Most children and teenagers concentrate best after nine hours sleep so make sure you get enough sleep.

Reduced sugar intake and increased protein levels with lean meat, almonds and eggs stimulate your dopamine levels which make concentration easier.

What is dopamine? A chemical released by nerve cells to send signals to other nerve cells.

Frequent breaks for exercise have a similar effect.

Use the table to chart the amount of rest, exercise and sleep you have had over the past three days. Also include what you have eaten.

Compare your chart with your neighbour’s.•How do they compare? •Do you have more or less sleep? •Do you do similar things to relax?•Do you have a balanced diet?•What drinks do you have?

Water also plays a vital role in almost every tissue and process in human body, involving eliminating wastes and maintaining proper body temperature. You should be drinking 5-6 glasses of water a day but this may change depending on the activity you’re doing or the weather.

Recommendeddaily amounts.

Be honest- what distracts you from working?

At home:

In school:

Create the mood for concentration: Calming background music and switching off overhead, fluorescent lights replacing them with softer lights are some simple ways to make the environment more amenable for concentration.

Useful link for teachers

Turn off your wireless / internet connection

Set aside a specific time for using social networking / other recreational websites

Take short breaks

Do your work now rather than later

Prioritise

Find yourself a calm place to work at home if possible, away from distractions and other people

Believe it or not, tongue twisters can improve your concentration and pronunciation skills.

Besides being a fun and entertaining activity, it stimulates your hearing memory and is useful for improving speed and accuracy when speaking.

Have a go at some of the tongue twisters. Start slow and gradually speed up. How many times can you repeat them before it all starts to go wrong.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

To Print

Denise sees the fleece,Denise sees the fleas.At least Denise could sneezeand feed and freeze the fleas.

The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.

If Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews?

One-one was a race horse.Two-two was one too.One-one won one race.Two-two won one too.

How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?

Denise sees the fleece,Denise sees the fleas.At least Denise could sneezeand feed and freeze the fleas.

I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won't wish the wish you wish to wish.

If Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews?

How many cookies could a good cook cook If a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.

How much ground would a groundhog hog, if a groundhog could hog ground? A groundhog would hog all the ground he could hog, if a groundhog could hog ground.

On line memory game

Work as a group to find the pairs…..

• Reading is a much more complex task for the human brain than, say, watching TV is.

• Reading strengthens brain connections and actually builds new connections.

• You have to sit still and quietly so you can focus on the story when you’re reading. If you read regularly, you develop the ability to do this for longer.

• Reading improves a your vocabulary and leads to more highly-developed language skills.

• Children who read do better at school. And they don’t just do better at subjects like reading, English and history. They do better at all subjects and they do better all the way through school.

Aims:Establish what type of learner you are.Develop strategies to help you work efficiently and effectively.

English Japanese What you do

One Itchi Scratch your knee and say ‘itchy knee’, that’s 1 and 2.

Two Ni

Three San Then say ‘sun, she go rock’ as you point to the sun

Point to a girl

Walk forwardThen shake your hips in a rock and roll motion(that’s 3,4,5,and 6)

Four Shi

Five Go

Six Roco

Seven Shichi Now do two sneezes ‘shi, chi (7)

Eight Hachi Pretend to put a hat on while you say ‘hachi’

Nine Kyu Coo like a dove

Ten Ju Finally say ‘ju’ as you pretend to put on your jewels

Do this three times.

If we can make learning fun and it fits our learning style we learn more and we learn quicker and better.

If we can make learning fun and it fits our learning style we learn more and we learn quicker and better.

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