Set Up Attention-Getting Boxes – A Bright Idea!
Take One – Leave One. Set up a Bright Idea Box in your classroom for you and your students to share.
Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers!
An attention-getting idea popped into my mind the other day when I stopped for coffee at a neighborhood restaurant.
In one corner stood an attractive bookshelf loaded with paperbacks and a few hardbound books.
On the bottom shelf…an inviting sign…
TAKE ONE – LEAVE ONE
I borrowed forward…selecting a new thriller to occupy some evening hours.
At the same time, I made a note to drop back by with a paperback that I’ve read and am ready to give away.
TAKE ONE – LEAVE ONE, I thought…
what a great concept for exchanging BRIGHT IDEAS!
How to do this in a classroom?
Set up an Attention-Getting Bright Idea Box – Initiate use of the Bright Idea Box by dropping in some cards, each with a “bright idea.”
Set up an Attention-Getting (Subject) Fun Zone Box full of answers to Q’s posted on a bulletin board.
Ideas can be about anything…
Begin, maybe, with ideas about how students can pay closer attention and stay on task in class…if that’s a concern this school year.
Drop in bright ideas about how to hold attention where it needs to be.
Attentionology ideas may include keeping eyes focused on a speaker/teacher or graphic under discussion, and so on…
Set Up an Attention-Getting (Subject) Fun Zone Box – Choose a subject, like math, and post questions about the subject on a bulletin board with a corresponding header.
Focus on math, for example? Print a header that reads Math Fun Zone.
Place the Fun Zone Box near the bulletin board.
Leave blank cards or paper scraps for students to use with the Fun Zone Box.
Below the header print instructions to the class:
1) Choose a math/subject problem to solve.
2) Write the problem and your answer on a card or scrap of paper.
3) Open the Fun Zone Box and look for a card that matches the problem you chose to solve.
4) See if your answer is correct. Yes? Give yourself a round of applause!
Optional: Use the Fun Zone Box for activities that draw extra credit for students. Honesty rules…a lesson in character education…
Invite students to drop correct answers to posted questions on your desk, signed, and awaiting extra credit.
How else can you set up attention-getting boxes to help kids in school?
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.
