Attention span is the amount of time spent concentrating on a task before becoming distracted . Distractibility occurs when attention is uncontrollably diverted to another activity or sensation. Attention training is said to be part of education , particularly in the way students are trained to remain focused on a topic of discussion for extended periods, developing listening and analytical skills in the process.
20-680: Jenny Nimmo (born 15 January 1944) is a British author of children's books, including fantasy and adventure novels, chapter books , and picture books. Born in England, she has lived mostly in Wales for 40 years. She is probably best known for two series of fantasy novels: The Magician Trilogy (1986–1989), contemporary stories rooted in Welsh myth, and Children of the Red King (2002–2010), featuring schoolchildren endowed with magical powers. The Snow Spider , first of
40-624: A Welsh artist and illustrator. Their two daughters and one son were born between 1975 and 1980. She currently lives in Wales , sharing her time between writing and helping her husband with a summer art school. Millward is the writer or illustrator of a few published books himself, including four collaborations with Nimmo (1994–2000, marked ‡ below). Nimmo and their younger daughter Gwen Millward have collaborated on one picture book written by Jenny and illustrated by Gwen, The Beasties ( Egmont UK , 2010). Gwen's first published book as both writer and illustrator
60-422: A lifespan. The study required participants to use a cognitive testing website where data was gathered for seven months. The data collected from the study concluded that attention span is not one singular linear equation; at age 15 it is recorded that attention-span-related abilities diverge. Over the course of the study, collected evidence additionally found that, in humans, attention span is at its highest level when
80-510: A longer attention span when they are doing something that they find enjoyable or intrinsically motivating . Attention is also increased if the person is able to perform the task fluently, compared to a person who has difficulty performing the task, or to the same person when they are just learning the task. Fatigue, hunger, noise, and emotional stress reduce the time focused on the task. A research study that consisted of 10,430 males and females ages 10 to 70 observed sustained attention time across
100-432: A person is in their early 40s, then gradually declines in old age. Many different tests on attention span have been used in different populations and in different times. Some tests measure short-term, focused attention abilities (which is typically below normal in people with ADHD ), and others provide information about how easily distracted the test-taker is (typically a significant problem in people with ADHD). Tests like
120-411: Is a short-term response to a stimulus that temporarily attracts or distracts attention. Researchers disagree on the exact amount of the human transient attention span, whereas selective sustained attention, also known as focused attention, is the level of attention that produces consistent results on a task over time. Common estimates of the attention span of healthy teenagers and adults range 5 hours. This
140-491: Is a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10. Unlike picture books for beginning readers, a chapter book tells the story primarily through prose rather than pictures. Unlike books for advanced readers, chapter books contain plentiful illustrations. The name refers to the fact that the stories are usually divided into short chapters, which provide readers with opportunities to stop and resume reading if their attention spans are not long enough to finish
160-496: Is associated with later attention problems such as inattention, impulsiveness, disorganization, and distractibility at age seven. This correlational study does not specify whether viewing television increases attention problems in children, or if children who are naturally prone to inattention are disproportionately attracted to the stimulation of television at young ages, or if there is some other factor, such as parenting skills, associated with this finding. Another study examining
180-429: Is possible because people can choose repeatedly to re-focus on the same thing. This ability to renew attention permits people to 'pay attention' to things that last for more than a few minutes, such as lengthy films. Older children are capable of longer periods of attention than younger children. For time-on-task measurements, the type of activity used in the test affects the results, as people are generally capable of
200-807: The DeGangi's Test of Attention in Infants (TAI) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children -IV (WISC-IV) are commonly used to assess attention-related issues in young children when interviews and observations are inadequate. Older tests, like the Continuous Performance Test and the Porteus Maze Test , have been rejected by some experts. These tests are typically criticized as not actually measuring attention, being inappropriate for some populations, or not providing clinically useful information. Variability in test scores can be produced by small changes in
220-532: The Magician books, won the second annual Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and the 1987 Tir na n-Og Award as the year's best originally English-language book with an authentic Welsh background. The Stone Mouse was highly commended for the 1993 Carnegie Medal . Several others of hers have been shortlisted for children's book awards. Jenny Nimmo was born in Windsor , England. She was an only child, and her father died when she
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#1732875917594240-444: The ability to pay attention, remember instructions, and demonstrate self-control have more difficulty in elementary school and throughout high school. In another study involving 10,000 children (ages eight to 11), fluctuations in attention span were observed during the school day, with higher levels of attention in the afternoon and lower levels in the morning. The study also found that student awareness and productivity increased after
260-429: The behavioral variables (temper frequency, temper intensity, irritability, crying, and demanding attention) had a significant inverse relationship with attention span. In other words, the twin with longer attention span was better able to remain performing a particular activity without distraction, and was also the less temperamental twin. One study of 2600 children found that early exposure to television (around age two)
280-503: The book in one sitting. Chapter books are usually works of fiction of moderate length and complexity. Examples of chapter books include: This article about a children's book is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Attention span Measuring humans’ estimated attention span depends on what the attention is being used for. The terms “transient attention” and “selective sustained attention” are used to separate short term and focused attention. Transient attention
300-423: The relations between children’s attention span-persistence in preschool and later academic achievements found that children’s age four attention span-persistence significantly predicted math and reading achievement at age 21 after controlling for achievement levels at age seven, adopted status, child vocabulary skills, gender, and maternal education level. For instance, children who enrolled in formal schooling without
320-508: The screenwriter Julia Jones , as three miniseries that HTV aired 1989 to 1991. The series introduced Osian Roberts as Gwyn Griffiths with Siân Phillips as grandmother Nain Griffiths, Robert Blythe and Sharon Morgan as his parents, and Gareth Thomas as Mr. Llewellyn. In December 2023, Amazon MGM Studios announced that a film adaptation of the novel, Midnight for Charlie Bone , is in development. Chapter books A chapter book
340-463: The testing environment. For example, test-takers will usually remain on task for longer periods of time if the examiner is visibly present in the room than if the examiner is absent. In an early study of the influence of temperament on attention span, the mothers of 232 pairs of twins were interviewed periodically about the similarities and differences in behavior displayed by their twins during infancy and early childhood. The results showed that each of
360-471: Was Bear and Bird (Egmont, September 2012). Her best-known work may be Children of the Red King , also known as the Charlie Bone series or Red King series, in which Charlie Bone's magical talent embroils him in the sinister intrigues of his new school. By 2006 Charlie Bone titles had been published in nine foreign-language editions. Translations into eleven other languages were in progress. Originally it
380-598: Was five. She was a voracious reader as a child, which led her to write her own stories to share with friends. After working for a time in theatre, Nimmo spent several years with the BBC , partly on adapting other writers' stories for television, including 40 episodes (eight "stories") for Jackanory readings. Her first book, The Bronze Trumpeter , began life as a television script. It was published by Angus & Robertson in January 1975. That year, Nimmo married David Wynn Millward,
400-819: Was the Red King Quintet after which Nimmo contracted for a new trilogy. The story climaxes in the fifth book and again in the eighth. Recently there is a new Red King series. There are eight books in the series, all first published by Egmont Press in British trade paperback editions with cover art by David Wyatt . Five volumes have variant titles in the United States. In Britain this series has been published in one volume entitled The Snow Spider Trilogy . ‡ Four 55- to 64-page books are illustrated by Nimmo's husband David Wynn Millward (1994 to 2000). The Snow Spider and its sequels were adapted for television by
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