When Roxanne Crook notices her students beginning to chat among themselves, tap their pencils or lean back in their chairs, she knows it’s time to refocus their attention.
The first grade teacher at Akron Public Schools‘ Crouse Community Learning Center said throughout the day, she doesn’t keep kids in one spot for more than about 20 minutes.
Today, excessive screen time may be contributing to reduced attention spans among many children. Because of this, students often have to put in extra work in school to build up their brains’ stamina.
Second of a three-part series.
With school back in session, planning how to keep students’ attention is top of mind for educators.
Akron educators are getting creative to help kids get the education they need while in school. This even includes creating a sensory room at one Akron school.
“Get into their world more, so when they come to school, they’ll get what you need to give them — and that’s education,” Crook said.
Akron teacher shares her tips for keeping students engaged
Crook’s teaching style is a precise art, curated over her almost two decades of teaching kindergarten and first grade. She knows what works and what doesn’t, and she said she’s had to become more intentional about keeping her students’ attention over the years as technology has come into play.
“Sometimes, I feel like I’m on stage, and I’m an actress,” Crook said. “You have to put on a show for them. You have to be animated. … You have to be ready for them — have that energy … to keep their attention.”
Kids crave the constant dopamine hit they get when they’re on a screen, said Dr. Michael Redovian, a child and adolescent psychiatrist with Akron Children’s hospital. Because school puts kids in positions where they’re expected to sit, pay attention and engage with a topic, teachers must find ways to sustain their attention.
Inside the classroom, Crook has developed multiple methods to help her students refocus when necessary. Here are some of her tips:
- Change locations, move and sing.
- Create a consistent daily structure so the kids know exactly what is coming next.
- Have students put their heads down for a couple of minutes to gather themselves before coming back together as a class.
- Assign leadership roles and jobs to motivate students.
- Give out school money for attendance, good grades and good behavior.
- Insert brain breaks, or movement, throughout the day between 20-minute learning sessions.
- Have “Fun Friday,” a 20-minute period where the kids can play computer games on their Chromebooks if they’ve had good behavior throughout the week.
- Do a TikTok dance to celebrate throughout the day.
“We overload them with so many things,” Crook said.
Crook said it can be exhausting to spend so much energy holding her students’ attention, but seeing their growth at the end of the year makes it all worth it.
Akron counselor creates a ‘sensory room’ where students can take breaks
Lisa Heath, a school counselor at Akron’s Harris-Jackson Elementary CLC, noticed that kids at her school needed a space to take a break throughout the day — whether because they have a hard time paying attention or have a sensory challenge. So she took action.
She created a sensory space in the school over the last few years where kids can take scheduled breaks throughout the week, and she said it’s been effective.
The room is complete with assorted seating, such as exercise balls, exercise mats, bean bag chairs and focus pads that vibrate, along with trampolines, activity books, different lighting and sounds, putty, bubbles and more.
“For some of them, they just need that time to be out of the room for a little bit,” Heath said. “I have some kids that use it every day for about 10 minutes, and then I have some there a couple times a week. I have some that are just kind of as-needed throughout the week.”
The space is not something the kids have to earn or misbehave to access. It’s always available.
“[Kids] have that natural busyness and a need to move, and you want kids to be able to move,” Heath said. “It’s not natural to expect that they’re going to be able to come and sit all day long in the same spot.”
Lauren Cohen was a community reporting intern for the Akron Beacon Journal and Signal Akron. The position was funded through a grant from the Knight Foundation, which is a financial supporter of Signal Akron.
