One of the most difficult things while teaching a classroom full of students is getting their attention to the subject and maintaining it for the lesson to go smoothly. Here are a few pointers teachers can use to get maximum attention from their students.

Getting students’ attention

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 auditorily: ring a bell, use a beeper or timer, play a bar of music on the 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.

Colour is very effective in getting attention. Make use of coloured chalk on boards, coloured paper to highlight key words, phrases, steps to computation problems, spelling patterns, etc.

Use eye contact. Students should be facing you when you are speaking, especially while instructions are being given. If students are seated in clusters, have those students not directly facing you turn their chairs and bodies around to face you when signaled to do so.

Focusing students’ attention

Employ multi-sensory strategies when directions are given and a lesson is presented.

Maintain your visibility.

Project your voice and make sure you can be heard clearly by all students.

Call students up front and close to you for direct instruction.

Position all students so that they can see the board.

Explain the purpose and relevance to hook students in to your lesson.

Incorporate demonstrations and hands-on presentations into your teaching whenever possible.

Use study guides/sheets that are partial outlines. While you are presenting a lesson or giving a lecture, students fill in the missing words based on what you are saying and/or writing on the board or overhead.

Use visuals. Write key words or pictures on the board while presenting. Use pictures, diagrams, gestures, manipulatives, and high-interest material.

Illustrate, illustrate, illustrate: It doesn’t matter if you don’t draw well to illustrate throughout your presentation. Give yourself and students permission and encouragement to draw even if you lack the skill or talent. Drawings don’t have to be sophisticated or accurate. In fact, often the sillier, the better. Have fun with it. These silly illustrations get and maintain attention and help students understand and remember the material.

Have students write down brief notes or illustrate key points during instruction.

Maintaining their attention

Move around in the classroom to maintain your visibility.

Teach thematically whenever possible, allowing for integration of ideas/concepts and connections to be made.

Be prepared and avoid lag time in instruction.

Use higher-level questioning techniques. Ask questions that are open-ended, require reasoning, and stimulate critical thinking and discussion.

Decrease the amount of time you are doing the talking. Make all efforts to greatly increase student responses.

Structure the lesson so that it can be done in pairs or small groups for maximum student involvement and attention.

Make frequent use of group or unison responses when there is one correct and short answer. While presenting, stop frequently and have students repeat back a word or two.

Make sure necessary supplies are available.

Give a manageable amount of work that the student is capable of doing independently.

Study buddies or partners may be assigned for any clarification purposes during seat work, especially when you are instructing another group of students while part of the class is doing seat work.

Scan classroom frequently. All students need positive reinforcement. Give positive comments with high frequency, praising students specifically whom you observe to be on-task. This serves as a reminder to students who tend to have difficulty.