-Keep instructions as brief as possible. The younger your students, the less they will be able to remember. Multi-step directions are nearly impossible for many ADD and ADHD students to follow, so be mindful of their needs, as well. Sometimes it's not that children aren't listening or paying attention; they just can't process everything that we have said.
- Teach your students never to start any task before you give the signal. If you ask them to take out a book and turn to a certain page, most will immediately start banging around in their desks for the book and won’t even hear the page number. Instead, say, “When I give the signal, please take out your crayons, scissors, and math workbook. Okay”. Your signal could be a hand gesture, bell, clicker, code word, or just “go”. Beware that most kids associate the word “go” with a race, so if you don’t want them rushing, choose another word.
- Have students repeat multi-step directions back to you. If you want the children to put away a journal and pencil and take out a library book, say so and then ask, "What two things do you need to put away? Right. And who can tell us what you need to take out?" or say to a child on the furthest end of the room, "Robert, could you repeat the directions for anyone who didn't hear them?". Having the directions repeated by a peer is helpful because the child will likely paraphrase, giving students the opportunity to hear things in a different way, and students not sitting near you may be able to hear better if a neighbor announces them.
-When moving from one subject to another, get the kids immediately focused on what’s coming next. “We will be learning a new vocabulary word in science today. When I give the signal, you're going to put away your math books and look for the new word in your science books on page 64. Raise your hand as soon as you find it. [Pause to let the directions sink in]. When I give the signal, please put away your math books and take out your science texts. Okay, go”. Write "New vocab word pg. 64" on the board because some students will not be able to remember what to do after putting away their math books. The kids will be too busy trying to be first to discover the new word to play around in their desk or talk, and already they are getting in the science mindset.
- Use timers, bells, and music to signal the beginning and end of activities. You can play a specific song when it is time to clean up, or ring a bell when a group project needs to be done. Decide whether you want your students to freeze when they hear the sound and wait for directions, or immediately respond to what they heard, and teach them accordingly.
- Have a student call kids to line up so you can get your belongings together and tend to individual student concerns. Teach them to pick the quietest kids first. I have also found it’s best to have them pick boy-girl because most elementary kids pick everyone of their same gender first.
- Consider teaching your students to look at the board for directions (usually a warm up) every time they enter the classroom. Students shouldn't sit down in their seats and start talking or playing around while they wait for you to get your stuff together, nor should you expect yourself to be ready to teach the moment you walk in the door. After recess, I often need several minutes to speak to individuals about playground problems, examine cut knees, give permission to retrieve forgotten coats, etc. I have a coat closet monitor who makes sure things are orderly in the classroom while the class files in five at a time to hang up their things and get drinks of water. They then sit down and begin their math warm-up. This frees me up to handle other duties in. Ideally I would be able to just walk right in and be ready to go, but my class is generally engaged in case I can’t.
-Every second students spend rummaging through their desks is wasted instructional time, so think ahead about what materials your kids will need for your lessons. In a typical math lesson, my kids will need journals, math books, manipulatives, and often scissors and crayons. Because their desks are small, they don’t like to have a lot of clutter they are not using and will often sneak things back into their desk when I need them to keep the stuff out. To fix that, I try to limit how many things they need out at once, and how many times they take out and put away the same thing. Most kids start talking and become distracted whenever asked to get something out or put it away, so limit the amount of times you make that request. On days the kids won’t be using their math books, I have the warm-up on the overhead so they never have to take the book out. If they will be doing a worksheet later in the lesson, I ask the first person in from recess to pass the worksheets out face down on each desk. The kids then do their warm-up on the back instead of in their journals. This not only saves paper, but reduced the amount of times they go into their desks. [This coming school year, I plan to use community supplies and nothing will be kept in desks, eliminating this problem altogether].
- Similarly, decide if you want your kids at their desks/tables or on the floor, and move them only once. Start on the floor and then go to desks or vice versa. If it takes two minutes to get them to the next place, and another minute or two to get them re-focused on the lesson, plus two more minutes to return the original spot and two to get re-focused, that’s 8 minutes wasted. Multiply that times the amount of subjects you teach and you could easily spend 30 minutes daily moving your kids from the floor to their desks.
