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)
Graphic Organizers
Index Cards for Studying
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!