BEHAVIOUR NEEDS

TAKE CONTROL OF THE NOISY CLASS

Attention Grabbers

BONUS REPORT
Attention Grabbers & Silencers
If you think about it, virtually ANYONE could stop a classroom full of troublesome students
from talking and get them to listen even if only for a few moments.
A sufficiently dramatic outburst such as standing on the table screaming would almost
certainly do the job. If that didnt work perhaps putting a huge, colourfully wrapped box
(complete with colourful ribbon) on a table in the centre of the room, with a sign saying
Ill open it when youre quiet, would create enough intrigue to shut them up long enough
to remove the wrapping paper. Or how about issuing everyone with a raffle ticket and
writing There is a mystery prize up for grabs - when youre quiet I will draw the winning
ticket on the board. Or ... well Im sure you get the idea.
The point is, getting their attention is not the problem.
Getting their respect, getting them to respond positively to your instructions and getting
them to engage in the rest of your planned activities they are problems. Well deal with
these topics in later issues but for now here are a few tried and tested silencers...
IMPORTANT:
Always remember that these attention-grabbing strategies will have, at best, a
temporary effect on the group. While they will certainly get most of the groups
attention, it might only be for a few moments. During those few moments it is crucial that
you have an activity planned and ready to roll, a demonstration set up, a video ready to
play or at the very least some clear instructions written on the board or fixed in your mind
as to what you will do once they are attentive and listening. If you dont, youll lose them
again and getting them quiet a second time will be much, much harder.
You cant wait for things to go wrong before deciding what to do about them. As you read
all these ideas, ask yourself two important questions ... What would I do next? and
What will I do if this has no effect?

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Attention Grabbers

#1: Use the ring leaders

Many of the most challenging and difficult to manage pupils in school tend to be those
with leadership potential the ringleaders. You can use this personality trait to your
advantage and get them on side by giving them a responsibility. They respond well to
responsibility.
Get them out at the front for a demonstration (always best to speak to them before hand
of course out of earshot of the others... (Ryan Im going to need you this lesson. The
other kids look up to you so Im counting on you to help me get their attention.)
Note:
Giving responsibilities, roles and jobs to your students is a very positive strategy but
always make sure you give them clear instructions as to exactly what their job entails. It
would be counter-productive for you to award a responsibility to a pupil only to have to
then challenge them for doing something wrong.
Give them a brief action point checklist or a list of dos & donts for their particular
job. Better still, spend a few minutes demonstrating exactly how you expect/need them to
behave in their particular role. The Needs-focused Approach is about giving kids every
opportunity to do things RIGHT give them clear tracks to walk in and they are less likely
to stray off the path. Sometimes they need more guidance than we might think.

#2: Give them a clear picture of their current noise level (works well with
younger children).
Vague terms such as quietly mean different things to different people. What is quietly?
To some it is talking in a barely audible whisper. To others, perhaps those who come from
a background where shouting is part of normal communication, quietly might not even
exist.
Make your instructions very clear by putting them in context. E.g. explain to them that
30cm voices (the length of a ruler) are fine for this lesson and demonstrate a 30cm voice
by talking very quietly.
Only someone who is 30cm away from you should be able to hear you when you use
your 30cm voice.

Alternatively, provide a visual reminder of noise levels. There is a simple Noise

Level Indicator on Power Point for you in the download area.

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Attention Grabbers

#3: Musical instrument/noise maker e.g. Cow Bell, tambourine or shaker

Shaking, tapping or playing a musical instrument is a non-aggressive but audible signal
that you want everyone's attention. Explain when you first meet that if they hear the
sound it is a signal for everyone to be in their seats, quiet and looking at the teacher. In
effect, you are developing a ROUTINE. (Routines are a very effective classroom
management strategy. If you arent using them in your classroom at present there is
plenty of information on them as part of this resource pack. Youll also find a set of
routines on Power Point in the download area.
You might link the sound to a particular activity such as sitting on the carpet (for younger
pupils) and you could have different signals/sounds for different activities.
Clapping. If you havent got an instrument you can use your hands. It can get a bit out
of hand if some pupils are prone to silliness, but is still a good attention grabber
particularly if you clap out a rhythm that they then have to clap back to you.
Smoke alarm. Keep one of these in your drawer and test it whenever you want total
silence. If you plan on doing this regularly it might be an idea to issue ear plugs.
Bugle Horn. Taking the noise-maker idea to its ultimate conclusion I use an old bicycle
horn during seminars/workshops and also in schools. It adds a bit of humour (think circus
clown ) and cuts through noise like a knife. Once you get this out you have immediate
attention!
You can get one from our website at www.behaviourneeds.com or from a bike shop.

