41 Great Attention-Grabbers for Teachers That Focus Quickly

If you’ve landed on this page, most likely you’re an educator looking for attention-grabbers for teachers. 

Or maybe you’re a teacher seeking attention-grabbers for older students.

Whichever the reason, you’ll find great ideas for attention-grabbers that teachers and students enjoy. 

Attention-grabbers are necessary for getting a classroom or situation under control.

They are also helpful to use when transitioning students from one activity to the next.

So try a few of these helpful attention-grabbers this week.

Attention-Grabbers For Teachers

Following you will find examples of attention-grabbers for teachers. These attention-grabbers are especially effective with older students. 

Thanks to all the teachers who kindly submitted their original ideas for classroom attention-grabbers. Their names are noted.

1. Teacher: “Snap, crackle…”

Students: “Pop!”

Contributed by Byron O.

2. Teacher: “Macaroni and cheese…”

Students: “Give me more please!”

Contributed by Tómas M.

3. Teacher: “Healthy food…”

Students: “Healthy body!”

Contributed by Natalia I.

4. Teacher: “Grilled cheese sandwich…”

Students: “Warm and gooey!”

Contributed by Edgar J.

5. Teacher: “An apple a day…”

Students: “Keeps the doctor away!”

Contributed by Amelia U.

6. Teacher: “Sugar and spice…”

Students: “And everything nice!”

Contributed by Misty N.

7. Teacher: “You’re the apple…”

Students: “Of my eye!”

Contributed by Jaimee H.

8. Teacher: “Ice cream sundae…”

Students: “With a cherry on top!”

Contributed by Carlos L.

9. Teacher: “Mars, Venus, Earth, Mercury…”

Students: “Inner planets!”

Contributed by Spencer T.

10. Teacher: “Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune…”

Students: “Outer planets!”

Contributed by Scott M.

11. Teacher: “North, east…”

 Students: “South, west!”

Contributed by Natasha C.

12. Teacher: “In 1942…”

Students: “Columbus sailed the ocean blue!”

Contributed by Gisela N.

13. Teacher: “Save the…”

Students: “Earth!”

Contributed by Angela M.

14. Teacher: “11 x 6…”

Students: “Sixty-six!”

Contributed by Beau Q.

*Use any other basic facts for this attention-grabber.

15. Teacher: “Math is…”

Students: “All around us!”

Contributed by Emma G.

attention grabbers for older students
attention-grabbers for older students

16. Teacher: “Austin, Austin…”

Students: “Capital of Texas!”

Contributed by Deion B.

17. Teacher: “Boise, Boise…”

Students: “Capital of Idaho!”

Contributed by Claitonya J.

18. Teacher: “Fractions are…”

Students: “Parts of a whole!”

Contributed by Quincy D.

19. Teacher: “Reading is…”

Students: “Knowledge and power!”

Contributed by Kathy F.

20. Teacher: “Reading is…”

Students: “Thinking!”

Contributed by Ja’Kariya W.

21. Teacher: “Halloween…”

Students: “Candy!”

Contributed by Blanca M.

22. Teacher: “Easter…”

Students: “Bunny!”

Contributed by Héctor U.

23. Teacher: “Thanksgiving…”

Students: “Dinner!”

Contributed by Pedro A.

24. Teacher: “Humpty, Dumpty…”

Students: “Crack!”

Contributed by Wilma P.

25. Teacher: “Jack and Jill…”

Students: “Went up the hill!”

Contributed by Belinda G.

26. Teacher: “Nothing is…”

 Students: “Impossible!”

Contributed by Michela C.

27. Teacher: “Fly like…”

Students: “An eagle!”

Contributed by Francisco P.

28. Teacher: “Smart as an…”

Students: “Elephant!”

Contributed by Clifton D.

29. Teacher: “We are the…”

Students: “B-E-S-T, Best!”

Contributed by Monique B.

30. Teacher: “Never let it rest…”

Students: “Until my better is best!”

Contributed by Toia G.

31. Teacher: “Don’t worry…”

Students: “Be happy!”

Contributed by Neha P.

32. Teacher: “Busy as a bee…”

Students: “Buzz, buzz, buzz!”

Contributed by Jimmy P.

33. Teacher: “Hey little kittens…”

Students: “Time to paws!”

Contributed by Larisa M.

34. Teacher: “Kangaroo bop…”

Students: “Hoppity, hop, hop!”

Contributed by Melba S.

35. Teacher: “ABC…”

Students: “Easy as 1-2-3!”

Contributed by Donald B.

attention grabbers for teachers
attention-grabbers for teachers

36. Teacher: “Go…”

Students: “Jaguars!” (school’s mascot)

Contributed by Martha M.

37. Teacher: “2-4-6-8…”

Students: “Who do we appreciate? The tigers…yeah, yeah…the tigers!” (or whatever is the school’s mascot)

Contributed by Phil R.

38. Teacher: “Fall leaves…”

Students: “Autumn breeze!”

Contributed by Kevin S.

39. Teacher: “Spring flowers…”

Students: “April showers!”

Contributed by Tamara D.

40. Teacher: “Winter, spring…”

Students: “Summer, fall!”

Contributed by Rebecca K.

41. Teacher: “Summer sun…”

Students: “Good times have begun!”

Contributed by Nicholas A.

42. Teacher: “God is…”

Students: “Good!”

Contributed by Dayjannique W.

*This one is great for Christian schools.

Final Thoughts

Get control of a situation quickly using these helpful attention-grabbers for teachers that are enjoyable for older students, too.

No longer worry about trying to silence a classroom. These attention-getters take you from chaos to calm in seconds.

To see more attention-grabbers for older students, take a look at teacher attention-getters over on Tiktok.