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This PD was provided to paraprofessionals in Rockford on August 7, 2026

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Examples of Direct Instruction + Strategies 

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Examples of Direct Instruction + Strategies 

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Use this site to project a working clock on your whiteboard for students to see how much time they have do complete an assignment.

Go to: "Classroom Management Tools-->Independent Study Timer"

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Gynzy Login - interactive white board and educational puzzles, games, tools & training

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How to share EF knowledge to whole staff and students. Examples, visuals, and the EF Questionnaire.

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RTI Progress Monitoring of Intervention

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Reproducible Materials_ Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents, Second Edition_ A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention

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Think out the steps to solving a problem.

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Separate questionnaires for Parents/Teachers and for students themselves. Informal assessment.

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Reproducible Materials_  Questionnaire for Parents:Teachers and Students

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From the National Center on Intensive Intervention there is information in here on how to compose a well written goal.

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There are free templates of different types available through Google.

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There are free templates of different types available through Google.

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Microsoft Word - do section no clocks check-in.docx

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This is an app in the App store that you can connect to your get ready, do, done if you choose.

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360 Thinking Time Tracker on the App Store

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Free graphic organizers you can personalize.

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Ed Tech

Sometimes, we just need some help organizing our thoughts - students AND educators.

Paper versions of graphic organizers can do a nice job of that. But by making them digital in Google Apps, they instantly become customizable. Multiple people can collaborate on them in real time. They can be shared with a link, embedded in a website or downloaded as an image file.

In short, digital graphic organizers are more versatile.

In Google Apps, there's a highly powerful yet highly overlooked app called Drawings. It gives users a blank canvas where they can add text, shapes, lines, etc. When done, they can save their work as image files or PDF files and can add those images to documents, slides and spreadsheets.
Drawings can be the virtual page where students can gather and process their ideas.

I used to shy away from doing a lot of graphic organizers because it's hard to design them in Google Docs; the moment I learned that you could change the page set-up to 8.5 x 11 inches, my world CHANGED. Now I rarely use Google Docs to make *anything*; I use Google Slides by default because I can add more graphics and have better control of the overall configuration. - Amy Nolan, high school English teacher, Commerce, Texas

Creating graphic organizer templates with Google Drawings

As Amy mentioned above, Google Slides can be used to create these as well as Google Drawings. The difference - Drawings focuses on one single page; Slides has multiple slides, which allows for multiple pages.

I've created 15 of them (see links below) that can be copied, saved, changed, tweaked or completely redone to fit your needs and your students' needs. We have added 10 more that were created by the Ditch That Textbook community and shared with us for this post.

It took me about 90 minutes to make 15 of them so that averages out to six minutes each. (Some were more time-consuming than others, and I got faster at making them as I progressed.)

Sharing your Google Drawings graphic organizers
Once you've created a graphic organizer (or have saved one of mine), there are a few easy ways to get them to your students:

If you use Google Classroom, create a new assignment and choose the option to deliver a copy of your graphic organizer to each student.

You can copy the URL (link) to the graphic organizer and deliver it to students via a class website, SeeSaw etc. You can also make a shorter, easier URL to type with URL shorteners like Bitly and TinyURL. (Check your Internet filter to make sure your shortened URLs come through. I've found that TinyURL works in most schools' filters.)

Using the blue "Share" button, click the "Get shareable link" button and set the document as "Anyone with the link" at the top and "Can view" at the bottom. That way, students won't be able to change your original copy and will have to make a copy of their own.

PRO TIP: When you copy a URL (link) to any G Suite file, it probably says "view" or "edit" at the end of it. If you change that word to "copy", it will force whoever opens that link to make a copy of the file instead of opening your file. That's another trick to keeping your original version from being altered. (If you assign it through Google Classroom, you won't need to do this.)

Here are 25 graphic organizer templates that can be used for many different subject areas and grade levels.

Feel free to make a copy of any of these google drawings templates and adapt them for your own use:

Question: What other graphic organizers would be useful to create in Google Drawings? Can you share a link to a graphic organizer you've created so others can use it, too? Leave a comment below!

Looking for even MORE G Suite resources?

Get our FREE ebook!
101 Ways to Ditch That Textbook with G Suite, tons of practical, creative ways to use Google tools in the classroom.

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©2023 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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25 FREE Google Drawings graphic organizers - and how to make your own

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Using Google Drawings to create graphic organizers can help students gather their thoughts and customize to their needs. Here are 25 templates to get you started.

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Executive Functioning strategies in the home.

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Practical Strategies to Support Executive Functioning at Home - NeurAbilities Healthcare

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The term “executive functioning” refers to the set of skills that helps us complete tasks efficiently (or execute functions!). These skills make goal-directed behavior possible! Executive functions are commonly thought of as the “CEO of our brain”…

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From Harvard University, further explanation on executive functioning and different guides to explore.

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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A Guide to Executive Function - Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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Executive function and self-regulation skills are like an air traffic control system in the brain—they help us manage information, make decisions, and plan ahead. We need these skills at every stage of life, and while no one is born with them, we are all born with the potential to develop them. But, how do we […]

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While this gives some good advice for IEP meetings, please note we do not endorse any one curriculum.

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Executive Function in the IEP Meeting - SMARTS

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IEP and 504 plans often contain the term “executive function” for students who are dealing with the impact of ADHD, dyslexia, or other learning differences in school. Merely writing executive […]

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Sarah Ward's Executive Functioning by age

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Sarah Ward's Executive Functioning by age

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See what Sarah Ward shares about appropriate Executive Functioning skills at each age level.

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This is a free resource from Sarah Ward.

Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then summarizing.

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Sarah Ward shares a strategy to help students write sentences to complete a paragraph.

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Sarah Ward has this resource on her webpage to help students think about how the prepared for a test.

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Self- Assessment for Space, Time, Objects, and People 

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Self- Assessment for Space, Time, Objects, and People 

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On Sarah Ward's web page, this self-assessment can help students see area where they may have some executive skill gaps.

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From Sarah Ward's web page of time management strategies

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Article on the importace of teaching the concept of time.

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Article on the importace of teaching the concept of time.

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Why it important to teach the concept of time, passing time, and planning for time.

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Flyer from WWC regarding evidence based suggestions for including games into routines for students to increase executive functioning skills.

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This article talks about the development of research in Executive Functioning from the 1840's to present.

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Introduction: A History of Executive Functioning as a Theoretical and Clinical Construct

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How is Executive Function Related to Reading?

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How is Executive Function Related to Reading?

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"Reading involves the ability to decode, comprehend and respond to written texts. Both reading and executive functions rely on our brains to attend, remember things, think, and reason and to problem-solve. Classroom activities that promote attention, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and self-control can help students become more effective readers."

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Children with Executive Function Challenges

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Executive function is a set of thinking skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. Trouble with executive function can make it harder for kids to focus, follow directions, get organized, plan, and handle big emotions. All of these challenges can make reading and learnin…

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Get Ready-Do-Done Explanation by Sarah Ward

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A Clinical Model for Developing Executive Function Skills (Get Ready-Do-Done)

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A Clinical Model for Developing Executive Function Skills (Get Ready-Do-Done)

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Iris Center: Understanding Students Struggle

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"One reason students struggle, despite their hard work and effort, is because they have deficits in executive functions, the mental process that control and coordinate activities related to learning."

