Support processing and organisation skills
Support ākonga to manage their time and attention in the classroom
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Support transitions between activities
Support transitions between activities
Support students with ADHD to end one activity and begin another.
- Provide a warning five to ten minutes in advance that a class or lesson is about to end.
- Use physical activities, such as standing and taking deep breaths, to mark the change from one lesson to another. Simple stretching or singing exercises are other ways to mark the transition.
- Display a visual, daily timetable on the whiteboard with the outline for the day and refer to it when letting students know what is coming next.
- Encourage students to self-manage timing with a vibrating watch or a timer on their cellphone. They can set it to silently vibrate at particular intervals as reminders to transition to the next activity or class.
Model planning and thinking
Model planning and thinking
Demonstrate how to break down tasks and organise ideas using tools such as mind maps and graphic organisers.
For examples see Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Education Oasis
![5183 [mind-map-Barrett-Discovery.jpg]](https://inclusive-live-storagestack-assetstorages3bucket-3uty0hejzw6u.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/inclusive-education/example-images/mind-map-Barrett-Discovery__ScaleMaxWidthWzEwODZd.jpg)
Support concentration
Support concentration
Attention, on-task, and activation strategies.
- Provide instruction in short segments (teach → student activity → teach → student activity).
- Provide students with checklists, with tasks broken into smaller segments. Colour-highlight key parts of a task.
- Before beginning a task, have students explain their understanding of the task to a buddy.
- Give positive feedback for immediate starts to work.
- Check-in frequently with students to ensure they are not having problems.
- Ensure that all materials and resources are accessible.
- Partner students with well-focused buddies.
- Encourage students to self-manage their timing with a vibrating watch or a timer on their cellphone.
Use graphic organisers to support writing
Use graphic organisers to support writing
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Offer visual timers
Offer visual timers
Visual timers, can help students "see" the time they have for a task.
This can reduce stress and increase motivation.
No captions or transcript
Useful resources
Useful resources
Free graphic organiser templates
Free graphic organiser templates in pdf format.
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Next steps
More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Helpful classroom strategies years 1-8”:
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How to use this site
Guide to Index of the guide: ADHD and learning
Understand:
Strategies for action:
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Identify needs and how to provide supportShow suggestions for Identify needs and how to provide support
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Support self-regulation and positive behaviourShow suggestions for Support self-regulation and positive behaviour
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Helpful classroom strategies years 1-8Show suggestions for Helpful classroom strategies years 1-8
- Support participation and confidence
- Present information in different ways
- Support processing and organisation skills
- Provide options for learning and collaborating
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Helpful classroom strategies years 9-13Show suggestions for Helpful classroom strategies years 9-13
