Grade Level: Kindergarten

Purpose of activity: Strategies to help students with ADHD in the classroom.

I found many of the strategies posted useful for the classroom. I will share some of the strategies that stood out to me.

1. Let them fidget: I find that I am often on my restless students to sit still and listen during lessons so this is a great reminder that they need to fidget. The key is to help them fidget without disrupting other students. Some helpful suggestions are to use squeeze balls or elastic bands for students to quietly fidget.

2. Engage them in active learning: Keeping students with ADHD engaged through discussions, reading out loud, or writing activities helps to lessen those restless symptoms. Ways that I keep active learners engaged in my classroom is to always have them "doing." When reading, students track the print. When writing, students are always writing with me. Learning letter sounds involves motions. Many opportunities to talk and share during lessons.

3. Provide physical activity breaks: Students need an exercise break every 20-30 minutes between lessons. I think in many kindergarten classrooms, teachers use Go Danny and Jack Hartmann for some good physical activity breaks.

4. Allow students to make choices: Giving students meaningful choices in the classroom will reward the ADHD student by lessening their symptoms. In the kindergarten classroom, I am always looking for ways for students to have choices. Sometimes it is as simple as choosing a writing utensil. Other times students get a choice during center time.

   
   

   *If someone can offer other suggestions for choice in the classroom, I would appreciate your advice.

   
   

5. Promote positive teacher-student rapport: Work hard to create a positive relationship in your classroom. Greet the student with a smile and high-five. Find out about their strengths and abilities. Hold 1-on-1 conferences to work out misunderstandings. In the classroom, I create a positive and bonding experience between teacher and student by greeting all with a warm welcome. I love to listen to student stories and I try to hold monthly meetings with individual students to discuss their strengths and how they can improve in the classroom.

By recognizing ways to help students with ADHD in the classroom you are providing a positive school year for them.

Grade Level: 1st Grade

This article highlighted the negative effects that multitasking can have on a student's brain, specifically when using digital tools in the classroom. When students are trying to do more than one complex task, the brain cannot attend to both of them appropriately. Therefore, negative outcomes result, including assignments taking longer to complete, mental fatigue due to continually dropping and picking tasks back up, impaired memory, and our brain storing information in less useful ways.

This is important to remember because in this day and age, technology tools are readily available and also quite handy to use in the classroom. Although this article seemed to be geared toward older students, it definitely made me think of my first grade classroom. In fact, there are many times we are required to use technological tools, even in first grade (such as when students are doing Exact Path or taking an AR Quiz). This highlights the importance of teaching students to ignore distractions (which we do through our SEL program) and focusing on the learning at hand. This is a skill that truly has to be taught to students. They could be distracted by what is on the computer, or even what is on a friend's computer. In the primary grades, it is important to explicitly teach how to focus and the importance of staying on the task at hand.

Kindergarten

Steategy #9: Share Stress-Management Techniques

The strategy asks for teachers to implement breaks that promote stress-reflief during high stress situations. You would basically have students tense their muscles and then relax them . This activity helps students in the moment, but it also gives them a strategy to use in other more naturally-occurring situations and when the teacher is not there to direct them.

I would add that simple muscle stretches also help as a tool to refocus on the task at hand. I practice this with my class and we all benefit from this quick break. We do arm circles, shoulder circles, and neck circles. We also do shoulder shrugs (like a buffalo) and then relax them.

Grade Level: Science High School

Purpose: Create an engaging, supportive, and inclusive learning environment that meets their unique needs and helps them succeed academically.

To effectively support students with ADHD in my high school science classroom, I will implement a range of strategies tailored to their unique learning needs.

1. I will permit the use of fidget tools like stress balls or Bouncy Bands to help them focus during lessons. Engaging students through active learning methods, such as group discussions, interactive experiments, and hands-on activities, will sustain their interest.

2. I will integrate the arts into science lessons, allowing students to express their understanding creatively through visual projects or skits related to scientific concepts. Taking advantage of outdoor learning opportunities will also be a priority, as natural settings can reduce ADHD symptoms and refresh students' focus.

3. I will teach stress-management techniques, such as deep breathing exercises, to equip students with strategies for coping during high-pressure situations like exams or lab activities.

4. I will foster a positive rapport with my students by recognizing their strengths and conducting regular one-on-one check-ins to create a supportive environment.

   
   

   By employing these strategies, I aim to cultivate an inclusive science classroom that not only accommodates students with ADHD but also promotes their success and well-being.

