Organisation skills for 5-11 year olds

Children with difficulties organising themselves generally have difficulties with sequencing actions and the order of tasks. They may find it challenging to plan their time, knowing what follows what, how long things will take and what is needed for a task e.g. the child who brings the wrong folder to class, who always misplaces items and who has difficulty starting or completing an activity.

The following are ideas and strategies to assist in developing compensatory techniques for the child. By no means will this contain all the answers, but at least it may give you a place to start.

Individual workspace

• Keep only necessary items on the desktop
• Allow a limited number of personal belongings at school
• A see through pencil case can be useful so that the child can easily find pens/pencils etc

The environment – home and school

• Have a consistent, designated place/container for each belonging
• Design strategies for organising personal belongings e.g. talk about sorting similar objects
  etc.
• Label containers, shelves etc. that contain certain items
• Use pictures or lists written on a blackboard to order the day’s activities
• Schedule a set time each day to organise belongings

Giving instructions

• Give simple step by step instructions and only the number of steps the child will be able to
  accomplish
• Use a consistent approach to teaching the child a new skill. Allow time for practice
• Help the child to identify the steps needed to accomplish the task
• Small group working (e.g. 6-8 children per group) and dividing children by using a coding
  system e.g. number/colour/animal
• Present directions for new activities using the child’s best modality for learning (i.e.
  visual/auditory/ multi-sensory)
• Use modelling, demonstration and repetition as necessary prior to the child beginning the
  task
• Demonstrate or ask another child to model the activity and then ask the child to trial it
• Ask the child to repeat the instructions/directions given and if at all possible, write them
  down
• Help the child to plan out the task by asking the question: “what materials do you need?” or
  “What do you do first?”
• Use “fill in the gaps” answers rather than requiring the child to completely set out a piece of
  work
• Give less homework e.g. Underline the main points to learn if necessary, due to time
  constraints
• Positive reinforcement should be given when the child attempts to complete the task in the
  time allocated
• It is important that the child understands the expectations of how long a task should take to
  complete
• The teacher may need to prepare the child for how much time s/he has to clear up before
  the end of a lesson
• A watch or a beep timer could help your child know when they need to be finishing a piece
  of work. This could also be used as a warning that the task is about to end
• Give realistic time frames to allow the child to organise themselves before the task
  commences. It may be worthwhile changing the emphasis on the time taken and quality
  expected (depending on the task)
• If possible, allow extra time for task completion, minimise distractions
• Keep the amount of visual information presented at one time to a minimum
• Choice of position in the classroom may need to be monitored: sitting at the front of the
  class is less distracting
• Sit away from the window and the door
• Try covering the page so that only 1 or 2 maths problems are exposed at one time
• Have the child use their finger or ruler under a line to help keep their place when reading or
  doing maths
• Underline or highlight key points
• Keep information on the board clear and clutter free