This Activity Page includes a table that describes some executive function processes and how they look for High Achievers vs Low Achievers.

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Taxonomy of Intervention Intensity (NCII)

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Taxonomy of Intervention Intensity (NCII)

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Use this website to learn more about the Taxonomy of Intervention Intensity that was discussed during the Executive Function training.

This information can help you decide what to do next, based on your progress monitoring data.

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The Taxonomy of Intervention Intensity (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Malone, 2017) can be used to select or evaluate an intervention platform used as the validated intervention platform or the foundation of the DBI process. It can also be used to guide the adaptation of intensification of an intervention during the intervention adaptation step of the DBI process. The Taxonomy includes the following dimensions:

Strength: the evidence of effectiveness for students with intensive needs;

Dosage: the number of opportunities the student has to respond and receive feedback from the teacher;

Alignment: how well the intervention matches the targeted academic skills or behaviors of concern, as well as incorporates grade-appropriate standards or behaviors we would expect for a particular context;

Attention to transfer: whether the intervention is explicitly designed to help students make connections between the skills taught in the intervention and skills learned in other contexts and environments;

Comprehensiveness: how well the intervention incorporates a comprehensive array of explicit instruction principles; and

Behavioral or academic support: whether an academic intervention incorporates behavioral strategies that may support students with self-regulation, motivation, or externalizing behaviors that may impact their ability to learn, or whether a behavioral intervention considers academic components as part of the intervention.

The final dimension of the Taxonomy, individualization, focuses on the ongoing use of progress monitoring data and other diagnostic data sources to intensify and individualize the intervention based on student need. This approach mirrors the remaining steps of the DBI process that consist of data collection and modification in an iterative process until improvement is seen.
Tools and Resources to Learn About the Taxonomy of Intervention Intensity

Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., & Malone A. S. (2017). The taxonomy of intervention intensity. Teaching Exceptional Children, 50(1), 35-43.

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How to Intensify Intervention: Intensification Strategies | NCII

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Tools and resources that provide an overview of the Taxonomy of Intervention Intensity and supports for selecting, evaluating, and intensifying interventions.

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12 minute podcast. Discusses the importance of context in relations to executive functioning.

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Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

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Sabine Doebel: How your brain's executive function works -- and how to improve it

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You use your brain's executive function every day -- it's how you do things like pay attention, plan ahead and control impulses. Can you improve it to change for the better? With highlights from her research on child development, cognitive scientist Sabine Doebel explores the factors that affect executive function -- and how you can use it to break bad habits and achieve your goals.

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See step by step examples for all ages and settings in this article looking at Sarah Ward's research on Get Ready, Do, Done.

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Executive skills and reading are in here from IDA.

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Share This:
By Lynn Meltzer and Michael Greschler
"Mike's performance has been unpredictable all year! He is so bright and creative but his classwork and test performance are like a seesaw. He is often late with homework and projects and he does not seem motivated to improve" (7th grade teacher).

The crucial role of executive function processes in literacy begins in the preschool years. It becomes more important as students progress through middle and high school when they are expected to master complex skills in reading comprehension, summarizing, note-taking, and multi-stage writing projects. Academic performance is increasingly dependent on a variety of skills and abilities:

Plan, organize and prioritize information.

Read for meaning.

Separate main ideas from details in text.

Think flexibly.

Memorize important information.

Monitor their progress.

Executive function difficulties become more prevalent in middle and high school when the curriculum is more open-ended and requires students to synthesize increasingly complex information and to shift flexibly between major themes and supporting information.

Executive function difficulties become more prevalent in middle and high school when the curriculum is more open-ended and requires students to synthesize increasingly complex information and to shift flexibly between major themes and supporting information.

This overview provides a snapshot of the most important executive function processes, their effects on reading and writing, and practical strategies that can be easily implemented by clinicians and teachers.

What Is Executive Function?
Executive function is an umbrella term for the complex cognitive processes that underlie flexible, goal-directed learning (Goldstein & Naglieri, 2015). There are several key executive function processes that influence literacy and all academic performance:

Goal-setting

Cognitive flexibility/flexible thinking

Organizing and prioritizing

Working memory

Self-monitoring (Meltzer, 2010, 2014, 2018).

Executive function is an umbrella term for the complex cognitive processes that underlie flexible, goal-directed learning.

Students who struggle with these executive function processes often experience frustration and failure. They begin to feel that their brains are "clogged" with information (see Figure 1). Executive function strategies help students to "unclog the funnel" and prevent increasing difficulties as the complexity and pace of the curriculum intensify (Meltzer, 2010, 2015, 2018).
How do Executive Function Weaknesses Impact Reading Comprehension and Writing?
"When I have to summarize what I've read, I can't figure out what the main idea is. I get so frustrated when I know all the details but I can't write a one paragraph summary. After an hour, I give up" (John, 7th grade).

The ability to shift approaches and to synthesize information in novel ways is essential for effective reading, writing, note-taking, studying, and test-taking (Meltzer, 2010, 2018). Reading comprehension requires students to process the meaning of text; flexibly access their background knowledge; recognize the purpose or goal of reading; and monitor their own comprehension (Cartwright, 2008). Reading for meaning requires students to organize many different types of linguistic information at the word, sentence, and paragraph levels. When reading material that incorporates complex or figurative language, students also need to shift back and forth between the major themes and relevant details, between concrete and abstract information, and between possible literal and symbolic meanings. Writing tasks also require students to shift flexibly between their personal perspectives and the viewpoints of readers-and between important concepts and supporting information.

When students like John need to coordinate the skills involved in reading, writing a summary, or studying for a test, they often become "stuck." The information is "clogged,"(see Figure 1 above) and they cannot produce the required outcome (Meltzer, Greschler, Kurkul, & Stacey, 2015). These students often struggle with reading and writing demands because their weaknesses in the core executive function processes affect their accuracy, efficiency, and overall productivity. These students may have difficulty with the following executive function processes that are discussed below and summarized in Table 1:

Goal-Setting: Setting short-term and long-term goals for completing open-ended tasks such as writing papers, projects, studying for tests.

Prioritizing and Organizing: Prioritizing and organizing the different components of multi-stage projects after researching sources.

Shifting Flexibly: Shifting between the different processes and subskills involved in reading and writing (e.g., shifting between the main ideas and supporting details and back, switching between outlining to summarizing and back, or shifting between multiple-choice test questions to answering open-ended questions on tests).

Accessing Information in Working Memory: Taking notes or outlining when completing independent reading or studying by focusing on the big picture and the relevant supporting details.

Self-Monitoring: Checking work so that the final product reflects an understanding of the content.

