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Monday, September 10, 2018

Teaching Children How To Follow Directions




 It's the beginning of the school year and you've discovered your child, or some of your students don't know how to follow directions. What do you do? Teach them how of course! My book provides activities and lessons for one-step through five-step directions. Check out the article below for a few tips!


The following article contains excerpts from 
by Laura S. Pringle


Cultivate an amusing environment that students will want to participate in, by using a positive expression and pleasant tone.  Be patient, not everyone learns at the same pace.  With repetition, you will see improved comprehension and compliance. Allow time for laughter when appropriate.  Keep in mind that children who are very young, learning disabled, intellectually disabled, or autistic will need a lot of repetition.  Some students may need you to gently guide them through the directions by moving their hands or legs to get them moving.

DAILY DRILLS

Standing and Sitting

1.Have students seated in a chair at their desk or table.
2.Explain that we will practice how to follow directions. 
3.Explain that when you give them the cue to stand, they will push in their chair and stand in place behind it.  When you give the cue to sit, they will pull out their chair, sit, and then pull in to the table.  Demonstrate and practice with students before beginning the rhyme activity.
4.For the first week or two, choose only one word you want students to repeat, and stick with the same action instruction.  Later, you can add in other rhyme words and action directions for variety.  This will also build some flexibility, as not all teachers use the same words or do things exactly the same.  Be sure to inform students that you “expect” them to follow your directions, as well as the directions of other adults.

Example: Teacher says, “Say cup.”
               Students repeat, “Cup.”
               Teacher says, “Now please stand up.”
               Students quietly stand, push in chairs, and
                             stand in place behind chair.
               Teacher says, “Say clown.”
               Students repeat, “Clown.”                  
               Teacher instructs, “Now please sit down.”
              Students quietly pull out chair, sit and pull                               chair up to table.

  • Choose from the following lists:

Standing Up



Teacher says, “Say _____.”

Teacher instructs,
cup

Now Please Stand Up.”
pup


sup


tup


wup





band

“Now Stand.”
hand


land


sand

guys



“Please rise”

  
Sitting Down

Teacher says, “Say _____.”

Teacher instructs,
clown

“Now Please     Sit Down.”
frown


town


gown





bale

“Now Sit on   Your Tail.”
jail


kale


mail


pail


veil


whale


Yale



Show Ready
Begin with students seated.
Explain that when you give the cue, students will sit up straight, interlock their fingers, place hands on the table, stop talking, and look at you. 
When everyone is showing ready, you can go right into your next direction or lesson.
For the first week or two, choose one word you want students to repeat, and one set of directions.  Later you can add more for variety.

  • Choose from the following list:

Teacher says, “Say ____.”
Teacher instructs,
Freddie
“Now show     ready.”
Steady



Teddy
“Please show   ready.”


Standing in Line

Begin by explaining we will practice how to line up. 
Next, explain that when you give the cue, students will quietly stand, push in their chairs, and line up at the designated place.
Demonstrate and practice with students where to line up, how to line up straight by placing hands on shoulders in front of you, and how to be quiet in line.  That last part is often the hardest for young students.  They often don’t understand the importance of why they have to be quiet, and don’t have control over their voices yet.  Explain that they need to be quiet so they can hear your directions, and won’t disturb others. 
For the first week or two, choose one word you want students to repeat, and one set of directions.  Later you can add more for variety.

Example:  Teacher says, “Say pine.”
                Students repeat, “Pine.”
                Teacher directs, “Now Stand in Line.”
                Students quietly stand, push in chairs,                                  and go to designated line up area.
                Teacher says, “Say boulders.”
                Students repeat, “Boulders.”
                Teacher directs, “Now line up your
                                         shoulders.”
                Students put hands on shoulders 
                              of person in front of them to 
                              check that they are straight.
                 Teacher says, “Say wide.”
                 Students repeat, “Wide.”
                 Teacher directs, “Put your hands at your 
                                          side.”
                 Students put hands at side.
                 Teacher says, “Say buy-it.”
                 Students say, “Buy-it.”
                 Teacher directs, “Now let’s be quiet.”
                 Students stop talking. 
                 Teacher holds finger to lips and 
                             makes eye contact with anyone 
                             not in compliance.

