Focus Activities and Strategies for Students

Focus 5 is a set of exercises that provides students and teachers with skills to minimize distraction and develop a greater sense of focus and awareness. The exercises range in length from one to five minutes.

Why use Focus 5 exercises?

We all experience the difference in how quickly we learn something new when we are fully focused, and how easily new information can pass us by when we are not paying attention. We all carry with us the set of things that interest, excite, puzzle, or worry us.

The Benefits of Focus 5 Activities

Learning experiences will only be effective if we can pull the learner away from those things in the outside world and into the immediate lesson or activity. Every teacher knows this challenge only too well. Focus 5 exercises give students (and teachers) a chance to calm their thoughts so they can have better control over their attention. Practicing these exercises daily, both in and out of school, can lead to better focus, as well as feelings of calmness and relaxation.

Focus 5 was created through a partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools.

At the district's request, SERP created a tool that:

takes less than than 5 minutes a day;

provides clear, simple supports;

benefits students and teachers simultaneously;

minimizes the “out of role” behavior asked of teachers:

minimizes/eliminates resources required by the district;

shows evidence of promise in urban school district settings.

Take a Look at SERP's Other Educator Resources

The SERP partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore Education Research Consortium, and the Duckworth Lab at the University of Pennsylvania was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305H140121. The information provided does not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.