How to Make Your Students WANT to Pay Attention in Class

Teaching is one of the most demanding, yet rewarding jobs a person can do. Attention is crucial in a classroom. How to Make Your Students Pay Attention in Class written by Teresa Watson provides some helpful ways to keep students "interested and working". I'd like to take her techniques one step further. How can teachers make students want to pay attention in class? These four "R" tips will set your students on the road to wanting to pay attention in class!

1. Reward Great Attention. Students want to learn and pay attention in your class when they know they will be rewarded. Rewards may be considered bribery but in all honestly, we are rewarded for our successes in life, why not in school? Students of all ages respond to rewards. They key is to find the rewards that work best for the students in your class. Kindergarteners are happy with a sticker and a prize from the prize box. Extra points on a test grade often motivate middle and high school students. I think that most students of any age will pay attention if they know that candy is at stake. Kids like candy! Obviously be aware of allergies and parental issues with food but you usually can't go wrong with a bag of candy sitting on your desk as incentive to stay on task. These types of rewards do not have to be used on a daily basis. The most important reward is positive feedback. Catch them being good. This is a technique I have utilized as both a teacher and a mom. It's so much nicer to catch a child when they're good and compliment them.

2. Relevant Information - Related to Life. This may seem like a "no-brainer" but make sure students see the relevance of the information being taught. Make sure they realize that 99% of what they are going to learn in school is important and related to their lives. If you're teaching the U.S. Constitution reel them in with a Class KWL -What do you Know, What do you Want to Know, and What did you Learn (after the lesson). The Constitution is the foundation of the United States. The Constitution provides us our rights and freedoms. Knowing the responsibilities of the President is important in their life. This is relevant to all Americans. This is related to our daily life. Little children need to know that learning reading and writing each and every day will improve their skills that will make them better readers and writers when they grow up. This makes what they are learning relevant and will make them want to pay attention.

3. Remove Distractions. Students who are easily distracted have a difficult time paying attention when there are numerous distractions. Remove potential distractions and the chances of students wanting to pay attention will increase. Distractions could be on the kids' desks or out the window or door. Other adults in the classroom talking quietly or on the phone could also be a distraction to students. Even a pencil or extra paper could pose as a distraction to a student. Teachers need to anticipate what could be a distraction in their class. Then they need to do what they can to remove these distractions.

4. Really Fun. Don't just make class fun. Make it really fun! Your enthusiasm is contagious. If you are enthusiastic about learning then they will be too. It's hard not to pay attention when the teacher is full of life and energy. Use your voice to keep their attention. Speak very, very softly then change to an exuberant voice. This holds a student's attention and keeps them on task. Play games. Turn a "boring lesson of terms" into a game of Jeopardy. Break them into teams and let them earn points then reward them (see rule 1). If you are excited about a topic then it will rub off on the students. They'll be excited! If your class is "Really Fun" then the students will want to pay attention and learning will be active.

These Four "R's" are a great guide to increasing students' attention and more importantly, making students want to pay attention and learn in your classroom!