Keeping Control in the Classroom
Strategies to keep children focused and energized
Teachers do an amazing job managing large groups of children, somehow getting them not only to sit still, but actually learn! I still remember, as a child, sitting next to the eight foot tall window, gazing out at the cars going by, wishing I was FREE.
When my mind wandered (back in “old school”) the way I remained focused, or at least passive and non disruptive, related primarily to the resulting negative response I would have received if I chose to laugh, wiggle, pass a note or actually whispered to someone. Yes, I attended Catholic school, and it was truly a miracle that every one of the sisters had 360 degree vision.
Old school it was, and negative reinforcers (like standing in the corner for an interminable amount of time, which of course was much worse than sitting still for that same time
period ... or losing RECESS) loomed large as we battled our twitches to move or talk.
But unbeknownst to us, certain strategies employed back then actually helped re-boot attention.
Needless to say, there was no “calling out” an answer. Each student, eager to impress, would vigorously stick an arm high in the air to get noticed and hopefully called on. Others, not as sure, but not wanting to look stupid, would raise an arm cautiously. Then there were other students who sunk way down in the chair, hoping to become invisible. Each of these approaches to the teacher’s query evoked a motor response. The fully extended, waving in the air arm, obviously required many muscle fibers, thereby activating the most nerve cells.
It should be noted, however, that even the “body slide” under the desk required movement of the whole trunk, which also triggers nerve activity in the higher centers.
Next comes the “Being called on” part. One never simply answered the question. You had to stand up (sometimes push the chair in depending on the degree of anal retentive qualities of the teacher) and THEN answer the question. Now first, that triggers the need to have fairly good recall. By the time one stands and tidies up the surrounding area, how easy would it be to forget the question entirely, let alone the correct response. Beyond requiring a serious dose of medium term memory, the entire body gets involved. Muscles throughout the trunk and limbs must stretch and contract, joints are stimulated and the movement of the head gets the vestibular system mildly involved. Frequently a pencil rolls off the desk. Bending over to retrieve it gets the vestibular system fully engaged. All of the things mentioned activate the portions of the brain directly and indirectly involved in attention. So, the student who knew the answer not only got a few brownie points, s/he also got a shot of renewed energy, not dissimilar to a hit of Ritalin. In short, paying attention and staying still for the duration of the class got a lot easier.
There were a few perks to the academic world in the 1960’s. If you were favored by the teacher (another reason to answer questions) you might be asked to pass out the paper, erase the blackboard or take a note to the office. These were coveted activities. Why? They allowed you to get up and MOVE. Of course the paper passing has an added benefit. Freshly mimeographed paper had an aroma all could die for. (Kick in that olfactory system).
Is this a treatise to return to the old ways? ABSOLUTELY NOT. This section addresses why some of the practices highlighted above worked and how they can be re worked to fit into the educational scheme of the twenty-first century.
Movement:
Movement activates centers in the brain that regulate attention. The more movement can be integrated in the class setting the better. Here are some conventional ways already employed by progressive educators:
Learning centers: Children move from one location to the next. Task duration at each center matches the attention span of the age group (For example, in preschool 5 minutes would exceed expectations; a fifth grader should manage a 20-30 minute session).
Positioning: Students are allowed to choose a location to work. Areas are set up for sitting or lying on the floor while reading or writing. *
Purposeful Breaks: Embedded in the classroom routine, are sanctioned reasons to get up and move. Sharpening a pencil,** delivering a “completed this task card” to a designated basket before moving on to the next step are a few examples.
Purposeful Tasks: Assigning each child with daily tasks to complete during their own time frame (i.e. when they need a break and will benefit from moving around). For example, spraying plants,** cleaning the chalk or white board, collecting workbooks and pushing the milk crate to a corner of the room, delivering note to the office (even if there is a phone).
Attention Getting Routines: Many teachers use a specific system such as a clapping pattern,*** hand in the air, lights off, to alert students for their full attention. The signal tells the child to stop in their tracks, be quiet, stop working and LISTEN. Why does this work better than yelling,”Boys and girls be quiet!”? It shifts the sensory system’s focus, thereby alerting the child’s entire neurological system of a significant change in the environment. If this is saved for special occasions, it is very effective. If it is done every five- ten minutes, the body will get accustom to this and it will no longer be effective.
Less conventional activities can also be employed to refocus and re energize the child.
Transitions can be made by engaging in some motor activity. Here are some that teachers have found effective:
Hop, skip or crab walk to the next center, class or group
Brief breaks with a clapping routine, stretches or little movement song routine
(e.g. Head shoulders knees ...) Make it age appropriate. Imagine the surprise of a group of 5th grade prepubescent hormone cases suddenly asked to do the Macarena in the middle of a pre-algebra lesson.
Some teachers are rolling their eyes at this point, imagining the chaos caused by stopping a lecture to play the Hokey Pokey. The 20 to 30 seconds to resettle the students will pay off in increased individual attention of each child.
Strategies to increase focus of individual students:
Fidget toys:
Some fidget toys increase arousal due to the tactile properties of the toy.
The squishy, squeezing type facilitate inhibition or focus.
Oral stimulation: There is a reason the cigarette, and now coffee industries have been so successful. People need oral stimulation to stay focused. Think of those day long seminars. At each break you ply yourself with coffee and bagels that you don’t want, but need to stay awake and survive the remaining so many hours.
There are many nerve cells in and around the mouth. Stimulating these help with focus. There is a reason little boys frequently chew their sleeves and little girls suck their hair in grades one and two. Learning to read and write is a monumental strain of neurological integration. Connecting visual information with auditory centers is a big deal and requires all the help it can get. Allowing the child extra support (as we adults do with our caramel lattes) helps the child focus and facilitates connections in the brain for learning.
I worked with an incredibly gifted kindergarten teacher. The child with Down Syndrome in her class needed oral stimulation for a variety of therapeutic reasons. Rather than singling this child out, she had the entire class do the same activities recommended for the special needs child. The students blew the letter A to a picture of an apple, and four cotton balls to the number 4. The entire class benefitted from these organizing activities.
Oral Breaks:
Cotton ball soccer (on a table)
Ping pong ball relays (crawling a short distance)
Blow toys
Designated chewy toys
Heavy chewing snacks (bagels rather than bread, chunks of meat cheese rather than slices)
Sucking thick drinks such as smoothies through narrow or looped straws****
Chewing
Gum is a contentious item. Many schools ban gum due to the unfortunate discovery of gum stuck under furniture, etc. Some innovative programs have instituted gum chewing policies. Children are allowed gum, but must “check in” the gum at the end of chewing-essentially monitoring the discarding of the gum in an appropriate receptacle. If not correctly discarded, gum chewing privileges are revoked.
I was told by my mother, who assured me this came from her mother, that the Blessed Mother cries whenever she sees a lady chew gum. I’m guessing this
“urban legend” originated from some Mother Superior who got tired of the complaints from the custodial crew when called upon to scrape gum balls from the underside of all the desks.
Special Props for movement:
Bean bag chairs
Jumping boards*****
Balancing
Small exercise tramps
*Many sections provide more information to help understand how movement and positioning influence behavior and over all organization.
**These activities help hand strengthening. For more information on this:
***There is more about motor sequencing in the following section:
****Has anyone noticed that in the past two or three years the fast food restaurant have increased the diameter of the straw. This leads to consumption of more a lot more fluid in much less time. And we are wondering about increased childhood obesity!
*****Ordered through www.Southpaw.com
Copyright 2010 Jill Mays. All Rights Reserved