It's happened to every teacher: you get your students quiet and settled into an independent assignment, and the class next door bursts into song or starts playing a rowdy game. Even productive noise can distract from activities like reading or writing, especially for students with disabilities and sensitive students (or teachers, like me!).
Here are a couple of my favorite ways to create ambient noise in my classroom while students are working independently.
- http://www.rainymood.com/
- I've had students ask me to turn this on before while they were testing. Some students complain that it makes them sleepy, but I've had mostly positive feedback.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPni755-Krg
- I'm not sure what the real title is to this YouTube video, but a colleague shared it with me yesterday and I'm already using it frequently. It's three hours long and helps me to stay focused while working.
