Dig Deep Within Yourself During a School Break

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! School breaks are a good time for mind breaks as well. In a hectic world, it can be a challenge to put everything on pause, break from the mindset

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Add Frosty Touches to Help Young Kids Learn in Summertime

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! In the hot months of summer (Northern Hemisphere), most kids crave icy treats… …ice cream, snow cones, anything frosty to cool off outdoors and in. Add frosty touches to

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Spice Up Word Play to Attract Kids’ Attention

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

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Helping Kids in Troubled Times

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! Helping Kids in Troubled Times – More worrisome world news can make even the brightest of us feel troubled. When you sense that a number of students feel anxious

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Powerful Words for Powerful Teaching

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! Every school year has its own ebb and flow, you know? During some school days its seems as if a term will never end. Then, we’re shaking our heads at

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Look at This!

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! Here’s an engaging command to catch K – 3 kids’ attention… “Look at this!” All eyes will follow your lead, not just because of your command, but because of the

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What’s Today’s Color?

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! Catch your students’ attention at the start of a school day by asking a thought-provoking question… “What’s today’s color?” Ask volunteers to offer answers. “Is it yellow, like the

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Eye-Catching School Gardens Prompt Creative Thinking

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! Catch and keep your students’ attention in the spring, summer or fall of the year when your school garden has some blooms… …ask an open-ended garden-inspired question that prompts creative

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Start School Days with Quick Brain Boosting Games!

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! Kids (and teachers) sometimes arrive in class with “foggy brains.” Not enough sleep the night before perhaps, or a low or no protein breakfast are the culprits, or…you name

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Bags Beg for Attention and Re-Use!

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! Bags are more than totes in the hands of a gifted teacher. Bags are BIG attention-getting tools. Colorful, interesting, fun and funny bags prompt curiosity in children. “What’s in the

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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: Students continue to use lackluster verbs in their writing.

Solution: Show toy cars and pretend to make them zip across a page, telling the class that good writing includes action words (verbs) that have "zip." Ask the class for examples of "zippy" verbs like zoom, race, flash, rush, etc.

Related Posts: Start Students' Engines for Writing