When you’re ready for students to listen, use attention getters in your classroom to prompt them to quickly take notice.
Attention getters serve as oral, visual, or auditory cues that draw students’ focus to the teacher so that she can deliver a message.
Commonly structured as “call and response”, learners respond to these signals as confirmation that they’re ready to listen.
Attention getters serve as essential components of any great classroom management plan.
So include a few of these really good attention getters for students in your classroom routines and procedures this week.
Attention Getters for Classroom Use
Attention Getters for Elementary Students
1. 1-2-3, Eyes On Me (Teacher)
1-2, Eyes On You (Students)
2. 1-2-3 (Teacher)
Eyes On Me (Learners)
3. 3-2-1 (Teacher)
Blast Off! (Students)
4. A-B-C… (Teacher)
Easy As 1-2-3 (Students)
5. A Hush Fell Over the Room (Teacher)
Shhhhhh! (Learners)
6. All Set (Teacher)
You Bet (Students)
7. Alligator, Alligator (Teacher)
CHOMP! (Students)
8. Banana (Teacher)
Split! (Students)
9. Can I Get a (Teacher)
WHOOP! WHOOP!? (Students)
10. Chicka, Chicka (Teacher)
Boom! Boom! (Learners)
11. Chugga, Chugga (Teacher)
Choo! Choo! (Students)
12. Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet (Teacher)
We Need Our Bottoms In the Seat (Students)
13. Class, Class, Class (Teacher)
Yes, Yes, Yes (Students)
14. Classity, Class, Class (Teacher)
Yessity, Yes, Yes (Students)
15. Crystal (Teacher)
Clear (Students)
Related Content: Silent (Non-Verbal) Attention-Getters
16. Eeny Meeny (Teacher)
Miny Mo! (Students)
17. Everybody In the House (Teacher)
Is As Quiet As a Mouse (Students)
18. Eyes Up (Teacher)
Voices Off (Students)
19. Finger Near Your Hips (Teacher)
Finger On Our Lips (Learners)
20. Flat Tire (Teacher)
Shhhhhh! (Students)
21. Goodness Gracious (Teacher)
Great Balls of Fire (Students)
22. Hakuna (Teacher)
Matata (Students)
*Lion King film reference
23. Hands On Top (Teacher)
Everybody Stop (Students)
24. Hear Ye, Hear Ye (Teachers)
All Eyes on the Queen/King (Students)
25. Hocus Pocus (Teacher)
Everybody Focus (Students)
26. Hot Fudge (Teacher)
Sundae (Learners)
27. Hush (Teacher)
Shhhhhh! (Students)
28. I’m Talking (Teacher)
I’m Listening (Students)
29. Ice Cream (Teachers)
With Sprinkles (Students)
30. Knock, Knock (Teacher)
Who’s There? (Students)
31. Let Me Hear You Say “Oh Ye-ah”! (Teacher)
OH YE-AH! (Learners)
32. Let’s Rock (Teacher)
And Roll (Learners)
Funny Attention Getters
33. Macaroni and Cheese (Teacher)
Everybody Freeze (Students)
34. Marco (Teacher)
Polo (Students)
35. May the Force (Teacher)
Be With You (Students)
36. Mona (Teacher)
Lisa (Learners)
37. Mouths (Teacher)…Closed (Students)
Ears (Teacher)…Open (Students)
38. Mr. Belton is Talking, And You Are (Teacher)
Not! (Students)
39. Oh Me (Teacher)
Oh My (Students)
40. No Bees, No Honey (Teacher)
No Work, No Money (Students)
41. On Your Feet (Teacher)
Find Your Seat (Students)
*Used when rotating centers or returning to seats after floor time
42. One, Two (Teacher)
Eyes On You (Students)
43. Parlez-vous Français? (Teacher)
Oui, Oui, Oui (Students)
44. Peanut…Peanut Butter (Teacher)
With Jelly (Learners)
45. Piece of Pie (Teacher)
Piece of Cake (Students)
46. ¿Qué te pasa calabaza? (Teacher)
Nada Nada Limonada (Students)
47. Quiet On the Set (Teacher)
Action! (Students)
48. Ready, Set? (Teacher)
You Bet! (Students)
49. Ready to Listen? (Teacher)
Ready to Learn! (Students)
50. Ready to Rock? (Teacher)
Ready to Roll! (Students)
51. Roly-Poly (Teacher)
Guacamole (Students)
52. Salami (Teacher)
On Rye (Students)
53. Scooby Dooby Doo (Teacher)
Where Are You? (Students)
54. Self (Teacher)
Control (Students)
55. SpongeBob (Teacher)
Square Pants (Learners)
56. Stop (Teacher)
Collaborate and Listen (Students)
*Ice Ice Baby song reference
57. Surf’s Up (Teacher)
Shhhhhh! (Students)
58. Three, Two, One (Teacher)
Talking Is Done (Students)
59. To Infinity (Teacher)
And Beyond (Students)
60. Tootsie Roll, Lollipop (Teacher)
We’ve Been Talking, Now Let’s Stop (Students)
61. ¡Viva (Teacher)
Jesús! (Students)
*Great for Christian schools
62. We are Listening (Teacher)
All the Time (Students)
63. When I Say Peace, You Say Quiet. Peace (Teacher)
Quiet! (Learners)
64. When the Hand Goes Up (Teacher)
The Mouth Goes Shut (Students)
65. WWW Dot (Teacher)
Zip It Dot Com (Learners)
66. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah (Teacher)
Zip-A-Dee-Ay (Students)
67. Zip It, Lock It (Teacher)
Put It In Your Pocket (Students)
Auditory
68. “If you can hear my voice, clap once.” (Teacher) “If you can hear my voice, clap twice.” (Teacher). If desired, create patterns of claps and snaps to make things more interesting and/or to increase their attention.
