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It’s hard for those who don’t have ADD to understand how hard it is to live with. Teaching your students about what it’s like may help them to be understanding to their classmates who deal with this disability. Here’s one idea for teaching children the concept.
Materials
For the presentation you’ll need the following materials:
- 10 bean bags. On each bag will be a strip of paper attached that has a fact on it. You can use a fact about ADD or just a general fact from one of your other lessons.
- MP3 player with headphones
- Music on the MP3 player. It helps if the music is random sounds and music that is hard to tune out.
Lesson Plan
Ask for a volunteer to come up and help you demonstrate. Explain to the student that you’ll put on the headphones and play the music. Also, you’ll hand them a few of the bean bags to start out with.
Once you hand them the bean bags, they are to read what’s taped to the bags, but as they’re reading and listening to the music, you’re also going to give them instructions that they are to follow, such as hopping on one leg. You’re also going to toss the bags to them. They are to catch the bean bags and continue to read the facts on the bags while you continue to give them instructions. Instructions may include things such as jump up and down, stomp feet, raise one arm, etc.
This activity simulates how hard it is for those with ADD to concentrate without becoming distracted by peripheral activities such as sounds.