Following Directions
It’s no secret that students often have trouble following directions. Whether it’s due to a lack of focus, difficulty understanding the instructions, or simply not paying attention, it can be frustrating for both teachers and parents.
We all know the importance of following directions, especially multi step directions. Whether we’re driving, cooking, or completing a school assignment, following directions is essential to getting the task done correctly. But what happens when students don’t follow directions or struggle with listening skills?
In many cases, the student doesn’t fully understand the expectations or they become overwhelmed and frustrated. Below are some tips for teaching kids to follow directions in the classroom or at home.
Why Is It Important to Teach Your Students How to Follow Directions?
Teaching students how to follow directions is an integral part of their academic and social development. Without the ability to understand and carry out instructions, they will be unable to benefit from their educational pursuits or interact successfully with their peers.
Following multi-step directions is extremely important to develop working memory skills. Executive function skills will influence the student’s ability to follow targeted directions.
By teaching students how to break down complex tasks into individual steps, they can complete complex tasks independently. This skill is essential both in the classroom and in life beyond the school day.
Learning new skills can help you solve problems and think critically. This will help your students overcome any challenges they may face in the future. Teaching your students how to follow directions is a necessary stepping stone for success in all areas of life, setting them up for future success.
Tips for Teaching How to Follow Directions
Teaching students to follow directions is an important part of supporting independent learning in the classroom.
A great way to get started is to provide clear and concise verbal directions. Prep your students to listen carefully and then provide the oral directions and/or directions in writing. Simple instructions are best for your students who may have trouble understanding.
If possible, incorporate visuals, step-by-step visual schedule, or demonstrations into your instructions. This can help students orient their body and mind understanding and following each step.
For more involved tasks, breaking down the steps into smaller outlines can help ensure that students understand the goal they are working towards.
Practice, practice, practice. Children need hours and hours of practice time following directions. You can use worksheets, play fun games, or incorporate into your daily routine.
Praise is also essential for pushing your learners forward when it comes to following directions correctly – even small accomplishments should be acknowledged. With these tips, giving and following directions in the classroom will be much easier for both teachers and students alike!
What Are Motor Commands?
Motor commands are the instructions from your brain to your body, telling it how to move. When we ask students to follow directions that require a motor action this is following a motor command.
The process of translating thought into physical motion starts with a nerve impulse that is fired by the brain to a specific muscle. This impulse triggers a contraction in the muscles that carry out the command. Such commands may be as simple as raising a hand or as complex as running a marathon.
Motor commands in our body are essential for coordinating movement and initiating basic tasks like walking, speaking, and even smiling. Many everyday routines, such as brushing teeth or riding a bicycle rely on conscious and trained motor skills, rather than just thought-guided ones.
The beauty of our bodies ability to execute these motor commands seamlessly and unconsciously give us the independence to make our day-to-day lives easier and more efficient.
Try these super fun Following the Directions Gross Motor Skill Games.
Tips for Helping Children to Follow Motor Commands
One of the best tips for helping children follow motor commands is to practice. Reinforcing lessons by providing supervised practice and trying out the commands regularly will help ingrain them into memory.
- Make sure you have the child’s attention when you ask him/her to follow a direction. Reduce distractions in the room.
- Repeat the motor command a second time in clear, concise directions. For example, instead of “go across the mat, walk over the beam and step down” try to state “walk on the beam”.
- The teacher, parent, or therapist can model the action that you need the students to complete. Instead of stating “jump over the line” demonstrate jumping over the line for the child.
- Allow time for a child to process the motor command with a wait time. State the direction and count to 10 to wait for a response.
- Provide additional details if necessary. Use visual prompts or a picture to supplement the following directions activities. For example, show a picture of a child jumping or draw a simple picture to help the child follow the instruction.
- Provide encouragement for any attempt at following the motor commands and using their listening skills. If the direction activity is a multiple step motor command and the child only follow step one, repeat step two and three with clear directions and model the actions if necessary.
With consistent practice and gentle encouragement, this technique can be highly effective in helping children learn motor commands efficiently.
Simple Activities to Practice Following Directions that Do Not Require any Equipment
Simple activities that do not require any equipment are an easy way to practice following directions for all ages. An example could be playing Simon Says, where one person is in charge of giving instructions and the others must only follow the directions if they start with “Simon says.” This encourages children to pay attention and learn how to differentiate between when a command should or should not be followed.
Setting up an obstacle course provides a way to plan, including tasks such as hopping three times on one side of the room and walking around five chairs on the other.
Try simple following instruction games where someone instructs another person on something they can do with their body—such as touching their right foot to their left elbow. All of these listening activities help hone cognitive skills, working memory, and gross motor skills, while providing fun at the same time!
Summary of the Importance Of Following Directions
Teaching students, children, or young adults how to follow directions is essential for helping them to become more independent and responsible. Directions are all around us and become more complex as we grow and develop with the world. By taking the time to teach direction following in a clear, concise manner, you can help your students understand why it’s important and provide them with useful resources that help them develop their own skills.
Motor commands are great tools for introducing following directions in a fun way. It is great for kinesthetic learners. Providing visual cues can often help make things more tangible for them individually.
A basic following directions game can be a great starting point for helping your students learn to follow directions correctly. Making a commitment to teaching how to follow oral directions is always worth the effort!
If your children or students continue to struggle with following directions, reach out to your pediatrician or speech therapist. Speech therapy can be helpful with a child’s ability for receptive language skills, expressive language skills, and improve listening skills.
