest challenges teachers face is how to get their students to pay attention to instruction. For elementary students, this can be difficult because they may be easily distracted by peers or they may have an attention disorder. The classroom teacher today has to find ways to get all students to focus on the teacher and the skill(s) being taught. There is no one perfect technique that will work for every child, but the steps below provide guidelines that will help you keep your students' attention.

Instructions

1. Establish a routine. Children will be able to focus better if the daily routine stays the same. Have procedures for transitioning from one subject to another, and for classroom activities like taking tests and passing out papers. Students thrive in an environment where there are few surprises and where they can be comfortable.

2. Use attention symbols or gestures. Have some ways that will get your children's attention in the classroom, and use them consistently. Some examples are turning the lights off and on a couple of times, snapping your fingers or playing a brief part of a popular song on a CD player. Use these to get the attention of students when beginning class to get everyone quiet, or to signal that it is time to transition to another area of the room or another subject. This gives students time to adjust, get their supplies together and be prepared.

3. Use visual aids often. Elementary students can be more easily taught to focus when they have a visual reminder. Make posters and place on the wall that remind students of reading, writing and math skills. Use posters for behavior rewards and consequences as well as classroom rules. You can make these or buy them at dollar and teacher supply stores. Instead of repeating the rules over and over, you will have these visual reminders constantly in front of the children.

4. Use practical methods. There are many everyday items that you can teach your students to use to help keep focused. Highlighters are great because young students love to use them, especially the neon colors. Teach them to find the main details in a story and highlight them as well as the answers for quick reference. There is also transparent, colored tape that students can keep at their desks to put over important topics and information in the text. These concrete items keep the main ideas of the lesson foremost in the minds of children.

5. Encourage cooperative learning. Peers can often be the best teachers. If paired or grouped correctly, students can help keep each other focused and help each other stay on task. Students can be active learners by participating in think-pair-share activities. With this method, everyone in the group has a role, and everyone's opinion counts. Have a system of accountability in which the members of a group accept a position like recorder, researcher or spokesman so that everyone is included. Use graphic organizers to record ideas and answers which can be used a study helps for tests and reports. Cooperative learning is a great way to keep students' attention on the lesson.