Tier I Academic Interventions List

  • Seating Student near teacher
  • Seating near a positive role model
  • Standing near student when giving directions or presenting lessons
  • Avoiding distracting stimuli (high traflic area, windows, heat systems)
  • Increasing the distance between desks
  • Giving extra time to complete tasks
  • Simplifying complex directions
  • Handing worksheets out one at a time
  • Providing study skills training/ learning strategies
  • Providing student with an assignment notebook
  • Check homework daily
  • Setting short term goals for work organization
  • Assigning volunteer homework buddy
  • Pairing students to check work
  • Writing key points on the board
  • Providing visual aids
  • Making sure directions are understood
  • Having student review key points orally
  • Teaching through multi-sensory modes
  • Include a variety of activities in each lesson
  • Allowing open book exams
  • Giving take home tests
  • Giving frequent short quizzes, not long exams
  • Giving more objective items (fewer essay responses)
  • Providing frequent, immediate, positive feedback
  • Increasing the immediacy of rewards
  • Using "prudent" reprimands, avoiding lecturing
  • Using nonverbal cues to stay on task
  • Praising specific behaviors
  • Allowing legitimate opportunity to move
  • Giving extra rewards and privileges
  • Implementing time-out procedures
  • Allowing short breaks between assignments
  • Making student correct answers, not mistakes
  • Ignoring minor inappropriate behaviors
  • Supervising during transition time
  • Provide reassurance and encouragement
  • Speak softly in non- threatening manner if student is nervous
  • Focus on student's talents, strengths, and accomplishments
  • Make time to talk alone with student
  • Look for signs of stress build up, provide encouragement/reduced work load
  • Allow student an opportunity to "save face"
  • Compliment positive behavior and work
  • Look for opportunity for student to display leadership role in class
  • Send positive notes home
  • Reinforce frequently when student is frustrated
  • Use mild, consistent consequences
  • Give student choices
  • Utilize mnemonic cues (e.g., songs, cartoons, rhymes, stories, images: for teaching math facts, vocabulary, or steps in a process
  • Build frequent opportunities for movement during instruction to address needs of students who are kinesthetic learners
  • Circulate among students and observe and question as they are working
  • Make eye contact with students before giving directions and have students repeat the directions (e.g., tum to a partner, individually)
  • Provide clearly written directions and instructions in a step-by-step manner with illustrations and use as few words as possible
  • Write instructions on the board as well as say them aloud
  • Use reading partners and skilled peer or adult mentors to provide academic support
  • Provide varied texts or supplementary materials at different levels of reading difficulty
  • Use multiple and flexible grouping opportunities for students (e.g., teams, partners, whole group, independent, by interest, by learning style, teacher-assigned, self-selected)
  • Divide instruction into shortened segments and provide feedback to students before moving to the next segment
  • Break assignments into smaller chunks to give students opportunities to respond frequently
  • Integrate cooperative experiences into instruction
  • Use direct, systematic instruction for students who show areas of concern
  • Use technological tools or computer software to allow students to access content in multiple ways
  • Use multi-sensory techniques to present information
  • Use visuals, charts, and models for concept reinforcement
  • Use graphic organizers to focus attention on key elements, concepts, or ideas
  • Provide practice opportunities using multiple modalities
  • Provide opportunities for students to respond in a variety of ways (e.g., questions, dry-erase boards, thumbs-up, partner share, graphic organizers)
  • Offer materials, tasks, and learning options at varied levels of difficulty
  • Use frequent monitoring to assess the progress and non-progress made by students so instruction can be adjusted in a timely manner
  • Explain clearly each academic task and the specific criteria needed to successfully complete the task
  • Monitor student understanding continuously so misunderstandings can be clarified and corrected immediately
  • Reinforce memorization of steps using repetition in a variety of contexts where memory is required ( e.g., oral, written, act it out)
  • Work collaboratively on tasks with a student and gradually withdraw the support
  • Anchor new knowledge to previously learned knowledge
  • Provide a master set of notes, when note-taking is required, to improve student's notes
  • Integrate learning into a game-show format
  • Create and provide students an easy-to-follow visual that specifies problem-solving steps in a clear manner that students may reference as needed
  • Display poster-size versions of problem-solving steps in the classroom, refer to the posters often, and encourage students to follow the steps
  • Design a signal on the desk (e.g., brightly colored index card folder like a tent)
  • Review and practice previously taught material frequently
  • Present new concepts using a logical instructional sequence that maximizes the likelihood a skill will be learned (e.g., model, guided practice, independent practice)
  • Integrate real-life experiences into instruction
  • Use storytelling, theatrics, and props to capture and focus the attention of students as a new concept is introduced
  • Activate prior student knowledge by promoting a discussion that enable a student to make connections to learned information/experiences prior to the introduction of a lesson
  • Employ auditory signals to attract and maintain focus of students ( e.g., play chimes, ring a bell, use a clap pattern, play music)
  • Use visual signals to attract and maintain focus of students ( e.g., illustrations, raised hand, overhead timer)
  • Use a laser pointer, stick pointer, highlighter tape, or colored pens to focus on key information in the text
  • Frame projected infonnation (e.g., use of hands, a drawn box, highlighter, pointer) when using an overhead or LCD projector
  • Avoid instructional lag time by preparing materials in advance
  • Allow students to readjust seating if they are not positioned where they can see the board or media screen
  • Present instruction at a lively pace using humor
  • Use an egg timer or an hourglass timer as a guide to complete tasks
  • Have students record notes or make illustrations of key points during instruction
  • Use illustrations, diagrams, demonstrations, charts, and manipulatives to present instruction
  • Illustrate key points, no matter the level of artistic ability, to focus attention and help with retention of information
  • Use organizers to focus attention and increase comprehension of concepts to be learned
  • Incorporate names of students when telling stories or presenting problems to capture student attention
  • Make use of color in gaining attention of students ( e.g., colored dry-erase pens on dry-erase boards, colored highlighting tape, colored Post-it notes)
  • Have earphones/earplugs available for students who have auditory distractibility
  • Seat reluctant students close to students who remain focused throughout instruction
  • Stop often to summarize key elements in a lesson
  • Invite students to use their own words to summarize key points in a lesson to a partner
  • Allow students opportunities to move about the room during instruction when appropriate
  • Alternate between passive and active instructional activities
  • Pause during instruction to ask questions and check students' levels of understanding or any misunderstandings of content
  • Use Think-Pair-Share to give each student an opportunity to think prior to forming a response and to allow each student an opportunity to share ideas