Attention Please, Class!

A quarter of a century ago, the teacher only had to walk into the room, or appear on the veranda, for a hushed silence to fall over the class. I am afraid to say the challenge is a lot greater with today’s children. However, your presence as the authority figure is still just as important.

The calmed hush can still be achieved in today’s classroom. It will be generated on the basis of mutual respect not fear. Respect comes with a growing relationship and this is exactly where the challenge lies.

Each class will be a little different depending on the year level and management style of the class teacher. You cannot possibly effect change in one day. Time to think outside the square! Time to make it fun! Time to make it special just for today!

The following are a few suggestions that you may use your professional discretion as to which strategy is suitable for which year level. More ideas and strategies are found in my handbook.

These strategies come are fully developed in my "Relief Insight"workshops. The next workshop is being held in May on the north side of Brisbane, post my speaking engagement at Australian Catholic University. Feedback indicates that no matter what your teaching experience, participants felt very empowered by the practical nature of the workshop. If you are interested please leave a comment with your email address and I will be in contact.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE CLASSROOM:

S.A.L.A.M.I Magic instruction only known to the special class and you. It means STOP AND LOOK AT ME IMMEDIATELY. Only Year 4A know that! This becomes the strategy that takes the old FREEZE technique one step further. If you do use FREEZE, don’t forget to use THAW as the signal to continue as before.

RAIN SHOWER Nothing is as calming as the sound of falling rain. Try this idea on the younger ones when you are waiting calmly for the group to settle. Finger tips wiggling from head height to your waist to imitate the falling rain. Cross hands back and forth to represent the puddle and at the same time making the sound, shh, shh, shh! Continue until the class is settled. It is clever to link this with breathing in as the rain falls and out as you say shh. The extra oxygen in the system will help with added focus for the learner, or teacher, whoever needs it most!



THERE’S AN ECHO IN THE ROOM
This strategy not only gains attention, it consolidates the message as well as focuses the listening. Explain the game. You are looking for the clearest and most accurate echo. I would only call on volunteers to be the echo as it can be stressful for some children not being able to accurately recall the statement. Always call on three echoes. Allow the class to judge. Reward. The end result will be everyone listening to the information in order to participate.



COUNT DOWN TO SILENCE Use hand movements to physically demonstrate the countdown 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…. hush, hush! Repeat the countdown three times getting progressively softer and on the final fourth time only mime the sequence.

By this stage, all the children should be with you and if someone is not, it is usually a good shock technique that the whole classroom is silent and having fun and they are not part of the team. If you become very familiar with one class, this technique can become a secret sign outside the classroom. Today’s child is very visual and usually responds well to signs that convey meaning.

Have some fun with these and know we would all love to share some of your great strategies too.

Live,laugh and learn.....
Carmel

More "Attention Please" Ideas

A quarter of a century ago, the teacher only had to walk into the room for a hushed silence to fall over the class. I am afraid to say the challenge is a lot greater with today's children. However, your presence as the authority figure is still just as important. Don't worry this same calmed hush can still be achieved. It will be generated on the basis of mutual respect , not fear. Respect comes with a growing relationship and this is exactly where the challenge lies. Each class will be a little different depending on the year level and management style of their permanent class teacher.

Think outside the square!

Make it interesting!

Make it fun!

You will gain the reward as respect.

Here are a couple more humble contributions to add to your list. My book "Relief Insight" has a the complete selection in the chapter called "Attention Please, Class!"

• ECHO : This strategy not only gains attention, it consolidates the message as well as focuses the listening. Explain the game. Teacher give some information. The echo repeats the information accurately. You are looking for the clearest and most accurate echo. I would only call on volunteers to be the echo as it can be stressful for some children who may experience auditory processing challenges. Always call at least two echoes. Allow the class to judge. Reward. The end result will be everyone listening to the information in order the participate. This works very well when giving instructions for a new class activity both indoors and out.

• WHAT'S THE TIME (Your Name)? : The class loves putting in the teacher's name instead of Mr Wolf. The use of the traditional game in a new way immediately hooks their attention. I use my magnetic clock face (see earlier blogs) and vary the difficulty as the year level. Surprisingly older children enjoy the more challenging time telling identification too. Keep the activity short and sweet and when the children least expect it...you say....Wrong! It is time for Maths or Spelling! We all laugh but I have their attention! Never trust a wolf!

Blessings for the journey...

Live,laugh and learn!

Carmel

Attention Please Class!

"Surely, it is no coincidence that the word, LISTEN, is an anagram for the word SILENT."


I love that quote. Aren't people clever! Children and silence do not always go together. Learning and silence don't always go together either; however the ability to gain a noisy group attention and focus is becoming more and more challenging. This is particularly true in our role as substitute teacher. Many specialist teachers also experience the same challenges. The strategies I employ vary daily depending on grade level and the personality of the class as a group.

Again over the years I have experimented with many ideas for the relief day. As permanent classroom teacher the strategies will also work but you won't need to implement them as often due to the relationship you have with the group. It really is quite different.


Here are a couple of ideas. I have a real variety in my "Relief Insight" (Teachers Workbook)
I will continue to add a selection under this heading in future blogs. Love to hear your ideas that work for you in this area too.

• S . A . L . A . M . I . Say this word loudly to gain the class attention and for the first time you will! Smile, and politely point out the letters stand for STOP AND LOOK AT ME IMMEDIATELY This strategy works best in a busy independant working room when you simply want to add an extra instruction or message. I don't over-use it and the children love the fact that it is a secret code word known only to this class. It becomes like the old FREEZE strategy that goes to a new level. If you use that technique I would recommend also adding THAW as a signal to recommence work.

• RAIN SHOWER Nothing is as calming as the sound of falling rain. Try this idea on the younger ones when you are waiting for the group to settle. Finger tips wiggling from head height to your waist to imitate falling rain. Cross hands back and forth three times when you reach waist level to represent the puddle and make the sound , shh, shh, shhh. I often say "Rain is falling down" as I do the actions. One the third time, I slow the action and speech right down so the children know this is end and I expect all will be stettled. This strategy also links with breathing patterns and the extra oxygen aids both the learner and teacher.....whoever needs it most!

Blessings for the journey....

Live, laugh and learn.

Carmel