Spice Up Word Play to Attract Kids’ Attention
Power up your ability to catch kids’ attention. Spice up Word Play in school, camp, vacation destinations or on a holiday!
Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers!
Word Play is a great way to catch and keep kids’ attention.
Where?
Anywhere…school, camp, vacation destinations, during holiday travel time…anywhere!
Voiced Word Play works best for young children.
Rhythmic and humorous sounds tickle little kids’ ears.
Simple word sequences paint pictures that are easy for children to see and understand.
Spice Up Word Play with Invitations to Action – Word play that invites participation delights students, campers and vacationers in their early years.
I’m reminded of a first grade teacher who invited me to present a poetry workshop to her class.
Mrs. Radcliffe used a wonderful variety of Word Play to gather the children together before I began my program.
Her animation reminded me of a conductor standing before a glorious symphony – the children responded like instruments to her commands.
“If you can hear me say touch your nose, touch your nose,” she called out to the class.
Moving around the room, she continued, “If you can hear me say touch your toes, touch your toes.”
On she went, mixing up action commands with word reply commands, like, “If you can say ‘mouse in the house,’ say ‘mouse in the house.”
She closed the attention-getting Word Play with a dramatic and intentionally drawn out rendition of an expression of love.
Mrs. Radcliffe called out to her class, “If you can hear me say I, say I,” and they did. “If you can hear me say, LOVE, say LOVE,” and the students said LOVE louder than they said I.
“If you can hear me say MRS., say MRS.,” and the students knew where this Word Play was headed.
She then predictably said, “If you can hear me say RADCLIFFE, say RADCLIFFE,” and the class squealed with laughter as they finished the Word Play.
Notice how she used the words, “If you can HEAR me.”
This approach engages kids and leads them to LISTENING.
Word Play is effective when you present it with other tricks, too…
Barbara Cleary has been serving as a resource to hundreds of educators for more than 25 years.
An award-winning writer, producer, teacher, and trainer, Barbara’s focus is on offering easy, fun tools and tricks that support K-5 curricula and assist teachers with classroom management.
