I am the kind of girl that LOVES a challenge. In fact, I’m bored to tears without a challenge. So when I was thrown into a class that was bubbling over with students that have ADHD I.WAS.HYPE.
I am a firm believer in the fact that all children CAN learn. I know that ADHD makes learning complicated and often frustrating BUT I made it my mission to help my sweet students that struggled to stay focused. I quickly learned that these were some of my best and brightest students even though their test scores were not reflecting how incredibly intelligent they were! Over the past 5 years, I have read as much as I can and tried as many strategies as possible with my secondary students with ADHD.
Even though I’m still learning on a daily basis how to best help and accommodate my learners with ADHD, I’ve found 3 top strategies that seem to work year after year.
- Use as many checklists as possible to “chunk” assignments into manageable pieces.
I have found that both my students with ADHD and those who do not have ADHD struggle when it comes to organization. I could write six blog posts on how using a notebooking strategy helps with this issue BUT today I want to focus on zoning in on ONE tactic that is helpful to students. Whenever I assign a project or homework piece with multiple steps, I ALWAYS provide a checklist for each portion. This way, students don’t get overwhelmed when they see the big picture, but instead, they see how they could “chunk it” to make it more manageable. It’s also a way to ensure that each portion of the project is completed. Here’s an example of a BEFORE AND AFTER project sheet.
I’ve been working through all of my projects and turning them into checklists. This way, my students can stay organized, be less stressed over a giant project, AND be able to check and make sure they’ve completed every portion of an assignment.
2. ADD MOVEMENT – THEN ADD MORE MOVEMENT!
One of the hardest things to accomplish in a secondary setting is adding movement to the classroom. You’re usually crammed in a classroom with 30-40 students with very little space. It’s often difficult to complete small groups or station rotation activities in this type of classroom. However, it is mandatory that students with ADHD have movement in their learning environment. There are small ways to incorporate this into your schedule even if you don’t have tons of extra space or a group that doesn’t use their time wisely with stations.
I add movement to my classroom by giving time to cut/glue. Even if something doesn’t necessarily need to be cut or glued, just go with it. I’ll have my students turn their notes into foldables or cut off “excess edges” of a paper. I’ll also often print things two-to-a-page so that the students will have to stop and cut the two pages apart. This way, my students are getting a brain break, getting up to get scissors, getting up to throw away trash, etc. It sounds so silly and simple – but it has been one of my biggest ADHD “hacks” for adding movement to the classroom when we’re “stuck” in one place.
I also try to add movement to my classroom with simple multiple choice. I WISH I could remember where I got this idea, but unfortunately, it’s lost in teacher Instagram world. We play musical multiple choice with 2-3 multiple-choice questions. I label a corner of the room as A, B, C, D, etc. and have students work either individually or in teams to complete a multiple-choice activity BEFORE we start playing. Once they have all of their answers solidified, I have them walk in a line around the room while I play music. When the music stops, they have to go to the table closest to them. I then call on each group to explain whether their answer choice is right or wrong. They must use textual evidence to do this! This kills 3+ birds with one stone – adds movement, makes students think backward, reinforces using textual evidence, works on collaboration, etc. This concept doesn’t take long to do, and students usually appreciate breaking up the monotony of multiple choice. Sometimes, I’ll give the group with the best explanation of their answer choice a piece of candy or an extra bonus point or two. It’s crazy how hard they’ll focus for a simple sucker. 🙂
3. Refocus their Attention
One of the greatest challenges with ADHD is not the inability to focus, but it’s the ability to acutely focus on ONE thing and be unable to pull yourself away from it. When you get to know your students, you’ll be able to tell when they’re starting to drift into that focus on the wrong thing. I’ve found two somewhat simple tactics to bring my students “back” to the task at hand once I see them starting to drift.
The first thing I do is a desk tap as I’m talking. By just touching their desk they are often reminded that they’re actually in a classroom. 🙂 Next, I’ll give the student a task with color. I give highlighters to these students and I’ll ask them to color code something: their notes, their worksheet, etc. I may ask them to highlight all of the key terms in pink then highlight all of the textual evidence in yellow. I’ve also asked them to color-code their own writing before (topic sentences orange, supporting details green, etc.). I know this may sound crazy or like another distraction, but by giving students a physical task along with a mental task like visualizing or listening, they become more actively engaged in the lesson at hand.
Lastly, if these two tasks don’t bring them back to focus, I’ll have the student perform a task for me. This could be something easy like handing out papers, sharpening my pencil, OR something more complex like delivering an item to a neighbor teacher or answering my classroom phone. When my ADHD students get a task that forces their focus, they are more likely to get a brain break and be able to refocus on what’s happening in the classroom.
As a whole, I’m STILL learning and finding new tips and tricks to help my students with ADHD be successful both inside and outside of the classroom. I’m always adding to my list of strategies so I’d LOVE to hear some of your favorite ways to assist students with ADHD – especially in the secondary classroom!
