Following Multi-Step Assignment Directions

Language · Grades 6–12 · 8 cards · about 15 min

Complex directions with embedded conditions and exceptions, at secondary length.

Read the article, highlight three claims, and write one counterargument for each.
Say it out loud

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.

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.

How to use it in a session

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.

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.

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.