PE Specialist-

grades 3-5 focus for goal setting

Facilitating Goal Setting article

-Students Set Goals

-Break their long-term goal into several short-term, manageable goals

-Students Monitor and Record Progress

-Students can and should set goals for a variety of activities.

-Students Reflect on Progress

This is a great idea to use right now as we go through the Fitness Gram Test

- First part is to complete the PACER TEST- running portion of the test ( 20 M each lap and record how many laps they do within the interval of time on the audio).

Second part of the Fitness Gram is the curl up test- how many sit-ups can they do in the 3 second interval audio?

Students will partner up and record their scores- they brainstorm and come up with their goal for the end of the year. They will also come up with smaller goals throughout the year- what are they going to do to get to their end of the year goals? Progress will be taken mulitple times throughout the year.

2nd grade

Purpose : To have a smooth an successful school year with students who have ADHD.

I have had many students with ADHD or suspected ADHD over the years. Although these students sometimes struggle in the traditional classroom setting, I find them to be some of the brightest, most amazing kids I have ever taught. I am always looking for ways to help them be more successful.

Here are a few that I think I can incorporate this year to help my students:

1. Let them fidget. This one I struggle with at times, because they fidget with all sorts of things and then it becomes a distraction to themselves and those around them. However, reading this article reminded me that years ago, I used the bands that they suggested that go across desk chair legs in my kindergarten classroom and they did help. I may have to look in my storage and see if I still have them. I bought just a few at first for my students that had trouble sitting still, but then ended up buying a class set, because all kindergarten students benefit from being able to get their fidgets out. I think that it could also work for my group of second graders this year.

2. Engage them in active learning. The article suggested spirited classroom discussions, projects, reading out loud, and collaborative hands on work. This is one of my goals this year , to find more activities that go along with our new curriculum to increase their active learning and engagement. I have also been making an effort to find ways to incorporate more group work and more movement throughout the day.

3. Promote positive student teacher rapport. In the article it talks about how students with ADHD have often have difficult experiences with teachers. I believe that it is so important to meet these kids where they are and to treat them with kindness and appreciate the gifts that they have. I see kids struggle with ADHD and they truly are struggling. They want to do a good job and follow the rules and not get distracted but it is so much harder for them to do so. I try my best to help them to be successful.

4. Take your teaching outdoors. This one I had never heard of before as a strategy for students with ADHD. I think that sounds like an interesting idea that I would like to incorporate on occassion . It said that it helps their symptoms to decrease, which I find interesting. We do have a garden and some tables with a white board outside , so it would be very possible to teach outdoors sometimes.

Learning Strategist

Purpose of the activity: Provide ways for students with ADHD to be more successful in the classroom.

Many of the strategies that were listed in the article would be beneficial to not just ADHD students but all students. I don't have a classroom but would share these ideas with the staff to use if they needed them.

#1 Let them fidget. Allowing those who need it to have bouncy seats or bands to help when they can't sit still.

#2 Active Learning Allow ADHD students to have more of a hands-on active role in the PBL units.

#3 Physical Activity Breaks Set timers. When the timer goes off, the class gets up and does a short activity, like a GoNoodle one.

#4 Put art into lessons. Work with the art teacher. Tell the teacher what you are doing in the classroom, and have them teach an art activity to them relating to your classroom curriculum.

#5 Take the students outdoors when you can. Example...take them to the courtyard to do independent reading while the teacher is pulling small groups at a table.

#6 Making choicing with their learning. Voice and choice for the students. Have them come up with ideas when they want to do a summative activity to show what they know about a unit.

Physical activity can have numerous benefits for students in the classroom. Such as improving their concentration, reducing disruptive behavior, and helping improve their academic performance (increases grades and assessments).

Physical activity can include brain breaks to improve their motivation and engage in instructional time.

1. During instructional time, I watch for body language and participation and if students are not engaging I'll stop the lesson and provide brain breaks to help students "Wake Up". Brain breaks help the students focus and maintain attention.

   
   

2. I watch for mood and self-esteem, and if students are struggling with behaviors I'll stop the whole class and let them pick a brain break. The physical activity increases oxygen to the brain and improves learning and attention.

   
   

3. After lunch I've noticed students are struggling with social skill and appears behaviors on the rise with this younger generation. I'll take a brain break and allow students to pick a video, and this often regulates or interrupts any anxiety or stress.

