Alvin M. Keeling 
Have you ever struggled to get kids to listen to your lessons?
If the answer is “yes”, then you are not alone. We’ve all had times when it seemed like we couldn’t get the kids to participate in our lesson.
I’ve found that when I have trouble with kids listening, it’s often on me.
I don’t do one or more of the following five things.
They don’t listen to the lesson ’cause I don’t honor their attention span. Children today have very, very, very, very short attention spans. They constantly have messages reaching them smart phonesTV commercials, radio commercials, laptops, tablets, etc. In fact, they have so many messages coming their way that they often just take a quick glance at the information and if that doesn’t catch their eye, they go off to see or hear the next thing that comes their way. meet.
So what can we do? How can we get the children to listen to our lesson in the world of thousands of messages?
Here’s a simple secret that can help you get (and keep) their attention.
Every 4-5 minutes reset their internal clock. When you do this, you will honor their attention span and you will be able to keep their attention. Instead of thinking of your lesson as a 60-minute sequence, think of it as 12 five-minute sections. Every 5 minutes, switch and do something else.
Here is a practical example. Teach for five minutes, then switch and have them answer discussion questions for five minutes. Then return to your teaching for five minutes. Then stop and do an activity for five minutes. Then resume teaching.
Sesame Street is one of the most captivating children’s programs ever created. Their 52nd season premiered on HBO Max on November 11. Watch an episode and you will see this teaching philosophy in action. The show is divided into short segments that change every few minutes.
With this in mind, I have created a program that respects the attention span of children. Implement this philosophy and you will see the problem of kids not listening go away (including 2nd grade boys – which is a miracle). You can see sample programs on this link.
They don’t listen to the lesson because you don’t tell stories. Take note of this the next time you teach. When you start telling a story, you’ll notice the children interacting with you. After the story is over, you can see them physically disengaging. They will start looking around, talking, fidgeting, etc.
Did you know that Jesus, the greatest teacher of all time, used stories when he taught? In fact, the Bible says He always told stories. stories which caught the attention of those who had come to hear it. Check out this verse.
Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when addressing the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. (Matthew 13:34)
Follow his teaching method and you will see the children begin to listen to your lessons.
They don’t listen to your lesson because you intentionally don’t give them a chance to speak.
Children learn best through dialogue rather than monologue. They don’t listen to your lesson because you say… ssssshhhhhhhhh… instead of asking them questions and getting them to talk about what you’re talking about.
