Get Your Class to Go Ape Over Homework!

Hi and welcome back to Attention-ology for K – 5 Teachers! When I assign homework as a visiting teacher I advise each class that my requests are as valid as the assignments given by their “regular” teacher. After I show and explain the homework

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Attention-Getting Ties with Twitter

Hi and welcome back to Attention-ology for K – 5 Teachers! No way can teachers keep up with all that’s buzzing on worldwide social media and websites, but web networks can be a cool source of ideas for catching and

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Word Play – Call to Pay Attention

Hi and welcome back to Attention-ology for K – 5 Teachers! I spent some time last week in a K – 1 classroom, working with a teacher who used word play to catch and keep her young students’ attention. Her

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Catch Attention with a Team Mascot

Hi and welcome back to Attention-ology for K – 5 Teachers! Picture this…you and your students are getting ready to review the math they’ve been learning this semester before a major test. You blink and all the kids’ eyes have turned toward

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Visualize, Please, Where In The World Are We?

Hi and welcome back to Attention-ology for K – 5 Teachers! I have a funny travel-related story about one of my third grade students in a school where I recently taught. For background, I should mention that I structure a week-long residency

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An Eagle Eye On Attention

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! A recent article by Matt Richtel published in the New York Times offers more evidence that children are becoming less and less able to stay focused in our digital age.  You

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Introduce the “Big E” to get the “Big A”

Hi and welcome back to Attention-ology for K – 5 Teachers! See if this sounds familiar – a classroom full of students stretched, no, slouched across the tops of their desks when you’re getting ready to begin a lesson. Slouched

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Make “Make Believe” Work

Hi and welcome back to Attention-ology for K – 5 Teachers! A few years ago I had the good fortune to win a contest for creative ideas in the care of puppies.  My win netted my family a year’s worth

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Clever Move to Negate Student Complaints

Hi and welcome back to Attention-ology for K – 5 Teachers! Do you know anyone who has trouble saying “No” to children?  I do.  Call me “old school” but I’ve found myself cringing at the apologetic manner of some teachers and

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Winning Teachers Coach Their Classes

Hi and welcome back to Attention-ology for K – 5 Teachers! Now that spring has sprung most elementary educators are either enjoying spring vacation from school or counting the days until spring break begins – our attention has turned to

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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.
Quick tips for common classroom conundrums: K-5
Situation: Young students are getting noisy while you’re trying to teach.

Solution: Hold up "Listen Star," a toy magic wand that you’ve designated to be a cue for quiet. Tell the class, "When you see our friend, 'Listen Star' dance across the classroom sky, that’s your signal to HUSH for a moment."

Related Posts: Let "Listen Star" Work Magic for You