As a result of these executive function weaknesses, many students have difficulty reading for meaning in content areas such as English literature, history, science, and biology. In addition, they struggle to show what they know after they read. The recent shift toward reading internet sources for content has exacerbated these executive function difficulties when students need to prioritize and organize information and to determine which details are relevant for specific assignments. This contrasts with reading textbooks that have been carefully structured by experts who focus on organizing and prioritizing key information.

Executive function difficulties become particularly challenging as students enter middle and high school where there is an increased emphasis on efficient and fluent reading, rapid comprehension of major themes, and synthesis of information. Students' grades often do not reflect their knowledge or ability. In spite of their effort, they may be labeled as "lazy." As the demands escalate, students often lose self-confidence, become frustrated, and make less effort in school, resulting in increased rates of school absences, dropout, truancy, and delinquency.
How to Teach Executive Function Strategies in Reading and Writing Tasks?
"My success is due to the strategies I learned and the confidence and self-understanding I gained after I used the strategies and got higher grades" (Sarah, 11th grader).

Executive function strategies provide an important foundation for improving students' academic performance, confidence, and effort. Students like Sarah, who develop an understanding of their unique strengths and weaknesses (metacognitive awareness) and use strategies, typically show increased effort and persistence, positive self-concept, and improved grades in school (Meltzer, 2018; Meltzer, Greschler, Kurkul, & Stacey, 2015).

Students need to develop metacognitive awareness so that they understand their learning profiles- when to use which strategies and in what contexts as all strategies do not work for all students at all times. Completing and sharing strategy reflection sheets (Meltzer, 2010, 2015, 2018) requires students to reflect and describe the processes and strategies they use for their classwork, homework, and test preparation (see Figure 2).

Metacognitive awareness and effective strategy use are promoted when teachers provide incentives to make strategy use count. When grades for homework and tests include points for completing strategy reflection sheets, teachers promote strategic learning in all students. Furthermore, daily or weekly strategy shares allow students to discuss their use of strategies with one another.

Students need to personalize the strategies that work best for them so these techniques become more individualized and more meaningful (www.smarts-ef.org). A few selected strategies are summarized below (see Meltzer, 2010; and www.smarts-ef.org for more details).
Goal Setting:

Help students to set attainable goals that are well-defined and "doable," a foundation for "CANDO goals" (Meltzer, Greschler, Stacey, Ross, et al., 2015; www.smarts-ef.org).

Teach students to break goals down into smaller steps to identify obstacles to meeting these goals, and to identify ways of overcoming these obstacles.

Shifting/Thinking Flexibly:

Implement 5-minute warm-ups for classes that include enjoyable ways of teaching students to shift flexibly (e.g., jokes, riddles, and puns).

When reading for meaning, writing summaries, or taking notes, teach students to shift flexibly between "big ideas" and key details. (See Table 2.)

Teach students to use graphic organizers and three-column note-taking systems (e.g., SMARTS Triple Note Tote strategy) to help them make explicit connections between main ideas and supporting details and to shift fluidly between the two. The third column is used to document a strategy for memorizing the information. Students can jot down a crazy phrase or a mnemonic, or they can draw a cartoon, or simple picture to visualize the correct answer (Meltzer, 2010, 2018; Meltzer, Greschler, Kurkul, & Stacey, 2015; www.smarts-ef.org).

Prioritizing and Organizing Information and Ideas: Accessing Working Memory:

To avoid last-minute panic, teach students to "divide and conquer" upcoming assignments and projects by planning to complete larger assignments in steps.

Teach students to use outlines, graphic organizers, or webs to prioritize information they have read and to organize this information before they begin writing, summarizing, or mapping out multi-step projects.

Teach students to use three-column notes (e.g. SMARTS Triple Note Tote strategy) when reading or studying (www.smarts-ef.org).

Self-Monitoring/Self-Checking:

Teach students to create silly sentences, acronyms, or cartoons to remember information so they do not need to hold and juggle information in their minds constantly.

Encourage students to create songs, stories, and acronyms to remember the steps involved in completing and checking written papers.

Conclusion

Teach students to develop personalized strategies and checklists for correcting their most common mistakes before handing in their tests.

Require students to check and edit their homework and tests before submitting them.

Require students to develop personalized self-checking cards and mnemonics to help them remember the core ideas in texts they read (Meltzer, 2010).

Additional Reading
When teachers and parents build an executive function culture in their classrooms and their homes, they empower children to learn how to learn and problem-solve flexibly. When schools and families foster effort, persistence, and executive function strategies, students develop self-confidence, resilience, and a strong work ethic, the gateways to academic and life success in our 21st century world.

Cartwright, K. B. (Ed.). (2008). Literacy processes: Cognitive flexibility in learning and teaching. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House.

Goldstein, S., & Naglieri, J. (Eds.). (2015). Executive functioning handbook. New York, NY: Springer.

Meltzer, L. (2010). Promoting executive function in the classroom (What works
for special needs learners series). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Meltzer, L. J. (2014). Teaching executive function processes: Promoting metacognition, strategy use, and effort. In S. Goldstein & J. Naglieri (Eds.), Executive functioning handbook (pp. 445-474). New York, NY: Springer.

Meltzer, L. (Speaker). (2017, September 26). Project runaway [Audio blog post].
Retrieved from http://cerebralmatters.com/podcast/podcast/episode-12/

Meltzer, L. (Speaker). (2017, October 3). From pimples to projects: Taking charge of how to learn [Audio blog post]. Retrieved from http://cerebralmatters.com/podcast/?s=from+pimples+to+projects

Meltzer, L. J. (Ed). (2018). Executive function in education: From theory to practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Meltzer, L. J. (2018). Creating strategic classrooms and schools: Embedding executive function trategies in the curriculum. In L. J. Meltzer (Ed.), Executive function in education: From theory to practice (2nd ed., pp. 263-299). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Meltzer, L. J., Greschler, M., Kurkul, K., & Stacey, W. (2015). Executive function and peer mentoring: Fostering metacognitive awareness, effort, and academic success. In K. Harris & L. Meltzer (Eds.), The power of peers in the classroom: Enhancing learning and social skills (pp. 1-32). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Meltzer, L. J. Greschler, M., Kurkul, K., Stacey, W., Ross, E., & Snow, E. (n.d.). SMARTS. Retrieved October 5, 2018, from www.smarts-ef.org.

Lynn Meltzer, Ph.D. is the Director of the Institutes for Learning and Development (ResearchILD & ILD) in Lexington, MA. She is also an Associate in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a fellow and Past-President of the
International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities. For 29 years, she was an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Child Development at Tufts University. Dr. Meltzer is the founder and chair of the international Learning Differences Conference, now in its 33rd year at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her 39 years of neuropsychological evaluations and clinical consultations with children, adolescents, and adults have emphasized the theory-to-practice cycle of knowledge. Her recent work, together with her ResearchILD colleagues, has centered on the development of SMARTS Online, an evidence-based executive function and peer mentoring/coaching curriculum for middle and high school students (www.smarts-ef.org). In 2015, the Council for Learning Disabilities honored her with the prestigious J. L. Wiederholt Outstanding Research award.

Her extensive publications and presentations include articles, chapters, and books, most recently, Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice, 2007; Promoting Executive Function in the Classroom, 2010; and The Power of Peers in the Classroom: Enhancing Learning and Social Skills, 2015, co-edited with Karen Harris, and Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice, 2018 (2nd ed.).
Copyright © 2018 International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Opinions expressed in The Examiner and/or via links do not necessarily reflect those of IDA. We encourage sharing of Examiner articles. If portions are cited, please make appropriate reference. Articles may not be reprinted for the purpose of resale. Permission to republish this article is available from info@dyslexia.org.
Michael Greschler is the Director of the SMARTS Online Executive Function program. Over the past 5 years, he has worked to develop and grow the SMARTS program, collaborating with teachers and administrators in schools and leading a nationwide pilot of SMARTS online in its first year. Since the launch of SMARTS in the fall of 2015, Michael has supported the more than 700 SMARTS educators around the world, helping them bring the power of executive function into the classroom. In addition, Michael is a conference coordinator for ResearchILD's Learning Differences Conference. As an educational specialist at the Institute for Learning and Development, Michael uses executive function strategy instruction to support teenagers and young adults.

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Executive Function Strategies: The Building Blocks for Reading to Learn - International Dyslexia Association

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Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory

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Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory

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To determine how students approach academic reading tasks use the MARI.

Posted on the IRIS center webpage

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Tools to help your student or child with different EF areas. Apps and paper based pieces of work.

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Pact Plus resourse- How to support parents to help thier kids with homework

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Pact Plus resourse- How to support parents to help thier kids with homework

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This guide explains step by step how to set up homework routines and incentives for your child to complete their homework.

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Instructional routines are tasks enacted in classrooms that structure the relationship between the teacher and the students around content in ways that consistently maintain high expectations of student learning while adapting to the contingencies of particular instructional interactions (Kazemi, E., Frank, M., & Lampart, M., 2009). Perhaps, a better way to think about instructional routines is through the lens of sports. In sports, there are what is referred to as standard plays. Instructional routines in teaching are standard plays for classroom learning. If everyone on the team (i.e., students) knows the play, the the game (i.e., instruction) runs more smoothly. However, in sports, plays (i.e., instructional routines) have to be adjusted due to various challenges or difficulties the team encounters. Coaches (i.e., teachers) during the game find themselves making adjustments on the fly due to information, data, and ideas that emerge from their team on the field, or in terms of teachers, from their students in the classroom. Listed below are research and evidence-based instructional routines assembled to support classroom instruction and student learning. Adopting these instructional routines enables teachers to accommodate a wide variety of learning styles and student needs when teaching literacy (i.e., reading, writing, speaking and listening). This list is not exhaustive, but intended to provide teachers with examples of routines to implement.

High Quality Instructional Routines

1. Explicit, Systematic Instruction. Explicit (direct) and systematic instruction refers to a planned and logical sequence of teaching literacy, proceeding in small steps and checking for student understanding before moving to the next step. Teaching should follow a scope and sequence based on a logical order of writing and reading skills, progressing from basic to more complex and toggle between for writing, whole to parts and parts to whole. Effective explicit instruction teaches prerequisite skills needed to learn new skills.

2. Gradual Release of Responsibility (I, We, You). This model gradually releases responsibility to students for independently using a skill or strategy. At the first instructional stage (I do it), the teacher presents the skill to students and uses modeling and think aloud (See below). At the second stage, (We do it), students practice the skill as a whole group or in small groups. The teacher guides this practice and provides corrective feedback to students. At the last stage (You do it), students practice the skill independently. Students require different amounts of practice and degrees of support in order to reach independent use.

3. Provide Models and Use Think Aloud. Teachers should demonstrate how to perform a task or skill, along with an explanation of what is being done, before expecting students to do it on their own. Modeling and thinking aloud lets students see and hear how to apply the skill or complete the task. This is also referred to as meta-cognitive modeling. Meta-Cognitive Modeling occurs when teachers are being explicit in their thinking about how to start their writing, how they decide what to do first and next. For example, brainstorming topics, how many characters to include, the setting, or should they to start an expository, persuasive, or argumentative essay with a quote, a question, an anecdote to hook the reader.

4. Use a Multisensory Approach. Multisensory teaching presents information to students in a way that uses multiple senses to learn literacy skills (i.e., visual, auditory, tactile-kinesthetic). Teachers should use visuals, objects and manipulatives, color-coding, saying and repeating, actions, and movement whenever possible.

5. Differentiate Instruction and Provide Scaffolds. Differentiated instruction entails designing instruction to suit individual student needs rather than using a standardized approach to instruction that assumes all students will learn to write (or read) the same way. Scaffolding is a hallmark of differentiated instruction. Scaffolding is assistance offered by a teacher to support learning a writing (or reading) skill that a student is initially unable to grasp independently, and then removing the assistance once the skill is learned. There are several types of scaffolds: teacher scaffolding, content scaffolding, task scaffolding, material scaffolding.

6. Oral Academic Conversations and Verbal Discussions. Academic conversations are sustained and purposeful conversations in which partners take turns talking, listening, and responding to each other's comments, thoughts, and ideas on topics. Students support their conversation with evidence, information, examples in order to support both their partner's and own understanding and analysis. Academic conversation aid in reading comprehension and develop transferable language skills to writing.

7. Written Conversations. The practice of written conversations was first introduced by Burke (Short, Harste, & Burke, 1996). This practice involved children pairing up and passing paper and pencil between them to "chat" about a variety of topics: their weekend, favorite pets, areas of study, or opinions on things they have read as a class. Although the process may appear to be a simple activity, this dialogic-inquiry activity offers so much more. Written conversations provide a way for students to have open and honest dialogue and at the same time be actively involved in the learning process. Written conversations have some similar qualities to dialogue journals, but the big difference is that dialogue journals usually have delayed feedback, which occurs over time. Written conversations, in contrast, provide immediate feedback, much like instant messaging or online chats. Most often written conversations are done between students. The importance of interactions between students has been minimized (Johnson, 1981), but now interactions are recognized as a vital piece in the classrooms (Salomon & Perkins, 1998; Chi, 2009).

8. Conferring with Documentation. Conferring involves having a conversation with students about their writing (and reading). Conferring always has a clear purpose and predictable structure. Conferring can be used to inform instruction, monitor student growth, and provide students feedback on their understanding of skills and content taught as evidenced in and by their writing.

9. Strive for Automaticity through PractIce and Review. When students learn a writing (or reading) skill at an automatic (mastery) level, they have learned it so thoroughly that they can use it with little to no conscious attention. Significant guided practice, repetition, and spiraling back to review previous skills are critical to achieving automaticity.

10. Data Driven Instruction. Teachers should use formal and informal assessment data to inform instructional decisions. It is important to monitor progress (on a frequent basis) which students are reaching benchmark goals or demonstrating mastery of a standard and which are not. Teachers should use data to determine which skills need more explicit instruction and practice, how to group students for instruction, and which may need supplemental intervention instruction beyond what is provided to all students.

