Grab Their Attention
From the desk of Carol C. . .
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.~ Albert Einstein
Sometimes it’s just downright hard to be enthusiastic. Think about your classroom. Do you ever feel less than enthusiastic about the lessons you will teach? Do you sense that you are the losing coach, the monotone minister, or the “drone on” neighbor to the ears of your listeners? I suspect we can all say yes at times. So what do we do to turn this situation around? Begin by trying these suggestions below.
Change the level of your voice. When you lower your voice or suddenly raise it, you capture the attention of your students. Whether you are reading aloud to your class or giving a lecture, mixing up your tone keeps the interest of your audience. Think how boring it is to listen to someone who drones on or speaks mainly in monotone. Even under the best of conditions (your fascination with the subject matter), it is difficult to listen for long. If you are new to this technique or uncomfortable with it, try practicing by yourself.
Move around the classroom. Ron Clark, founder of the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, believes a key to getting and keeping students focused is to use your classroom space wisely. Think of it as a stage, and your job is to use the entire area. You are the actor delivering his lines to his audience. Walk, run, or jump around the room. You’ll keep your kids’ attention this way! If you plan activities where your students are able to move around the classroom, their attention span will grow immeasurably.
Use laughter. Inject humor into your lessons. Everyone enjoys a good chuckle and many times will listen more carefully in anticipation of a joke, pun, or just something silly. Humor lightens the mood in almost any situation. Self-deprecating humor can be appropriate, but aiming a joke at one of your students is not. Be careful a student is not your punch line.
Bring in props. In high school my English teacher wore a Burger King crown on days we were to discuss anything that dealt with royalty. Even as seniors we loved it. ( I guess this qualifies as humor, too!) Think about having your students dress as someone you are studying…a famous physicist associated with your current topic, a figure who influenced history, mathematicians associated with certain theories, or a character from literature. It would make your lessons fascinating if you dressed up or brought in props on occasion!
Students’ learning increases as the level of their interest increases. Our job as teachers is to capture that interest and thereby create enthusiasm (ours and theirs). Sometimes this means stepping out of our comfort zone. It’s worth taking some risks when you think about the growth in learning that can take place. As one college professor said, “I use these strategies because I choose to make the learning environment come alive and make the lessons learned last beyond the next test!”