Slide 2 Understand causes for lack of focus Techniques to
improve focus & concentration levels in children Equip teachers
and parents to support children Slide 3 Choose your BIGGEST
EXAMTIME FEARS! Working with the teachers in planning and
organizing the exam period Performance/ Results of students
Managing anxious parents and students Keeping the school
distraction free Slide 4 Lets start with identifying the issue
Slide 5 Familiar scenarios? Do you find children tired from
participating in too many activities each day? Do you hear of late
submissions or lack of enthusiasm to take up projects? Do the
farewell parties and graduation days need to be planned
strategically, so the excitement doesnt disturb studies? Exam
stress, peer pressure, parental pressure etc. causes more anxiety
in students? Do you hear complaints of lethargic, bored or
disinterested students ? Have you seen students munching food
during classes, trying to sneak a bite behind the teacher? Slide 6
Anxiety Fatigue Boredom Friends and relationships Poor diet Mobile
phones Too many activities Social networking Class parties School
celebrations Slide 7 So what is the core issue here? The Lack of
FOCUS & CONCENTRATION Slide 8 L og on to www.exams.horlicks.in
A dminister the Cambridge Concentration Test to all students T rack
the progress of each student over time E ncourage them to maintain
Focus-Concentration logwww.exams.horlicks.in To find concentration
levels among students in your school Slide 9 THREE STEPS THAT WOULD
WORK WONDERS Face the ISSUE & build CONCENTRATION as a skill
Sharpen the MIND through activities Encourage a HEALTHY BODY Slide
10 STEP 1 PART A: FACING THE ISSUE The University of Notre Dame has
researched and tested this process to use in their counseling
sessions for their students. AWARENESS A. BODY Help students
identify these traits - feeling upset, jittery, nervous, tense,
panicky, hands sweaty, shoulders hunched. B. EMOTION Help students
catch themselves Worry or Negative Self Talk COPING A. RELAXATION
Long and slow breathing exercises. B. OPTIMISM Positive
affirmations along with breathing exercises. Slide 11 COPING
THROUGH REFOCUSING AND ATTENTION CONTROL Strategy 1: Increase the
Focusing Skill Help students train their mind to hold attention to
a word or task. Strategy 2: Develop Performance Rituals Encourage
students to create a physical and mental atmosphere for study, to
write a paper, or take a test. Strategy 3: Thought Stopping Urge
students to use a trigger word to stop the negative self-talk.
Strategy 4: Use Coping Self Talk to Refocus Concentration Encourage
students to practice using short phrases that focus on positives
rather than negatives. Slide 12 COMBINE: MENTAL REHEARSAL /
RELAXATION & COPING IMAGERY Encourage students to imagine
themselves taking the test and "choking." Allow them note the
increase in anxiety. Next imagine themself coping and recovering
from choking through deep breathing, attention control, and
initiating positive coping strategies. Note the decrease in
anxiety. This awareness would help them better solve the issue!
Slide 13 STEP 1 PART B: BUILDING THE CONCENTRATION SKILL Addition
of techniques or practices, specifically aimed at developing
concentration skills, to the study routine in classrooms would
directly impact academic performance. Give the following a try, and
see for yourself! Slide 14 Demonstration 1 Find the total number of
words in the paragraph. Slide 15 Demonstration 2 Count backward
from 100 to 1 in your mind. Lets move to the next task before we
understand these exercises. Slide 16 Demonstration 3 Read the
numbers backwards skipping numbers with 5 and 2 Slide 17
Demonstration 4 Repeat a word in your mind till your calm. You have
1 minute to do so. Now look at the fruit below for the next minute.
