Following Multi-Step Assignment Directions
Complex directions with embedded conditions and exceptions, at secondary length.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Have the student break the direction into a numbered list before doing anything. That conversion — from a sentence into steps — is the transferable skill, and it is what a student can do independently with any assignment sheet. The skip seven item is the one worth doing slowly, because embedded exceptions are the single most common cause of lost marks in this set. Fifteen minutes covers the eight with the list-making step.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- RepeatRepeat the direction once, at the same speed, stressing the key words.Log as cued
- Chunk itBreak the direction into its steps and give them one at a time.Log as cued
- ModelShow the steps yourself, then the student does them.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give one step at a time, with a picture or a written list for each step.
Add a step, or a concept word such as 'before', 'after' or 'except'.
Matching IEP goal
Given spoken or written directions, Student will complete every step of the direction in order in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one repetition.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight assignment directions at the length and complexity secondary school actually uses: read the article, highlight three claims, and write one counterargument for each; answer questions four through nine — skip seven — and show your work on a separate page; submit the draft by Thursday and bring a printed copy on Friday. Each contains an exception, a condition, or a deadline, which is where students lose marks on work they could have done.
What to listen for
Watch what happens to the exception. Students reliably catch the main instruction and lose the qualifier, so questions four through nine gets done and seven gets answered anyway. Notice whether the student checks back against the direction after finishing — that self-check is the habit that makes the difference, and almost nobody does it without being taught.
Carrying it home
Homework sheets are the material. Asking a student to number the steps before starting takes a minute and catches the missed condition before the work is done rather than after.
What's in this activity
- Read the article, highlight three claims, and write one counterargument for each.
- Log in, open the shared doc, add your name to row four, then comment on Maya's slide.
- Before you graph the data, label both axes and title the chart.
- Answer questions four through nine -- skip seven -- and show your work on a separate page.
- Submit the draft by Thursday and bring a printed copy on Friday.
- Copy the vocabulary list, define each word, then use four of them in one paragraph.
- Watch the clip, take notes in two columns, and post one question to the discussion board.
- Sign the form, get a parent signature, and return it to the front office by Monday.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Sixth through twelfth, where directions get long and contain conditions.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all eight items play free in the browser.
- Why is this a language goal rather than an organisation one?
- Because the difficulty is comprehending the syntax of the direction — embedded clauses, exceptions and conditions. A student who understands the sentence can organise the work; one who misreads it organises the wrong task.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.