Check Out a New AP for Teaching – One P on Purpose!

New AP for Teaching – One P on Purpose! ATTENTION PLEASE on staying focused and other skills at the start of a school year.

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers!

Here’s a Short Shot – a one and done idea for helping kids learn to stay focused at the start of a new school year.

New AP for Teaching – One P on Purpose! – Announce that you’re “all about teaching,” and BIG NEWS…you “have a new AP for that!”

Grab your smartphone, glance at it, then hold it up for the class to see.

All eyes on you…explain that your new AP isn’t the APP kind, as in the APPs to download on a phone.

Nope…your new AP stands for ATTENTION PLEASE!

One P on purpose.

Kids may laugh at first, but once you’ve introduced your new AP, simply refer to it when you need to regain students’ attention.

Loud or distracted kids need a new AP for that! They need to know that listening  and staying focused are key to learning.

Once you have introduced your new AP for teaching, try this variation…

Attention on Getting Acquainted – Put the concept of an ATTENTION PLEASE AP to work to help kids get to know each other.

In our busy, social-media driven world, children can miss out on learning in-person social skills.

Even students who have matriculated together since Kindergarten often don’t know much about each other. This is especially true in schools where students live in multiple neighborhoods.

Many classmates don’t spend after-school hours together or time on weekends. In some communities children live two separate lives – school and home.

They need guidance on how to pay attention and get to know classmates who share the same instructional setting.

Teach kids basic interview skills to pave the way for them to get acquainted with each other…

Set Up Kids Interview Kids Time – Plan time for students to pair up and take turns “interviewing” each other.

Two boys play a game of I Ask You – You Ask Me at Kids Interview Kids Time. Help students get to know each other at the start of a school year.

If the term, interviewing, sounds too formal, make the activity into a game of I Ask You – You Ask Me.

Prepare the class by posting guidelines for interviewing someone.

Better still, lead a class discussion about the process before interviews start.

Talk about appropriate questions to ask, such as:

1) What did you do while school was out?

2) Have you ever traveled somewhere special to you?

3) Do you think school will be hard this year? 

4) What’s your best subject?

5) Where do you spend holidays?

6) What are your favorite foods?

7) What’s your favorite sport?

Cool Questions Write-a-Thon – Add a writing component to this activity by instructing students to write down the questions they want to ask classmates.

After Kids Interview Kids Time, challenge everyone to write answers they got to their questions from memory.

Attention Please on Connections – Explain to kids that asking questions and getting answers can lead to more than just getting acquainted.

Conversations with questions and answers help people connect!

Offer examples, such as, Question: “Do you like to play soccer?” Answer: Yeah, it’s my favorite sport. Response: Me too! Maybe we can play together.”

The new AP for Teaching – One P on Purpose for ATTENTION PLEASE – helps teachers connect better with students, too.

Connecting members of your classroom community, maintaining control, and engaging kids in joyful learning requires creative approaches.

Remember, you don’t need to be a magician to work magic in any instructional setting!

Talk with you again soon,

Barbara ♥ The Lovable Poet

 

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Posted in Attentionology for K-5 Teachers
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.
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