Work Completion & Responsibility

Your child may:

Have low energy and motivation
Have low academic ability
Appear lethargic or slow
Assignments turned in incomplete
Frequently ask others for help and assistance, or to do items for them
Ask questions that are geared toward being given the answer rather that seeking direction
Try to negotiate others doing some problems or items
Always need to be around others to work
Frequently try to work with partner or in group
Need lots of one on one attention
Have difficulty completing assignments
Have to stand over them and push them to get anything done

Read Alouds

Studies indicate a 5:1 ratio, or, 5 confirmations, praise and approvals for every 1 criticism or disparagement.
When a child is seen behaving appropriately, paying attention, being on task, prepared for work, sitting quietly, being kind to others, etc, make a remark to the student about how happy or proud you are to see what they are doing appropriately. You could also say to the student, “Good Job”, “I like what you are doing”, “You are doing ________ so well!”, etc.
IMPORTANT! When giving praise, it is essential that you display a positive affect or demeanor while doing so. Express excitement and that you are pleased. This will increase the effectiveness of the technique.

Praise, according to research, should be given in a ratio of at least 4 praises to 1 criticism
When your child displays positive or productive behaviors, actions, skills, characteristics, etc, or appear to need some encouragement, etc, verbally praise the student and/or give them a high-five, pat on the back, clap, exclamation, cheer, hop, etc
Praise can be verbal or physical (like pat on the back, fist pump, head nod, hop, jump, etc)
When delivering praise, use direct eye contact, positive demeanor, open body position, and get to the level of the student if possible
Make praises specific, personalized, and individualized
Repeat praises if your child seems unconvinced at the first stating of the praise
Restate praises in different ways to get the point across

You can write your schedule on the board daily, crossing off events as they occur
You can provide your child with an individual schedule on their desk daily, having them cross off events as they occur
The schedule can include pictures as well as words
You can also add a timer for each topic, providing student with a time frame for each subject
A routine wheel can be utilized whereby the days routine is represented on pie sections of the wheel, and a spinning arm in the center is turned to point to the current event or task in the routine
Engage your child in keeping track of where they and the class are in the daily routine
Ask your child what is next in the routine and remind them when a period is ending soon
Colors, shapes, and other similar things can be used to symbolize the various parts of the routine, for example, yellow card is reading period, red card is history period, etc
Visual Schedule Template 1
Visual Schedule Template 2

Always deliver consequences with a neutral and flat emotional state and tone, remaining calm and collected and avoiding matching the potentially escalated state of the student
Be brief, succinct, to the point, and avoid lecturing when giving consequences
Deliver the consequence, expectation, etc, and then walk away
Give a consequence for the behavior every time it happens and avoid partiality
Always give the same consequence or group of consequences for the same behaviors
Discuss the consequences with the students occasionally, ensuring they understand and know what the consequences are, why, and what for, having them give examples and repeat them back
Use simple language
Always make sure the student knows why and what they are getting the consequence for
Try pointing to the specific consequence on the visual list rather than lecturing students verbally
For younger kids, make a visual consequence list with pictures rather than words, or a combination of pictures and words

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