How to Modify Your Teaching for Students With Low Organizational Skills

By: Kathleen Bulloch (2004)

Classrooms today have students with many special needs, and teachers are often directed to "modify as necessary." The following article takes the mystery out of modifying your teaching strategies with concrete examples that focus on students' organizational skills.

If the student has difficulty becoming interested, then try…

To tell stories which relate the lesson to peoples' lives
To establish relevancy and a purpose for learning by relating it to previous experiences
To provide an experience, such as a field trip, and then teaching the lesson
To reward the student often as the lesson begins
To shape approximations of desired behavior by providing praise, one-to-one conversation, or immediate feedback for correct answers
To read aloud a brief article or story to stimulate interest
To seat the student closer to teacher (distance affects interest)
To make a positive, personal comment every time the student shows any evidence of interest (i.e., sits in seat, has his/her book)

If the student has difficulty getting started, then try…

To give a cue to begin work
To give work in smaller amounts
To provide immediate feedback
To sequence work with easiest answers first
To provide all necessary materials
To introduce the assignment carefully so student knows the task expected
To provide time suggestions for each task
To check on progress often in first few minutes of work
To give clear directions
To give a checklist for each step of the task (e.g., the steps in a long division problem)
To use a peer or peer tutor to get student started

If the student has difficulty keeping track of materials or assignments, then try…

To require a notebook or using large envelopes for each subject
To check his/her notebook often
To keep extra supplies on hand
To give an assignment sheet to the student, other teachers, and/or parents
To write the assignment on board for the student to copy
To check and reinforce the student for recording the assignment
To require envelopes for big projects that have many separate parts
To give a reward (e.g., grade, points) for bringing a book, paper, and a pencil to class every day
To return corrected work promptly

If the student has difficulty staying on task, then try…

To reduce distractions
To increase reinforcements
To provide shortened tasks
To provide checklists
To reduce the amount of work
To provide peer tutors
To provide different activities during the class period
To provide a reward valued by student
To isolate the student or using a time out
To provide quiet alternatives for a short time
To provide a timer to set short periods of work

If the student has trouble completing tasks on time, then try…

To reduce the amount to be accomplished
To allow more time
To provide time cues
To write schedules
To ask for parental reinforcement
To suggest a calendar at home
To provide closure at points along the way
To provide positive feedback to other teachers using an "assignments completed" checklist or a "wall thermometer"

If the student has trouble working in groups, then try…

To provide direct instruction in group processes and providing interaction opportunities gradually
To provide the student with a responsibility or position of leadership
To prepare the group members to include and help the student
To utilize an aide or volunteer in class
To provide more structure by defining the task and listing the steps
To restate the goal, linking it to the required activities, and providing closure

If the student has trouble working independently, then try…

To assign a task at an appropriate level
To be certain the student can see an end to the task
To give precise directions
To lower the difficulty level
To shorten the assignment and gradually increasing the amount of work required
To reinforce the student for on-task behavior
To let the student see individual work as a sign of personal responsibility and growth rather than thinking the teacher just wants to "get rid of him"
To provide a variety of types of work within the assignment (e.g., making charts, maps, or flags; drawing pictures; etc.)

Kathleen L. Bulloch was a speech/language pathologist for the Riverside County Office of Education in Riverside, California. Portions of this article were adapted from The Mystery of Modifying: Creative Solutions, published by the Education Service Center.