Organizational Skills and Homework Strategies

Monroe Township Public Schools

Department of Pupil Personnel Services

Kristine Thielman, MS/CAS NJ Certified School Psychologist; NCSP

District School Psychologist

Karitssa Fernandez Barry, MEd BCBA Board Certified Behavior Analyst

NJ Certified Special Education Teacher

District Behavior Specialist

TOPICS COVERED TODAY

• Promoting Organizational Skills

• Where is our starting point?

• Understanding Antecedents

• Managing the Environment

• “Toolkit” strategies

• Incentives

• Contracts and Reward Systems

Organizational Skills

• How does organization and routines help YOU?

-food shopping lists

-personal calendars

-post-its

-phone apps

How can I help my child?

• What are the benefits to organization?

• Helps reduce academic stress /anxiety

• Time saver: more time for preferred activities

• Structure of “down time” decreases opportunities for inappropriate behaviors

• What would your child like to improve through organization? What would you like to improve for your child through organization?

• More free time

• Better grades

• Increased independence

Organizational Skills

• To be organized requires:

• Time

• Effort

• Sustained Attention

Organization leads to -> control

Step 1: Becoming Organized

• Be Positive!

• Build on what your child is already doing RIGHT. • Can they follow a visual schedule?

• Can they create their own list?

• Do they bring home all of their necessary materials?

• Can they locate supplies within the home?

How do Antecedents affect organization and homework?

A •Antecedent

B •Behavior

C •Consequence

ABC’s of behavior

• Antecedent: What is happening BEFORE the behavior occurs?

• What is the trigger?

• Behavior: What behavior is occurring as a result?

• Consequence: What happens AFTER the behavior?

• What is the outcome?

Antecedents to Consider

• Time of day

• Environmental Factors

• The 5 senses

• People present

• Physical symptoms

• Hungry, thirsty, fatigued

A • Antecedent

• Child is hungry/Child sees neighborhood friends playing outside

B • Behavior

• Verbal complaints

C

• Consequence

• Time is wasted addressing the verbal complaints

• Delay in tasks being completed

• Emotional effort from child and parent

Goal: complete 3 tasks upon arrival

from school before dinner time

Step 2: Addressing the Antecedents

• Know the “why”

• Establish a contingency plan

• Communicate the plan with your child

• “first… then….”

• Be proactive for the future

CONTROLING the ENVIRONMENT BE PREDICTABLE

• Plan your schedule each day and stick to it

• Consider your evening and work around:

• After-school activities

• Snack-time

• Dinner time

• Bedtime

• Preferred activities (playtime, favorite TV show, etc.)

• Your OWN schedule!

Organizing the Space • A place for everything

• Accordion folders or binders with tabs to separate subjects

• Designate a “to be filed” space

• If there is not a place for a certain paper- make one!

• Leisure activities in labeled locations

• Organization is a habit

• Organization should be one of your child’s daily tasks

• Put away all papers daily

• Get rid of unnecessary papers weekly

• Model organization in your home

• Family calendar

School Materials in One Area

Leisure Activities Organized by Bins

Organizing the Space

• Chose a ‘work spot’ with few distractions

• Away from TV, phone, electronics, or siblings

• Take a picture of what an organized area looks like

• Have your child compare his/her work area with the picture (consider using a rating scale critique)

• Focus on one area at a time to organize

• Bedroom vs. backpack vs. homework space/leisure area

• Get one system up and running first

Step 3: Identify the Strategies to Improve Your Child’s Behavior

1. Use Visual Aides

Helpful for:

• Learning new skills

• Organizing materials

• Increasing independence

• Managing time

What daily visual aides do we encounter?

Types of Visual Aides

• Flash cards posted in work area

• Venn diagrams

• Graphic organizers

• 4 squares

• Checklists

• Calendars

• Schedules

• Timers

• Color-coded materials

• Labels (where things should go)

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=7nQEVEIE37Z2kM&tbnid=zzZ9OqmWTHFW6M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://montessori4autism.org/v-action-plan/accommodations-for-asd-students/materials/&ei=7G6KUtrsBe-1sASR1ICoDA&bvm=bv.56643336,d.dmg&psig=AFQjCNHA73SDYUzhQH1EmdaeitBUItxSoQ&ust=1384890448543049

Graphic Organizers

Index Cards for Studying

Managing Time

Color-coded Materials

Using Checklists

Your child’s ‘to do’ list should be displayed near the area that work is completed (i.e. on fridge if homework is done in kitchen).

