An important strategy that I used in one of my internships was "focus follow fingers". Although students struggle was to maintain focus, they each had specific ways this played out. One thing remained true for them all, however. The biggest lesson I learned when working with children who lacked focus and attention was that if I could engage the child's fingers or hands in their learning, their focus would go wherever their fingers went. Follow the Fingers became my motto!

It is often that teachers will have students with short attention spans. That is where our knowledge of different types of learners comes in handy. Find out through simple assessment what type of learner your student is and then modify parts of your lesson to meet the needs of your student. Also, with assignments you give, be sure to make them engaging for all types of learners so that each student can put their personal strengths to use.

Give the student breaks and vary instruction and activities as much as possible. The child may just get bored and lose attention after sitting still for so long. This can be expected with many young students. It is always a good idea to let the students get up and release some energy in between lessons. You could lead them in a short game of Simon Says or jog/stretch in place.

Talk with this student and figure out their interests. If possible, try to include the student's interests into lessons. Also, try to be cognizant of long lectures and offer students the opportunity to do social or hands-on activities to break up instruction.

In order to reach out to a student with a short attention span, one must know the student's learning method. Simply lecturing and expecting the student to learn may not be the best way to teach. There are many tools that the instructor can use to reach the student, such as technology, visual aids, audio aids, etc.

If I had a student with a short intention span I would see if there was something that would distract them long enough to pay attention. This sounds weird but it make sense if you think about it. If the student seems to not be able to sit in one spot for to long give them a couple desks in the back of the room and tell them they can move between those three seats 3 different times. It keeps them thinking about things and they tend to pay attention more. You could also give they student a stress ball or something of that nature. A lot of students just need something to do with their hands so that they can pay attention a little better.

For this student I would try to create lessons that are interactive, so that this student is actively engaged. I could also break lessons up so this this student does not feel overwhelmed by my constant instruction to the class. Teaching in shorter intervals can help this student stay on task more often.

I would first try to collect data to find out when these students have a short attention span. Is it before lunch, after lunch, two minutes before the bell rings, etc. I would then look at the correlation and think of ways to redirect the students attention during the activity. For example, I had a student who become very antsy after lunch and could not focus on our lesson. Sometimes she would hold up her hand (to use the bathroom) and become very frustrated when I did not grant her request for one reason or another. I then started to allow her to use the bathroom immediately after lunch, so she had no reason not to focus. I pulled her out and spoke with her privately and explained the behaviors I was observing. I then told her of my plan, asked her what she thought, and implemented. Since implementation, I have seen a huge increase in productivity during that time. It is important to know your students and find out the underlying issue at hand.