Setting up your classroom strategically is the first step you can take toward helping students in your class who have ADHD. Make sure that children with ADHD are seated near your desk (unless that will distract them) and away from all windows and doors of the classroom. In addition, seat students with ADHD far from any other obvious distractions, such as students who make excessive noise, class pets, or pencil sharpeners.
Students with ADHD can often have difficulties organizing their materials and assignments and taking notes effectively. At the beginning of the year, work with these students to organize their binders and other school supplies. Suggest color coding as a good possibility for visual learners with ADHD, and make sure that students have a way to keep track of assignments and upcoming deadlines. Volunteer to check their notebooks and assignment lists periodically, but try to gradually wean them off of this type of supervision, if possible.
When giving a large assignment, try to break it into smaller tasks that have regular deadlines. If the rest of the class does not need these deadlines, sit down with your ADHD students and come up with a schedule that they think will work for them. To help students with ADHD take notes, consider giving out note-taking outlines to help them.
The most helpful ADHD classroom strategies are those that help you to teach more effectively. Begin by introducing the lesson and what students can expect to learn. Vary your methods of instruction as much as possible, and include group work, interactive activities, or visual demonstrations if possible. Those methods will help students with ADHD stay on task and remain interested in the lesson. When you do use direct instruction, try to use props and visual aids as much as possible. In addition, try to establish eye contact with ADHD students often to keep them on task.
Even with all of these ADHD classroom strategies in place, some students will need additional outlets in order to stay on task. Allow these students to stand in the back of the room and pace if they need to, as long as it does not disturb other students in the class. Allow them to take breaks as necessary, and consider using them as your “messenger” when you need something done outside of the classroom. In classrooms where these methods are not practical, allow ADHD students to use stress balls or other small motor activities to keep their hands moving, even when their bodies are still. These physical activities can help them by giving them an outlet for their excess energy.
Many of these ADHD classroom strategies can help other students in your class, including those with various disabilities.
The following is a list of 7 rules–all don’ts–that will help you avoid the most common pitfalls, and turn your most difficult students into valued members of your classroom.
It’s normal for teachers to force explanations from difficult students as a form of accountability. But
When you argue with difficult students, it puts them on equal footing with you, creating a “your word against theirs” situation. This negates the effects of accountability. It also opens the floodgates: everybody will be arguing with you.
Rule #3: Don’t lecture, scold, or yell.
Lecturing, scolding, and yelling will cause all students to dislike you, but when you direct your diatribe toward one particular student, it can be especially damaging. Creating friction between you and your most challenging students virtually guarantees that their behavior will worsen.
Rule #4: Don’t give false praise.
Teachers often shower difficult students with praise for doing what is minimally expected. But because these students can look around at their fellow classmates and know that it’s a sham, false praise doesn’t work. Instead, give only
based on true accomplishment.
Rule #5: Don’t hold a grudge.
“Every day is a new day” should be your mantra with difficult students. They need to know that they have a clean slate to start each day–and so do you. To that end, say hello, smile, and let them know you’re happy to see them first thing every morning.
Rule #6: Don’t lose your cool.
When you let students get under your skin and you lose emotional control, even if it’s just a sigh and an eye roll, you become less effective. Your likeability drops. Classroom tension rises. And when difficult students discover they can push your buttons, they’ll try as often as they can.
Rule #7: Don’t ignore misbehavior.
Given that there is an audience of other students, ignoring misbehavior will not make it go away. It will only make it worse. Instead, follow your classroom management plan as it’s written. If a difficult student breaks a rule,
, enforce it immediately.
What if the two or three (or more) difficult students in your classroom admired you? What if they looked up to you, respected you, trusted you, and liked being in your company?
What if they embraced whatever you had to say to them?
Your success in helping them change their behavior would go through the roof, and you’d have peace in your classroom. The fact is, everything hinges on your ability to build relationships with your students.
Your classroom management plan merely nudges them in the right direction. Done correctly, it gets students to look inward, to self-evaluate, and to feel the weight of their transgressions. But by itself, it can only do so much.
It’s your relationship with your students that makes the greatest difference.
When you build trusting rapport that creates a harmonious relationship where you understand each other’s feelings and ideas you will get to communicate better with each other, you then possess a tidal wave of influence that can change their behavior, improve their academic performance, and profoundly impact their lives.