Some options:

• White Boards

• Chalk Boards

• Cork boards

• Child’s personal calendar

• Velcro-boards

Benefits of Lists

(1) Helps to organize and prioritize a series of short tasks (ex. homework assignments) EXAMPLE: 1. finish math worksheet 2. study spelling words 3. Read chapter 3

(2) Helps to break-down a large task into more manageable steps (ex. cleaning your room) EXAMPLE: 1. put away clothes 2. make bed 3. vacuum rug…

Whiteboard Examples

Chalkboard examples

Cork Board examples

Calendar Examples

Other Examples of Checklists

Checklists (continued)

• Checklists, calendars, and schedules are effective in establishing expectations

• Your child will get a sense of accomplishment from crossing items off his or her list

• Help prioritize tasks to suit your child’s preferences and needs

Promoting Organization

• Assign chores that involve sorting or categorizing

• Grocery shopping, emptying dishwasher, sorting photos

• Cook together

• Cooking teaches measuring, following directions, sorting ingredients, and managing time

• Cultivate an interest in collecting as a hobby

• Promotes sorting, classifying, arranging

Providing Assistance

• Give directions that are brief and clear

-follow-up reminders should be non-verbal cues

Homework specific:

• Review steps/directions aloud

• Re-read or re-phrase the steps aloud

• Provide a clear idea of what is expected • “When you’re finished, you will have written 2 sentences.”

• Work through an example together that is not one of the actual tasks or homework problems

Assessing Success

• Provide your child with choices

• A system you prefer may not be what they prefer

• Ask your child for feedback

• What’s working? What’s not?

• Consider what is working for you

• Can your child self-monitor?

• Promote independence

• Gradually reduce supervision when possible

Supporting your Child

• Model your own organizational skills

• Express interest in your child’s tasks/homework

• If you find it interesting, they will be more interested

• Communicate with your child’s teacher

• Share homework struggles and successes

• Inquire about the types of organizational strategies utilized in classroom and your child is use to

• ASK FOR HELP when you need it

• Stay POSITIVE

Step 4: Consequences for Organization

• Organizing can be a challenge!

• Provide incentive

• What will your child gain through organization?

• Time with friends/on computer/watching TV

• Understanding of expectations/structure

• Reward systems

• Use preferred activities in the home

• Discuss natural consequences

• Missing/late assignments

• Extra time to make up lost work

What do you gain through organization?

Contracts & Behavior Plans

• Identify specific target behaviors to reinforce

• Provide clear expectations and consistency

• Keep it POSITIVE

• Be realistic with goals

• 80% success may be more appropriate than 100%

• Make your plan work for you and your child

• You must be able to follow through

Reward System

• Rewards can be anything that you can provide that motivates your child!!

• Consider:

• Size: The reward must be worth the effort

• Immediacy: Child must relate reward to their behavior

• Deprivation: How long has it been since reward

• Contingency: The reward must only be available when the behavior occurs

• Dependent on child’s age, maturity, interests…

Contract Examples Name: ___________________ Date: _________________

Goals 1: Independently take out my homework as soon as I get home

Remove homework my from backpack and put it on the desk by myself

Decide if I want to use my ‘scribe post-it’ and tell mom or dad *With up to 2 reminders 2: Complete my homework to the best of my ability

My finished work looks like the examples in my ‘best work’ folder *With up to 2 reminders

3: Ask for help if I need it

Listen and do my best to complete the work on my own By completing each goal, I will earn points towards a reward. If I am able to complete my goals without reminders, I can earn extra points.

Goals Points

1. Took out my homework after-school

With 2 reminders: 2 points

With 1 reminder: 3 points

With 0 reminders: 5 points

2. Completed my work to the best of my ability

Completed all assignments with 2 reminders to do my best: 4 points

Completed all assignments with 1 reminder to do my best: 6 points

Completed all assignments with NO reminders to do my best: 10 points

Did not use scribe option for writing task: 2 BONUS points

3. Ask for help when I need it

Listened and completed the assignment with help: 4 points

Listened and completed the assignment independently: 6 points

Complete all my work well without asking for help: 10 points

TOTAL POINTS FOR DAY /25

Student’s signature ___________________________________________

Parent’s signature _____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Contract Examples Home Contract:

Name: DATE:

These are my goals:

1. Independently take my homework out of my backpack and set it on the table

*With 2 reminders

*Add a point for each reminder I do not use

2. Complete my homework as best I can (compare to my ‘best work’ folder)

*With 2 reminders

These are my rewards if I meet my goals: Riding my bike

Playing outside

Earning time to play video games

Earning time to watch TV

Special Dessert

My choice (parent-approved)

My contract will be reviewed every afternoon when I get home from

school. When I finish my homework, I will earn my reward.

My signature:

Parents’ signatures:

Daily Chart Examples

Daily Chart Examples

Resources

Kidpointz.com : free behavior plan and contract templates, online behavior tracking, and APP

NCLD.org: National Center for Learning Disabilities

ADDitudemag.com: Living Well with Attention Deficit

NJPBS.org: NJ Positive Behavioral Supports

THANK YOU FOR COMING!