Following One- and Two-Step Directions: Choose the Answer
Receptive comprehension of everyday classroom directions, including order and exception words.
Session summary (SOAP)
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Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Read each one aloud and let the student answer without acting it out. Group the before and after items together once the straightforward ones are done, and make the reversal explicit — the thing said second happens first. The not item is worth its own moment, since negation in a direction is a common and costly comprehension trap. Ten minutes covers the sixteen.
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
Sixteen questions about everyday classroom directions: put your book away, then line up — what do you do first; before you get your coat, push in your chair — what comes first; get a pencil and a red crayon — how many things do you get; give the blue marker to Sam, not to me — who gets it. The before items are the point of the board, because before reverses the order of mention and catches almost everyone.
What to listen for
Watch the before questions specifically. A student who answers get your coat to before you get your coat, push in your chair has answered with the first thing mentioned, which is the default strategy and the reason before is so much harder than then. Notice the counting item, which requires holding two objects rather than a sequence — a different kind of load worth distinguishing.
Carrying it home
Use before deliberately at home. Before you go out, put your shoes on is a harder sentence than put your shoes on and then go out, and using both gives a child the practice they need.
What's in this activity
- Your teacher says: 'Put your book away, then line up at the door.' What do you do FIRST?
- Line up at the door
- Put your book away
- Open your book
- Sit back down
- 'Before you get your coat, push in your chair.' What do you do FIRST?
- Get your coat
- Put on your coat
- Push in your chair
- Go outside
- 'Get a pencil and a red crayon from the bin.' How many things do you get?
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- 'Give the blue marker to Sam, not to me.' Who gets the marker?
- The teacher
- You keep it
- Sam
- Nobody
- 'After you wash your hands, come to the table.' What do you do LAST?
- Wash your hands
- Turn on the water
- Dry your hands
- Come to the table
- 'Put the crayons in the box and the box on the shelf.' Where does the box go?
- On the shelf
- Inside the crayons
- Under the desk
- In your backpack
- 'Take out your math book, but leave your reading book in your desk.' What stays in the desk?
- The math book
- The reading book
- Both books
- Neither book
- 'Line up quietly behind Jada.' Where do you stand?
- In front of Jada
- Next to the teacher
- Behind Jada
- At the front of the line
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through second grade, for receptive directions comprehension.
- Do I need an account?
- No, it plays free in the browser.
- Why is 'before' harder than 'then'?
- Because it reverses the order of mention — the action stated second happens first. Children default to acting in the order they heard, so before requires an extra step that then does not.
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.