Children are increasingly being diagnosed with attention disorders, and even those without disorders can maintain interest in a lesson only for a short time. Some experts say a child's attention span can be calculated by adding 2 to the child's age to get the number of minutes, according to elementary school teacher and writer Sue Freeman Culverhouse. Use the age-plus-two-minutes measure to divide time in your lesson plan. During lessons, alternate between different methods of teaching, such as lectures, hands-on experiences and independent study. This tactic keeps students engaged in what, for a lot of students, can be a challenging topic.
Children often have a difficult time making the abstract concepts in math into something tangible so that they can understand the concept. Using visual representations such as diagrams, pictures, and manipulatives can assist students in solving complicated math problems. Verbal representations in the form of stories can keep young students engaged and provide concrete bases for math concepts. The most effective lessons use a combination of different kinds of visual and verbal representations because it reinforces and restates what has been learned.
Pairing up students to work together on assignments is another effective tool that accomplishes two goals at once: one-on-one instruction for a student with lower mathematical ability, and reinforcement of concepts for a student with higher mathematical ability. Prepared worksheets and assignments combined with rewards and various kinds of representations are essential elements to group instruction for young children. Although the goal is for students to strengthen their understanding of concepts on their own, monitoring by the teacher is key to avoid confusion and to give feedback to primary school students.
Young students love playtime, so blending instruction time into playtime can keep students engaged and encourage them to improve their skills outside of class. Games can involve being split up in teams or working alone, and can even involve physical movement around the classroom. Students can use representations or their own bodies to facilitate games involving addition, subtraction, shapes and other mathematical concepts.