It’s lesson time, and you’re on a strict time limit. But no matter what you say to get their attention, they just happen to find the fly outside the window more interesting.
So you coax them with a reward, only for them to lose interest again in 5 minutes.
Knowing how to get their attention was challenging. But figuring out how to retain it was even more challenging!
Because if you can catch and retain the attention of a young child, whose attention can’t you get? You can probably catch a bee’s attention without honey too!
When I started tutoring, I realized that my lecturers in early childhood never really taught us many classroom management tips.
Sure, I learnt about the various developmental theories and songs for circle time, but I was never really taught how to get and hold a child’s attention for 30 minutes.
But I started picking up some tips and tricks after a while, and today, let me share them with you!
Communicate Your Expectations
Firstly, set some ground rules.
What’s important to you during the lesson? How do you expect them to behave? What will you do if they misbehave? Discuss these with your tutee too, so they don’t feel stressed or “suffocated” during the lesson.
Remember how our teachers always set ground rules for their classes on the first day of every school year with us, but we’d forget them by the next week?
Make sure your tutee knows all of this, and remember to reinforce it and remind them before the start of every lesson!
And every good teacher goes into their class with at least one goal in mind. So what’s your goal with this student for today?
Share your goals for the day with your students too, and ask them if there’s anything they’d like to add on.
Then get rid of the common distractions and get started on the lesson!
Let Them Get Distracted (On A Controlled Level)
I know this sounds counterintuitive to what we’re trying to tackle here today, but it’s kind of unreasonable for anyone to expect younger children to not get distracted, right?
It’s inevitable!
The attention span of an average 8-year-old is 16-24 minutes, and for a 12-year-old, it’s 24 to 36 minutes!
So let them look around the room while you’re explaining fractions, or shake their legs while reading their reading comprehension.
If they’re still listening and can process information, what’s the harm in letting them fidget?
It’s like meditation. You’re allowed to have thoughts come, but the important part is that you don’t focus on them. You just let them come and go.
So if your younger tutee is getting distracted by their many passing thoughts again, just acknowledge it, bring their attention back to what’s in front of them, and move on. No need to get frustrated.
Use Songs and Signals
Now, this method might not work well if you’re tutoring a J2 or Sec 3 student.
But tricks like getting their attention by singing songs definitely work well with younger kids!
And how would it not work? It’s a classic trick that works with any class of younger children, no matter their age!
If I say “one silent clap,” you’ll immediately have flashbacks of everyone in your cohort clapping, “shhh-ing,” and then going silent, right?
Tricks like this work, and it’s something familiar to them. So don’t be embarrassed to use the silent clap, finger on the mouth, or come up with a song!
Keep Up With The Times
I’m not talking about reading the news, actually.
I’m talking about keeping up with the trends of today, especially the slang terms, and what your tutee’s age group watches often!
So now you have a reason to dead-scroll TikTok for hours without feeling guilty because you’re doing your research!
How much of a shock was it when your teachers back in school used the lingo of your generation? Not only did it get your attention, but you started to see them as something more than a “cold robot,” right?
You’ve no idea how many times I got the children’s attention in a snap, just by mentioning ‘Among Us’ or ‘Squid Game’ back in 2021.
And also, vibe with them. Why should you get offended or upset if your tutee says ‘Skibidi Toilet’? You want tuition to be fun for both of you, right?
So just say ‘Rizz’ and move on!
Put The Textbook Down and Let Them Move
You were once in their shoes. So you know how boring it can be to just sit down at a table and stare at a textbook for hours.
So switch it up! Bring Legos, show them YouTube videos, or draw the concept out with brightly coloured markers! This will definitely give you their full attention!
Let them get involved too. Giving them little tasks will definitely get them excited, as children love to feel like they were helpful, right?
So instead of stacking all the legos yourself, let them stack the last half. And you can even turn this into a teaching moment by asking them to put how many blocks they think are left!
This will keep them focused throughout the lesson as they’re excited for what’s next!
Conclusion
As you can see, it can be quite easy to get your younger tutee interested during the lesson to keep them engaged throughout.
The trick here is to never let them catch a break since children have so much energy.
In hindsight, every teacher has their classroom management tricks. These are just what I’ve found to work the best with most children.
So make sure to do some trial and error of your own, too!
However, you might also find that having your lesson towards the end of the day when they’ve spent most of their energy earlier might be a good option to consider 😉!
If you’re looking for the best agency to sign on with as a tutor in Singapore, SmileTutor will help you put that smile back on your face!
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