Three steps to success: “Get ready, do, done” 

The planning process is taught as a sequential process with visual tools that fade to mental imagery. Students learn the executive function process of “planning backwards” to “move forwards” for completing tasks. 

Using self-talk, the children ask themselves, “What three questions do I ask myself to be a planner?” 

1. What will it look like when I am done? 

2. What steps do I need to take to match my done image? 

3. What materials will I need? 

Once the students anticipate what it will look like and feel like to be “done,” they engage in a mental dress rehearsal and practice the steps to “do” the task, and determine what they will need to “get ready.” To help them remember to “plan backwards,” three different colored mats are provided: red for “done,” green for “do,” and yellow for “get ready.” The mats are also laminated, so the children can be “future sketchers” and sketch images of the tasks to be accomplished as part of that particular step.