Characteristics
Students in need of acquiring more appropriate/age appropriate attention skills may often be off topic, have difficulty attending to a task/assignment and struggle with sitting still. They may be disorganized and have trouble controlling their impulses, resulting in frequent calling out or off topic talking in class.
What it is
An area of student need, involving difficulty with maintaining concentration, especially on non-preferred activities, while ignoring distractions.
Teaching Strategies
Instructional
• Provide frequent physical breaks; avoid long periods of sitting or being physically inactive. One strategy could be to ask the student to collect/distribute materials.
• Set up a cueing system, when you will be calling upon or asking something of the student. For example, say, “I will stand beside you, and when I do this, this will let you know that the next question is for you.” Or: “You will always be the next person I ask a question of, after I ask Student A.” (focuses student’s listening).
• Give specific instructions with a check list for the student to check off when each item is finished.
• Alternate between sitting/less engaging and active classroom tasks.
• Provide a “leadership” role for the student in class, so that he or she is responsible for repeating instructions or writing them on the board.
• Give few instructions at a time, use numbering/cueing system for instructions: “First you, second, you and third you.” / “First… and then…” / “Do-A, then-B and finally-C.”
• Use graphic organizers for the student to collect or interpret information.
• Chunk assignments into parts and provide feedback when each step is finished.
• Post the daily schedule and review it with the whole class.
• Explicitly teach organizational strategies.
• Teach social skill lessons to the student and/or small group on appropriately asking for help in the classroom, for instructions to be repeated/rephrased, completing work, etc.
• Consider the development of an alternative programming page for the student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP).
• Communicate regularly with parents/guardians and focus on positive behaviours.
• Reward on-task behaviours.
• Use a timer for the student to self monitor the amount of on-task behaviour.
• Allow the student to earn a reward for a set amount of on-task behaviour.
• Use differentiated teaching methods frequently, with various media forms.
• Have the student use a computer with text to speech for reading.
• Have the student use a computer with speech to text for writing activities.
• Use a colour coding system for organization and/or learning activities.
• Use various technology tools, so the student can better follow the lesson.
• Provide a list of tasks that need to be accomplished during a set period, and allow the student to choose the order, or alternate between activities.
• In consultation with the student, develop a non-verbal signal for the teacher to give him/her to redirect behaviour.
• Consider referral to the school board speech and language and/or psychology staff.
Less...
More...
Environmental
• Post simple and action-focused rules and consequences.
• Use preferential seating to reduce distractions for the student.
• Provide a choice of work areas for the student to move between in the classroom.
• Provide for the student to take a physical break (delivering material to another class or to the office).
• Consider the use of music and headphones if it helps the student to concentrate.
• Provide items that a student can physically manipulate (stress ball, chewing gum).
Assessment
• Provide choice in assessment activities, including use of various media forms.
• Use oral tests.
• Chunk tests/assignments.
• Allow breaks during tests (consider giving the student only one page of a multiple page test, with a walk break or other suitable break prior to receiving the next page).
• Use a variety of methods on written tests (short answer, matching, fill in the blank, long answer).
• Provide printed assignment requirements and rubrics.
• Provide an alternate testing location that is more free of distractions.
• Prompt the student to return to task if he/she seems to be off task.
• Allow additional time.
Resources
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Organized by age range. |