11. Provide Opportunities for Success. When teachers challenge students beyond their ability or readiness to learn a new writing (or reading) skill, the result can be low self-confidence and a willingness to participate in learning. When teachers introduce a new skill, they should start with simple examples. gradually adding more challenging tasks. It also helps to include practice with some previously learned skill along with newer, more challenging tasks so that students can experience some success.

Collaborative Conversations

Zwiers and Crawford Academic Conversation Placemat

Three Levels of Text Pre-write discussion protocol

Conversations to Support Reading and Writing - Zwiers et al

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High Quality Instructional Routines | CDE

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Schema Based Introduction in a Middle School Classroom 

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Schema Based Introduction in a Middle School Classroom 

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Schema-Based Instruction Part 1:  Introduction & "Total" Problems

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From Dawson and Guare, a Homework packet for support.

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Dawson and Guare share a variety of videos on their webpage to help parents understand Executive Functions and how they can support their child with deficits in these areas.

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Picture Schedules Listen to Peg’s interview with Lindsay Cribbs, a teacher and mom, who discovered that picture schedules are very effective in helping even very young children become more independent in following daily routines. Why Some People Struggle To Set Goals And Achieve Them With Dr. Peg Dawson In this YouTube interview, Peg talks with Elliott Neff, founder of Chess4Life (https://chess4life.com), about how playing chess helps kids develop executive skills while doing something fun. Helping Children and Teens Strengthen Executive Skills To Reach Their Full Potential (Parent Webinar) Teaching Preteen Independence Without Hovering Free Webinar Replay Do most conversations with your preteen end in a shouting match? You’re not alone. Peg Dawson, Ed.D., explains how to navigate the precarious parent-child relationship through adolescence, while giving your child the independence he craves. The Teen Brain and Risk Taking Join Peg Dawson, Ed.D., as she discusses how the teen brain processes information related to risk evaluation and how this is different from how adults process risk. The Teen Brain and Thinking Skills Join Peg Dawson, Ed.D., as she discusses how the teen brain processes information and how they think, which is different from how adults think. ... Continue reading Videos

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Examples of response inhibition/self-regulation from Cookie Monster.

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Cookie Monster Practices Self-Regulation | Life Kit Parenting | NPR

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Executive Functioning for Parents and Caregivers

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Executive Functioning for Parents and Caregivers

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Here is the parent version slides.

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Parent Strategies to Support Executive Functioning Skills for Students with Learning Disabilities

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Check out this Presentation designed by Amy Weltin.

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WWC Intervention Report: Self- Regulated Strategy Development

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WWC Intervention Report: Self- Regulated Strategy Development

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This module features the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model, which outlines the six steps required to effectively implement any instructional strategy and emphasizes the time and effort required to do so (est. completion time: 1 hour).

Work through the sections of this module in the order presented in the STAR graphic above.

Related to this module

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SRSD: Using Learning Strategies To Enhance Student Learning

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This module features the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model, which outlines the six steps required to effectively implement any instructional strategy and emphasizes the time and effort required to do so (est. completion time: 1 hour). Work through the sections of this module in the order presented in the STAR graphic above.

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Implementing Cognitive Strategy Instruction & Developing Self-Regulated Learners

Cognitive Strategy Instruction is a very broad subject but here you will find an overview of the process and practical tips. For more in depth study references are provided.

CSI is a tool intended to help students develop the necessary skills to be self-regulated learners.

Our purpose is to introduce and explain the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model of implementation, as well as provide the foundational basis for its effectiveness. Information presented will include:

1. The steps (how you do it).

2. The purpose behind each step (why you do it).

We should stress that the instructional process is what determines the effectiveness of strategy instruction.

Definition of a Strategy

When discussing strategies it is helpful to dissect the definition. Strategies are:

Goals directed and consciously controllable process that facilitate performance.
The key parts are:
Goals directed - intended to perform a definite function.

Consciously controllable processes - directly manipulable and statable:

"This how I am doing_______ and this is why_______." This is essential, if the strategy is to be self-regulated. It would not be possible to regulate something that was not conscious.

Facilitate performance - strategies are processes that when matched to task requirements, improve performance. You can do things better, easier, and quicker when you use a strategy.

In essence, a strategy is simply a tool used to accomplish a task. A strategy concentrates and enhances effort. Just as using a lever allows us to move heavy objects more easily, so strategies allow for enhanced performance of academic tasks.

Most of us use strategies continually, without even realizing it. Strategies are so integrated into everyday life that we are usually not even aware that we are using them. Common strategies include:

Adults write themselves notes

Children are taught a familiar spelling strategy "i" before "e" except after "c"

Strategic approaches to tasks separate poor learners from more effective learners. While the use of strategies is common among successful learners the opposite is true for struggling learners and in particular students with learning disabilities. These students may not develop effective strategies, or may use ineffective or inappropriate strategies.

Strategies run the gamut from simple to highly complex. Educators need to look critically at any instructional strategy before they choose to implement it, weighing both pros and cons of the strategy. All this may make strategies sound complicated, but that's not necessarily the case.

CSI Research Based

Unlike many other educational techniques, Cognitive Strategy Instruction is founded on a broad base of research that has validated its effectiveness. The research clearly proves the effectiveness of Strategies Instruction. This research has been conducted in "real" classrooms with "real" students over 20 years.

CSI has been used across a wide variety of curriculum areas such as: Reading - Decoding, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Writing, Spelling, Math, Study Skills, and other Content areas.

CSI is in the forefront of current educational practices, largely because of its extensive research base. Choosing instructional strategies can sometimes be like a shot in the dark. There are many different reasons why certain strategies and curriculums are chosen:

It's what the district has chosen

It's what another teacher/administrator/college professor recommended

It seemed to work for Mrs. Smith's class

It has pretty pictures

However, we would stress that the focus should not be on the strategies themselves, but rather on the implementation process. Even an effective strategy will fail to produce results if it is improperly implemented. Implementing a strategy should be viewed as a "process." This process should be evolutionary and dynamic.

The "process" of implementation, the SRSD model, is also based on validated methods. Each step involved in the "process" of implementation is based on research findings and current best practices.

Model of Implementation

The implementation model that we use follows is based on Harris and Graham's (1996) Self-Regulated Strategy Development model. The goal of SRSD is to make the use of strategies habitual, flexible, and automatic. This can take a lot of time, practice, and effort. The SRSD model is very comprehensive. This ensures that crucial steps are not overlooked. Following a model such as SRSD has two major advantages:

First, it gives you an instructional template to follow. You know how to teach the strategy in a step-by-step fashion.

Second, strategy instruction involves a major time and effort commitment. Therefore approaches that have been validated provide more of a cost/benefit balance.

The instructional model is a serious consideration when implementing strategy instruction. Not only could a model prove to be ineffective, it could also prove to be detrimental to students.

Students With Learning Disabilities

Cognitive Strategy Instruction is effective for a variety of learners, but particularly students with learning disabilities. Students with learning disabilities often do not develop the types of strategies necessary to successfully attack tasks.

