Summer is quickly approaching and the children know it (heck, even we are getting antsy for the freedom of summer!). There is a ping pong between wistful stares out the window and behaviors (like relentless chatter and interruptions 
) that all seem to surface at the same time. Part of you wants to just throw in the towel and join them!
But for your sanity, you need to plan some things that will keep students’ attention and allow you to make it to the last day of school with your sanity (well, most of it).
Keeping students attention is a difficult task, and one that I would argue, teachers are taking on themselves too much. We end up putting in more care, effort, and work than the students. This is not the way it is supposed to be!
Our job as teachers is really to present an opportunity of learning to the students in an interesting way.
Steps for Fostering Student Attention
- Present the students with something that will capture their attention or interest (a small bit of work on your part)
- Give them a little example or a small bit of information (try to avoid handing them a reading passage)
- Ask a question or give a challenge
- Release the students to solve or discover with their own interest as the motivator
Tip 1: Nature
I have never seen a 5th grade class do more independent self-motivated research than when I handed them all an ant farm. They cared for those ants on a whole new level, and I was bombarded with ant facts that they found and applied all on their own! This is when I realized that student attention didn’t take as much effort on my part.
Nature has a way of lending itself to the natural rhythm of self-motivated learning of students. Young children (this includes middle schoolers) have a great skill at seeing the small things that most adults over-look. Nature is full of small things!
Another time, I managed to convince my class to start a moss collection where they all brought in moss that they found at home and sort it by type. This is tricking kids into learning at its finest.
Simple Nature Ideas to Keep Students Attention
- Live Butterflies– They are never too old to witness this life cycle. Allow students to experiment with food options for the butterflies (yes, I did allow students to put in Cheetos just to see). Here is what I ordered! I only ordered this set once and then reused the net from year to year, just ordering new butterflies.
- Ant Farm– The power in such a tiny creature is amazing to watch. Ants will collect all sorts of food placed in the enclosure. Allow student to research the best food for the ants and then try different ideas. Here is the ant farm I used.
- UV Beads- These little beads change color in UV light. Then have students test out the effectiveness of different sunscreens. See if UV light is filtered out of windows at school, home, or car.
- Moss collection– I used these graphics to help students learn to classify types of moss. A simple paper plate at each picture housed the moss samples that students brought in. Collecting things is always an attention keeper for students.
- Bee Videos- Bees are so fascinating! Every year I show videos on bees and they spark so many great conversations.
- Carnivorous Plant Videos- Meat-eating plants are real attention grabbers. This BBC video is overly dramatic, but it draws in the students every time!
Tip 2: Puzzles
Pose anything as a challenge or a puzzle and kids have a way of stepping up to the plate with an unparalleled attention. The goal in these activities is to present them with a challenge that initiates the peak in attention, but is followed by their own self-motivation for solving the puzzle.
There are lots of ways of making a challenge or puzzle with your content. The challenge becomes more interesting to them when you give as little information as possible.
Hand your students a box of Fruit Loops and ask them what percent of the box is yellow loops. Don’t tell them how to do it- just ask the question, hand them the box, and walk away.
Give space for their own motivation to fuel their learning.
Ideas for Using Puzzle to Inspire Students' Attention:
- Math puzzles with pictures-this is a beautiful blend of problem solving skills with math skills.
They don’t feel like work because they use pictures. Here is the set I use for summer, but honestly, I use them year round with all different themes1 You can read more about the overall benefit of these puzzles here! - Escape Rooms- Most escape rooms have students collecting clue or bits of a secret code within a content area that really boosts students’ attention.
- Magic Squares – All ways that you could get “tic-tac-toe” will add to the magic number. You can sneak in fractions, decimals, and negative numbers, too! Here is the set I have and use!
- Logic Puzzles- These are the puzzles that give you clues about people and you have to try and match each person with their job, favorite color, etc.
- Code Breaking- I always used this pack of code breaking with the capitalization rules. Students have to break the code to answer the jokes!
- Vocab/Spelling Scramble- Mix up the letters of vocab or spelling words and show them to students one at a time. Have them race to see who can be the first to unscramble the word (and spell it correctly!) You can read more interactive spelling ideas in this post!
They don’t feel like work because they use pictures. 
will add to the magic number. You can sneak in fractions, decimals, and negative numbers, too! 
with the capitalization rules. Students have to break the code to answer the jokes! Tip 3: Open-Ended Questions
I can remember one particular beautiful, warm day where all the students just stared out the window in longing. There were audible sighs and yawns. In desperation I asked my students what was similar about a rabbit and a rock. The response?
Both would hurt if someone threw them at you.
A bit of laughter from us all, was just what we needed to get focused back on the classroom. This made a great thinking game where I asked obscure questions that made them think – the questions didn’t have “right” answers which is why it drew them in.
I realized that when they were just focused on right answers, they stopped the creative thinking that really grabbed students’ attention and started them on a trajectory of independent learning.
Creative Questions to Boost Student Attention
Comparing Two Things
- How are coffee and lightbulbs similar?
- How are trees and toddlers similar?
- How are puppies and cellphones similar?
- How are ballet and football similar?
- How are dandelions and nacho similar?
What Would Happen If...
- What would happen if gravity stopped working?
- What would happen if all coffee stopped having caffeine?
- What would happen if pizza was illegal?
- What would happen if bird couldn’t fly?
- What would happen if it rained every day for a whole year?
- What would happen the sun was up 24 hours a day?
How Do You Know?
- How do you know that ice is frozen water?
- How do you know that broccoli is good for you?
- How do you know candy is bad for your teeth?
- How do you know leaves are important to trees?
- How do you know each snowflake is different?
