Are you looking for innovative ways to get children to remain on task? If so, keep reading.
1. Choose a specific duration of time (e.g., each hour on the hour, last five minutes of class, after finishing a task, etc.) when it is permissible for the student to converse with their peers.
2. Recognize the student when their hand is raised to express that assistance will be given as soon as possible.
3. Make sure the student has enough work area to perform the task.
4. Give the student shorter tasks that do not require expanded attention to be successful. As the student shows success, slowly increase the length of the tasks.
5. Praise those students in the classroom who demonstrate on-task behavior.
6. Put the student with peers who will be appropriate role models and likely to enable their academic and behavioral success.
7. Minimize distracting stimuli that could interfere with the student’s capacity and ability to remain on-task (e.g., give enough room to move without physical contact; keep noise level to a minimum; keep movement in their surroundings to a minimum; etc.).
8. Take into account individual needs of the student (e.g., hunger, need for rest, comfort level, etc.) that may be interfering with their on-task behavior. Intervene to correct the situation or change the expectations.
9. Make sure the student knows that work not done during work time must be finished at other times (e.g., lunch, during assemblies, after school, etc.).
10. Consider using assistive technology designed to help students to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to concentrate. Click here to view list of assistive technology apps that we recommend.