Focus on its shape, smell, taste and the sensation it gives you
when you touch it. Take a real fruit at home, and do this exercise
for 5 minutes. Next, close your eyes and visualize the fruit for a
minute. Again think only about the fruit its shape, smell, taste,
texture etc. Slide 18 Demonstration 5 Look at the image below for
the next minute. Think only of what you see. Now, close your eyes
and visualize the same image. Focus only on the colour, shape, size
etc. Draw or get your parents to draw a favourite shape at home,
and do this exercise for 5 minutes. Slide 19 Simple activities such
as these are effective! A 10 Session Plan with such activities has
been provided in the CONCENTRATION HANDBOOK, as a long term
technique for you/ your teachers to engage students with. At the
end of ten sessions you may encourage students to take the
concentration test again to track progress. Also allot maintenance
sessions periodically (every 6, 12, 24 weeks). Slide 20 Slide 21
STEP 2: SHARPENING THE MIND While the earlier described technique
would to enhance the concentration levels among your students, it
wouldnt break the monotony classes. Spice up classes with a few
quick activities to sharpen the mind! Slide 22 Enjoy these fun
activities with students.. Tongue Twisters Strange as it sounds
tongue twisters also help improve concentration. Visit
www.exams.horlicks.in for sample videoswww.exams.horlicks.in Slide
23 Brain Teasers Research is finally demonstrating that the brains
do better in the long term if they are exposed to novel activities
including brain teasers, brain games and logic puzzles. Visit
www.exams.horlicks.in for sample videoswww.exams.horlicks.in Slide
24 Keep these handy! Memory games It's often said that the brain is
like a muscle. It needs to be exercised to be made stronger. Visit
www.exams.horlicks.in for sample videoswww.exams.horlicks.in Slide
25 Playing Sudoku actually exercises the brain extensively. Visit
www.exams.horlicks.in for sample videoswww.exams.horlicks.in Slide
26 Create, have fun or master these.. Rhythm Researchers suggest
that practicing music could improve other skills, particularly
reading. Visit www.exams.horlicks.in for sample
videoswww.exams.horlicks.in Slide 27 Solving the Rubiks cube has
been of the greatest puzzles of all time, involving functions such
as significant concentration, mind -body coordination, sharpness
and quick reflex. Visit www.exams.horlicks.in for sample
videoswww.exams.horlicks.in Slide 28 Crosswords Dart Chess Playing
musical instruments These are some examples of games that improve
focus and concentration. Can you name some more? Dancing Bowling
Word building Scrabble Slide 29 STEP 3 HEALTHY BODY HEALTHY MIND
What students do during and after school affect your body &
mind in ways you can never imagine! Let us look at some of the
things you can implement into the daily schedule for your students
to make the study process a lot less stressful! Slide 30 Yoga,
meditation and physical education ensure the well being of
students. At least 8 hours of sleep allows the body to rejuvenate
and helps brain focus better. Slide 31 Organizing a Food Pyramid
Week or Healthy Diet Day to understand food intake & healthy
eating habits. Slide 32 Encourage students to replace their junk
food filled short- breaks with healthy food like nuts, health food
drinks, fresh fruit juices or shakes, salads and other nutrient
rich munchies that improve memory and concentration. Slide 33 Did
you know that these 9 brain foods specifically improve focus and
concentration? Gooseberry or Amla is known to increase intelligence
and memory power. A recent study suggests that milk drinkers five
times more likely to succeed in memory tests. The antioxidants in
papayas protects the brain from degenerative diseases. Fatty/oily
fish contains omega-3 fatty acids which aid memory, mental
performance and behavioral function. Dark chocolate contains
magnesium, which helps you de-stress and stimulates the release of
endorphins to heighten the mood. Slide 34 Leafy green vegetables
comprise B- vitamins which help increase memory & folic acid
which improves mental clarity. Water gives the brain the electrical
energy for all brain functions, including thought and memory
processes. Flax seeds are high in magnesium, B- vitamins, omega- 3
fatty acids, and fiber, all of which aid with mental clarity and
ultimately, focus. Nuts and seeds are good sources of the
antioxidant vitamin E, which is associated with less cognitive
decline as the body ages. Slide 35 3. Encourage parents to maintain
a Health Log of their children to keep track of the number of days
the child falls ill, the food that suit the child etc. This would
help them plan better. 4. Talk to parents about the importance of
right diet for students, especially during the study period. Slide
36 You now know how to - Build concentration - Sharpen the mind -
Encourage a healthy body to increase the academic performance. Your
next steps would be to. Collect the Concentration Handbook The
presentation would be mailed to you. Conduct the workshop for
teachers in your school. Administer the Cambridge Brain Sciences
Concentration test to all your students Encourage students &
parents to log on the website and download the Concentration
Handbooks Slide 37 Any questions? FOR MORE DETAILS, VISIT:
