Executive Functioning Skills Archives

9 FREE Executive Functioning Activities

July 6, 2020 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Planning, organization, time management, and self-control. These are just a few of the extremely critical executive functioning skills that we use every day to accomplish tasks and be successful. We use them so regularly that we may forget their importance. But to kids and teens (and yes, even adults) who lack these skills, the struggle is real.

What are Executive Functioning Skills?

Executive functioning skills are the abilities in our brain that help us to accomplish daily tasks. They include skills like planning, organization, task initiation, time management, and attention. It’s helpful to think of them as life skills, as they are the foundations of what helps us be successful in completing tasks and reaching goals.

Read more here on each of the executive functioning skills and how they each play an important role in our lives.

Executive Functioning Activities

Executive functioning skills can be strengthened and built up over time. Here are a few free printable (and some digital) activities you can use to teach your learners about executive functioning skills and why they matter.

1. Executive Functioning Free Workbook

Use this free printable executive functioning workbook to teach and give some basic practice with some of the skills. This is a great lesson to start you off if you aren’t quite sure how to introduce executive functioning skills to your learners.

2. Executive Functioning Home Activities

Executive functioning skills are life skills! Use this free printable executive functioning poster with a list of ideas that kids and teens can practice at home. They include meaningful tasks like planning a meal together (planning), having a conversation (attention), and tidying up a room (organization).

3. Executive Functioning Skills Poster

Hang this executive functioning poster up to reminder adults and kids about each of the executive functioning skills. This can help you remind kids and teens about using them in the moment. Bonus: This poster doubles as a coloring page. Just use the black and white version to have kids color as you discuss many of these important skills.

4. Organize the Room Activity

Use this hands-on activity to teach organization. Just print out the pages, cut out the items, and add them in the room where they should go. This lesson opens up the conversation about staying organized, why it is important, cleaning up after yourself, and much more.

5. Study Skills Checklist

In order for kids to do well, they have to know what is expected of them. This free printable study skills checklist helps kids and teens read through several study skills that matter most, from keeping binders organized to taking notes. This can be a helpful starting point when discussing study skills for success.

6. Problem-Solving Task Cards

While these free problem-solving task cards focus on social situations, these are perfect practice for planning, flexibility, and self-control. Simply put, problem-solving situations force us to active executive functioning skills in our brains.

7. Motivation Workbook

Use this free motivation workbook to help young adults think about task initiation, developing goals, and accomplishing tasks. The activities go over understanding what motivation is and how to develop strategies for staying motivated, even when it comes to tasks you might not want to do.

8. Homework Folder

Setting up a homework folder is a critical step in getting kids and teens organized during the school day. Use this printable homework binder directions page and cover page to get started.

9. Executive Functioning Escape Room

This free executive functioning escape room activity is a puzzle challenge that allows kids and teens to practice attention and working memory at the same time. Kids and teens will love unlocking the challenge. It’s also a great way to see how escape room activities work for your learners.

10. Executive Functioning Self-Assessment

One more bonus activity is this executive functioning self-assessment, available for free for Pathway 2 Success members in the free resource library. Use it to help kids and teens assess themselves how their executive functioning skills from organization to self-control and everything in between. Grab it in the free resource library or learn here about how you can join.

More Information on Executive Functioning

If you’re looking for more information, resources, and free ideas, I have them here for you. Read up on more executive functioning skills with the blog posts below:

Executive Functioning Activities to Start the Morning

February 17, 2020 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Use engaging and fun executive functioning activities to help jump start kids and teens in the morning. Simple activities like mindful breathing, brain games, journaling, and exercising, can help activate students' brains in the classroom. #pathway2success #executivefunctioning

We all want kids and young adults to start their days off calm, confident, and ready for success. Helping learners nurture their executive functioning skills can be a strategy for getting there. EF skills are the brain abilities we use to plan, organize, and start tasks. Ultimately, our executive functions impact everything from smaller activities like putting the right binder in the backpack to head out to school, to much more complex tasks such as planning for an essay to start and finish before the end of a class.

While some learners struggle with executive functions more than others, all students can build and improve them along the way. Here are eight executive functioning activities you can try to help start students off on the right foot.

Materials Checklist

It’s helpful to have a materials checklist listed just as they enter the door. My favorite spot to post this is actually right outside the classroom. For example, if students need their textbook today, post it and let them know. This gives kids a chance to ask themselves, “Do I have everything I need?” before even walking through the door.

For many classrooms, the list will be the same every day and that’s okay! It serves as a reminder for all students to have a pencil, their notebook, homework, and any other materials they need to succeed.

Preview of the Day

Start the morning by listing your daily schedule on the board. Review it by quickly highlighting your plan for the day. For example, you might say, “This morning, we’re going to review our homework, learn about how to visualize as we read, practice the skill, and start the homework for tonight.” This only has to take a minute, but it can have a positive impact on mindset because it prepares learners for what’s coming.

Morning Meeting

Holding a daily morning meeting helps build community. While at first, it might not seem like this practice is directly related to executive functioning skills, it is. By starting the day with a specific and predictable routine, this can help learners organize their thoughts.

Additionally, morning meeting can be the perfect time to talk about skills like organization, self-control, and perseverance.

Another thing to consider is that the classroom can be a scary place for kids with executive functioning challenges. We ask these learners to take risks every day by working on skills that don’t come easy to them. With that, it’s critical that classroom space is welcoming, encouraging, supportive, and accepting of mistakes. One way to gain that sense of positive classroom community is by leading a daily morning meeting. When students feel safe and loved, they will be better ready to pay attention, initiate tasks, and persevere through challenges.

Morning Exercise Routine

Exercise activates the brain. Help give kids a jump start every morning with a quick daily exercise routine. Spend a few minutes with a daily workout video. You could also lead students through simple stretches, jog in place or practice yoga postures.

If you’re looking to make things more interesting, try a timed scavenger hunt around the room, or outside if the weather is nice. Kids can do this in partners or on their own.

Not only is exercise encouraging a healthy habit, but it will also help students improve focus and be ready to learn.

Organize and Prepare Time

Explicitly schedule time first thing in the morning for students to organize and prepare for the day. During this time, students can sharpen pencils, gather belongings, tidy desk or backpack, write in homework log, and turn homework in.

Question of the Day

Writing can be used as a predictable routine to help students start off the day focused, organized, and calm. Choose a daily prompt to write on the board or projector. As students come in, have them respond independently in their journals. You can even touch other social-emotional bases using questions that target critical SEL skills, like empathy, organization, and problem-solving.

Grab a free week of daily social emotional learning journal prompts to start the morning.

Free-write Journaling

Similar to a question of the day, a free write also helps provide a predictable routine. The difference is that students are choosing what to write about entirely on their own. This can serve as a safe space for students to free their minds before starting the day. It can also help them ask any questions or share feedback with you in a private way.

Class Read Aloud

Choose a read aloud or have your students pick one for the morning. In particular, short picture books are a simple and quick way to increase attention for the day. Also, this can be an easy way to integrate other executive functioning skills like flexibility, self-control, and perseverance. As you read, stop and talk about the characters as they use each of those skills.

Brain Games

Brainteasers, riddles, and other puzzles are simple activities to help students activate their brains in an engaging way. Whether you use a crossword, word search, memory game, or play on words, these activities will help start the day off strong. As an added bonus, they can also help practice skills like organization, planning, working memory, attention, and perseverance.

Classroom Jobs

Classroom jobs are a healthy way to start each morning, as they give every child a purpose in the room. This can be a positive strategy in just setting a predictable routine, helping your students feel valued, helpful, and organized for the day. It’s helpful to assign specific classroom jobs to best suit your learners. For example, if a student has a strength with using technology, have them turn on the laptops first thing in the morning. If another student is especially artistic, give them the role of drawing a positive welcome message to others. A classroom job can help all students start the morning with a positive frame of mind and allow them to feel mentally prepared for the rest of the day.

Practice Mindful Breathing

Think of mindful breathing as a brain break. They are a quick activity to help students reset and refresh before moving on. Not only can they be an effective morning strategy, but really can be used between any tasks. Learn more about mindful breathing, why it’s important, and a few simple mindful breathing exercises you can use with your learners.

Positive Affirmations

All kids and young adults could use more positivity in their days. This is especially true for kids who struggle with executive functioning skills. These are the students who are more likely to struggle with basic tasks like following directions, starting work right away, and paying attention. Over time, these challenges can lead to reduced self-esteem. To counteract this, use positive affirmations to help build kids up and feel good about themselves before starting their day. More confident learners are more likely to task risks, stay motivated, and work to their individual potentials even in the face of difficulties. Grab a free positive affirmations list and let your students create their own individualized lists to start.

Download a free printable list of positive affirmations for kids & young adults.

If you want to help build learners’ executive functioning skills, just give one or two strategies a try! Even small steps are steps in the right direction to helping kids and young adults strengthen their executive functioning skills.

Interested in more executive functioning posts? Check out the following articles:

12 Games to Practice Self-Control

November 3, 2019 by pathway2success Leave a Comment

Self-control is our ability to stop and think before making decisions. This involves taking a pause when our emotions want to take over so we can think through the situation, consider solutions, assess the consequences, and move forward with the best choice in that scenario. Self-control is particularly difficult executive functioning skill for kids and young adults, and there is actually a scientific reason for that! The limbic system in our brains, which is responsible for managing emotions, develops ahead of the prefrontal cortex, which is the area responsible for planning, suppressing urges, and using self-control. Simply put, that means kids and young adults are going to need lots of practice with using skills for self-control.

Using Games to Teach Self-Control

Games are a great technique for practicing self-control skills because they are instantly fun and interactive. Kids and young adults are far more likely to learn and practice the skills if it’s something interesting to them. Whenever you play any of these games, it’s important to be purposeful about the skills you are teaching. First, explain what self-control is and why it’s so important.

I love to give examples about situations involving self-control that all kids can relate to. One example is: Imagine you are going over to your friend’s house. You see a delicious chocolate cake just sitting there on the counter. You really WANT to just eat a piece or taste the frosting with your finger. What should you do? How could you use self-control? What could happen if you don’t use self-control? These questions are an important foundation to help students understand self-control and why it matters. Let students know they are playing the game in order to practice and strengthen their skills for self-control. Then, let the games begin!

Since games are a great tool to teach skills, you might also want to read up on games to teach social emotional skills and games to strengthen executive functioning skills, too!

Games To Try

Jenga. I love this game because it’s the perfect blend of structure and chaos (perfect for your kids who really need self-control practice!). As students play, remind them to have self-control every time they remove a block from the tower. The more cautious and careful you are, the more likely you are to win. Not only is this a really fun and interactive way to practice self-control, but the entire game becomes a metaphor for self-control in life. If you aren’t careful, things can fall apart. Take your time, stop and think, breathe, and carefully move forward. This is a game you can practice again and again. It never gets old!

Self-Control Speedway. I developed this self-control board game as a fun but direct way to target self-control skills. Students will move along the racetrack game board answering critical questions about self-control. I truly love the idea of comparing self-control to driving because I always it is teaching kids that they are in the driver’s seat!

Blurt. This is by far one of my favorite ways to practice self-control. If you’re not familiar with it, Blurt is a set of cards with definitions for vocabulary words. A leader will read the card and students “blurt” out the answer. My favorite way to play is “around the world” style. Have two students stand next to each other for a duel. Read the card and allow only those two students to shout out the answer. All other students in the room have to use self-control and not shout out, even if they know the answer when no one else does! This can be a big challenge (and GREAT practice) for those students who struggle with shouting out when it is not their turn. Note that if you don’t have blurt, you can always make up your very own cards with content area questions!

Guard Duty. Use this as a secret weapon when you want students to use self-control in the hallways. The idea is simple: Tell students that they are guards for the palace. They have a mission to be as serious and guard-like as possible. That means using self-control and ignoring anyone who tries to distract you! Anyone who fails the challenge has to go to the back of the line. It can be added fun if you have another teacher do something to try and distract your students.

Freeze. This game incorporates movement, play, and self-control all in one. Just play some music and let kids dance, wiggle, and walk around. Have one person be the leader (a teacher to start) and yell “Freeze!” at any time. As soon as someone shouts it, everyone should freeze in place, with the music still playing. This can be challenging with the music still going, because you might have the urge to keep dancing. This is a great game to practice at the end of the week for some added fun.

Simon Says. This game focuses on attention skills, but self-control, too! Kids have to be focused to listen for what Simon says to do, while using self-control to stop themselves if “Simon” doesn’t say it! Stand in front of the class and shout out commands like “Simon says put your hands on your head” and “Simon says stand on one foot.” Then, throw one in there that doesn’t say “Simon says” and see who can follow along. Afterwards, you can switch it up and have students be the leader as well.

Social Problem Solving Board Game. This social problem-solving board game is one of my favorite games I created because it targets so many different social areas all in one. Students move through the game board answering a variety of social problem-solving questions about school, home, activities, and friends. This is a great way to practice self-control because students need to stop and think about how they will solve each problem.

Wait Five. I love this game because it can be played with any trivia, vocabulary, or academic content. This makes it a great review game, too. Ask one question at a time but students must wait a full five seconds before shouting out the answer. This can be especially helpful for those students who love to shout out the answer without being called on. Of course, you can play around with the rules, making the wait time longer or shorter, and even allowing only certain students to shout out at certain times. The whole idea is to build self-control by waiting just a little bit longer than we really want to!

Role Play. Kids and young adults love acting scenarios out, but it can also be a great way to practice skills for self-control. Come up with your own scenarios or use these social scenario task cards. Have students act out the situation in partners or small groups, considering what they would do and why. You can even invite students to act out the situation at the front of the class. It is most important to highlight the socially appropriate choices and why they matter. This can be a fun addition to any morning meeting or social group time.

Self-Control Task Cards. I added these in because you can use these self-control task cards along with any turn-taking game. Just have students answer one card before they can take their turn. It’s a win-win because kids and playing a game they love while learning about self-control at the same time.

Orchestra. Anything that incorporates music and skill practice is a win! For this game, you can choose to pass out instruments to your students if you have them (such as triangles or drum sticks). If you don’t have them, that’s okay, since students can use their hands, pencils, or imaginary instruments to go with the beat. Play a sample of music and have students play to the beat. Continue with many different samples, both slower and faster. The whole idea is that students are able to use self-control to stay with the beat, even if they want to go faster or slower in the moment.

Stoplight. This game is another quick activity that can be done any time with no props. Start by shouting out, “Green Light”. Let students walk around the classroom, talk, and mingle. You can even let them dance if you want to! Then, after a few seconds or minutes, say, “Yellow Light.” At this time, students have to slow down and go at a snail’s pace. They can still move, but it has to be slow! Finally, end with “Red Light,” and have students completely stop in their tracks. You can continue over and over with as much time as you have.

Games can be the perfect way to integrate social skills and self-control practice into your classroom! Do you have other games that work in your classroom? Share them below!

15+ Executive Functioning Strategies Every Teacher Can Use

October 13, 2019 by pathway2success 2 Comments

Over 15 strategies for executive functioning that all educators and teachers can use to help struggling students. Whether kids are having difficulty with attention, organization, self-control, or flexibility, these ideas and printable resources will help kids and teens find success in the classroom! #executivefunctioning #pathway2success

Many kids and young adults struggle with executive functioning challenges. Some are easy to spot, such as when a student can’t focus on a lesson or comes to class without their entire binder. Other EF challenges are less obvious, though. A learner might take two times as long on homework because they don’t understand strategies to help them complete it quicker. Another student might look like they are paying attention, but may not be absorbing the content. For more of an in-depth explanation on these skills, be sure to check out my post on executive functioning skills explained.

Kids and young adults only have so much mental energy they can use at one time (we all do, right?). For kids who struggle with basic EF skills, like organization, planning, and time management, we want to reduce any wasted mental energy. This can help our learners focus on the more important things, including learning the content and practicing the skills.

Here are some simple steps that every educator can take to help all learners develop executive functioning success in the classroom:

#1 Develop, teach, and practice routines. Consistency is a huge key to student success. That’s true for all learners, but especially kids and young adults with EF deficits. Make everything a routine. Turning in homework each morning? Routine. Writing homework down at the end of class? Routine. Cleaning out notebooks for a new unit? Routine! It’s important to note that just coming up with a routine for these tasks isn’t really enough. The routines need to be practice and re-practiced throughout the year.

#2 Keep a daily schedule posted. Not only does a daily plan for the day keep educators on track, but it keeps students organized, too. A daily schedule or plan doesn’t need to be “perfect.” It’s okay if it is a rough outline of what you plan to do during the class. A daily schedule or plan keeps students more organized and gives a sneak peak of what is to come. This can help everyone mentally prepare for class and preview expectations.

#3 Write homework in the same spot. Having a designated homework spot means kids and young adults use less mental energy figuring out where their assignment is listed each day. It’s a small step that can make a big difference.

#4 Embed executive functioning instruction in your content. One of the easiest ways to teach EF skills is by discussing them through your content and curriculum. For example, when working on a long-term project, you might talk about organization and time management. Before working on a challenging test, you might highlight strategies to help all learners use flexibility and perseverance. There are so many opportunities. Every teacher can and should be a teacher of executive functioning skills.

#5 Give organization time at the end of class. Kids and young adults with executive functioning challenges are notoriously disorganized. They can certainly learn skills to improve, but they need the time to get there. Dedicate the last few minutes of each class to tidying up, putting papers in the right spots, and making sure homework is written down. While not all kids will need this time, many really do.

#6 Teach skills explicitly. When kids struggle with math or reading, we teach them. The same should be true for skills like organization, self-control, and time management. You don’t need to be an executive function expert to talk about and teach these skills. I have developed a number of EF materials for educators, including executive functioning task cards and an executive functioning workbook. If you’re looking for even more, grab the whole yearlong executive functioning set to get started right away. Even if you are just discussing one skill each week or so, you are moving kids in the right direction.

#7 Give mini-deadlines on long-term projects. Any educator knows that long-term projects can be a major challenge for some students. Mini-deadlines are a simple solution to the problem. If a report is due in two weeks, work to break up the project into sections. Make a date for students to find their sources, create an outline, and write a first draft. Over time, you can train students to create their own mini-deadlines to build independence.

#8 Reduce distractions. It’s important to note that reducing distractions will look different in every classroom. Still, it’s important to be reflective. Art projects hanging from the ceiling might look beautiful, but they may actually be doing more harm than good if they are distracting your learners. Take time to re-assess the visuals and materials in your classroom and reduce any distractions that might be about.

#9 Give time checks. Kids and young adults who struggle with time management often don’t have a strong understanding of time itself. During working sessions, use a chime or just your voice to give time checks for how much longer is left. For example, you might say, “This is a time check. You have about 10 more minutes before we need to clean up the lab stations.” This simple no-prep support is helpful to all kids, but especially to kids with EF challenges.

#10 Keep extra papers stored in a bin. Of course, we want all students to stay organized and keep all of their papers where they need to be. However, kids with EF challenges are likely to lose papers. Give them a way to find an extra paper without having to ask an adult every single time by setting up a bin with extra pages.

#11 Explicitly state when important information is being shared. It would be great if every student perfectly paid attention during all lectures and lessons, but we all know that’s not exactly the case. With this, it’s critical to be very explicit when sharing information that matters the most. You might say, “I’m about to say something really important. Pencils down and eyes on me,” as a cue.

#12 Give breaks. No one can be 100% all of the time. This is especially true for our learners with executive functioning challenges. Their brains are working extra hard to pay attention, stay organized, manage their time, problem-solve, and work through challenges. It’s important to give brain breaks during class, when needed. Individual students may also benefit from breaks, such as getting a drink at the water fountain or having them deliver something to another classroom for you.

#13 Preview changes. For kids and young adults who struggle with flexibility, change can be a huge obstacle. If there is a change of schedule coming up, give students a heads up. Explain what the change is and how the day will proceed. This doesn’t need to take much time, but can help take some of the stress away from the changes coming up.

#14 Stock a classroom office. For some kids, organization comes easy! For others, it is a lifelong struggle. While working on these skills, give the kids the tools they need to be successful in the classroom. Stock a classroom office with pencils, pens, extra paper, and other supplies for kids who need them. It’s important to see this as an intervention and a support, not a way to enable kids. Of course, the goal is to have learners bring their own pencils and come prepared each day. However, an executive functioning deficit shouldn’t impact a child’s ability to learn the math or reading content for the day. While working on EF skills, stock a classroom office so all kids have the tools they need.

#15 Let kids work through challenges. Kids and young adults need the experiences of doing tasks on their own, whether it is struggling through a math problem or learning how to cut out a craft. It’s okay if things aren’t perfect. It’s much more important that kids and young adults develop the confidence that they can do things independently. This also allows for problem-solving, flexibility, and perseverance. Sometimes, they will need help, and it’s important to give that support! But it’s also okay to let them learn through their struggles so they can persevere and succeed.

#16 Play executive functioning skills games during downtime. Sometimes, it is difficult to integrate EF skills into the day with all the content and curriculum that needs to be covered. This is when downtime can be extremely valuable. Use the last few minutes of class to play fun games that actually strengthen EF skills, like Simon Says and Freeze. Some games, like Guard Duty, can even be played while your students are in line on the way to another class. The idea is to have them act like a guard to the palace and use self-control to not react to anything. Read up on more ways you can use play activities to practice executive functioning skills.

#17 Allow for movement in the classroom. Many kids and young adults learn best when they are moving. This can be especially true for kids who struggle with attention and focus. Use center work, stations, and even movement games to allow for extra movement throughout the day while kids are learning the content you need them to.

#18 Be concise. Say what matters the most and keep it short! Kids and young adults who struggle with attention and focus will get lost when directions or information is too wordy. It may also help to have both visual and verbal reminds for the directions for those who need.

If you are interested in teaching executive functioning skills explicitly, I have developed an entire yearlong set of activities for executive functioning skills. It includes everything from workbooks to lessons and crafts to task cards. It is ideal for advisory or the resource room, but I’ve even had general education teachers use it in the first few minutes of class to help teach the skills kids need most.

Also, here are a few more blog posts you might be interested in:

Tips for Teaching Study Skills

July 22, 2019 by pathway2success 1 Comment

20+ strategies, ideas, and some free resources you can use to teach kids and young adults study strategies for academic success! Students at the middle and high school level need good study habits to do their best, including writing homework down, studying for tests, and staying organized. All teachers can give these a try! #studyskills #pathway2success

Good study habits and techniques are critical to help students learn more efficiently, feel more academically confident, persevere through challenges, and ultimately do their best. Sometimes, it’s easy to assume that learners already have these skills intact. The truth is that they sometimes don’t; many learners might not actually know how to study for tests or how to keep their binders organized. While these skills can be a challenge for many students, they are skills that can be improved over time.

If you notice some of your students are struggling with basic study skills and habits, make time to address and teach the skills. You can choose to dedicate time during morning meeting, resource room, or even a separate study skills class. Whatever you choose, make a schedule and stick with it. Teaching these skills early on is important for help all learners do their best. I’ve put together a list of ideas and resources, but check out this yearlong Executive Functioning and Study Skills activities set if you want to get started on teaching these skills right away.

Here are some simple tips, tricks, and strategies you can use to help students develop study skills in your classroom:

Build relationships first. Simply put, learning new study strategies can be tough for kids and young adults. It’s always worth spending extra time early on to develop strong relationships. Not only will this help you to get to know your students, but it will help them to persevere and succeed in your class. Use these strategies to focus on building relationships with your learners.

Know your learners. Before getting started on teaching study skills, assess what your students know first. One helpful place to start is using this free Study Skills Checklist. It can be a great tool to help students develop self-awareness about their skills, while also giving you critical data on what you need to teach.

Teach how to study for tests and quizzes. Spend time teaching a variety of different study strategies for success: taking notes, quizzing yourself, making flashcards, having a partner quiz you, re-doing problems, and more. Different strategies are going to work for different learners, so it’s important that all students are exposed to several activities.

Practice studying just to learn. Sometimes students think that studying is only important when a test or quiz is coming up. Instead, help kids embrace the idea that studying is part of the learning process. Studying just to learn can help reduce the amount of time students will have to study when a test or quiz comes up, and it helps them to learn the material better in the first place.

Practice study skills with current curriculum. Sometimes, students feel like learning study skills is a waste of time for them. They would rather be getting homework done or chatting with friends on their downtime One way to make the study skills meaningful for kids and young adults is to help them apply them right away with current classwork. If you are learning how to make flashcards, use current vocabulary terms. When teaching about time management, practice with a project kids are actually working on. Using current curriculum along with teaching the skills can make it more meaningful and memorable.

Teach about the power of habits and routines. Students can benefit greatly from understanding how important our habits are. Spend time discussing and highlighting some current habits students already have (brushing their teeth in the morning or cleaning up their trays after lunch). These tasks are much easier when they just become part of our everyday routines. This can eventually encourage students to develop habits for writing homework down, organizing their binders, and studying for tests.

Teach executive functioning skills. Study skills are inherently linked with executive functioning skills. Students can benefit greatly from improving skills with planning, organization, self-control, attention, flexibility, perseverance, and more. Most importantly, teach students that they can often improve these skills over time with practice and hard work. If you could use more background knowledge on these skills, catch up on a basic understanding of executive functioning skills in this blog post.

Teach time management. Understanding how to manage time well is a powerful skill. Teach about understanding time by having students estimate how long a task will take (such as doing 10 jumping jacks or walking to get a drink and back). Then, have students actually perform the task and check how close their estimate was. You can easily relate this back to having students consider how long tasks will take by thinking about what they have to do and then reflecting on their progress along the way. Read more about strategies and interventions for time management skills.

Discuss what it means to prioritize. Prioritizing is the ability to determine which order tasks should be completed in. This is a critical skill, but can be challenging, especially when students are juggling many different responsibilities. Talk through some examples and discuss: You have a test tomorrow and a big project due in two weeks. What should you do? Having students problem-solve these types of scenarios can help them understand how to prioritize in the future.

Practice making test and quizzes. Have students get into the mind of a teacher by creating their own test and quizzes for class content. This can help them consider what material might be on an actual test or quiz, making them better at studying and knowing what is important.

Teach organization. One of the most important study skills is learning how to be organized. Spend time explicitly teaching learners how to organize materials, schedules, and projects. If you are interested specifically in organization, use this Organization Boot Camp to help get kids’ organization skills in shape. You can also start with this free organization activity to get going right away.

Revisit organization on a weekly basis. Even after teaching the basic skills for organization, it is important for students to make organization a weekly practice. Choose one time a week (such as Friday afternoon or whenever time you have available) and dedicate that time to re-organizing materials.

Set up a homework binder (or folder). One helpful strategy for many learners is setting up a homework folder or binder that goes everywhere with them. This folder contains all current homework that needs to be done or needs to be turned in. Simply label a folder “Done” and “To Do” on each side. This is an especially helpful tip for students who lose or misplace assignments. Use this free homework binder to get your students started.

Teach how to write homework down. I know this example sounds silly, but many learners don’t know how to write homework down in an organized and consistent way. Practice what it means to write homework down accurately and explain why it is important. Doing daily or weekly homework log checks are helpful, too.

Find study buddies. No matter the age, all students should have one or two classmates to reach out to for support with homework and studying. This is a critical skill that helps build independence. When a student isn’t sure what page the homework was or didn’t understand the math lesson, it can be a good option to reach out to a classmate instead of always depending on the adults.

Teach goal-setting. All students should learn how to create action-oriented plans to reach their individual goals. This is a study skill, but also a life skill! Help students brainstorm and come up with one or two SMART goals that they want to accomplish in a short time-frame. Then, revisit those goals on a regular basis to make sure progress is being made.

Play games. Learning and improving study skills can be tough for learners. With this, games are always a helpful strategy to sneak in more learning opportunities. You can actually play any game while practicing study strategies. Just put questions for an upcoming test or quiz on flashcards. Each time a student takes a turn, they need to pick up a card and answer! If you’re looking for something more, I developed an Executive Functioning Challenge Game that students can play again and again to practice their skills.

Chunk projects and long-term assignments. Long-term assignments can be particularly overwhelming for kids and young adults. Teach students how to break them apart into smaller and more manageable chunks. Giving mini-deadlines along the way also helps students stay on track.

Teach stress management. Simply put, school is stressful for kids and young adults. It’s critical to help students learn coping strategies to help them deal with their feelings in more healthy ways. Spend some time discussing how to exercise, journal, read, practice mindfulness, and more. Grab this free list with 100 coping strategies to give you even more ideas.

Help students develop a study space. Every student should have a designated study space at home and at school to help them accomplish homework and assignments. While these study spaces might look different for every learner, having this area can help keep students organized and consistent.

Have a daily check-in and check-out. Spend just 5-10 minutes at the beginning of each day to help students get organized, check to see if they have what they need, and make a plan for the day. Do the same in the afternoon to make sure students have a plan for homework and studying after school. The goal is for students to check-in with themselves on their own, but this needs to be taught and practiced to make that happen

Practice taking brain breaks. All students need a mental break from time to time. Encourage students to check-in with themselves and notice when they need one of themselves. Practice different types of brain breaks, from exercising to practicing mindfulness. Use these free mindfulness coloring pages to have a brain break that is ready to go.

Engage in class discussions. Part of learning how to study well is problem-solving when challenges come up. Encourage students to talk through issues and brainstorm solutions together. For example, ask students what they might do when they have a lot of homework but also have basketball practice at 6:00 pm. Ask students what they might do if they have a big homework assignment due tomorrow but they can’t remember the page. Start by just asking the question and letting your students guide their way through. These executive functioning task cards are perfect to guide discussions on a variety of topics or you can come up with your own questions on the fly!

Practice the art of memorization. Sometimes studying involves memorizing certain dates or vocabulary words. These are skills that can be taught, practiced, and strengthened over time. Have fun teaching this skill by memorizing lists, lyrics, numbers, and more.

If you find yourself in need for lessons and activities to teach study skills, check out my yearlong Executive Functioning and Study Skills set. It includes everything you need to teach the skills kids need for success from how to study, get organized, develop SMART goals, and much more.

Interventions for Executive Functioning Challenges: Attention

April 15, 2019 by pathway2success 1 Comment

Challenges with focus and attention can become a huge roadblock to learning for kids and young adults. Simply put, attention is critical to learning. If students can’t focus on the lesson, they are going to struggle with understanding the new content. If students can’t focus on the directions, they are not going to know what to do. If learners are unable to switch their focus, they are unable to initiate new tasks. When students have difficulty with attention skills, it can be challenging for the educator, but also extremely frustrating for the learner.

It’s important to note that this article isn’t specifically written for kids with ADHD. That is because many kids (whether diagnosed with ADHD or not) have challenges with focus and attention. As always, it’s more important to focus on the interventions and supports than the label. With that said, if you feel your student or child does have symptoms of ADHD, it’s important to share those concerns with the school team or pediatrician.

What is attention? Attention is a fascinating multi-faceted skill. It is so much more than just being able to stay focused. Attention involves having self-awareness about your level of attention so that you can direct and re-direct your focus, as needed. It is being able to ignore distractions, like a cell phone or friends talking nearby. Even further, attention is being able switch your focus to more important information or a new task, such as when new directions are being given while working.

• Examples of Attention •

It’s important to note that attention is an academic skill, but it is also a life skill. It’s really a prerequisite to be able to learn new information. People need to pay attention while hearing new content, but also when having conversations with others. Here are some examples of what strong attention skills might look like:

Keeping eyes on the teacher and listening while learning about a new skill.
Quickly being able to switch focus from one task to another.
Making eye contact and listening to a peer during a conversation.
Listening and thinking about directions being given by a teacher or boss.
Being able to stop, focus, and listen when important information is being conveyed.

• Possible Signs of Challenges with Attention •

Challenges with attention can have big impacts for students. As previously stated, when learners aren’t able to focus on new material, this makes learning that content that much harder. Similarly, when learners aren’t focused during instructions, they won’t understand how to proceed with an activity. Simply put, attention challenges become a major roadblock to learning.

Possible signs of attention challenges might include:

A student constantly staring out the window or down the hallway instead of watching the teacher during a lesson.
A learner who frequently misses hearing important instructions for tasks and then isn’t sure what to do.
A student who constantly plays with objects (pencils, toys, etc) instead of working on assigned tasks.
A child who is unable to finish assignments due to various distractions.

• Interventions, Supports, and Strategies for Attention •

Here are some strategies, activities, and ideas to help learners with time management challenges in the classroom:

Teach about attention and other EF skills explicitly
Give clear, one-step directions
Teach how to stay organized
Highlight most important directions on assignments
Teach and use classroom call-and response
Use a chime before giving important information
Incorporate movement during lessons and activities
Use visuals as reminders and supports
Reduce distractions around the room (ex: too many posters or a fan nearby)
Use preferential seating (find where the student can focus the best, as this is different for every child)
Incorporate hands-on learning activities
Use a study carrel (you can buy one or build it out of cardboard!)
Add center activities to allow for more movement during tasks
Break longer tasks into smaller, more manageable ones
Provide fidgets (and explicitly teach how to use them as a tool)
Give break breaks between lessons and activities
Teach students how to check in with themselves
Set a timer for work sessions
Consider a white noise machine or playing classical music during work sessions
Assign a study buddy during work sessions
Play attention-boosting games and play activities (like Simon Says)
Use student interests in lessons
Provide extra time to complete assignments

• Strategies for Parents to Support Attention Skills at Home •

It’s important to note that parents and families can also implement strategies to help at home! Here are some strategies parents and families can use at home strengthen skills for attention:

Be clear with directions (and give fewer words)
Allow wind-down time after school
Build in routines and consistency
Develop a “homework space and time” (and stick with it)
Teach self-monitoring
Break longer tasks into smaller, more manageable ones
Keep an organized and tidy work space to reduce distractions
Give check-ins during longer work sessions (“Show me what you accomplished so far.”)
Reduce distractions (television, cell phone, computer)
Model focusing while the child is working (read while they do homework, for example)
Use a white-noise machine
Give breaks after work completion
Incorporate rewards for completing chores or assignments

If you notice that your learners need some extra support with their attention and other executive functioning skills, I have units to target executive functioning skills for middle and high school learners and executive functioning skills for younger learners. Get all your materials in one spot to make teaching these skills a breeze!

This is a blog series focused on interventions to support executive functioning skills. Make sure you read up on interventions for planning and supports for organization!

15+ Ways to Teach Executive Functioning Skills

April 2, 2019 by pathway2success 2 Comments

In many ways, strong executive functioning skills are the foundation for success. These are the mental processes that help learners plan through assignments, organize materials, initiate a task, manage time well, stay focused, try new strategies when stuck, and persevere until the completion of a goal. If you think about it, those skills are important for every single thing we do! They are also integrated into every content and curriculum area that we teach. If we want our students to be better planners, organizers, and flexible thinkers, we need to invest the time in teaching executive functioning skills.

The best part about teaching these skills is that all learners can benefit from improved executive functioning skills. Students can always learn better strategies for planning, organizing, managing time, paying attention, and problem-solving to work through challenges. Of course, it shouldn’t go without saying that some students need these skills more critically than others. Whether you are teaching these skills as an extra support or a necessary intervention, it is always worth the time.

Here are over 15 ways you can teach executive functioning skills:

#1 Teach skills explicitly.

Plan an executive functioning and study skills block to teach skills explicitly. Depending on what time you have available, you can choose to teach these skills for 20 minutes per day or just once a week. As an educator, I know it’s challenging to find more time in the day. Some possibilities that might work include during a lunch group, resource room, morning meeting, advisory periods, or just once a week at the start of your class to start the week off strong. Even though finding the time can be difficult, it is always worth the investment. If you aren’t sure where to start, check out this yearlong executive functioning set of lessons and activities. By learning skills for planning, organization, time management, attention, and more, students will have more strategies necessary to succeed in school and beyond.

#2 Engage in class discussions.

As a group, openly talk about each of the skills and ask questions to get students really thinking. You can always come up with conversation starters on your own. One of my favorite ways to do this, though, is using these Executive Functioning Task Cards. They are already broken up into 10 executive functioning skills. You can just read the card and give time for students to discuss in small groups or as a full class. Some examples of questions might be: “Choose any class. If you had a test in that class, what 3 pages from your notebook would study from? (this focuses on organization)” or “You have a lot of homework and you have practice at 6pm. What can you do?” (this focuses on planning). The whole idea is to get learners thinking and activating their brains for each of the skills. And of course, kids often learn best from each other so discussion is always a great option!

#3 Play board games.

Games are a fun, interactive, and motivating way to practice executive functioning skills. The key is to be purposeful about highlight and teaching the skills as you play. For example, one of my favorite games is Pictionary. By playing, kids can work on a number of skills: They have to plan what they will draw, manage their time as the timer goes down, and be flexible and change their strategy when others aren’t guessing correctly. Read this blog post for more ideas about using games to strengthen executive functioning skills.

#4 Integrate it with curriculum.

Executive functioning skills are in everything we do. It only makes sense to teach and discuss them in everything, too. If you are starting a long-term project, take a little extra time to teach about planning. Help students understand that they should map out exactly what they want to accomplish before they start. During independent work time, discuss strategies for time management and using time well. Before a test or quiz, explain about metacognition and thinking about what you know in order to help learners study what they really need to. The opportunities for integrating EF skills into the curriculum are truly endless.

#5 Read literature and stories.

Literature can be used to discuss and highlight a number of skills. Again, the key is to be purposeful and directed about discussing and teaching those skills. You might ask how a character planned for a certain event, why they used self-control, or how they used perseverance to work through a challenge. There are so many wonderful short stories and picture books that help highlight some of these skills. I’ve also developed an entire set of Executive Functioning Stories that explicitly highlight the skills. Of course, you can highlight many of these skills is almost any story you choose!

#6 Highlight skills throughout the day.

Just like with academic content, students need to hear EF terms and phrases over and over again. One simple way to help kids learn about executive functioning skills is just to talk about them and highlight them on a regular basis. Remind them when they are using self-control to stop and think before answering a question. Encourage a student who organizes their binder during downtime in class. These small reminders can go a long way!

#7 Use an interactive notebook.

Interactive notebooks can be a great tool to teach skills in a fun and hands-on way. I developed a complete executive functioning interactive notebook to teach about all EF skills: everything from planning and organization to self-control and flexibility. If you haven’t used an interactive notebook before, the idea is really simple. Kids follow the directions to cut out items and put them in their notebooks. They have to read passages, answer questions, and complete tasks along the way. Kids learn critical skills in a hands-on way while creating a permanent notebook as evidence of their learning.

#8 Use crafts.

Using crafts can be highly motivating! For many learners, art can be a window into learning skills that are otherwise very challenging for them. One of my favorite crafts is making Executive Functioning Keys. The whole idea is to teach kids about the skills while they put together their own set of “keys to their success”. As you give each student a key to cut out and put on a ring, discuss the skill and explain why it is important. Best of all, learners can keep these keys as a reminder of the skills they’ve learned about.

#9 Watch videos.

There are many free videos for kids and young adults that teach about executive functioning skills. One set of videos called “Adventures of You” highlights EF skills in a very kid-friendly way. These would make for a fun advisory or morning meeting discussion!

#10 Develop and reflect on goals.

Developing goals with students can be extremely beneficial. This activity can be done during morning meeting, an advisory period, or an end-of-the-week reflection time. By creating goals and monitoring the progress on a regular basis, students can start to become more self-reflective. They should think about what worked, why they saw an improvement (or why they didn’t), and what strategies they can implement going forward.

#11 Play activities and other games.

It’s helpful to have a “toolbox” of quick activities for highlighting and practicing EF skills. Simple activities like Freeze, Simon Says, Musical Chairs, and Guard Duty are great when you have just a few minutes left of class and want to use it in a positive way. Head over to this blog post to read more about practicing executive functioning skills with play activities.

#12 Use role play.

Bring up real-life scenarios involving executive functioning skills and have students act out the situation with partners. For example, you might say: You were out sick for two days and you have no idea what the homework was. What might you do? Students act out solving the problem, such as going and asking the teacher, looking up assignments online, calling a friend, or asking a classmate face-to-face. Role-play is one of my favorite techniques because it’s fun for the kids and they will remember the skills they act out!

#13 Give mini-lessons on one skill per week (or month).

If you want to integrate EF skills into the day, plan to teach one skill per week or month. Do whichever works best for you. My favorite order of teaching these skills is: Planning, Organization, Time Management, Task Initiation, Working Memory, Metacognition, Self-Control, Attention, Flexibility, and Perseverance. Start by discussing the skill, explaining what it means and what it looks like, give reasons why it’s important, and strategies to help learners improve the skill. Then, continue to highlight and discuss that skill consistently throughout the week or month. Use this free executive functioning poster to help you discuss each skill.

#14 Use visual cues and reminders.

Use posters or a bulletin board to visually remind learners about the skills. You can even have your students create class visuals with directions on what it means to pay attention, manage your time, and get organized! Refer back to the visuals to discuss and highlight these skills throughout the week. For students in need, you can even give them specialized visuals reminding about specific skills right on their binders or desks.

#15 Use escape rooms.

An escape room activity is a little bit of work to set up, but worth all the effort! I created a few sets of executive functioning escape rooms to target these skills in an interactive way. Students work together in teams to solve puzzles. Each puzzle requires them to learn about and use executive functioning skills. After completing all puzzles, students will get access to a secret phrase to “escape” the room. Try this free executive functioning escape room to get started or read up more about how to build escape rooms in your classroom!

#16 Use brainteasers and brain games.

Start the day with a brainteaser or riddle to get kids thinking! Not only are kids exercising their brains, but these are fun activities that help set a positive tone for the day. One thing I loved doing in my middle school classroom was sharing a riddle and not giving the answer until the end of the day to encourage kids to think on their own and develop perseverance! Brainteasers and brain games can be so much fun.

While all learners can benefit from learning about executive functioning skills, some students are going to need executive functioning interventions and supports a lot more than others. For more information, read up on my blog series about executive functioning interventions and supports.

Interventions for Executive Functioning Challenges: Time Management

February 18, 2019 by pathway2success 1 Comment

Time management skills are essentially life skills. Kids and young adults need this skills now and in the future. All educators and parents want our learners to be able to work independently, use time well, and complete tasks on time. In order to meet these expectations, students need to learn, understand, and continually practice skills for time management.

Kids and young adults can benefit greatly from just learning what time management is and why it matters. The whole idea is that we can work smarter instead of harder, helping us to complete our work more efficiently in a shorter time frame. To kids who struggle with time management, this idea that they can learn tips and tricks to use their time better can actually sound like magic! Best of all, these skills are so broad that they can be integrated into every single thing we do. From every content area to every chore at home, we use time management skills (and they really DO pay off).

What is time management? Time management is having an accurate understanding of time and making decisions to complete tasks in a timely way. As with most other executive functioning skills, time management isn’t just one isolated skill. It includes being able to estimate how long tasks will take, prioritizing, dividing time between tasks, pacing yourself, using time wisely, and working to meet deadlines.

• Examples of Time Management •

Here are some examples of what strong time management skills might look like on the spot:

Prioritizing which homework assignments to start before beginning a list of work.
Someone pacing themselves on a test to make sure they finish in the given time frame.
Writing out a daily schedule to keep track of times and events.
Chunking a project into sections to complete it by a specific deadline.

• Possible Signs of Challenges with Time Management •

It’s important to think of time management as a foundational skill for overall success. Imagine this: A student understands the content in a class well. They start working on a graded project to demonstrate their knowledge. The student is doing a fantastic job – truly their best work! The problem is that they realize the deadline for the project is tomorrow and there is no way they will be finished on time. Does the student turn in a half-completed project? Turn it in late? Rush and complete work that isn’t their best quality? Give up and turn in nothing at all? All of these outcomes demonstrate a clear issue with time management. Simply put, time management skills are a critical element to doing our best work.

Possible signs of time management challenges might include:

A learner spending too long on one problem or section of an assignment.
A student working on an assignment due next week (or not working on anything at all) when they have other work that is due next period.
A student consistently actively working but not finishing assessments or other assignments in a given time period.
A student who appears to always be in a rush at the last minute to finish work.

• Interventions, Supports, and Strategies for Time Management •

As with all executive functioning skills, time management abilities can be strengthened and improved over time. Here are some strategies, activities, and ideas to help learners with time management challenges in the classroom:

Teach time management and other EF skills explicitly
Discuss and practice prioritizing with multiple tasks (one way to do this is make a list of assignments and go back and order them by importance)
Teach how to make checklists for a set of steps or tasks
Practice estimating time for different takes (you can even make it a game! “How long do you think it would take you to clean your room?”)
Use a visual timer to visually show how much time is left for a task or session
Use chimes to warn 5 (or 10) minutes before transitions
Maintain a relatively consistent and predictable daily schedule
Keep the class schedule listed in the same spot every day
Teach, practice, and discuss routines frequently
Have students put their schedules on the front of their binders or desks
Identify and reduce distractors (you can even call them time-eaters!)
Discuss and practice strategies for moving on when stuck (skipping a problem, rereading, asking a friend, etc.)
Practice, model, and teach organization (since it is easier to use our time well when we are orderly and organized)
Practice planning out longer project together with mini-deadlines along the way
Provide work check-ins to students to make sure they are on the right track
Teach how to maximize downtime (ex: if you finish your work early in study hall, look over other work and start something else!)
Teach students how to check-in with themselves (“How am I doing? Am I on track?)
Play time-based games (add a timer to most any game like Pictionary or Scrabble to get kids managing their time!)
Discuss and practice what it means to “pace yourself”

• Strategies for Parents to Support Time Management at Home •

Here are some strategies parents and families can use at home strengthen skills for time management:

Model and practice estimating how long a task might take
Create a home calendar with important events listed
Discuss daily priorities and tasks at a common time (such as breakfast)
Develop a daily schedule with dedicated homework and chore times
Use strategies to stay organized and tidy
Reduce and give limits for social media and television time
Practice making to-do lists together and ordering items by importance
Identify, discuss, and reduce distractions (“time-eaters”)
Establish routines (for morning, after school, and bedtime)
Avoid over-scheduling (kids and young adults need downtime to learn how to use their free time, too!)
Consider digital calendars or apps
Model and discuss thinking ahead (such as putting clothes out for the next day)
Use a timer for working sessions
Use and discuss deadlines for tasks (“Your room needs to be organized by Thursday.”)
Provide rewards and incentives for completing tasks (“When all your homework is done, you can have 30 minutes of video game time.”)

If you notice that your learners need some extra support with their time management and other executive functioning skills, I have units to target executive functioning skills for middle and high school learners and executive functioning skills for younger learners. Get all your materials in one spot to make teaching these skills a breeze!

This is a blog series focused on interventions to support executive functioning skills. Make sure you read up on interventions for planning and supports for organization!

Interventions for Executive Functioning Challenges: Task Initiation

February 4, 2019 by pathway2success 4 Comments

Strategies and supports for executive functioning challenges can make all the difference, especially for students who struggle with task initiation. This is such an important skill, since it’s like the motor in allowing us to get started on all tasks and assignments. When someone is struggling to initiate, tasks take longer and require more effort. This can be extremely frustrating for both educators and the students themselves. Sometimes, a lack of task initiation skills can be misinterpreted for behavioral problems and defiance. This is because it looks like the child is avoiding what they should be doing, when in reality, the child might not have the skills to get themselves going in a positive way. This can be difficult to discern at first glance and often takes a little bit of investigating. It is helpful to observe the child, talk with them, and even try some of the interventions listed below to see how they help.

The ultimate goal is helping kids and young adults learn strategies to independently get themselves going so they can be successful. Best of all, these are skills that every single person can benefit from, since we could all improve our ability to get started right away on what we need to.

What is task initiation? Task initiation is the ability to start a task. It includes overcoming procrastination and getting started on tasks even if you don’t want to do them. Obviously, this is a critical life skill, since there are many chores and tasks we must complete even when we don’t feel like doing them at the moment.

• Examples of Task Initiation •

Skills for task initiation can be difficult to spot, because it just appears like someone doing what they are “supposed” to do! Just a few examples of what task initiation looks like includes:

Starting an assignment in class right away after directions are given.
Cleaning your room when it needs to be done, without reminders or prompts.
Beginning a tough test or quiz, even if you aren’t 100% confident on the assignment.

• Possible Signs of Challenges with Task Initiation •

Learners who struggle with task initiation are frequently getting in trouble for not doing their work. While at first glance this can appear as intentional avoidance behavior, kids and young adults who struggle with task initiation really lack the skills to get themselves going. Again, this can be extremely frustrating for learners, since they often want to do their work but just don’t know how to start or get themselves in action. Being able to notice possible signs can be helpful to target these students early on.