69. Give Me Three (Teacher)…*Students must 1) Stop, 2) Look, and 3) Listen
70. “If you can hear me, touch your nose. If you can hear me, put your hands on your head. If you can hear me, wink.” Switch up body parts.
71. Clap the Answer, 2+2 (Teachers)…*Students clap the correct number of times; substitute any basic math fact
72. “Point at me if you’re not talking”. *Wait for all students to point at you.
73. Recite or play a short song. When it’s finished, all students should be actively focused on you.
74. Sound a timer, wind chime, bell, wireless doorbell, or rainstick.
75. If you’re a music teacher or have access to a musical instrument, play a few notes. At the end, students should be focused and ready to listen.
Non-Verbal Attention Getters
76. Place a crazy hat on your head to signal that it’s time to stop and listen.
77. Wave a wand or flag.
78. Put on sunglasses or any type of “special” glasses to signal that learners need to focus their attention on you.
79. Hold up cue cards, each with a note such as, “Focus Now.” or “Eyes On Me.”
80. Raise your hand, and wait for each child to do the same.
81. Flick the lights until you’ve gained everyone’s attention.
82. Show a sign in the shape and color of a “stop sign”.
83. Hold up the peace sign using your fingers. Students complete the same action, signaling that they are ready to listen.
84. Without warning, whisper to a student that you want to see how long it will take for everyone to notice them whispering. Out of curiosity, the other kids will begin to take notice and pay attention as they’ll want to know what’s being said. You’ll have the class focused in no time!
85. Use hand signals to show that it’s time to pay attention. See a variety of hand signals to use in your classroom.
Creative Class Attention Getters
1. Rev up school spirit by using mascots or local sports teams.
Examples:
- Go (Teacher)…Jaguars! (Students)
- Jaguar (Teacher)…Pride! (Students)
- We are headed to (Teacher)… Victory! (Students)
2. Incorporate foods.
Examples:
- What’s shakin’ (Teacher)… Bacon! (Students)
- Pop (Teacher)…Corn! (Learners)
- Milk (Teacher)…Shake! (Students)
- Pepper (Teacher)…Roni (Students)
- Chicken (Teacher)…Nuggets (Students)
- We are doing (Teacher)… Our Berry Best! (Learners)
- Strawberry shortcake (Teacher)… Whipped cream on top! (Students)
3. Consider regional and/or local expressions.
Examples:
- Mardi (Teacher)…Gras (Students)
- Howdy (Teacher)…Ya’ll (Students)
4. Make things simple with seasonal attention getters.
Examples:
- Merry (Teacher)…Christmas (Students)
- Gobble (Teacher)…Gobble! (Learners)
- Easter (Teacher)…Bunny! (Students)
- Happy (Teacher)…Halloween (Learners)
- April (Teacher)…Fools (Students)
- Happy (Teacher)… Holidays! (Students)
5. Learn or review academic concepts such as states and capitals. Additionally, use content based on your state’s grade-level teaching objectives.
Examples:
- 5 by 5 Equals (Teacher)… Twenty-five! (Students) *Use any basic math fact.
- Louisiana (Teacher)…Baton Rouge (Students)
- Texas (Teacher)…Austin (Learners)
- Earth’s Twin (Teacher)… Venus! (Students)
- Reading is…(Teacher)… Thinking! (Learners)
- Music (Teacher)… The spice of life. (Students)
6. Reinforce a growth mindset.
Examples:
- Nothing (Teacher)… Holds Us Back! (Students)
- We Are (Teacher)…Rock Stars! (Learners)
- Never (Teacher)…Give Up! (Students)
- We Are (Teacher)…Smart! (Learners)
- Dream (Teacher)… Big! (Students)
Final Thoughts
Whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school students, you’re all set to redirect learners’ focus using these fun attention getters.
These attention grabbers for kids fit well as tools in a solid classroom management plan.