Attention & Focus

Sustaining, selecting, and shifting attention to support task completion and learning.

Examples & Achievements

  • Listens to a story for 10-15 minutes
  • Focuses on a self-chosen activity for 15+ minutes
  • Ignores distractions to complete a task
  • Shifts attention from one activity to another when prompted
  • Attends to relevant details in a picture or instruction

How to Measure

  • Sustained attention during teacher-led activity (10-15 min observed)
  • Sustained attention during self-directed play (15-20 min observed)
  • Leiter-3 Attention and Memory battery (if clinical assessment needed)
  • Teaching Strategies GOLD Objective 11b (persistence and attentiveness)
Sources (3)
  • NAEYC
  • Teaching Strategies GOLD
  • HighScope

7 Exercises

Story Stretch — Dialogic Read-Aloud The Deep Play Window — Protected Plan-Do-Review I Spy Detective — Hidden Picture Quest Sound Detective — Mystery Noise Tracker Day & Night Card Switch — The Opposite Game Conduct the Family Orchestra Singing Bell — Mindful Listening Practice