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