Six ways to help your child concentrate in class
Love your child to get more out of their education? Here are six ways to help them concentrate in class.
What could be better for the future of education than to have children who are eager to be in class and spend as much time as they possibly can in all the subjects?
However, with the current average human attention span being eight seconds and the mental focus for a student estimated to last no longer than 10-15 minutes, educators have to take extra precautions to ensure children focus longer in class.
Here are the top strategies educators or teachers can use to help children concentrate in class.
1) Distraction-free classrooms
Being an active child can make it challenging to concentrate on one thing for long, especially when there are many distractions. Birds chirping outside the window, colorful chats hanging on the walls, outside traffic noise, and other students talking in the hallway are some of the common daily distractions.
So if a child zones out once in a while, it’s considered normal. However, if it’s a recurring habit, you might have to develop ways to enhance their focus, which in turn boosts productivity. Otherwise, the child will be tormented by the thought of “who will do my paper for me” when faced with such a similar situation in college. And it could be even more difficult to solve problem like that then.
Start by removing physical clutter, next arrange the children in a seating arrangement that minimizes talking or socializing during lessons. Ensure the desks allow each child to face the teacher and not any physical distractions.
2) Encourage role-playing
One of the most effective ways to make children learn and remember is to have them role-play. Promising a reward, for example to play Agario – the most popular and exiting browser game, for the best performing student or a participation grade will motivate them to put in their best effort.
The great thing about this technique is that it doesn’t require the educator or student to have special tools or role play in a specific environment. The classroom space is the ideal space.
Role-playing also teaches about public speaking and teamwork, which are crucial skills that children can use in other areas of their lives. When a child has a specific goal to achieve, they are more likely to focus on it, which increases the likelihood of understanding the subject. A paper writing service comes in handy in case you need content for role-playing.
3) Incorporate different learning styles
Did you know there are around eight learning styles? Children process information in a unique way. That is why if a teacher wants a kid to focus on the material being taught in class, they must incorporate a learning technique that captures their attention.
Some of the dominant learning styles that an educator can come across include:
- Visual
- Aural
- Kinesthetic
- Verbal
- Logical
- Social
- Solitary
Part of a teacher’s responsibility is to adjust the lessons to fit the children’s dominant learning technique. For instance, you can incorporate a whiteboard to allow the children to draw or ask the class to repeat the taught concepts. Knowing how a particular child learns best can help an educator develop ways to enhance their concentration and participation in class.
4) Avoid activities that encourage multi-tasking
Children in lower grade levels can have a hard time multitasking. Jumping from one task to another during the lesson can cause a child to lose focus as they have to think of many different things at once. However, if they tackle one thing in class, it can help a child’s mind to focus and remind them of the concepts they need to grasp in that lesson.
5) Give them something to focus on
Sometimes children may seem to lack focus because they have no clue what actually to focus on. Telling them what they will be studying that day or the following lesson gives the kids something to focus on.
As for tasks they consider boring, get creative with the teaching method. For instance, during spelling, you can ask students to cut letters from magazines and use them to write the name of a particular thing. The creativity keeps the child-focused on the task at hand.
6) Include breaks for active play
Keeping a child sitting the whole time during class can make it easier for them to lose attention. Taking a break, even if it’s just to stretch, breaks the monotony of studying and gives the brain a chance to re-energize. Breaks are crucial when dealing with long tasks as it encourages relaxation and reduces the negative health effects of sitting for too long.
If the child still can’t remain focused after the break, try breaking the task into small manageable portions and rewarding them for each completed part. This will motivate the child to keep focusing on the assignment. You can even turn the task into a game where a small group of children play or solve it together.
