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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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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Help Kids See…the Harder You Work, the Luckier You’ll Be!

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! Help kids see…the harder you work, the luckier you’ll be. If you’ll be celebrating “the luck o’ the Irish” with your class on March 17 (when everyone who wants to

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Help Kids Become Better Listeners!

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! In a world that is dominated by Social Media, it is becoming clear that helping kids become better listeners is more challenging, and more important than ever before. Why?

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Catch Kids’ Attention with Wacky Wednesday Antics!

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! Dr. Seuss, the world-famous children’s book author has a birthday coming soon in March. Why wait for the calendar to turn from February to the third month of the

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Make Magic in Class with Secret Homes for Special Poems

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! In some parts of the world today, people are wishing for a magic wand to make miserable weather disappear. “Poof! Be gone, wicked weather,” we’d say if we had magical

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Attention Hearts are Forever…Get Ready for Valentine’s Day!

Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers! For those who celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14, this post offers some get-ready ideas for a functional and festive celebration! If you have students who are easily distracted in

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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