Introduction

Teaching students how to gain someone’s attention is an essential skill for effective communication and building healthy relationships. This skill ensures that the listener is ready and willing to engage in conversation. Gaining attention involves three main steps: maintaining personal space, using appropriate body language, and speaking politely. In this blog post, we will explore a simple no-prep activity that educators can use to teach elementary students the importance of gaining attention and how to do it properly.

No-Prep Activity

This activity, called “Attention Seekers,” requires no preparation or materials, making it perfect for busy educators. Here’s how it works:

1. Have students stand in a circle, with the educator in the center.
2. The educator will choose one student to be the “Attention Seeker,” who will stand in the middle of the circle.
3. The Attention Seeker must follow the steps to gain someone’s attention: maintaining personal space, using appropriate body language, and speaking politely.
4. Once the Attention Seeker successfully gains the attention of another student in the circle, they switch places, and the new Attention Seeker repeats the process.
5. Continue the activity for several rounds, allowing all students to practice gaining attention.

This activity not only helps students practice the skill of gaining attention, but also reinforces the importance of respecting personal space, using appropriate body language, and speaking politely.

Discussion Questions

After the activity, engage students in a discussion to deepen their understanding of the concept. Here are some questions to get the conversation started:

1. Why is it important to gain someone’s attention before starting a conversation?
2. How does maintaining personal space make a difference when trying to gain someone’s attention?
3. What are some polite ways to get someone’s attention?
4. How can you tell when someone is ready to listen to you?
5. What should you do if someone is too busy to give you their attention right away?

Related Skills

Gaining attention is just one of many essential social-emotional learning skills that students need to develop. Other related skills include:

• Active listening
• Effective communication
• Respecting personal boundaries
• Patience and waiting for one’s turn
• Understanding and interpreting body language

Next Steps

Now that you understand the importance of teaching students how to gain someone’s attention, you may be interested in exploring other social-emotional learning skills. To obtain free samples of materials related to this skill and others, visit Everyday Speech’s sample materials. These resources can help you incorporate valuable lessons into your classroom and support your students in developing strong communication and interpersonal abilities.