How to Help Children Understand Written Directions

Following written directions is vital to academic success.

The ability to follow directions is a skill that is important throughout an individual's life. From childhood education to adulthood occupations, individuals are confronted with written directions for an array of purposes. Because of the skill's importance, direction-following techniques are commonly explored in elementary school. Teaching children to follow directions can be quite simple if teachers stress the importance of attention to written directions and engage in an orderly and systematic approach.

Instructions

1. Stress the importance of following directions. Explain the importance of listening to or reading directions from the beginning of the year. Tell students that they need to pay attention to written and oral directions and follow them to ensure that they don't miss anything and that they do what they are supposed to do.

2. Play direction following games. Make following directions fun by playing direction games like the ever-popular Simon Says. As you engage students in game play, they will practice their direction-following skills and develop their ability to listen carefully to oral instruction. To adapt the game to written directions, print out commands on cardstock and hold them up for students to read instead of providing oral instruction.

3. Read directions aloud. Before you allow students to begin an activity, take time to focus on directions. When students take standardized assessments, they will hear the written directions read orally, as reading the directions are often a requisite part of test administration. Enhance your students' understanding of written directions and familiarize them with the practice of hearing written directions presented orally by reading directions aloud before every activity.

4. Break directions down. If directions are multi-part, take time to dissect them with your students. Commonly, students only complete one part of multi-part directions. By pointing out the presence of more then one activity part, and discussing the steps necessary to follow the directions with your students, you will increase the likelihood that they complete the task as the directions dictate. Discussing multi-part directions will also help your students when they encounter directions of this type while working independently because they will have some familiarity with instructions that contain more than one step.

5. Ask students to paraphrase directions. Ensure students' understanding by having students repeat the directions back in their own words. To paraphrase directions, a student must take the meaning into his brain and process it before he can spit it back out in different terms. By requiring students to paraphrase periodically, you can gauge the degree to which students understand written directions.

6. Engage students in the creation of a demonstration speech. Ask students give directions by having them write a demonstration speech. Allow each student to select a task and compose a speech that illustrates the steps necessary to complete the task. As the students compose their demonstration speeches, they will see firsthand how vital it is that directions are read and followed in order for a task to be completed properly.

References

• Scholastic Parents: Listening and Following Directions
• JSTOR Journal of Reading: How to Develop Independence in the Following of Written Directions