   
   

Here are several brain breaks:

• Elemental/Fitness Run

• Go Noodle

• Kidz Pop

• YouTube

4th Grade

Purpose: the anger management activities are designed to help students understand their triggers and emotions. It teaches them how to deal and regulate their feelings of frustration, anger and irritation before they increase and turn into other more serious emotions and behaviors.

In the activity role-playing, the teacher provides two students with skits that mimic real-life situations, the other students in the classroom are the observers.

The two students are the actors and they will reenact the situation. One of the students will be the persecutor where his role is to do things that could trigger an unwanted feeling on the other actor.

The other actor is the victim, their role is to respond to the other action while acknowledging their feelings of being attacked, accused, demeaned or misunderstood.

The audience/observers will watch and take notes as they please.

Afterward, the observers and actors can share their notes and feelings of what they witnessed or experiences.

I believe this would be a great activity to implement with upper elementary students as they are becoming more aware of their own emotions. At this age it is typical to see students lash out or experience frustration, anger and irritation at certain topics, situations or even comments. It's important that we teach them how to cope with these emotions, especially when it comes to real-world situations. Seeing it from an outside perspective will also allow them to develop their empathy skills, a skill that is very hard to enhance.

9-12 High School

The purpose of this study is to raise awareness about the impact of media multitasking on students' ability to focus and effectively process information while learning. It highlights how dividing attention between schoolwork and digital distractions can lead to poor academic performance and shallow learning. The study encourages strategies like tech breaks to help students manage their device usage and improve focus. High school students are in a critical period of developing study habits that will impact their academic and personal success, so it’s important to introduce methods that not only limit distractions but also help them build self-awareness and self-discipline.

In my classroom, I would use this study to introduce conversations around focus and attention management. I would explain to students how multitasking can affect their performance and suggest they try focused study sessions without interruptions. I would design activities where students experience both multitasking and focused work, allowing them to reflect on the differences in their performance. I'd implement strategies like tech-free zones or periods where phones and laptops are set aside to encourage deep engagement with class materials. After focused work, I'd allow short tech breaks to help manage their need for connection while reinforcing that learning is more efficient when done in focused bursts. This strategy could help students build better concentration skills, preparing them for both academic success and future professional environments.

In my classroom, I will use goal-setting to increase student engagement during our "Mission to Mars" unit. At the start of the unit, I will guide students in setting both long-term and short-term goals using the S.M.A.R.T. framework. For example, a long-term goal could be understanding key concepts about Mars and space exploration, while short-term goals might include researching Mars' climate, designing a rover model, or completing specific project milestones.

With my help, students will break down these goals into manageable steps, like setting up time to research or completing parts of their mission project each week. During group work, such as designing a habitat for Mars, they would set behavior and product goals to ensure all members contribute effectively. After each activity, students will reflect using prompts like "My goal was ______, and it was/was not obtained because ______."

grades 3-5

The strategies in this resource are focused on teens, but would be good for all learners. They stated it is important for teens to understand that even if past learning experiences were not good, that doesn't mean all learning experiences need to be that way too. So they suggested the following strategies:

1. Don't just read-learn. Take notes, draw pictures, diagrams, and charts. Summarize what you read to yourself. Look at the text features carefully.

2. Consider the source. Gather all your facts to write about before putting them into paragraphs. And make sure to edit!

3. Make a schedule and stick to it. Plan out when you are going to get things done ahead of time.

4. Read ahead. Finish every reading assignment by reading a few pages past it. That will help you improve your understanding.

5. Become metacognitive about your study strategies. Think about what works best for you and stick with them!

These are great skills for all learners and maybe learning them a little earlier will help them when they do get to high school.

Students are to read and bring to class an article. In class, they are presented with a 2nd or 3rd level question to get the discussion going. Students state their position on the topic. Students are to take turns with their thoughts and speak and discuss, everyone gets 2 turns, and at the end students write a metacognitive reflection.

I really liked this activity because I think it is a great segway into students being persuasive and being able to articulate their point of view.

1st grade

Ten Tips for ADHD

In the article, tip #9 is stress management techniques. I chose this tip because several ADHD students I have worked with have great difficulty managing their emotions and the rage that can sometimes come with ADHD.

The article suggests that during high stress or busier situations, students can be taught to focus on deep breathing. They can also be shown how to tighten and relax their muscles. Another strategy students can be taught is to visualize something peaceful, whatever peaceful means to the student.  The article made me laugh when it said it might be a monster truck rally! 