One critical aspect of strategy instruction is to appreciate that children with learning disabilities have problems that go beyond academics, and that these problems can adversely affect academic performance.

The Self-Regulated Strategy Development model stresses the need to provide students with essential metacognitive knowledge of the strategies. Students must understand how a strategy works and why each step in the strategy is performed. The Self-Regulated Strategy Development model enables students to understand the process of the strategy.

Research shows that students who are actively involved in the education process have better retention, motivation and overall attitudes towards learning. Many struggling learners may never develop strategies, will use ineffective or immature strategies, or fail to employ strategies all together. Strategy instruction can dramatically increase student performance.

CSI is flexible and can be used in combination with different self-regulation techniques. These techniques would need to be taught explicitly and combined in the modeling, memorizing, supporting, and independent performance stages. They would need to be incorporated into most of the process. Self-regulation can prove to be an effective way for students to monitor their own progress and see their improvements. It will take a significant investment of time and effort in order to increase student performance to a level, where they are metacognitive and self-regulating.

The Self-Regulated Strategy Development Model

We chose to present the SRSD model of implementation because of its thoroughness and flexibility. The model is well developed and sequential, yet it allows teachers to use their own professional judgment when employing it.

The stages of implementation are set up to ensure that all necessary areas are fully addressed. However, the stages are flexible and may be reordered or combined as deemed appropriate or necessary by the teacher.

The stages are intended to be recursive and should be revisited to ensure mastery. This is part of the flexibility of this model. Stages can and should be revisited as part of the instructional process. Revisiting stages will not only help with mastery, it will also allow students to rethink and develop metacognitive skills.
Model Implementation
Stage 1: Develop and Activate Background Knowledge

Developing background knowledge sometimes seems so obvious that it is often overlooked. Struggling learners may lack essential background knowledge or preskills necessary to successfully complete a task or use a strategy. In many instances, what knowledge a student does have is often fragmented. Students must have mastered prerequisite skills to effectively use a strategy.

While developing background knowledge it is necessary to initially define the basic skills needed to perform the strategy, and to make certain that the students understand the terms used in the strategy. In order for students to understand the strategy they need to understand its most basic components.

The best way to identify the basic terms and skills necessary for the strategy is to do a task analysis. The task analysis will help teachers to determine whether or not students possess the prerequisite skills necessary perform the strategy.

After the task analysis is complete there are many ways that teachers can check students' skills. These include observing student performance, using curriculum-based measures, or simply asking students. Often, instructors will already possess knowledge of student pre-skills. Skill deficits should be addressed prior to introducing the new strategy.
Task Analyses
Stage 2: Discuss the Strategy

Discussion of the strategy is a more involved process than merely going through the steps of a strategy. A major goal of strategy instruction is to bring students to the point where they are self-regulated. In order for this goal to be achieved, students need to be actively involved and allowed ownership in the process.

Teachers will need to "sell" the strategy and get students to "buy in." Having the students believe in what they are learning will enable them to be more actively involved, which is the first step in self-regulation. If a student does not want to use a strategy it is fair to assume that they will not. Teachers need to be excited, committed and energized so that students will be too.

The use of the strategy should be an easy "sell", it will result in improved academic performance. Provide students with examples of how this strategy or other strategies have improved student performance in the past, and even how strategies have helped you in the past. This may not be enough; you will most likely need to find what motivates your particular students. For example: getting work done so that they can go outside for recess, no homework, making parents proud, impressing friends, or making the honor roll.

During this stage it is appropriate for the teachers to explain the benefits of using the strategy; discussing and even providing examples of current performance. Teachers should ask students questions, and ask them how confident they feel in the particular subject or skill being discussed. Then explain how learning the strategy can improve their performance.

The final part of this stage is introducing students to the steps of the strategy. Strategy steps should be explained one-by-one. Typically this is where teachers begin, but the SRSD model has allowed much of the ground work to already be laid at this point.

Throughout this process teachers should be monitoring their students' understanding. Part of this process is to work in cooperation with the students and in doing so you must make sure that they are keeping up and understanding what is being explained.

Stage 3: Model the Strategy

Purpose of modeling is to expose students to the thought processes of a skilled learner. Good modeling goes well beyond merely presenting the steps in a strategy. It provides students with the "why" and "how" of various strategy steps. It also demonstrates that student effort is essential, and shows that strategy use results in better performance.

By modeling, a teacher can show not only what to do, but what to think as well. This process is called a 'think aloud'. A think aloud goes beyond just listing the steps in a strategy. While this is useful, it is insufficient. Students need to see the the metacognitive process involved in understanding and using the strategy. By the teacher expressing their thought process while using the strategy the student is able to see how a successful learner uses the strategy and thinks through it.

The process involved in a think aloud is much more complex than it may initially seem. For expert learners making the covert overt is extremely difficult and requires a significant amount of practice and preparation.

Stage 4: Memorize the Strategy

It is critical that the students commit the strategy steps to memory. Memorizing the steps is crucial, because we want students to be able to focus on the task not on remembering the steps of the strategy. Students have a limited amount of cognitive processing capacity, and if that capacity is consumed with remembering the steps of the strategy it will be difficult or impossible to focus on the task itself.

Memorizing the strategy steps is something that we should not just work on once or twice; we need to be constantly reinforcing the memorization of the strategy steps, and in various contexts so that it becomes second nature to students.

There are many ways to help students memorize the steps of the strategy; the key is repetition and variation. The more practice they get in a variety of settings and situations the more successful they will be at memorizing the strategy.

A teacher could use different activities or games to teach memorization of the strategy: for example, they could use round-robin activities or a ball-toss game.

Memorizing a strategy goes well beyond parroting back the steps of the strategy. Students need to know and understand what is involved with each step in the process.

Stage 5: Support the Strategy

Supporting the strategy is arguably the most important step in the SRSD implementation process. Supporting the strategy is done by using a process called scaffolding. Scaffolding involves teachers initially performing all or most of a task, while increasingly shifting responsibility of performance to the student. This, like the scaffolding used when constructing a building, provides support. Teachers need to provide that support to students when using the strategy. With scaffolding, it is possible for a gradual transfer of strategy performance from teacher to student. Students need to be given adequate time and support to master the strategy.

The process of scaffolding is analogous to teaching a child to ride a bike: When teaching a child to ride a bike, first you put on training wheels, and let them practice with a lot of support from the training wheels. Then, you move the training wheels up, for less support and more practice balancing and riding a little bit more independently. Next, you would take the training wheels off and run behind the child holding the seat. Eventually, you would completely let go and let the child independently with out any support, just your supervision.

In the supporting stage of the SRSD implementation model teachers need to provide whatever support students need to move from current performance to independent use of the strategy. Teachers and students work together to master the performance of a strategy. Teachers need to be aware of the child's capabilities and their needs in order to achieve an improved level of performance.

Supporting the strategy may include:

Working collaboratively on tasks while gradually fading help

Putting students into small groups

Remodeling the strategy

Prompting the particular use of a step

Providing corrective feedback

Collaboration between teachers and students is extremely important in the SRSD process. Collaboration gives the teacher an opportunity to check for student understanding and fill in any necessary information the student may be lacking. It also gives the teacher another opportunity to make sure that the students possess the skills necessary to complete the task successfully. If necessary, teachers may need to go back and teach some pre-skills. This is part of the flexibility of the SRSD model.

