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We promised to give you the rest of the story about classroom warning data this week and here it is. The #2 reason teachers are warning students in the classroom is because they aren’t staying in their seats and aren’t facing forward (or paying attention). This fidgety need to “do something” might be especially true this year, when many states have forbidden phone use in schools and secondary students might be coping with being without a device for the first time.
One common cause of excessive fidgeting or leaving one’s seat is ADHD. Roughly 1 in 9 U.S. children (about 11%) are diagnosed with ADHD, and many continue to have symptoms into adolescence. A hallmark of ADHD is difficulty sitting still – the diagnostic criteria include “often fidgets with or taps hands or feet, or squirms in seat” and “often leaves seat in situations when remaining seated is expected.”
Some are restless because their brains are overwhelmed or under-stimulated by the environment around them. For some, the classroom lights are too bright, the noise too sharp, or the chair too scratchy to focus for long. For others, the opposite is true—they crave more input. These are the students who tap, bounce, rock, or get up just to feel something. What looks like “off-task” behavior can actually be a nervous system searching for balance. You might consider buying a classroom set of chair bands to put “movement” into the sitting position and reduce the amount of chair-tipping and moving around the room.
Many of these kids have sensory processing differences, and some are also navigating ADHD or autism. Their behavior isn’t about disrespect. It’s their body’s way of saying the environment is too much, or not enough, for their system to manage. When we understand that, it changes how we see everything from the squirming student in the back row to the one pacing at the edge of the room.
Keeping students seated is a whole lot easier when they’re actually interested in what’s happening. If we want fewer reminders to “sit down and face forward,” we have to design lessons students don’t want to walk away from. That means teaching in ways that are interactive, unpredictable, and built around curiosity. Instead of fighting short attention spans, we can work with how students’ brains naturally seek stimulation.
Break up long stretches of talk with a quick question, a short discussion, or a poll. Use humor or ask for opinions when the chatter starts—it’s often a sign they want in on the conversation.
Start class with something that hooks them: a surprising demo, a weird photo, a mystery to solve.
Movement can help too. Let students rotate through problem stations, do gallery walks, or stand for a think-pair-share. When movement is part of learning, it stops being a behavior problem. Project-based learning, labs, role-plays, and creative games all get students doing instead of just watching.
A bored teen will make their own excitement, but an engaged teen will stay put because they don’t want to miss what happens next. The real secret to keeping students seated isn’t control, it’s curiosity.
We know that getting students up and moving is important for learning and attention, but it’s not always easy to brainstorm an activity that involves movement in the classroom. Here’s one of those places where I love using AI to help me come up with ideas.
I’ve built multiple physical simulations for complex topics using AI for assistance. For example, last month my students simulated being a power grid, each with a different role. I had the seed for the idea last year, but I used AI to help me brainstorm the details of the simulation, to write the role cards, and to help me balance the math in the simulation so that it ran smoothly.
If you don’t have any ideas for what to do, that’s fine too. Here’s a prompt to get started on any set of standards or learning objectives:
Prompt: Help me think of movement-based activities that I could do to help my [insert grade/level] students learn – things like problem stations, gallery walks, think-pair-shares, creative games, simulations, short lab-like activities, or role-plays. Give me at least 5 ideas. The learning objectives/standards for the lesson are: [fill this in]
Now, don’t stop here. If you like one of the ideas, then go deeper on that one, adding your own thoughts – tell the AI what classroom materials you have that might help with the activity and ask it to go deeper into the development of that one activity.
Working with an AI is like having a really creative and knowledgeable TA with no practical experience whatsoever. The ideas will be good, but the execution of those ideas will require your classroom experience. Push back on ideas, tell the AI when it’s wrong and why and ask it to try again.
I’m not usually a fan of AI-created videos, but I have to say that the Basin Creek Retirement Village account on Instagram is just nailing it with their collection of punny senior Halloween costumes! My favorite? A waste of time.
Also a little good natured poking fun at admins from made2teachtc.
