Call and Response Techniques

Call and response techniques are an age-old method to gain attention. However, teachers are getting creative and turning old, boring into new, unique responses that require students to participate in the classroom actively. Here are a few verbal attention-getters teachers have shared online that use humorous or fun phrases to engage their students. These attention-getters involve students because they require an immediate response. Feel free to be creative and change them up.

Teacher: “Macaroni and cheese.”
Students: “Everybody freeze.”

Teacher: “Hocus pocus.”
Students: “Everybody focus.”

Teacher: “Ready to rock.”
Students: “Ready to roll.”

Teacher: “One, two.”
Students: “Eyes on you.”

Teacher: “One, two, three, eyes on me.”
Students: “Three, two, one, talking is done.”

Using Music and Sound Effects

or any type of sound effect while transiting between activities or just when you need your students’ eyes on you is a great way to gain their attention without having to raise your voice or use your voice at all. At the beginning of the school year, select a specific song or sound that represents when students need to stop what they are doing immediately to focus on you. This can effectively allow students to quietly transition from their task to you without any loud disruptions. Enlist the help of your students when choosing a sound or song to enhance their engagement.

Ideas include:

• Bells
• Chimes
• Nature sounds
• Animal sounds
• Short clips of classical music
• Popular TV show theme songs
• Digital sound effects

Visual Aids

A powerful non-verbal cue to draw students鈥� attention back to you without having to use your voice is to use . Visual aids can be an effective method because they clearly understand what is expected of students. They also cater to visual learners who may find it easier to remember something that they鈥檝e seen rather than heard. Additionally, they are a non-disruptive reminder to focus on you, the teacher, without disrupting the flow of what is currently going on in the classroom.

The following visual aids may cater to different learning styles.

• Countdown posters
• Red, yellow, and green signal light
• Hand signal chart
• Interactive whiteboard

Hand Gestures

Nonverbal attention-getters like are a great way to manage the classroom because they are nondisruptive ways to communicate with students. By establishing a hand gesture, you reduce the noise level and interruptions that other signals may cause. Before implementing any hand gestures, clearly define what they mean and routinely practice them. Additionally, adjust signals if you find they aren鈥檛 working or add more if you find they are working.

Try these non-verbal attention-getters:

Teacher: Lifts hand to signal 鈥淕ive me five鈥�
Students: Respond by raising their hands.

Teacher: Touches their ear to ensure students are listening.
Students: Respond by touching their ear.

Teacher: Holds five fingers up and puts one down at a time for a silent countdown to be quiet.

Lighting Cues

You may recall when you were a student the simple flicker of the light switch would signal it鈥檚 time to quiet down, get back to your seat, or face the teacher. This signal for quieting down or starting something new can draw attention in a matter of seconds. The reason teachers did it back then is the same reason teachers still do it today, it works. This non-verbal cue quickly captures the student’s attention without saying a word.

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Here is a collection of quiet cues and聽attention getters聽for you to use in your classroom. These signals are not one-size-fits-all. Some work better than others depending upon the situation that you are in or the activity you are doing.

Verbal Attention Signals

Here is a variety of verbal聽attention getters for students. Choose one or choose a few.

1. Teacher says, 鈥淐lap your hands, stomp your feet, I want your bottoms in your seat!鈥� Students then know to sit down.
2. Teacher says, 鈥淢acaroni and cheese.鈥� Students鈥� response: 鈥淓verybody freeze.鈥�
3. Teacher says, 鈥淗ocus pocus.鈥� Students鈥� response: 鈥淓verybody focus.鈥�
4. Teacher says, 鈥淩eady to rock.鈥� Students鈥� response: 鈥淩eady to roll.鈥�
5. Teacher says, 鈥淥ne, two.鈥� Students鈥� response: 鈥淓yes on you.鈥�
6. Teacher says. 鈥淥ne, two, three, eyes on me.鈥� Students respond, 鈥淭hree, two, one, talking is done.鈥�
7. Teacher claps once and students respond with two claps.
8. Teacher says, 鈥淐lass, class,鈥� and students respond with, 鈥淵es, yes.鈥� It鈥檚 a whole-brain teaching technique that a lot of teachers swear by.
9. When students are working in groups, the teacher says, 鈥淥n your feet, find your seat.鈥� Then students know to hurry up and get back to their original seats.
10. Teacher says, 鈥淚f you hear my voice, clap once, if you hear my voice clap twice.鈥� The teacher continues until he/she sees all of the students clapping.

Non-Verbal Attention Signals

These non-verbal attention signals are perfect for聽field trips,聽school assemblies, or anytime you want students鈥� attention in a quiet way. Try a few or try them all to see which ones work best for your classroom.

1. Teacher raises her hand to signal, 鈥淕ive me five.鈥� Students鈥� response: They raise their hand.
2. Purchase a bell, timer, or portable doorbell. Whenever students hear the sound, they know to stop what they are doing and focus their attention on the teacher.
3. Purchase or make a pair of 鈥渕agic glasses.鈥� When students see you put these special glasses on, they know it is time to be quiet and focus on you.
4. Purchase or make a 鈥渨hisper wand.鈥� Place this vibrating or soft-sounding wand on any surface; then students know to be quiet. You can also find a wand that lights up so you can wave it around to quietly get students鈥� attention.
5. The teacher stands quietly in front of the students and holds up a card that reads 鈥渆yes on me鈥� or it can have a picture of a child sitting quietly with their hands folded at their desk ready to learn. When students see this picture, they know it鈥檚 a cue to focus on the teacher.

Tips for Getting and Keeping Students鈥� Attention

• Practice! In the beginning of the school year, teach your students a few signals that you will be using throughout the year. Each day, teach students one signal and use that signal throughout the day. For a fun way to practice, play the freeze game with the students.
• Make it fun for students when you do a verbal signal and change it up every once in a while. Try singing the cue, or saying it really fast, or stretching it out really slow. Students will think it鈥檚 hilarious, and you will definitely grab their attention.
• Create a box of musical instruments. Every time you want the students鈥� attention, all you have to do is go into the box and choose a diffident instrument to play.

Being able to get and keep your students鈥� attention is important. Effective teaching requires it. Once you find one or two signals that work for your classroom, keep them and make sure to use them often.

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