Possible signs of challenges with task initiation include:

A student putting their head down when it is time to begin work independently.
Someone who finds other things to do when it’s time to work, such as sharpening pencil multiple times or getting a drink.
A student who says, “I don’t know what to do,” even if directions were just given.
A learner who just doodles on their paper instead of completing the task.
A child or young adult who is frustrated when trying to start their work.

• Interventions, Supports, and Strategies for Task Initiation •

Task initiation skills can certainly be improved with practice. Here are some activities, tasks, and ideas to help with task initiation needs in the classroom:

Teach task initiation and other EF skills explicitly
Practice brain breaks between tasks
Give choice for how to complete the task or demonstrate knowledge
Be explicit with directions and provide them orally and in writing
Incorporate areas of interest into the content and curriculum (i.e. the price of skateboards in math)
Train a peer mentor to help the student in need get started on tasks
Practice the rocket ship countdown (Say: 5-4-3-2-1 blast off… on “blast off”, get up and get going!)
Allow the student to work with a partner
Use a timer to countdown time to get to work
Have the student answer the questions before starting: What am I doing? What do I need? How can I start?
Make getting started like a race with a countdown
Pretend a set of assignments is like an escape room
Show a model of expected work prior to starting
Keep a reminder card on the student’s desk – “What should I be doing right now?”
Provide visuals with step-by-step directions for getting started
Identify which content areas are most challenging and reduce the difficulty to give momentum
Develop a work contract that highlights what the student should do during work time
Incorporate incentives and rewards for completing difficult tasks (use this free reward list to get some ideas)
Practice problem-solving skills (i.e. “What could you do if you don’t know the answer to a problem?”)
Take turns writing out sentences or problems to get started together
Set up a clean and organized workspace without clutter
Reduce or eliminate distractions
Allow the student to complete every other problem or choose a certain number of problems

• Strategies for Parents to Support Task Initiation at Home •

Here are some activities parents and families can do to at home strengthen skills for task initiation:

Create a schedule for chores and homework time (and make it a routine)
Exercise or play a sport with your child before work time
Create a daily chore checklist
Use a timer to countdown time to get to work
Work in short bursts and then give breaks
Provide incentives after a set of tasks is completed (use this free reward list to get some ideas)
Practice the rocket ship countdown (Say: 5-4-3-2-1 blast off… on “blast off”, get up and get going!)
Do challenging tasks together (i.e. cleaning a bedroom or starting homework)

If you are looking for ways to help your learners strengthen their executive functioning skills, I have units to target executive functioning skills for middle and high school learners and executive functioning skills for younger learners. Spending a little extra time early on can make a world of a difference!

This is a blog series focused on interventions to support executive functioning skills. Make sure you read up on interventions for planning and supports for organization!

Interventions for Executive Functioning Challenges: Organization

December 16, 2018 by pathway2success 1 Comment

As kids get older, organization becomes ever more important! While it is a critical skill for all ages, kids and young adults are often just learning to develop and strengthen their skills as more responsibilities are added on in their lives. When you think about it, kids and young adults can have a lot to juggle between school, homework, friends, family, and activities. This often means that the level of organization skills can make the difference between things running smoothly and just chaos! Simply put, strong organizational skills set the stage for success for all learners.

What is organization? Organization is an efficient and orderly approach to tasks and keeping materials in order. Skills for organization are greatly related to the ability to plan, as one must have a plan for exactly how to organize! One of the key elements in learning organization is to have a place for everything ahead of time. This includes having binders or folders for each class in a notebook, having a hamper to put dirty clothes, and everything in between. Setting up systems for organization can lead to huge improvements, such as having a specific strategy for organizing binders or cleaning a room. It’s important to note, though, that organization takes real work even after systems have been set up! Learners must constantly re-organize and re-evaluate their systems for organization in order to stay neat and tidy in home, school, and beyond.

• Examples of Organization •

Organization is a critical skill, as it often flows over into all areas of an individual’s life. Just a few examples of what organization looks like includes:

Keeping a neat and orderly room.
Writing an essay with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Bringing required materials, such as pencils, to class.
Having neat and tidy binders.
Developing an organized approach to completing a project.

• Possible Signs of Challenges with Organization •

Identifying challenges with executive functioning skills can make a huge difference for kids and young adults. We all have organization ups and downs, but if some of these behaviors occur on a more regular basis, it should be an indicator to consider extra interventions and supports.

Possible signs of challenges with organization include:

Forgetting to bring required materials, such as a pencil or correct binder, to class.
Misplacing or losing class assignments.
Putting class papers in a binder randomly without a sense of order.
Having a messy desk or set of binders.
Difficulty transitioning from one class to another.

• Interventions, Supports, and Strategies for Organization •

As a positive, organizational skills can certainly be improved and strengthened over time. Here are some activities, tasks, and ideas to help with organization needs in the classroom:

Teach organization and other EF skills explicitly.
Teach how to organize a binder and where materials go.
Schedule an organization boot camp time, focused just on organization skills.
Practice cleaning up and re-organizing as you work through a task.
Provide a visual reminder for what students need before they enter the classroom.
Set students up with a specialized homework folder or binder. Use this free homework binder to start.
Have students keep an assignment calendar or homework log to track daily and long-term work.
Consider apps for organization, like Trello or myHomework.
Write homework in the same exact spot every day.
Color code books and binders to match (i.e. blue for science and red for math).
Keep extra papers in a designated spot for students who are absent or lose them.
Keep a model notebook in a spot for students to review, as needed.
Clearly labels materials in the classroom.
Dedicate the last 3 minutes of every class to getting organized.
Keep a “classroom office” stocked with extra pens, pencils, and paper for students who forget them.
Use graphic organizers for writing assignments.
Use an end-of-the-day reminder sheet to help students think about what materials they need. Use this free reminder checklist to start.
Schedule a weekly 10-minute binder organization time.
Discuss how to organize different areas and where items should be put away. Start with this free organization activity.
Highlight positive examples of organization in the classroom.

• Strategies for Parents to Support Organization at Home •

Parents can play a huge role in supporting executive functioning skills at home. Since executive functioning skills impact all areas on a person’s life, it’s helpful for learners to practice these skills in different environments. Here are some activities parents and families can do to at home strengthen skills for organization:

Create daily and weekly chore charts with organization and cleaning tasks.
Reinforce cleaning up and putting materials away after completing a task.
Create checklists for cleaning and organizing materials.
Try to have a place for everything.
Avoid piles and put things away right away together.
Openly discuss plans and schedules for the week or weekend.
Use a calendar to keep track of home or school events.
Plan a weekly organization and cleanup time.
Play “Where Does This Go?”. Gather materials and have the child put them back in the right spot.
Create a designated spot just for homework with office materials, as needed.
Make organizing more fun by listening to music while you clean together.
Make it a game by gathering 10+ items and time the child returning them to their correct spots.
Use a morning or afternoon checklist to remind the child of their responsibilities before/after school.

Do your learners struggle with organization quite a bit? If so, you can get started by teaching executive functioning skills explicitly right away with some units I’ve developed. I have units to target executive functioning skills for middle and high school learners and executive functioning skills for younger learners. Spending a little extra time early on can make a world of a difference!

Also, this post is part of a blog series focused just on interventions for executive functioning skills! You can also read up on interventions to help with planning.

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