For many children, school can be tedious. They’d much rather be playing with friends or watching TV. However, as education is such a necessity, you cannot simply abandon them in favour of the students who want to learn. Indeed, any exceptional teacher understands that the ones that struggle to focus are the ones that need the most assistance. If you have encountered a student who seems unable to avoid distractions, whether from themselves or others, here are 7 ways to encourage them to focus.
- Keep Things Simple
It’s easy for kids to become overwhelmed and lose focus when they consider the lesson to be too complicated. In this instance, you must find ways to keep things as simple as possible for them to follow. You can achieve this by minimizing the number of tasks they need to do at once, as multitasking can cause their momentum to shift into unproductivity. The student may be stressed that they are behind on yesterday’s work, so remind them that they can get to it later, and instead encourage them to focus on what’s in front of them and nothing else.
- Find Out What Motivates Them
All kids have something that motivates them. It could be rewards; it could be playtime. Whatever it is, you must tap into what motivates the distracted student so you can keep their mind on the task or project. If you can identify what this is, you will encourage them to work with promises of this reward. This can significantly impact their focus and love of learning, enabling them to adopt something akin to tunnel vision, which will help them get through their work quickly.
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- Encourage Organization
If your distracted student comes to school every day without the proper materials, including books and a pencil case, they will never be able to switch on enough to focus on the lesson. You can encourage more organization by offering solutions that will enable them to be ready for the class every day. Teach them to prepare their schoolwork and any other essentials the night before so that they don’t forget about it. They might also have issues being organized at school and may have a cluttered desk that causes too many distractions for them to pay close attention. A dedicated workspace is an answer to this, as it will help them get into the zone more comfortably.
- Work With Them to Create Goals
You can’t always determine what is best for the child yourself, so consider working with them to find their education goals. These goals can help them refocus and push themselves to stay on tasks and complete the work to their best ability. For younger kids, this is useful when helping your child learn the alphabet. Early on, the alphabet is just a list of symbols that may look familiar but don’t mean anything. Help them understand the benefits of being proficient in the alphabet, and they can create goals that will push them to learn. For older children, you can outline why learning is good for them, which can motivate them to work hard and stay focused.
- Remove Them From Distractions
Sometimes, it is not the child that is the reason for a distraction. Instead, it could be other students in the classroom. These could be friends, or it could be bullies. If you identify where these distractions come from, rather than admonishing the child outright, you can make arrangements to remove them from distractions. For most children who encounter this issue, you will see a significant improvement in their focus and the quality of their work.
- Focus
Learning to focus in the classroom is the best way to help children reach their potential, and it can set them up for a lifetime of success. As not all kids are the same, you may need to explore different solutions. Once you find the perfect process, they will be sure to excel in the classroom.
- Talk To Their Parents
If you are still having trouble encouraging the student to focus properly, you can always talk to their parents to determine the root of such distractions. Many parents will be happy to help, and you can respectfully ask about life at home and whether they are getting the support they require. As you never truly know what a child’s home life is like, this can open up a window that will help you discover the reasons for their distractions. By learning this, you’ll be able to adapt your approach when educating them and work around potential problems that will benefit the student.