| Thank you to all of our professional educators | | | | engaging. Varying the instructional medium and |
| who dedicate themselves to our children! We | | | | pace will help sustain his interest. Your student |
| know how difficult it can be working with ADHD | | | | would probably find lessons that emphasize |
| children, so here are your teacher tips for the | | | | "hands-on" activities highly engaging. |
| week, brought to you by the ADHD Information | | | | Keeping the time required for sustained attention |
| Library and You can read over 500 classroom | | | | on task balanced with more active learning will |
| interventions at Use peer tutoring whenever | | | | improve his performance. Use cooperative learning |
| possible. Get older children to help your ADHD | | | | activities, particularly those that assign each child in |
| student, and perhaps allowing him to tutor a | | | | a group a specific role or piece of information that |
| younger child. | | | | must be shared with the group. |
| Provide an outline with key concepts or | | | | Develop learning stations and clear signals and |
| vocabulary prior to lesson presentation. ADHD kids | | | | procedures for how students transition from one |
| are easily bored, even by you. Try to increase | | | | center to another. Use game?like activities, such |
| the pace of lesson presentation. Include a variety | | | | as "dictionary scavenger hunts," to teach |
| of activities during each lesson. Use multisensory | | | | appropriate use of reference/resource materials. |
| presentations, but screen audio-visual aids to be | | | | Interact frequently (verbally and physically) with |
| sure that distractions are kept to a minimum. For | | | | the student. Use the student's name in your |
| example, be sure interesting pictures and or | | | | lesson presentation. Write personal notes to the |
| sounds relate directly to the material to be | | | | student about key elements of the lesson. |
| learned. Make lessons brief or break longer | | | | Pair students to check work. Provide peer tutoring |
| presentations into discrete segments. | | | | to help student's review concepts. Let ADHD |
| Actively involve the student during the lesson | | | | students share recently learned concepts with |
| presentation. Have the ADHD student be the | | | | struggling peer. When presenting a large volume |
| instructional aid who is to write key words or | | | | of information on the chalkboard, use colored |
| ideas on the board. Encourage the students to | | | | chalk to emphasize key words or information. |
| develop mental images of the concepts or | | | | Changes in instructor's voice level and variation in |
| information being presented. Ask them about their | | | | word?pacing will also increase his attention during |
| images to be sure they are visualizing the key | | | | instruction. Make sure that your student |
| material to be learned. Allow the students to | | | | establishes eye contact when receiving direction |
| make frequent responses throughout the lesson | | | | instruction. This will improve his understanding and |
| by using choral responding, frequently calling on | | | | follow?-through on the task. Your student will be |
| many individuals, having the class respond with | | | | more successful when given directions one step |
| hand signals. Try role playing activities to act out | | | | at a time. When a series of instructions are given, |
| key concepts, historical events, etc. I have taught | | | | retention beyond the first direction is difficult. |
| ADHD students the history of the Revolutionary | | | | Combine verbal directions with illustrations or |
| War in the parking lot of the school, using cars, | | | | demonstrations of the desired task. The use of |
| trees, and other objects to represent events and | | | | multiple modes of instruction increases the |
| places in history. This can work well. Be creative! | | | | probability of successful learning of the task. After |
| Yes, it is possible for even you to bore a student. | | | | giving your student directions, have him |
| Work at teaching, motivating, and entertaining. | | | | paraphrase what the teacher has said. This will |
| The more exciting a subject is to a child, the | | | | increase his comprehension and provide an |
| better he will learn. Be excited about what you | | | | opportunity to check for understanding. Your |
| are teaching! A small student to teacher ratio | | | | student may tend to want to be "the first one |
| enables an increased amount of feedback during | | | | done" on assignments. Set reasonable accuracy |
| prime times of difficulty. Attempt to involve | | | | goals with him and collect the entire group's work |
| parent volunteers, para-professionals, or support | | | | at once to reduce time pressures. Learn more |
| staff in this capacity. Your student will respond | | | | about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder at |
| better to situations that he finds stimulating and | | | | the ADHD Information Library. |