Writers Workshop Tip: Headphones Help Them Concentrate

Writers Workshop can be made easier and headphones can help. I have found that using headphones during my writers workshop time helps my kindergarten students concentrate better, reduces noise and adds a "hook" of interest. Writers workshop time can be super-productive with the help of some old headphone sets. Here is how I organize my headphones and how they work for me.

Why I Included Headphones into Writers Workshop

I have found that making headphones available regularly to my students has been beneficial. It started because I knew I was going to have a student who would use noise cancelling headphones regularly and I wanted headphones to feel "regular" in our room. I also wanted to give my students who enjoy quiet times a mini-escape while they work.

I didn't know how powerful they were going to be. I had one student who regularly asked for them even when it wasn't writing time but independent work time. While they do little to block out noise when compared to the occupational-therapy version, they did work for many students.

How I Included Headphones into Writers Workshop

I simply let students know the purpose of them and modeled using them when I was doing a write-aloud. It really was that simple. I created a hanging space for them on a wall in the classroom. We even use an old pencil sharpener fixture to hang a pair.

The blue hooks pictured above came from the Dollar Tree. I should add them to my list of things worth purchasing!

{Recognize the author this kinder-author is modeling after?}

Tips

My tips for including headphones into your classroom whether you have them available for only during writers workshop or for the entire day is to have a plan in place for when multiple students want to use them and you don't have enough. Just as with anything, I most often approached it with "sometimes we do, sometimes we don't" philosophy since I am big on recognizing that sometimes life 'appears' unfair. {'cuz let's be real, when you're five and you don't get your way... most things feel unfair}

I eventually began to let students use them throughout the day once I felt comfortable with them and the new procedures we had set for using them. Often students felt they just needed them even for a few minutes before passing them onto someone else or returning them to the hooks.

How to Make Headphones for the Classroom

I took headphones that no longer worked from our classroom stash and also made an appeal from our computer lab tech to save some for me. I simply cut the cord with scissors to keep just the band. I also earned a "whisper phone" (different from the ones I use in the detective center) from my points with scholastic book orders. This one I model specifically for using to hear the sounds when writing and reading.

More Unique Tips:

safely lock your door in a lockdown
how to create an art portfolio from a shopping bag
prepare for a sub like a pro
12 tips to start a successful kindergarten year

create a lesson plan bracelet

More on Writing:

breaking handwriting down
the write stuff
No David... Revisited
creating a writer's workshop folder in kindergarten

Think it might work in your classroom? What tips do you have?

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.
- Leslie

*Free downloadable Thank You Gift included when you subscribe via email or RSS.