ADHD in the Classroom – Part 3: Teaching Techniques
This article marks the conclusion of our series on ADHD in the classroom. In Part 1 we explored misconceptions, symptoms and causes of ADHD, as well as the positive traits often found in those with the condition. Part 2 introduced us to the challenges of providing a productive learning environment for all your students – those with ADHD and those without.
In this final installment we’ll provide specific teaching techniques for ADHD students, including tips on:
- Keeping students engaged
- Organizing lessons
- Homework and testing
- Improving memory
As we learned in Part 1, children with ADHD may be distracted and inattentive, or they may be excessively talkative and energetic – or they may be all of the above. Your approach should be tailored to your individual students and their specific needs.
Engaging Students and Keeping Them On-Task
Experiential, hands-on learning is central to the Envision approach, and is highly effective with ADHD students, as well as students in general. Attention span improves when the learner is personally involved in the task.
Applying experiential and other engagement strategies, such as those listed below, will benefit your entire class.
- Incorporate students’ interests in your lessons and use examples and illustrations that are relevant to their lives
- Incorporate hands-on, learn-by-doing activities, and let the students move around the room as they work
- Use an energetic and enthusiastic style of presentation
- Use game formats to teach and/or reinforce material
- Use concrete objects to assist in keeping the student's attention
- Provide options within the lessons, so students are actively engaged in their learning choices
Once you have their attention, these techniques will help you keep students on-task:
- Ask students to repeat your questions before they answer
- Reduce the length of assignments or break them up into separate segments, acknowledging achievement and reinforcing each completed part before moving on
- To block out distractions on a page, create a "window" in a piece of cardboard that exposes only one or two lines of print
- Point to or touch the blackboard, book or student’s paper as you speak, thus focusing students’ attention through physical activity. Coach them to do the same when they work.
- When introducing a new topic, ask students to generate questions on the topic before you provide information
Organizing Lessons
ADHD students have difficulty organizing projects, taking notes, remembering steps, etc. Providing structure within your lessons will aid the ADHD student, while teaching project management skills to your entire class.
Here are tips for starting a lesson:
- Use an audio cue to signal the beginning of a new lesson
- Establish eye contact with ADHD students
- Start with a general overview, letting students know what will be learned, why it’s important in life, and what expectations you have for them
- List the lesson activities, objectives and required materials on the board
- Provide simple, concrete instructions
- Use movement and gestures as well as words
- Ask students to repeat directions, to ensure understanding
And tips for conducting the lesson:
- Vary the pace and include different kinds of activities
- Create outlines with structured, organized information; ask your students to do the same
- Use props, charts, pictures, color-coding and other visual aids
- Allow the ADHD student to take breaks
- Set up the ADHD student for success, especially in front of his/her peers
- Summarize key points and objectives at the end of the lesson
Homework and Independent Work
- Help students organize homework assignments, breaking work down into specific steps
- Email homework assignments to the ADHD parent
- Provide a second set of textbooks for the forgetful student to use at home
- Give partial credit for partial work
- Help ADHD students stay organized and remember assignments by creating binders with color-coded sections for homework in-progress, due dates, completed assignments, and “take-home” information for to parents (permission slips, etc.)
Test-Taking
There are a variety of ways to test a student’s grasp of the subject, and non-traditional tests may work best for some ADHD students. Ideas include:
- Use oral testing
- Use performance testing: have the student do something or make something
- Reduce the number of timed tests or give the ADHD student extra time
- Create worksheets and tests with fewer items; give frequent short quizzes rather than long tests
- On multiple choice tests, increase student concentration by having them cross out incorrect answers as well as circling correct answers
Improving Memory
Who among us has a perfect memory? Teaching memory techniques in your classroom will benefit all your students and maybe yourself as well!
- Play listening and comprehension games
- Play memory games, such as “Concentration” in which students have to remember the location of pairs of cards, when the cards are turned face down
- Ask your students to invent “mnemonics” – memory tools that accompany various facts; for example, a rhyme, song or word association (“Saturday will be My Day, but the report is due on Friday”)
- Have ADHD students follow specific steps while learning: See it, say it, write it, do it
Find more memory tools on sites like Mindtools.com or About.com
Additional teaching strategies for students with ADHD can be found at the following links:
And if you’d like to know more about the workings of a student’s mind, check out our Science of Learning series:
- Part 1: Neuroscience – What’s It Mean to You?
- Part 2: How the Brain Learns
- Part 3: How Emotion and Mindset Affect Learning
- Part 4: Brain Plasticity at Different Ages
- Part 5: Do Girls’ Brains Differ from Boys’ Brains?
- Part 6: Right Brain vs. Left Brain