As children gather in a circle on the floor, I begin to whisper directions for how I want them to sit. No one seems to hear me at first, and then they begin to notice. The noise level drops to almost nothing and kids lean in to catch my words. I repeat, “Let’s sit together in silence and see what happens. Let’s listen to the quiet and notice how it sounds.”
Getting and keeping children’s attention can be challenging. Their worlds can be pretty noisy. They exist in spaces that contain a lot of external noise, such as other people talking, traffic sounds, school bells/buzzers, dogs barking, buildings creaking, cell phone alerts. They also carry a lot of internal noise: anxieties about parent and teacher expectations, recollections of positive and negative social media interactions, plans for afterschool activities. All these things compete for attention at any given moment.
Fortunately, neuroscience offers us some insights into what prompts the human brain to pay attention. Our brain stem prioritizes data that either suggests we might be in danger or offers unexpected information about our environment. So the best way to help kids engage a topic is by reducing stressors and inviting curiosity.
To help children feel comfortable in a space, create a behavior covenant that treats everyone equitably. Talk about power dynamics and acknowledge the similarities and differences between adults and kids. Talk, too, about cultural and personality differences and how societies set unequal expectations based on social preferences and biases. Naming these realities encourages children to work together to develop more equitable ways of being together.
There are many ways to invite curiosity. Perhaps the simplest is to begin a topic session with a surprise. Instead of your usual clothing, wear a costume representing a key figure from a particular event or story. Show children an unusual artifact and encourage them to guess what it is. Play a popular song from a streaming service that connects to your theme but wouldn’t usually get airtime in your setting. Or do something unusual, such as whispering instructions to introduce a practice of silence rather than calling them out loudly.
Another effective technique is to share (or do) something about a topic that is odd or atypical. Human brains notice when something falls outside the usual patterns of thinking or acting. So try out a drum rhythm with occasional long pauses that get the mind and body really listening for the next beat. Highlight unexpected details from a spiritual figure’s autobiography. Or shift suddenly from a high energy activity to a mindfulness moment and notice how your bodies react.
A third option is to encourage children to make predictions. Studies show that successful predictions cause our brains to release dopamine, which is a ‘feel-good’ chemical. So pose low stakes predictive queries that kids can adjust as they gather information so they have a higher chance of getting them right. For example, ask how many times a story will use a particular word or do some action (and pause partway through reading to let them adjust their predictions based on the data they have so far). Or invite children to predict how long they can practice kindness (or another virtue) during a day and then revise estimates each day over a week or two.
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