Calm Store: Focus Tips To Help Wandering Minds Become Engaged Students
- Education Australia
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Staying focused helps children better understand and retain what they are learning. However, it’s natural for primary school children to sometimes struggle with concentration and focus in the classroom. In fact, a number of things can inhibit children’s ability to concentrate in the classroom, including:
Not enough sleep
Hunger
Stress and anxiety
Overstimulation from noise or screens
Learning differences like ADHD or dyslexia
Lack of interest in the activity
Fortunately, with research-backed strategies and tools, educators can help improve children’s ability to concentrate and focus. Here’s how.
Reduce Classroom Distractions: Distractions like noise, clutter, and constant interruptions pull children’s attention away from learning. Create a calm, organised classroom to reduce visual distractions. Consider noise–cancelling headphones for children who are distracted by sound. Also, easily distracted children should be placed away from windows, doors, or high-traffic areas where there are the most distractions.
Set Timers: School days are long, and it’s hard for primary school children to stay focused the entire day. Breaking up the day with timed intervals gives children more structure every day. Set personal or classroom timers throughout the day for each task. Timed work periods followed by short breaks create a rhythm that makes it easier for children to sustain attention on their schoolwork.
Movement Tools: Sometimes, children are just bursting with physical energy. When they’re full of energy, movement tools help them get the wiggles out so they can focus. Adaptive seating, chair bands, foot wedges and fidget tools are perfect for the classroom. They are quiet and non-disruptive but improve school children’s focus.
Take Breaks: The school day can feel really long for children. Breaks give kids time to release pent-up energy and recharge so they have the energy and interest to focus again. Consider a variety of breaks. Offer some that focus on movement like stretching, dancing, or walking and some that focus on mindfulness and breathing exercises (using weighted items during the latter will assist with relaxation). Implementing a combination of active and quiet breaks will really help your students concentrate during the day.
Establish Clear Routines: Children need structure and consistency to thrive. Regular routines help children know when they need to stay focused on tasks and when they have exploratory time. Make sure to display school day schedules and daily task lists in the classroom so the schedule is clear for your students.
As a teacher, it can be challenging to keep primary school children focused on the task at hand. Luckily, with these effective focus strategies and tools to facilitate, you can help children improve their concentration in the classroom. For more ideas, explore Calm Store’s range of focus tools for the classroom.
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