Ideally, you want students to do all of the above as soon as you say, “Now stand in line.”  This will take time.  When your students are ready, you will need to inform them that you will be combining directions, because you now expect them to know how to line up.

  • Choose from the following list:

Standing in Line

Teacher says, “Say _____.”

Teacher instructs,
dine

“Now Stand in Line.”
fine


mine


nine


pine


spine


vine





boulders

“Now Line Up Your     Shoulders.”
folders


holders


molders





guide

“Put your hands at
 your   side.”
ride


tide



buy-it

“Now Let’s Be Quiet.”
fly-it


sigh-it


tie-it





lip

“Now Zip.”


Volume Control: 3 – 2 – 1 – 0


Begin by explaining that when it is too loud, you    will hold up 3 fingers to let students know it is too loud. The volume never goes higher than 3, because 3 is already too loud.

2 Continue holding up 3 fingers.  As the noise level goes down, change to 2 fingers.
  
1 When the noise level is comfortable, nod, change to one finger, and say, “Thank you.” Once the volume is at a level 1, you can either keep it there, or ask for quiet.
  

0 For silence, explain that you have something to say, or need quiet.  Continue holding up 1 finger until all students are quiet.  Make eye contact with those still talking.  Nod and thank students when all are quiet, saying, “Good we are at a zero now.  Now you can hear my directions.”

  • Practice this several times, by first instructing students to get noisy (which they will love), and then changing the number of fingers you hold up as the volume goes down.
  • When you have more than one student, teach them to follow your lead by holding up the same number of fingers as you.  This way they can help quiet down their friends and classmates. 


Alternatives:
  • Write the numbers on the board and point without saying anything.
  •  For large groups, such as in a cafeteria, you may need a microphone, so you can say the numbers loud enough (without yelling) to get students attention.

  
Attention Getters

  For variety, it’s fun to have some other ideas up your sleeve. Students respond with an answering phrase, in the same manner you say the attention getter.  So, if you say something in slow motion, they respond in slow motion.  If you say it like a robot, they respond like a robot.  This light hearted approach is sure to induce some laughter – especially at first.  My favorite – teacher says, “Holy moly,” and students respond, “Guacamole!” Students will appreciate that you are not yelling at them, and will respond with attention.  For those occasions when students are slow to respond, continue repeating the attention getter in various manners until you have everyone’s attention.  Next, stop talking and do quiet actions.  When you look up, they look up.  When you put your hands on hips, they put hands on hips, etc.  When you are certain everyone is listening and following your directions, begin your lesson, or give your direction. 
  
   Consistency is very reassuring to children.  It helps them know what to expect and makes for calmer transitioning times. Variety is equally important.  It prevents boredom and leads to growth.  I can’t say enough about teaching a variety of strategies and vocabulary while teaching your student how to follow directions.  The old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” is certainly true.  Often children are staying with one parent part of the week and another parent or step parent the rest of the week.  They may spend time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, or day care providers. This is why it is so important for students to learn how to be flexible.  You can prevent children’s stress and resentment that parents, caregivers, and teachers aren’t all using the exact same words and directions, by teaching students to be prepared to hear a variety of vocabulary and routines. This will be especially true when students reach school age and are faced not just with their teacher’s directions, but also the librarian, music, art, gym and computer teachers, as well as many substitute teachers. Understanding your student’s tolerance for change will help you find a balance between consistency and variety in your routines.


See more books by Laura S. Pringle on Amazon

 The Pringle Plan is a series of educational guides.

 ©2018 Laura S. Pringle. All Rights Reserved.

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