Catherine D. Ladner, Behavior Specialist

JonesCountySchool District

Recommended Intervention Strategies

INSTRUCTIONAL ENVIRONMENT MODIFICATION

Physical Environment

Move seat to another location in the classroom.
Assign preferential seating.
Provide a study carrel.
Alter location of personal or classroom supplies for easier access or to minimize distraction.
Assign student to an isolated area for short periods.

Grouping Arrangements

Change student’s schedule.
Assign student to another class/group.
Alter frequency of grouping changes (less often, more often).
Change instructional setting from large-group to small-group instruction.
Provide individual instruction with peer tutor or adult volunteer.
Assign a buddy to take notes with carbon/NCR paper, and monitor assignments at the secondary level or to assist with organization of instructional materials and class assignments at the elementary level.

Classroom Organization

Set time expectations for assignment completion.
Set time limits using timer.
Alter time allotted to complete assignment or take test.
Assist student in setting goals for assignment completion and in writing a time line for completing intermediate task objectives.
Provide cues, such as clock faces, to indicate beginning and ending times.
Establish systems for recording assignments and grades (e.g., assignment sheet, notebook, calendar for long-range assignments).
Provide visual, tactile, or auditory prompts (cues) to indicate appropriate or inappropriate behavior (e.g., hand signal saying “slow down”, tap on shoulder).

INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA/MATERIALS MODIFICATIONS

Existing Curricular Materials

Determine if student has the necessary prerequisite skills.
Determine if materials are appropriate to student’s current interest and functioning levels.
Tape lessons or instructions so that student can listen again in school or at home.
Simplify vocabulary of test items, practice sheets.
Provide tests in segments so that student turns in one segment before receiving the next part.
Provide visual or memory aids, such as number lines, formulas, pictures, and charts.
Highlight main ideas and supporting details in text.
Provide study aids for learning content material (e.g., outlines and study guides).
Reduce quantity of material to be read or assignments.
Limit amount of material presented on a single page.
Organize a notebook of provide a folder for papers to help organize work.
Have student keep an assignment notebook.
Use library resources, computer-assisted instructional programs, and other media resources.
Ask questions at end of each sentence or paragraph to help focus on important information.
Provide a sample or practice test.
Provide opportunities for extra drill.
Use special supplementary material.

Alternate Curriculum Materials

Give student atext written at a lower or higher reading level, covering the same content at the appropriate interest level.
Combine materials to include multi-sensory experiences- use test with filmstrip, study print, or other visual.
Use an alternate reading material.
Provide modified materials (assignments/tests) with fewer tasks/questions, concepts, and/or response requirements.
Provide self-checking materials.

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUE MODIFICATIONS

Language Development Activities

Provide access to good language model from adults and peers.
Initiate classification tasks, such as sorting objects or pictures or naming items in a category.
Give the class a noun and have each class member generate an adjective to describe that noun.
Use a simple picture and have a student say a work associated with it. The next student adds words to make a phrase. Another student may volunteer to expand this into a sentence.
“Brainstorming Game”: Write a topic on the board and circle it. Students are to “brainstorm” words associated with the topic. Each response is written as a ray with the finished product resembling a sun with rays of associations. Each student must listen carefully so there is no duplication.
From a word list on the board, generate a story by having each class member give a sentence containing one of the words.
Teach the 3 R’s of remembering directions:

Repeat directions exactly

Restate them in his/her own words

Respond by doing what the directions require

Have students describe what steps are necessary to complete any task. Then guide the student to do self-monitoring on what he/she is doing.
Provide written lyrics with selected words omitted. When the students listen to a tape or record of the song, they supply the missing words. (Words to be used can be supplied at the bottom of the page.)
Make a chart of a WH- word clue list using “Who” –“What” –“Where” –“When” –“Why”- with an example of the type of answer that would be generated (example: under “Who” write mother, father, etc.). Use color coding to aid association and retention.
Increase word awareness by having students:
clap hands for each word in a spoken sentence, initially using just picture words (dogs, cats) and then expanding sentences to include grammatical function words, such as “the, is, for, and, a”;
point to different words written on the board and read by the teacher; and,
circle long words, words written with tall letters etc., in written stories.
Increase syllable and sound awareness by having students:
clap hands for each syllable in a spoken word;
listen for specific word endings, such as “s”, “ed” and “ing”, when words are presented in groups or sentences;
supply rhyming words and recognize the parts of such words which are alike and the parts which are different; and
divide one syllable words into the individual sounds they hear in that word.
Practice simultaneous reading to improve sentence structure, reading comprehension, and reading fluency.
Frequently ask students to restate reading materials in order to monitor his/her comprehension of specific referents, such as pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs.
Give nonsense words in sentences and have students give meanings which fit into the sentences.
List the correct sequence of a story in sentence format on a piece of construction paper. Cut the sentence strips apart and have the student put them in the correct order.
When writing sentences, instruct the student to put the initial capital letters in green and periods in red.
Have student orally read what he/she has written to self-correct his/her own mistakes.

