SLANT and Call to Attention

 Hey Fast Llamas, 

This is a repost from 2019, but it's a good one and is reposted due to a coaching conversation I had with the Math coach on my campus.  It's good stuff and a good reminder of strategies... 

 

So far we have talked about Threshold and Strong Start strategies as students enter and we begin class.  
Now what?  How do we get to the learning as fast, efficiently and respectfully as possible?  My first year of teaching I realized quickly that I needed to find a way to get the students attention.  I started flicking the lights on and off.  It worked.  But, I am not sure how I feel about it.  I do know that since I wasn't a QL teacher yet, my overhead lights were always on, so flicking them "off" to get attention wasn't so bad. If I had continued that practice, (when I stopped using fluorescent lighting), that switching the lights "ON" to get their attention would of blinded the kids and would of seemed punishing.  By the time I was using lighting purposely, I had developed a better plan.  (thank goodness).  

The Call to Attention...
Like I mentioned above, what you use to call the students to attention is not a punishment, but a classroom management technique that simplifies your ability to get kids attention in a positive way and teaches kids self-regulating behaviors and guides them to autonomy.  (stay tuned for more on that in a minute).
There are lots of examples of Calls to Attention out there on the web and you may have one you like...  A teacher friend of mine simply says, "Hey"  and the kids say "Ho", another says, "Howdy" and the kids do the same.  Some teachers do a narrating countdown, ("you are quiet in 5, pencils down in 4, eyes on me in three, etc.") or simply hold a hand for "5". The important thing to do is practice it a lot, and hold that 100% compliance is happening by scanning the room.  If the kids know you are waiting and looking, it will be more effective.  Waiting and looking sends a message that you are serious and you expect them to comply.

In my classroom, I used a modified rock climbing command protocol.  In the sport of rock climbing, “on belay” is the first climbing command used by a rope climbing team at the base of a climb. "Belaying" refers to actions used to keep tension on a climbing rope so that in case of mishap, a climber does not fall before being stopped by the rope. "On belay" is the voice command issued by your climbing partner to indicate they are ready to keep the tension of the rope as you climb, thereby ensuring safety of the climber. In my class, I used the metaphor that I was their belayer, holding their rope and supporting them as they climbed 8th grade science.  I believe they had more stock in saying it, since I took the time in a mini-lesson to explain what it meant to me and to them.  It was an effective call to attention. More on what it look, sounded and felt like below.

Change Their State:
To increase my ability to train students to self-regulate and change their state, I combined my call to attention with a kinesthetic state change.  I used SLANT first, which was started in KIPP schools, is used by Quantum Learning (where I learned it) and is mentioned in Doug Lemov's book, Teach Like a Champion.  I later switched to PLAN which is from Doug Curry's How to Train a Llama.  There is STAR too.  

Here are the three that I have seen and used:
Sit up                                            Sit up                                              Posture (sit up)
Lean forward                              Track the speaker                         Lean, look and listen
Ask and answer questions       Ask and answer questions          All things put down
Nod your head                            Respect others                              No talking
Talk to your teacher

As you can see, they are more alike than they are different.  I had success with SLANT and with PLAN.  (the reason for my switch was my entire building used PLAN, no big deal).

Each letter in SLANT also describes what is happening cognitively.  

S, for example, when you sit up, you send a message to the brain that, "this is important".  Has that ever happened to you? Something important is being said and you automatically sit up?  Or you are in a relaxed position while driving, and traffic amps up, so you sit up to be able to pay more attention to it. When we pay attention... we are better able to retain it.

Lean Forward sends a message to the brain to focus.  Have you ever described the plot of a really good movie to someone?  Most likely, you leaned forward to tell the story.  Same with that driving scenario, we naturally lean forward when we want to focus more.

Ask Questions sends a message to the brain that you are interested.  Questions pulls the brain into inquiry mode.  Inquiry mode sparks curiosity.  Curious brains are more creative and you retain more information.

Nod you head.  Ahhh the power of positivity.  When I send a message of positivity to the brain, or equate positive feelings with what I am doing, or reading, the brain picks up on it and will likely store it into long term memory.

Track or Talk to your teacher.  Finally, this last step again, sends a message to the brain that this is important. This is important enough for me to talk about it and follow the teacher as she/he talks about it.  

So, my call to attention looked, sounded and felt like this... 

(remember I  modified it for the classroom, true rock climbers will notice that the commands are reversed, but, it worked for the outcome I needed in the classroom)
Me:  "on belay" 
Kids:  "ready to climb", 
Me: "climb on" 
Kids: "climbing"
Me: "Show me your PLAN"
Kids: would sit up, lean forward, put pencils down, and look at me
Me: scan the room and make corrections and praise and praise and praise

This took practice, on my part to continue using it with fidelity and never getting upset when I had to use it.  I was in control of the classroom behavior in a positive way.  Remember, everytime I used it, I was telling them that I was sending a message that I was there for them,  setting them up for success and they were climbing higher and higher!
I would also manage their behavior by calling to attention when I felt they were getting too loud... right as the volume would rise, I would call them back and either check for understanding or students could share their learning.  
I also would go to the SAME spot in my classroom to call them to attention.  By spring, I could walk to that spot and the volume would decrease automatically.  That's self-regulation folks and sets up kids with feelings of satisfaction and autonomy.  

Tips:
1.  Keep it simple - don't choose something that will cost time or not be something you will hold on to...
2.  Time is important and being quick is the goal... so don't hold kids 15 seconds longer than necessary just to prove you are in control...
3.  Use the fewest words as possible.  A call to attention means you don't have to say "shhh" or other words.  It is all you say.  Talking more steals away the satisfaction and autonomy students gain when they comply.  We are training kids to self-regulate, they need to know what it feels like...
4.  Practice with peers (this practice is called microteaching and doesn't it sound fancy?) your procedures to increase your economy of words.  The goal... talk less.


Here's quick video for guidance.