We are beyond just repeating back and breaking down steps to help students with following verbal directions. Let’s dig a little deeper into the toolbox to find some other ways to help our kids out!
Be Specific
In the flow of a typical school day, we can sometimes lose our focus. Managing behavior, phone calls from other classrooms, annoucements over the loudspeaker, and transitioning from one part of the day to the next can be overwhelming sometimes. When we are taxed mentally, it can sometimes talk a toll on our verbal communication. At those times, we are most likely to be less specific with our directions. “Go over there and get that for me?” “Can you get that thing near the SmartBoard?” For some of our students, that direction is enough. They can glean all of the necessary information from pointing or from the context of the situation. For others, it can be incredibly confusing.
Keep in mind how specific you are when giving directions to your students. When students have speech/language impairments, multiple language exposure, ADHD, or Autism Spectrum Disorders, less specific directions can lead to significant trouble in the classroom.
If you keep it fun, they will learn!
Hamaguchi Apps has a 2nd version of a following directions app which is even better than the first! More Fun With Directions has more helpful concepts and keeps all of the good aspects from the first app such as Superstar Direction and data collection.
Above, behind, under, below, in front are all necessary spatial concepts to teach our students. This app keeps in fun and engaging the whole time!
I love how on higher levels of difficulty the number of items increases. It really requires our students to look and think about the direction they need to follow. It’s a great time to work on repeating directions back to themselves or verbalizing what they are going to do before they do it.
On this particular concept, student have to look for color (Look for a plane in the yellow car and place it on the ground) as well as the item. You can even argue it’s a multi-step direction because they have to find something then put it somewhere.
Even in this concept, you are looking for color, shape, and size while completing a more simple action (Turn off the little blue radio with a red circle button).
Once again for about 15$, you are getting a app that allows you to take data and work a variety of spatial and basic concepts. The ability to access data over time makes it easy to report on goals for progress monitoring or IEPs.
Involve other students
Sometimes our biggest ally in the classroom are peers. Some of the teachers I work with will use this rhyme “See 3 before me” to encourage students to talk with peers before asking for help from the teacher. Of course, this increases social interaction and allows students to empower themselves to figure out problems. It works really well in group or independent work!
Visual Schedules!
I remember working in my first job after graduate school. I was in a school for students with multiple disabilities, and I felt like I was dropped off on another planet. I was not ready for all of the needs of my students, so I had to learn quick. Linda Hodgdon’s books Visual Strategies for Improving Communication and Solving Behavior Problems in Autism became my go-to books for a long time. The strategies and supports outlined in those books are lifesavers for SLPs, School Psychologists, and educators of all kinds. I quickly grew to love Boardmaker software and making visual supports to get my students through daily routines both at school and at home.
Since then, I have never lost sight of the importance of visuals for all kinds of students. Elementary aged students of all kinds are benefitted by visuals, especially schedules. Keep these ideas in mind when you are thinking about routines for your kids. Visuals can be incorporated and easily faded over time, and they can really make a difference. The Boardmaker community in Boardmaker Online is a great place to start!
Slow it down!
When thinking about the crazy days that can happen in our schools, we should always keep our rate of speech in mind. Things can get frantic, and it’s human nature for our rate of speech to meet up with our mental agitation. Think about your rate of speech when giving directions to kids, especially during times of transition in a classroom or when there is a lot of excitement due to a drill. During these times, it might be hard to notice that we are speaking faster. It goes without saying that an increase in rate of speech will make it harder for some of our kids to understand us and follow our directions!
Overall, these recommendations require some degree of mindfulness as an educator. Keeping an eye on our specificity and rate of speech means that we have to be more aware of what we are doing in different moments in our classrooms. Keeping it fun with apps like More Fun with Directions can make it easier to help our kids practice listening and following directions. Visual supports and schedules can sometimes make the biggest difference for our students- especially ones who are have weaknesses with learning through the auditory modality. Empower your students to ask for help from peers too. It can help improve social interaction for some students while also developing community within a classroom.
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