Teaching Approaches

Give both oral and visual instructions for assignments.
Modify oral communication interaction with the students:
simplify language input, use shorter, less varied utterances;
utilize stress to emphasize important information;
utilize context to help convey meaning;
use a variety of language interaction techniques, such as modeling, expatiation, and/or expansion;
speak more slowly;
establish a system of verbal or nonverbal signals to cue the student to attend, respond, or alter behavior (examples include calling the student’s name, touching, written signs, or hand signals); and,
use pauses when giving classroom instructions to allow time for processing information.
Provide for oral testing.
If written test is failed, give test orally to determine if students know concepts.
Let students tape record answers to test questions rather than write them.
Modify question type or expected response on tests (e.g., multiple choice vs. fill in blanks).
Vary the method of lesson presentation:

a.lecture

b.small group

c.large group

d.use audiovisuals (i.e., filmstrips, study prints)

e.peer tutors or cross-age tutors (i.e., take notes, monitor assignments, read aloud, listen)

f.demonstrations

g.experiments

h.simulations

i.games

j.one-on-one instruction with another adult

Modify written instructions:

a.rewrite and shorten sentences

b.simplify structure

c.simplify vocabulary

Provide immediate correction of errors.
Use wordless books to tell and write stories.
Have student read lesson aloud to parent, aide, volunteer, peer, tutor, or teacher.
Teach reading strategies (e.g., SQ3R).
Check and increase reading comprehension of content area material using the Cloze procedure or herringbone technique.
Encourage students to sub-vocalize written material.
Introduce definition of new terms/vocabulary and review to check for understanding.
Provide repetitive instruction of vocabulary words in content areas.
Ask student to repeat directions/assignments to ensure understanding.
Provide individual schedule of daily activities to organize the student’s day.
Reassign student to appropriate academic group.
Instruct student in correction procedures.
Identify student’s preferred learning style and provide appropriate instruction/materials.

Motivational/Behavioral Strategies

Check papers by showing C’s for correct and record positive score.
Provide immediate reinforcement for correct response.
Provide explanation of incorrect behavioral responses.
Discuss inappropriate behavior with student in private.
Conference with student’s parents (include student as appropriate).
Conference with student’s other teachers (include student as appropriate).
Conference with student’s counselor (include student as appropriate).
Conference with student’s principal (include student as appropriate).
Establish a home/school communication system for completion or improvement of assignments.
Establish a home/school communication system for behavior monitoring.
Post rules and consequences for classroom behavior.
Make privileges contingent upon behavior.
List small steps needed to change the behavior and implement a plan to change one step at a time.
Write a contract for student behavior.
Ignore inappropriate behavior.
Give nonverbal or verbal signals/prompts to monitor behavior (e.g., hand signals, winks, “slow down”, “quiet”).
Move closer to student to monitor behavior.
Establish list of reinforcers (menu) for student selection.
Offer social reinforcers (e.g., praise, hugs, winks) for appropriate behavior.
Offer tangible reinforcers (e.g., point, tokens, stickers) for appropriate behavior.
Offer activity reinforcers (e.g., extra recess, free time) for appropriate behavior.
Implement a toke or point system (to address a variety of behaviors).
Use role play with student to practice appropriate behavior.
Allow student to move to another location in the room to retain control (student-initiated).
Put student on daily/weekly progress report.
Keep graphs, charts, or calendars of student progress.
Implement self-recording of behavior.

Adapted from Preassessment Resource Material, Kansas State Department of Education, 1986.