Stage 6: Independent Performance

It is important to remember, the goal of strategy instruction is not for the student to use the strategy explicitly as taught, but for improved academic performance. Often, students may adapt the strategy to meet their needs. This is an acceptable part of the model as long as the teacher is confident the strategy is still successful in completing the task.

Independent performance does not mean that a teacher's job is done. Teachers must still monitor students' use of the strategy to ensure they are using the strategy properly.

Evaluating instruction should always be part of any curriculum. With current educational initiatives such as state standards and competency tests, accountability is in the forefront of education.

Evaluation and assessment is necessary to know whether or not learning has occurred. CSI facilitates meaningful assessment; the interactive, collaborative nature of the process allows teachers to easily assess changes in students' cognition, affect, and performance.

Considerations When Evaluating Cognitive Strategy Instruction

At a minimum, teachers should know:

If students are actually using the strategy

Whether or not its use has had a positive effect on performance

If students see the strategy as being valuable and manageable

The teacher's instruction also needs to be evaluated. Evaluating and adjusting their own performance is one of the few factors that teachers can have complete control over. Teachers need to make sure that they are effective at all stages of implementation. It may be necessary to go back and do some re-teaching of stages and strategy steps.

Teachers must also consider and assess how students actually use the strategy as students will often modify the strategy. Modifications can mean that the student is aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and has modified the strategy to better suit their needs. These modifications may still achieve the desired outcome of increased academic performance while others may need to be reconsidered. Teachers should observe students while they use the strategy to determine if they are still effective.

Teachers need to make sure that students are aware of opportunities to use the strategies in different situations, and encourage them to do so.

Teacher can promote the strategy by doing things such as having students periodically explain how and why they use or would use the strategy, having them keep a record of the times they use a strategy, or how they modify it for other tasks, and reward them for doing so.

Student Generalizations

It is also important to assess students' use of the strategy over time and in new situations. Do not assume that students will continue to use a particular strategy or successfully adapt it to new situations. Teachers should actively promote the use of the strategy with their students, as well as, with their colleagues. Students will not automatically generalize strategies in different situations; they must be programmed to do so.

When evaluating the strategy instruction process, teachers should collaborate with their colleagues, get feedback, and find out if the students are utilizing the strategy in other content areas in a successful manner. A strategy will not be completely successful if students do not generalize it and use it in various, appropriate, situations. To promote the strategy use, other content area teachers need to be made aware of the strategy steps and how the strategy works. This will enable them to use the same kind of language and prompt the students to use the strategy when appropriate.

Ways of Evaluating

Evaluating student performance can be done in traditional fashions such as tests worksheets, written products, or other such curriculum-based measures. The use of curriculum-based measures provides certain advantages. They can be used to determine a baseline prior to strategy intervention, and can then be used to show the effectiveness of the strategy after implementation. This is an excellent way for students to see the value of using strategies. There are however alternatives to the traditional forms of assessment that can be equally effective. For example:
Involve students as Co-Evaluators
Increases students sense of ownership
Reinforces progress
Provides a practical way to reduce a teacher's load
Teachers can gain valuable insight into their progress and readiness for advancement
Involving students as co-evaluators can give you a better idea of how the student feels about the strategy, and their performance using the strategy. This is also an excellent way for students to see for themselves the difference that the strategy has made on their academic performance.
Utilize Portfolio Assessment Procedures
Portfolios are an excellent way for both teachers and students to monitor progress
Portfolios offer reflective self evaluation
Students learn that development is as important as achievement
Portfolios are part of the shift in education. In today's society students need to provide products of the learning. Using these "products" can be an excellent way to show students their own progress and how the use of the strategy has enhanced their academic performance.

Practical Considerations and Tips

When implementing strategy instruction there are a few practical considerations that should be thought out: CSI - requires time and effort CSI may require substantial time investment

Sometimes it is necessary to "loop back"

Once the strategy is taught is should not be forgot

This is not just something that can be done in "two weeks and move on." Even if the strategy is simple and can be implemented quickly it will be likely that you will need to do some re-teaching, review and modeling periodically. This will require a commitment from both teacher and student. In CSI "Small is Golden" Teachers should use only a few strategies and support their use over a prolonged period of time. Better to teach a small number of strategies well over a long period of time than try to teach a large number less extensively. We suggest considering the following tips:

Take it slow

Take advantage of strategies students have already developed

Collaborate with other teachers and your students

Taking it slow will help ensure that all stages have been well addressed. Teachers should be open to change and understand that sometimes even if things don't go as planned they can still be extremely successful. Conclusion

Teachers who use CSI construct powerful new knowledge about what works for students.

Although this can be a demanding process, it is an exciting one that we hope you will try. Good Luck! Be excited, now you have something that you can use!

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Teaching Strategies | College of Education and Human Sciences | Nebraska | Special Education & Communication Disorders

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Implementing CSI & Developing Self-Regulated LearnersDefinition of a StrategyCSI Research BasedModel ImplementationStudents with Learning DisabilitiesThe Self-Regulated Strategy Development ModelStage 1Stage 2Stage 3Stage 4Stage 5Stage 6

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Reading SRSD

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Reading | College of Education and Human Sciences | Nebraska | Special Education & Communication Disorders

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The .pdf files which can be downloaded below sometimes can’t be downloaded from school computers due to protective firewalls that school systems need to install for virus protection. If you have difficulty downloading a file, try using a computer which is not in a school. To access these files, your computer must have the free Adobe Reader. A free download is available from adobe.com.ReadingWord Identification

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Writing SRSD

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A SPELLING STUDY STRATEGY (Graham, S., & Freeman, S. ) Helping Students Learn Unknown Spelling Words

This spelling strategy is intended to help students study unknown spelling words. The students need to be trained in the study method.

SPELLING SELF-CORRECTION METHODS (Goddard, Y.L., & Heron, T.E.) These spelling strategies are centered around self-correction techniques requiring students to check and correct their own work; focusing directly on the task at hand. They are learner centered, and have been validated and replicated empirically.
Written Composition
DEFENDS (Ellis, E., & Lenz, K.)

This writing strategy is designed to aid in written compositions conveying a position. It is intended to help students write a paper defending a position. This strategy involves imbedded strategies.

HELPERS IN WRITING (Wong, B.Y.L., Butler, D.L., Ficzere, S.A., & Kuperis, S.)

This is a writing strategy designed to help students write compare-and-contrast essays. This strategy employs a planning sheet called HELPERS in Writing.

MAPPING (Simmonds, E.P.M., Luchow, J.P., Kaminsky, S., & Cottone, V.)

This writing strategy was designed to help students organize essay answers on tests, but can be used in various writing activities.

PLEASE (Welch, M., & Jensen, J.B.)