I like these ideas for two reasons.  The first reason is because students with ADHD will deal with it all of their lives. I love being able to give them strategies that they can carry with them.  The second reason is, these ideas are just good teaching practice and can benefit any student.  

Grade level: Middle-Highschool

Purpose of activity: To help teens learn how to study effectively

Teenage Brain is Wired to Learn article

In this article the authors discuss how the teenage brain is in a period of extraordinary plasticity and that we need to share this with the teens so they can best be in control of their learning. One tip that can be used in the classroom is teaching students to "explain it to their brain". Students need to know how to study. Teaching them to explain it to themselves by:

-"Creating diagrams, pictures, and symbols to represent key ideas as they take notes;

-Summarizing passages in their own words (some students might enjoy the challenge of capturing the essence of an assignment in a tweet); and

-Searching for cues about the most important content. For textbook assignments, students can go back and review features like key terms, subtitles, and informational graphics after their first reading to reinforce crucial facts. When reading fiction or poetry, identifying literary devices such as metaphors and symbols can help uncover deeper meaning."

This article discussed how tech creates distractions more than creating "multitasking" opportunities. Students simply cannot multitask while their tech devices are out and open while they are working on schoolwork. Our brains cannot do both because they both use the same area of the brain to process and think. The article discussed a study done about delayed gratification and how unsuccessful students were who allowed themselves to be distracted by their devices to stop to "multitask". The article suggested giving students "tech breaks" where they can use their devices for 2 minutes to quench their desire for their devices. I would have tried this in my class if we did not have the phone pouches. I feel like the phone pouches are working to keep students more engaged but students still "blank out" and stop listening to my lesson even if it is short. I feel like the teacher from The Peanuts (Charlie Brown). According to the article, it did say to make sure their devices are available to them but just not during quality study/work time. I think we are doing that now with the district phone pouches.

Here are some quotes that I liked and found helpful from this article:

“Parents can draw a line when it comes to homework and studying—telling their kids, ‘This is a time when you will concentrate on just one thing.’

"Under most conditions, the brain simply cannot do two complex tasks at the same time. It can happen only when the two tasks are both very simple and when they don’t compete with each other for the same mental resources. An example would be folding laundry and listening to the weather report on the radio."

"He advises students to take “tech breaks” to satisfy their cravings for electronic communication: After they’ve labored on their schoolwork uninterrupted for 15 minutes, they can allow themselves two minutes to text, check websites, and post to their hearts’ content. Then the devices get turned off for another 15 minutes of academics."

"Stop fretting about how much they’re on Facebook. Don’t harass them about how much they play video games. The digital native boosters are right that this is the social and emotional world in which young people live. Just make sure when they’re doing schoolwork, the cell phones are silent, the video screens are dark, and that every last window is closed but one."

Grade Level 4-5

Purpose of Activity: Offer strategies to help students with ADHD succeed in the classroom.

In my classroom, I’ll use a few key strategies to help students with ADHD. I’ll give clear, step-by-step instructions and use visual aids like charts and schedules to help them follow routines. I’ll also include movement breaks or flexible seating options, like wobble chairs, to give them a chance to move around without causing distractions. Positive reinforcement will be important, so I’ll praise their effort and progress to keep them motivated. I’ll maintain a structured environment with consistent routines and provide tools like planners or checklists to keep them organized. I’ll also break up assignments into smaller tasks and allow extra time if needed. Finally, I’ll teach simple techniques for managing their focus and emotions to help them stay on track.

I really connected to this one. In fact, I ended up making a copy and sending it to the ELA teachers at my school. They do a learning inventory of sorts and discuss best ways to study at the start of the year. I thought this was a great article to pass along. 

This also goes along with the distractions of cellphones in the classroom. The constant distraction when we are in the groove of learning just throws everything off. 

I am thinking about bringing this into the classroom when I talk about classwork that students need to complete outside of class. It should only take 20 minutes, however, if students are only truly working for 65% of the time, now the 20 minutes of work takes over 30 minutes.

I also liked this quote "But evidence from psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience suggests that when students multitask while doing schoolwork, their learning is far spottier and shallower than if the work had their full attention." The quality of learning matters so much!

 I also have to think about this myself and when I have to do something I really do not want to do. I need to just focus and get it done vs multitasking. It just makes the pain last longer.