1. LD/ADHD Initiative Executive Functions Modules
Session Four
Strategy Sheets
Elementary

2. What might this look like in your classroom?
Executive Functions Session 4 Strategy Sheet Elementary How Do I Develop Self-Monitoring Skills?
Definition: Self-Monitoring
Impact: Self-Monitoring
Checks work
Keeps track of own behavior and learning
Finishes a task to ensure attainment of goal
Understands consequence of his/her actions and learning
Puts the “brakes” on one’s own behavior and thinking
Tends to act without sufficient forethought
Interrupts with own thoughts and comments
Works quickly and oftentimes is messy
Does not listen to others
Difficulty following directions
Does not do assigned tasks carefully
LD/ADHD Initiative
Department of Special Education and Student Services, HCPSS
What might this look like in your classroom?

3. What might this look like in your classroom?
Executive Functions Session 4 Strategy Sheet Elementary How Do I Develop Self-Monitoring Skills?
Environmental Supports
Teaching Strategy
Provide time to set goals. Goals should be set for accuracy rather than speed
Model learning behaviors
Prepare students for changes in the schedule or agenda
Provide time for gathering of materials
before beginning key directions or instructions
Encourage peer support in monitoring academic work or learning behaviors
Monitor students when they move and start the next activity, and tell how long they have to transition
Ask students to check visually posted agenda/directions
Assign students a peer model and cue him/her to check in with his peer
Go over agenda/schedule that is posted in your room
Use verbal mediation to talk through a task to help students direct their focus to their own behavior or work
Cue and encourage the use of “what works”, “what doesn’t work” and “what do I try differently”
Model for students how to accept criticism without becoming angry or defensive and have student practice
Ask students to put away materials before the next activity and get materials ready for the next activity, then fade when student is ready for less direct support
Build in editing or reviewing as part of every task in order to increase awareness of strengths and needs
Teach how to use a Goal-Plan-Do-Review sequence for goal setting and/or self-monitoring independent work or long-term projects
Ask students to predict how well they will do on a particular task and compare prediction with outcome to increase awareness of strengths and needs
Encourage charting of performance and/or behavior in order to provide tangible record of activity for ongoing self-monitoring
LD/ADHD Initiative
Department of Special Education and Student Services, HCPSS
What might this look like in your classroom?

4. What might this look like in your classroom?
Executive Functions Session 4 Strategy Sheet Elementary How Do I Develop Attention Skills?
Definition: Attention
Impact: Attention
Sustains attention on tasks that are not of high interest
Screens out distractions
Knows what to focus on and what to ignore
The student can not focus their attention on a task and/or keep focusing as long as necessary
Sometimes the student is selective about what they attend to or for how long they attend
LD/ADHD Initiative
Department of Special Education and Student Services, HCPSS
What might this look like in your classroom?

5. What might this look like in your classroom?
Executive Functions Session 4 Strategy Sheet Elementary How Do I Develop Attention Skills?
Environmental Supports
Teaching Strategy
Reduce distractions
Cue to attend (look, listen, respond)
Build in variety/choice
Choose best time of day, when possible
Seat student in proximity to instruction and away from distraction – open door, shelves
Post stop and start times to help students persist with tasks long enough to complete them
Use a visual timer to motivate students to complete assignments before the timer goes off
Schedule the most demanding academic tasks for the morning/beginning of class or period
Have more rewarding/interesting/engaging activities occur after a more challenging task to keep motivation high
Teach self-monitoring/peer coaching
Give nonverbal cues for attention – hand on the shoulder, tap on the desk
Devise signals to emphasize instructions (“Class, this is an instruction “)
Have students repeat directions back - could be class job
Help them be aware of their attention capacity and teach them how to break a task down to pieces they can manage based on their own capacity
Provide student with motor/movement breaks
Break down tasks and give students short breaks after each subtask
Have the student identify something to look forward to
LD/ADHD Initiative
Department of Special Education and Student Services, HCPSS
What might this look like in your classroom?

6. What might this look like in your classroom?
Executive Functions Session 4 Strategy Sheet Elementary How Do I Develop Inhibition Skills?
Definition: Inhibition
Impact: Inhibition
Controls impulses
Appropriately stops and modulates ones own behavior at the proper time or proper context
Students call out
Students can not stop their behavior at the appropriate time, including stopping actions and thoughts
Frequently are seen as wild, restless, impulsive
Oftentimes are unable to control their words and bodies so they need more supervision than others
LD/ADHD Initiative
Department of Special Education and Student Services, HCPSS
What might this look like in your classroom?

7. What might this look like in your classroom?
Executive Functions Session 4 Strategy Sheet Elementary How Do I Develop Inhibition Skills?
Environmental Supports
Teaching Strategy
Post classroom rules and review regularly
Restrict access to preferred or distracting objects, activities or peers
Cue the student by developing a nonverbal signal that can be used discretely to remind the student to not call out or get out of seat
Remind students prior class of the behaviors you are working on related to inhibition
Use a designated talking stick or object that students must have before speaking
Use a story/graphic with pictures of students or a favorite character following rules/ expectations related to inhibition
Teach wait/stop
Explain the skill of inhibition (“putting on the brakes”), practice and model expected behaviors and prompt the student in a real life situation when the skills are needed, then reinforce inhibition or ignore disinhibition.
Teach students to count to five before responding verbally to a question.
Teach delayed gratification by
Reinforce hand raising as a replacement for calling out, use immediate reinforcement and then fade away
Have students set goals for accuracy of work as opposed to speed
Structure your verbal questions to limit length of student response (i.e. “Tell me two things you know about butterflies”)
LD/ADHD Initiative
Department of Special Education and Student Services, HCPSS
What might this look like in your classroom?