This writing strategy was developed for written expression, to assist students in planning and writing compositions using a highly structured, step-by-step procedure. This is intended to enable students to generate and organize ideas in simple paragraph form. The strategy WritePlease, is a video-assisted strategy intended to aide teachers in teaching this strategy.

POWER (Englert, C.S., Raphael, E.E., Anderson, L.M., Anthony, H.M., Fear, K.L., & Gregg, S.L.)

This writing strategy organizes all the steps in the writing process. It teaches students four different organizational structures for writing papers: stories, comparison-contrast, explanations, and problem/solution.

PROJECT (Ellis, E.S.)

This strategy is an example of how to promote effective group work.

SCORE A (Korinek, L., & Bulls, J.A.)

SCORE A is a writing strategy that covers the development of a topical research paper. It provides a concrete, sequential structure for students to develop and write papers on selected topics.

SPACE (Korinek, L., & Bulls, JA)

The SPACE strategy is the second step of a basic three-step writing strategy. It is designed to help students make a writing plan and think about the details that should be included in stories.

W-W-W, What=2; How=2 (Graham, S., Harris, K.R., & Sawyer, R.)

This is a writing strategy designed to help students ask themselves a series of "story-grammar" questions to generate narrative text.
Proofreading
HOW (Archer, A., & Gleason, M.)

This writing strategy is designed to help students complete neat, well-organized papers that include a heading. This strategy is part of a larger strategy intended to help students complete assignments accurately and on time.

WRITER (Schumaker, J.B., Nolan, S.M., & Deshler, D.D.)

This is a self-monitoring strategy for writing. Almost every academic task requires a level or form of monitoring. This strategy illustrates how a step can cue students to use questioning strategies to monitor product quality.

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SpellingA SPELLING STUDY STRATEGY (Graham, S., & Freeman, S. ) Helping Students Learn Unknown Spelling WordsThis spelling strategy is intended to help students study unknown spelling words. The students need to be trained in the study method.

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Math SRSD

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Mathematics | College of Education and Human Sciences | Nebraska | Special Education & Communication Disorders

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Numeral WritingSTAR: A Number Writing Strategy (Boom, S.E., & Fine, E. )Helps students in writing, reciting, and recalling numerals.Math Computation

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Study Skills SRSD

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Study Skills | College of Education and Human Sciences | Nebraska | Special Education & Communication Disorders

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PreparationAlert Words for Classroom Discussions (Ellis, E.S.)This reading strategy is designed to increase students’ ability to participate in classroom discussions.

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WWC | Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

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This practice guide presents three evidence-based recommendations for helping students in grades 6-12 develop effective writing skills. Each recommendation includes specific, actionable guidance for educators on implementing practices in their classrooms. The guide also summarizes and rates the evidence supporting each recommendation, describes examples to use in class, and offers the panel's advice on how to overcome potential implementation obstacles.

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*You need to create a free account with a K-12 public school email address to access this site.*

This help site was created to assist education professionals to improve Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students. On this site, you can:

create goals based on state standards

develop more individualized goals for each student

find answers to your questions about writing quality IEPs for your students

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Harvard Center for the Developing Child: Executive Function

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Harvard Center for the Developing Child: Executive Function

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Video shown during the presentation.

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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InBrief: Executive Function: Skills for Life and Learning

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Academy of Learning: How Does Human Memory Work

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Academy of Learning: How Does Human Memory Work

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Video shown during presentation

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Data-Based Individualization

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DBI is a research-based process for individualizing and intensifying interventions through the systematic use of assessment data, validated interventions, and research-based adaptation strategies. DBI is a process, not a specific program or product. The process is driven by data, characterized by increased intensity and individualization, and considers the academic and behavioral needs of the student. In some schools, intensive intervention may be known as "Tier 3 intervention," and may be embedded within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework.

DBI is the technical term for what many good teachers do naturally through the problem-solving process: frequently review student data and make changes to their teaching based on what works for students. DBI, however, makes this process systematic, explicit, and tailored to meet the needs of individual students through a multi-step process that gradually intensifies instruction and support. Learn more.
Click on each step of the DBI graphic to learn more about the DBI process and find relevant resources.
Why is DBI Important for Students?

Outcome data suggest that our current system does not adequately prepare students with the most intensive needs, particularly students with disabilities. Students with disabilities continue to fall behind their same-age peers in reading and math and are more likely to experience discipline problems at school. In addition, although validated intervention programs have been found to be effective for many students, some students will not respond to the intervention as designed.

Who needs DBI?

DBI is intended to help a small subgroup of students who:

1. Are not making adequate progress in their current intervention program (often, a Tier 2, evidence-based intervention)

2. Are not meeting individualized education program (IEP) goals

3. Have persistently low academic achievement

4. Have high-intensity/frequency behavior

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Data Based Individualization: Intensive Intervention | NCII

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Learn what data-based individualization is and how it is used to helps students with persistent learning & behavioral needs, including those with disabilities.

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This was used for a High School Group to check in each day. I would make some changes based on the group.

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Link to ALL the IES Practice guides

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A practice guide is a publication that presents recommendations for educators to address challenges in their classrooms and schools. They are based on reviews of research, the experiences of practitioners, and the expert opinions of a panel of nationally recognized experts.

To search by Topic or Keyword, use the Practice Guide Search.

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A practice guide is a publication that presents recommendations for educators to address challenges in their classrooms and schools. They are based on reviews of research, the experiences of practitioners, and the expert opinions of a panel of nationally recognized experts. To search by Topic or Keyword, use the Practice Guide Search.

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This app is a task planning timer for our 360 Thinking Executive Function clinical model (to learn more www.efpractice.com). The…

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Additive Schemas - Total Schema ‖ Word Problems ‖ Grades 5-8 ‖ Project STAIR

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Here is some information about reading strategies. Specifically, insert strategy

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Literacy is NOT a Spectator Sport: Hands-On, Minds-On Active Reading Strategies - Solution Tree Blog

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This blog post is based on the book 200+ Proven Strategies for Teaching Reading. Whether we teach six- or sixteen-year-olds, we need to awaken the students’ brains to make meaning out of text and boost comprehension. What do good readers do? Our brains are actively predicting, visualizing, contextualizing, questioning, critiquing, summarizing, synthesizing, and applying how

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This explains why the marshmallow test and response inhibition doesn't transfer, yet context and motivation matters.

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Beyond the Marshmallow Test: Rethinking Delayed Gratification

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Cognitive control develops gradually during childhood, The question for psychologists and policymakers is: Can this development be sped up with intentional training?

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Free Download from Landmark Outreach

Executive Function: A Guidebook

This guidebook provides an understanding of executive function, as well as useful strategies to help manage executive function processes at home, work, and school. You can also access the useful templates that accompany this guidebook to assist in improving executive function skills.

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Executive Function: A Guidebook | Landmark Outreach

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This guidebook provides useful information and strategies for managing executive function skills at home, school, and in the workplace.

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Use to help with behavior, emotional control, matching feelings to behavior.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Consequence Map Example (Pictures and words)

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Consequence Map Example (Pictures and words)

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This presentation is for ITAPS on 10-10-2026