When you attend school, attend camp, or attend a meeting, that means you go there. But when you attend to people or things, or when you pay attention to them, that means you listen to them, you give them your focus, or you give them your time, your effort, and your care.
So, attention is the act of watching, looking, or listening.
Your teacher might start class by saying "Attention, please!" or "May I have everyone's attention?" Those are polite ways to say, "Be quiet and listen to me." You'll have to pay attention in class—keep your eyes on your teacher, and keep still and quiet—even if it's difficult or boring.
We often talk about paying attention when people are talking to us or teaching us, but more generally, we also talk about paying attention when we're moving, working, playing, cooking, or doing anything else where we have to notice what we're doing and act carefully. Otherwise, we have accidents. Cady wasn't paying enough attention as she walked. Her inattention sent her crashing headfirst into a trash can. Whoops.
And we have to pay attention to our pets. They need us! This cat really wants your attention. She wants you to look at her, pet her, talk to her, and play with her. Or maybe just feed her.
When you're paying attention to people or things, you're being attentive. If you're an attentive pet owner, you pay good attention to your pets, keeping them happy. If you're an attentive student, you'll learn a lot. Especially if you listen attentively, and take notes attentively.
It can be hard to be attentive. Does your mind wander a lot? Do you get distracted often? Me, too. This inattentive dog gets us. He's trying to listen to his owner, but so many interesting things are stealing away his attention.
Make a flash card:
You can write your own definition and choose your own picture, or copy mine.
Term
Definition
Picture
attention
your focus, or the act of giving things your focus
Write your own sentence!
You can use either of the two ideas I'll suggest, or you can invent your own. Include as much detail as you can!
(Source) Write a sentence with the word ATTENTION or ATTENTIVE:
Remember: when you're attentive, or when you're paying attention, you're keeping your mind, your eyes, and your ears focused on an important person or thing.
Idea 1: "It's so much easier to pay attention to (something interesting) than to (something boring)."
Idea 2: "I listened attentively as (someone) described how to (do something amazing, exciting, or dangerous)."
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