5 Ways to Help Spacey Kids Follow Directions

#1 Have Them Help Demonstrate – Your first instinct might be to choose a model student to help demonstrate a task.  Try picking a student who struggles to follow directions instead.  You may have to give them a lot of guidance as they demonstrate in front of the class but then you know they have at least gone through the motions of the activity instead of just spacing out while someone else demonstrates.

#2 Turn Directions into a Song – Nothing catches the attention of kids faster than when you start singing.  The more ridiculous the song, the better!  Here’s one for cutting out spelling words (to the tune of Old McDonald):

Cut around the edges first,
E I E I O,
Cut the middle after that,
E I E I O,

Put your scrap in the trash,
Put your scrap in the trash,
Here a scrap, there a scrap,
Everywhere a scrap, scrap,

Cut around the edges first,
E I E I O!

It doesn’t matter what song it is.  The words you put in don’t even have to rhyme.  Sing it through a couple of times as the kids start working and more of them will follow directions.

Also see: a song to remind students to put their name on their paper.

#3 Act Out Directions – Have students act out a brief, exaggerated version of what they need to do.  Say you want kids to just use dots of glue on the corners of their paper rather than slather the whole thing into glue-mageddon.  Have them hold up their finger and act out putting dots on the corners of an imaginary big piece of paper in the air.

#4 Write Directions on the Board – Teachers talk a lot during the day.  Kids obviously won’t remember everything you have said.  As you are giving directions, write a brief version on the board in list form.  Use pictures if appropriate for your students.  Instead of getting bogged down answering questions about directions, you can refer students to the board.  Eventually students learn to check the board first.

#5 Use Repetition – Say the directions in a very simplified form such as, “cut on the solid lines, fold on the dotted lines.”  Say it a couple of times.  Have the whole class say it together.  Call on a couple of individuals (maybe students who frequently miss directions) to repeat it.

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Hannah Braun

Hannah Braun is a former teacher with 8 years of experience in the classroom and a master's degree in early childhood education. She designs engaging, organized classroom resources for 1st-3rd grade teachers.