We need to remember that students in Grade One are only five or six years old when they begin in September. They're little. We can't expect them to sit on the carpet and soak in our every word for an entire period. We can't expect them to read quietly to themselves for thirty minutes a day without getting antsy. I recently learned that the attention span of a child is their age plus two minutes. That means when our students begin in September, they have an attention span of 7-8 minutes. So how do we keep them engaged?
Try a Brain Break
I suggest taking time to get up and move or taking time for a mindful pause. Give your students time for a brain break once you hit the 7 or 8 minute mark. Try an imagination fuelled stretching activity (“Reach up to the sky and pull down as many stars as you can! Now put them in your pockets!”), have a quick “Freeze Dance”, or stand up and sing a song together filled with lots of movement and actions. Or, take a few moments to just pause and be mindful of our breath. This brain break will give students the opportunity to come back to the work they’re doing feeling refreshed and re-energized.
Take time for child-directed inquiry and discovery
Provide ample time for your students to choose how they engage in their own learning with time set aside for inquiry and play. For more on child-directed inquiry, see "Inquiry Time" on the Balanced Literacy page.
Child-interest reADING FOLDERS
Keep students keen on reading by providing each student with their own "book box" or folder. (I like to use cardboard magazine holders from IKEA). Add books to this folder based on student interest - they do not necessarily (and likely won't) be at the child's reading level... and that's okay! The purpose of these folders are to get students excited about reading. If a student is interested in space exploration, provide her with books about planets and stars. If a student gets excited every time you read a "Curious George" book in class, put a Curious George book in his folder for him to look at. By personalizing the books in these folders based on observation of student interest, students will feel a special connection to their books, and they will get excited about reading!