With the Thanksgiving break behind us and three weeks to go before winter break, it’s a great time to re-establish some good routines and procedures in your Classroom. Helping your students to focus might be one of those!

What do you do when you notice that your students are not focused? If you tend to get frustrated or to start fussing at them (very normal reactions), these tips are for you! Here’s how to get your students back on track without losing your patience.

1 – Stop and take a deep breath. Calm yourself down first. Just the act of stopping – stop talking, stop walking or pacing, stop showing whatever you’re showing, stop demonstrating if you’ve been demonstrating – makes a difference and gets your students’ attention. It might sound crazy, but calming yourself first really helps.

2 – When you do resume speaking, lower your voice. A lower voice register also helps bring calm to your classroom.

3 – If your students are doing something that is pulling them off track (drawing/doodling when they’re supposed to be watching something, talking to someone, reading when they’re supposed to be watching or listening, playing with the amazing variety of “fidgets” that are marketed as helping kids focus – but often just become another distracting toy) – calmly and kindly tell them to stop. Ask them to put away whatever is distracting them. Explain to them that you, too, often mess with objects in your environment (implying that they’re not “bad” for doing it), but that you recognize those objects can keep you from focusing on what you need to be focused on right now.

If it’s only a few students who need help getting refocused:

4 – If it’s only a few students who are off track, try not to make a big deal about it in front of the whole class (thus embarrassing them in front of their peers). But do have a private conversation with them about the distracting behavior as soon as you can do so.

5 – Does a student need a change of location? Sometimes kids get distracted by where they are sitting. Offering them the option to move somewhere else in the classroom and do their work there can make all the difference.

6 – If you and your students are comfortable with it, a gentle hand on a shoulder or arm, or back can be a gentle redirection (or a gentle reassurance for doing a good job of focusing).

7 – Remember the “teacher look?” This doesn’t have to be a threatening look! But just making eye contact with a student who is off-task can help them to get back on track. Once they are back on track, give them your best teacher smile.

8 – Praise the class for what most of them are doing. Name the specific behaviors that they’re doing that are helping them to do their best work and learn. (Sometimes that’s all the non-focused students need to hear to get themselves re-focused.)

If it’s your whole class that needs to refocus:

9 – Move around your classroom as much as you can. This doesn’t work for everything – sometimes you have to demonstrate something on the board or under the document camera. But as soon as you are able, circulate around the classroom. There’s an old saying “a teacher on his/her feet is worth more than ten in a seat.” Just your proximity to students and your kind comments and redirection can make a big difference.

10 – As you circulate around the classroom, stop and ask individual students how they’re doing or if they need something. This gives students a chance to check in with themselves and let you know if there really is something that they need.

11 – Set a timer. Let your students know that you want them to complete a task within a certain amount of time. Display a visual timer if you’re able to do that. Sometimes, knowing there is a limited amount of time, helps students to refocus and complete a task.

12 – Do you ever use call and response methods with your class? This can be very effective to reset and refocus. Angela Watson has a great list of call and response options HERE.

13 – Redirect with a question:
Can someone remind us of what we need to be doing right now?
Stop and check yourself – what are you doing? What are you supposed to be doing?
Are you on track? If not, think about what you need to do to get yourself back on track.

14 – If your entire class appears off in la-la land, it’s time to stop. Just stop teaching and ask them if they need a quick brain break.

Besides helping to get your students refocused, there are compelling scientific reasons why the brain thrives on these breaks. When the brain is on overload, learning cannot occur. So just cramming in more and more information is not going to help. You’re better off just stopping, taking a brain break with your students, and then getting back to business.

In addition, your attention to your students’ emotions and needs goes a long way towards making you and your classroom feel like a “safe” place to be (helping to meet one of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs). Plus, they’re fun for everyone and we could all use a little more fun!

Here are some easy brain breaks to try:
*jumping jacks
*yoga stretches
*reaching toward the sky, then touching your toes
*playing some fun music and just letting kids move
*if you’re able to do so, going outside and walking or running for a few minutes

Staying focused for a long period of time can be a challenge for all of us. Showing your students that you understand how hard that can be and redirecting in some positive, helpful ways can make all the difference in your classroom.