Ever feel like you can’t get students to listen to instructions??
I have this recurring dream where I’m standing on top of my lab bench screaming and waving my arms, trying to get my class to hear me. But it’s like somebody hit the “mute” button on me. My class is getting totally out of control and there is nothing I can do to intervene.
Anybody else have this nightmare?
If you’re thinking something along the lines of “Sounds like every day in my [insert hardest class period here]” then you’re in the right place!
Let me share with you a little secret… a NINJA secret… that keeps students engaged and listening during direct instruction time.
How to Use a Sneaky Ninja To Get Students to Listen
Say hello to my little friend….
SNEAKY NINJA.
In a nut shell, I hide a little picture of a ninja in my Slides. The first kid to see the ninja and silently make the “ninja sign” (which I teach them the first week of school) gets a ticket.
If you’re thinking, “my kids are too old for that,” you should just try it and see. I’ve never had a student of any age who didn’t appreciate the sneaky ninja. But then, it’s all about how you sell it to them.
How it works
I slip this cute little guy into my Slides whenever I am giving instructions.
I animate the ninja (which takes about 30 seconds and I will show you how to do it below) so that it zooms across the screen when I click. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend this little clicker. It will change your life.
The first kid to silently make the “ninja sign” (put their finger to their lips) when they see the ninja earns a reward. In my classroom, I use tickets as the reward, and we do a weekly drawing for prizes. Learn more about my Classroom Rewards System here.
The only rules are #1) Students must be sneaky like the ninja. No loud sounds or abrupt movements that will distract others.
And #2) Hands must be away from the face before the signal is given – otherwise they just sit there with a finger over their lips the whole time.
I pre-teach the expectations for this so that there is no interruption in the flow of my instructions. Some of the kids don’t even notice that it happened, and wonder why all the sudden all their friends are sitting up a little straighter, their eyes rivetted to the board.
How to Animate Your Ninja
Like I said before, animating your ninja is super quick and easy. Do it once, and then you can copy and paste into as many slides as you’d like. Watch the video to see how to do it, or go through the following steps:
- Go to Insert>Image>Stock and web
- In the pop up menu, search “ninja” and select the image you want to add as your listening aide.
- Size the image and drag it off your slide into the empty space to the left.
- Right click on the image>ANIMATE
- Under “Object Animations” select “Add Animation”
- From the drop down menu, change the first animation to “Fly out to right (On Click)”
- Adjust the Speed of the animation by dragging the yellow dot on the speed scale. I like it best at ~0.4 seconds (almost all the way to the right end).
- Click “PLAY” to test the animation. Adjust as needed.
- Copy & paste your “listening aide” into additional Slides as desired.
How to Introduce Students to Sneaky Ninja
You really have to sell this as fun. That is the key to success. That and having a reward that they care about. Again, check out the post on my rewards system linked earlier.
I introduce “Sneaky Ninja” to my students when I introduce my reward system at the beginning of the year (and after holiday breaks). These are the Sneaky Ninja Slides I use in my classroom. Feel free to download and edit as needed for your own class! Sneaky Ninja is on Slide 4.
Why I love Sneaky Ninja
- It’s fun and my students LOVE it
- Increases student engagement without adding to my work load
- Works seamlessly with my class reward system (and could easily be adapted to other system)
- The SILENCE. Because it all occurs silently, sometimes kids don’t even realize they missed it. It doesn’t disrupt my flow at all.
Does it Really Work??
YES.
I am absolutely amazed at how much this little listening aide helps with engagement. It really does get students to listen when you talk. We get through teacher instructions SO much faster and less painfully. All because of a little sneaky ninja.
So give it a shot and let me know if it works for you!
Happy Teaching!
