posted Aug 26, 2011, 1:54 AM by Salvador Isip
By: Maria Conita D. Navarro
Here are some of the great attention getting
tips.
- When you're within hearing range of a few children, say
in a normal-level voice, "if you can hear me, clap once, "
"if you can hear me, clap twice," etc... usually I have the
whole class' attention by the 4th time or so... sometimes I'll throw in a
weird direction like "if you can hear me, touch your nose..."
the kids enjoy it and it works pretty well.
- I've also seen teachers who will do a clapping pattern
and the kids copy. Again, this gets them paying attention quickly.
Something with clapping seems to get kid's attention fast.
- One of the teachers I student taught with had a little
bell she'd ring to get their attention.
- Another one I've seen is simply saying "1-2-3 Eyes
on me." You have to be a little louder, but it usually works. Also,
simply counting "1, 2, 3, etc" really slowly, but loud enough
that they can hear you also works.
- Ask an interesting, speculative question, show a
picture, tell a little story, or read a related poem to generate
discussion and interest in the upcoming lesson.
- Try playfulness, silliness, a bit of theatrics (props
and storytelling) to get attention and peak interest.
- Use storytelling. Students of all ages love to hear
stories, especially personal stories. It is very effective in getting
attention.
- Add a bit of mystery. Bring in an object relevant to the
upcoming lesson in a box, bag, or pillowcase. This is a wonderful way to
generate predictions and can lead to excellent discussions or writing
activities.
- Signal students through auditory stimulus: ring a bell,
use a beeper or timer, play a bar of music on the piano or guitar, etc.
- Vary your tone of voice: loud, soft, whispering. Try
making a louder command "Listen! Freeze! Ready!" followed by a
few seconds of silence before proceeding in a normal voice to give
directions.
- Use visual signals: flash the lights or raise your hand
which signals the students to raise their hands and close their mouths
until everyone is silent.
- Frame the visual material you want students to be
focused on with your hands or with a colored box around it.
- If using an overhead, place an object (e.g., little toy
car or plastic figure) to be projected on the screen to get attention.
Clearly signal: "Everybody ... Ready ... "
- Color is very effective in getting attention. Make use
of colored dry-erase pens on white boards, colored overhead pens for
transparencies and overhead projectors, and colored paper to highlight key
words, phrases, steps to computation problems, spelling patterns, etc.
- One teacher I've observed says, "Look at the floor.
Look at the ceiling. Look at me."
Try these tips and
see for yourself…. |
posted May 11, 2011, 7:02 PM by Salvador Isip
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