Get Your Students to Focus: 5 quick prompts

When students whine, talk incessantly and/or become defiant, we often feel frustrated and blame them for being distracted or refusing to focus. In reality, these are symptoms of dysregulation. When we help students find the present moment, we help them regulate their nervous systems so they can return to the task at hand.

Here are 5 quick and easy prompts that I use with students to help them focus.

Prompt 1: What are you paying attention to?

I tried this recently during a particularly off-track Art class. It was the classic class-gone-wrong: no one was listening, no one was looking where they needed to, no decent work was getting done, and two students had soft chalk pastel on their faces before the lesson was through.

Patience waning as clean-up time approached, I decided to try a favorite mindfulness strategy. I wasn’t hopeful. I had tried everything else. But, like so many times before, this unusual, calmly-stated question worked when nothing else had:

I want you to notice, without talking, what you are paying attention to. Just notice it. 

To my great surprise, the energy of the entire room changed. The frenzy was over and I could give instructions on the very first try. I took advantage of the opportunity to remind my students that they practice training their brains to have short attention spans every time they scroll, so while it’s not their “fault” that attention is such a struggle, it’s something we need to work on in a big way. 

Once my students were aware of their attention, clean-up went without trouble and we all left a clean room, on time. 

If you’ve never asked yourself this question, I suggest you try it right now. Pause and say to yourself, “What am I paying attention to?” 

It’s amazing how this little prompt can shift your awareness and bring you into the present moment. 

Prompt 2: Please don’t ‘spew’ your stress at your classmates. It’s not nice!

This prompt is especially helpful when you’ve announced a big assignment or asked students to do something very challenging, or before an exam or in-school vaccination. 

Students’ brains are just like ours: when something stressful happens to us, what do we usually do? We might begin analyzing at warp-speed, trying to ‘logic’ our way out of our discomfort. We might become indignant: “well that’s not reasonable at all!” Or we might try to distract ourselves by thinking about something completely different. There’s a good chance we engage our loved ones in this process, “dumping” our unfiltered thoughts in their direction. 

Many of us even consider this sharing beneficial. As a society, we encourage each other to share our troubles and get support from loved ones. And that’s certainly not all bad. But if the process (and sharing!) begins immediately upon hearing stressful news or encountering difficulty in a classroom task, what you get are 30+ students announcing their displeasure and discomfort in a cacophony of emotional offgassing. If not addressed quickly, it will derail a lesson in no-time.

Enter, the pattern interrupt. 

When this scenario erupts in my classroom, I now see it for what it is: my students are stressed, they don’t like feeling stressed, and they don’t know how to make it stop. In most cases, they aren’t even consciously aware that they’re stressed. 

The fix is simple: I say to my students, “Please stop spewing your stress at your classmates!”

Once I have their attention, the rest of the conversation looks something like this:

“We’re stressed, yes?” Once they’ve acknowledged that I’m on the right track, I say something like “That’s fair. But here’s the thing: your classmates have their own stress. They don’t need yours too! The noise in the room right now is just all of us trying to get our stress out of our bodies at the same time. But without realizing it, what you’re saying is ‘Ack! I don’t want it! You take it!’ That’s really not very considerate! Instead, please take a legitimate breath, or give your body a stretch while you’re sitting in your chair, and then return to your work. You can do it- I wouldn’t have assigned it if I wasn’t sure.”

Depending on the situation, the reassurance portion of this (you can do it!) might be a little bit different. But your students do need to hear that you believe in them.

Once you’ve used this prompt with a class, you can eliminate much of the explaining. They don’t actually want to inflict stress upon their classmates, and a simple reminder to look inward and address their stress in a more positive way will suffice.

Prompt 3: Just Look.

This one is best for students who have a little bit of experience with mindfulness, or at least are used to a few ‘unusual’ prompts to help them redirect their attention. But when it works, it works. 

When your students are struggling to work quietly, or to listen to direct instruction, ask them to find something in the room to look at. Be clear that this should not be another person, and that if they are likely to giggle or lose their focus if they make eye contact with someone else, they should turn away from others or direct their eyes to an object that is away from their peers. Then ask them to “just look” at the object. Encourage them to avoid attaching words to what they see. Instead, they should really “Just. Look.” Prompt your students to notice the color, texture, shape etc. of whatever they are looking at, without labeling them with words. A hush will begin to fall over the group, and you’ll be able to quietly and gently redirect them to return to their work or turn their attention back towards you.

Prompt 4: Listen. Just Listen.

Your students may be more familiar with this one. I remember being asked to do a similar activity in my high school drama class, and I loved it then as much as I do now.

Ask your students to listen to what’s happening outside the classroom. Depending on your building they may have to really listen to hear anything at all, or they may be able to hear entire conversations or lessons. Instruct them to listen, but to avoid thinking about what they hear. The goal is to just listen. Just notice.

As the group begins to quiet, direct your students to move their attention into the classroom. Again, without talking or creating a story in their minds, ask them to just listen. What sounds are present in the classroom?

Finally, ask your students to bring their attention to the sounds of their own bodies. Encourage them to ask themselves whether they can hear their own heartbeat or the sound of their own breathing.

Let yourself - and your students - enjoy the newfound stillness. If you wait too long, they may become wiggly. But give them a few more seconds than you’re comfortable with. Let the stillness soak in before you quietly and gently direct them to the next activity.

Prompt 5: Are you breathing?

Many of us hold our breaths when we’re stressed or very focused. Today, there’s even talk of “screen apnea.” As it turns out, we also hold our breath while we’re scrolling or reading our emails!  

Holding your breath restricts all sorts of functions within your body, including the functioning of your vagus nerve, which regulates your stress response. It also prevents oxygen from getting where it needs to go (obviously), which can lead to fatigue and exhaustion. Neither of these things are good for learning. Our students need to actually breathe! 

The first time you ask your students whether they’re breathing, they might give you a confused look. Most of us don’t notice when we’re holding our breath or restricting our airflow.

You may need to explain some of this to your students in order for them to take you seriously and check: are they breathing?

Prompt them to notice where in their body their breathing is most obvious. Do they feel it in their nostrils? The back of their throat? Their chest? Does their belly expand as they inhale, as it’s supposed to, and contract when they exhale? Can they feel their breath in their backs?

As with the other prompts, make sure you quietly and gently redirect the to return to the task at hand when you think they’re ready. There’s nothing worse than getting all calm and settled, only to have someone bark the next steps at you.

A qualifier: students have the right to (quietly and without disrupting) choose not to engage.

Your students may not all buy into these prompts right away. Some of your students might never buy in. Ultimately, that’s their prerogative. You can absolutely expect them not to spoil it for their classmates, even if they prefer to sit quietly without engaging in your prompts. And maybe, in time, they’ll soften to the idea. 

Remember, many students have never been asked to do anything even remotely like what these prompts ask them to do. Stillness and silence can bring up all sorts of thoughts and feelings, and students with traumatic pasts may find the experience threatening and scary at first. They can find healing in stillness, but it’s up to them to determine when they’re ready for that. Our job as educators is to offer the tools with compassion. Most students will try, and your classroom will be a more focused and empathetic place. But if a few students won’t try, that’s okay.

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