Teach them to S-L-A-N-T

I first learned about the SLANT acronym observing at a school when I was still in college. It was such a powerful directive and left a huge impression on me. I've been implementing it in my classroom since year one and it's a VERB in my classroom.

My first year teaching I had this poster in my room to use as my SLANT model.The funny thing was whenever my kids heard the word "SLANT" they would all instantly fold their hands up like this. Never my intention, but pretty funny none the less.

Anytime my class gets that slouchy, distracted, we're not really listening anymore look to them I tell them to SLANT and it's a quick reminder that they need to refocus. I will say, "Ok everyone show me SLANT in 3 (clap) 2( clap) 1 (clap). The most important part of SLANT is the "T" for tracking. It's where their eyes should be focused. So I can ask a question and then when hands go up to answer I will say, "Let's track Andrew" and it helps direct the kids to pay attention to Andrew. I will tell them to track the board,  across the room, or anything you want them to pay attention to. This time of year, the word seemingly comes out of my mouth all the time because we're training. The younger the kiddos, the more reinforcement they need to make this behavior automatic. By mid year though, they do it on their own and remind each other where they should be tracking/SLANTing. 

I created a handful of posters that you could hang in your room that kids can refer to for a visual reminder of what SLANT looks like. Click any of the images below to download and you can pick your fav from the bunch.

                                                                     

Ok peeps I am a special kind of tiered tonight. And I have a date with my couch and the Hunger Games DVD.

Happy Friday-!! :)