#4: Start with a choice

Choices are powerful motivators. They give students a sense of autonomy and a feeling of
increased possibility of success. By simply changing our language and offering pupils a
limited choice we take some of the pressure out of our requests and create more
willingness in them to take part. On test papers, for example, the questions which give a
choice - answer two from section A, two from section B, and two from section C are less
threatening than those which offer no choice at all.
Instead of saying Turn to page twenty and get on with the exercises; when youve
finished those you can complete this worksheet, try Ive written some choices on the
board. You only have to do five from the ten choices, and in any order you like.
The choices could include all the exercises from page twenty and all the questions from
the worksheet, together with some extension activities. The difference is the way they are
presented to the students.

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Attention Grabbers

#5: Start with a challenge

Ive often heard it said that there are two ways to get disinterested students engaged
bet them or pay them. I dont want you to be out of pocket so lets rely on the first one.
Challenge is a universal motivator.
To use challenge in the classroom effectively we have to get both the context and the
level of challenge correct. In terms of context, the challenge has to appeal to the
students. A physical activity will only appeal to physical students, a sports challenge will
only appeal to sporty students and a technical challenge will only appeal to technical
students. Finding the right context to motivate disengaged students requires getting to
know them so that you can base the challenge on something which interests them.
Setting challenges at the right level is also important. If the challenge is too easy there
will be no feeling of success if the challenge is completed and the pupil will likely deem it
too boring or childish to bother with in the first place. If it is too difficult they will be put
off from trying in future challenges.
Generic ideas:
Let them set the maximum number of mistakes they are each allowed in a piece of work.
Let them choose the question they can reach in a specified time.

#6: Rankings
Offering alternatives to pupils and getting them to rank them from easiest to hardest, best
to worst, most important to least important etc. is great way to grab their attention. A
good friend of mine uses this technique a lot as a starter in her English lessons. She puts
pupils into pairs or small learning groups and gives each group an envelope containing a
number of words written on pieces of card, together with a graph template. The pupils
have to decide where on the graph each word would go.
E.g. Rank the following words in terms of their effectiveness to describe the sound or
mood of moving water: Lap, slap, patter, pour, roar, flow, plunge, splash, crash, gurgle

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10

Attention Grabbers

The Sound of Water

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Words
She could, of course, just write the words on the board but giving them something
tangible to TOUCH, OPEN, SORT and MOVE is far more appealing kids like to DO).
Ranking ideas can be used to get pupils to think creatively about virtually any area of the
curriculum.

#7: Hands up!

This is how you explain it
Next time I want you to be quiet I will put my hand in the air. The last person to put
their hand in the air and stop talking will have their name put on the board/will have to
come and sit at the front for ten minutes (or some other appropriate consequence).
You can also add
If you put your hand up but carry on talking, I find that even more disrespectful so I will
keep you in at break even longer.

#8: Ive got my Eye' on you

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Attention Grabbers

Bags of toy plastic eyes can be bought very cheaply in craft and hobby shops. They
move, they look silly and your students will love them!
One eye on a table = I am keeping an eye on you
Two eyes = I've got both my eyes on you be careful
Third eye = a consequence.
#9: Im going to tell you a story...
Nobody can resist a story Ive found this to be a great way to calm a group down. The
story is usually best if it has some humour in it my students absolutely love to hear
any story about me making a fool of myself in public. Im good at that so I have a wide
range of stories to choose from.
#10: Shhh youll wake the baby...
Have a baby doll in the corner. Designate a ring leader to pick it up and go to front of
class and say Shhhh, youll wake the baby!

#11: Change the environment

Have tables laid out with some interesting equipment/props, a large
screen/projector set up, alterations to the lighting in the room, food(!) etc. anything to create a little intrigue so that their curiosity gets the better of them.
Then they have more reason to line up quietly - to get in the lesson and find out
what it's all about.
#12: Five ideas for younger children...
SEATS
Write the word SEATS on the blackboard and tell the class every time you put your hand
in the air and count to three you expect silence. If anyone is still talking after you count
3 then you rub out a letter. Once they have lost all 5 letters then they have to sit in a
boy/girl seating plan.

Stop Clock
Whenever younger students start talking set the clock going. At the same time keep a
record on the board of who is talking and apply a strike after their name;
John
Kate

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Jacob

TAKE CONTROL OF THE NOISY CLASS

Attention Grabbers

The next time there is chatter you add an additional strike to those pupils who are talking.
Then at the end of the lesson you take the time they have wasted from the stop clock
during the lesson and keep whoever has their name on the board with three strikes back
for that time over break. Anyone who has four strikes gets an automatic detention. Less
than three strikes and they have no punishment.

The Singing Horse

This is fun strategy but it wont work with all groups and it has a shelf life. If you type in
singing horses into Google you will find it. It can be used on the interactive whiteboard when you press the horses they sing. You can start with all four singing at the start of a
lesson while pupils get themselves ready. Then stop the horses one by one so that by the
time the last horse stops all pupils are quiet.

Rhymes with actions:

"Hands on heads, hands on hips, hands on shoulders, fingers on lips."
Give me five (put your hand in the air as you would to give a High Five):
Two ears listening, two eyes watching, one mouth closed

Magic Wand
Make or buy a fairy wand and wave it over the class when you want silence. Works like
magic.

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