The best-kept secret a teacher has in their back pocket is a variety of ways to聽quiet their classroom,聽grab their students鈥� attention, and keep them engaged. Once a teacher can do that, it鈥檚 smooth sailing from there. It is essential that you have a verbal or non-verbal signal that will grab your students鈥� attention quickly. This will not only help with your during transition periods but will work great in an emergency situation as well.

Here is a collection of quiet cues and聽attention getters聽for you to use in your classroom. These signals are not one-size-fits-all. Some work better than others depending upon the situation that you are in or the activity you are doing.

Verbal Attention Signals

Here is a variety of verbal聽attention getters for students. Choose one or choose a few.

  1. Teacher says, 鈥淐lap your hands, stomp your feet, I want your bottoms in your seat!鈥� Students then know to sit down.
  2. Teacher says, 鈥淢acaroni and cheese.鈥� Students鈥� response: 鈥淓verybody freeze.鈥�
  3. Teacher says, 鈥淗ocus pocus.鈥� Students鈥� response: 鈥淓verybody focus.鈥�
  4. Teacher says, 鈥淩eady to rock.鈥� Students鈥� response: 鈥淩eady to roll.鈥�
  5. Teacher says, 鈥淥ne, two.鈥� Students鈥� response: 鈥淓yes on you.鈥�
  6. Teacher says. 鈥淥ne, two, three, eyes on me.鈥� Students respond, 鈥淭hree, two, one, talking is done.鈥�
  7. Teacher claps once and students respond with two claps.
  8. Teacher says, 鈥淐lass, class,鈥� and students respond with, 鈥淵es, yes.鈥� It鈥檚 a whole-brain teaching technique that a lot of teachers swear by.
  9. When students are working in groups, the teacher says, 鈥淥n your feet, find your seat.鈥� Then students know to hurry up and get back to their original seats.
  10. Teacher says, 鈥淚f you hear my voice, clap once, if you hear my voice clap twice.鈥� The teacher continues until he/she sees all of the students clapping.

Non-Verbal Attention Signals

These non-verbal attention signals are perfect for聽field trips,聽school assemblies, or anytime you want students鈥� attention in a quiet way. Try a few or try them all to see which ones work best for your classroom.

  1. Teacher raises her hand to signal, 鈥淕ive me five.鈥� Students鈥� response: They raise their hand.
  2. Purchase a bell, timer, or portable doorbell. Whenever students hear the sound, they know to stop what they are doing and focus their attention on the teacher.
  3. Purchase or make a pair of 鈥渕agic glasses.鈥� When students see you put these special glasses on, they know it is time to be quiet and focus on you.
  4. Purchase or make a 鈥渨hisper wand.鈥� Place this vibrating or soft-sounding wand on any surface; then students know to be quiet. You can also find a wand that lights up so you can wave it around to quietly get students鈥� attention.
  5. The teacher stands quietly in front of the students and holds up a card that reads 鈥渆yes on me鈥� or it can have a picture of a child sitting quietly with their hands folded at their desk ready to learn. When students see this picture, they know it鈥檚 a cue to focus on the teacher.

Tips for Getting and Keeping Students鈥� Attention

  • Practice! In the beginning of the school year, teach your students a few signals that you will be using throughout the year. Each day, teach students one signal and use that signal throughout the day. For a fun way to practice, play the freeze game with the students.
  • Make it fun for students when you do a verbal signal and change it up every once in a while. Try singing the cue, or saying it really fast, or stretching it out really slow. Students will think it鈥檚 hilarious, and you will definitely grab their attention.
  • Create a box of musical instruments. Every time you want the students鈥� attention, all you have to do is go into the box and choose a diffident instrument to play.

Being able to get and keep your students鈥� attention is important. Effective teaching requires it. Once you find one or two signals that work for your classroom, keep them and make sure to use them often.