Every teacher has that child in class who is either diagnosed with ADHD or simply is distractible. Little changes can help provide an opportunity for this student to learn how to focus and complete his work in class. Do not lower your expectations for the distractible student, but understand that he may need a little additional support.
Provide Extra Structure
Students with ADHD do very well in a structured environment. They need to know what to expect, so keep to a routine. Try to avoid allowing the child to have a few more minutes before starting the next activity. Instead, patiently remind the student what the next activity is, and guide him to clean up what he is working on. Provide a reward for the student if he follows directions the first time he is told.
Keep Your Voice Down
Instead of yelling at a student, which conveys a frustrated spirit, remain patient and gentle. If the child does not respond to instruction the first time or two, go to the student, and guide him to do what he was told. For example, if the was told to pack up his backpack, gather his books, lead the way and hand everything to the student for him to place in the back pack. Eventually the student will begin to hear and respond to commands the first time.
Special Classroom Considerations
Distractible students should sit near the teacher, and the teacher should make an effort to stand near the student when giving directions. After directions have been explained, the teacher needs to ensure that the student understands what he is to do by having him repeat the direction back to the teacher. Often, written directions for students who are able to read can be a huge help as well.
Assignments can be shortened if necessary, and broken into short steps to help a student successfully complete the activity. Make sure that the student has turned in homework and other assignments, and that the appropriate items are in the book back to take home. Often it can be helpful to have a second set of text books at home to eliminate the need for the student to remember their books.
Set a timer for short chunks of time and provide a small reward for each time the student stays focused until the timer goes off. These rewards can be stickers, computer time, and other positive incentives. Having a focused, helpful student sit next to the child who is easily distractible can be helpful as well, as one student can help direct the other to get started or clean up.
Focusing your efforts on the distractible students in your class will speak volumes to the rest of the students that you expect everyone to learn in your classroom. Keep your voice low and calm, provide extra structure and make some modifications to how you work with the student during class time. This will enable you to teach the student to respect you as well as enable the student to learn the content of the curriculum.
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