How Do I Teach This Kid? - Kimberly A. Henry

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be tailored to the unique abilities of the child. A work system teaches a child what and how much work is to be completed and when it is finished. To achieve these goals, a work system follows the same principles as work tasks: visual organization and visual clarity. Tasks to be completed are presented in a systematic fashion with minimal distractors or irrelevant material. When a work system is first introduced, direct instruction must occur to teach a child how to follow the system—how to get the tasks, complete them, and where to put them when they are finished.

      In a structured work system, work routinely flows from left to right. Tasks to be completed are placed on the student’s left. One task at a time is brought to the work surface, completed, and then transferred to a “finished” area to the student’s right. It is often helpful to have a shelving unit on the left of the student to hold the tasks to be completed in an organized fashion. Shelves for finished tasks may also be on the right of the student. However, some people prefer to use a laundry basket or other large container for finished work. The child completes the work and then places it in the “finished basket” on the floor to his right. One example of this type of work system organization is depicted in the photo on the next page:

image

      A schedule of work to be completed may also assist some students in finishing the tasks independently. The schedule should match coding on the task boxes—colors, letters, numbers, pictures, etc. A schedule strip can be mounted to the work surface in front of the child. The schedule defines the order in which the child is to complete the tasks on his left. For example, a schedule strip may contain a green square of paper, a red square, and a yellow square, attached to the strip with Velcro®. Each box to be completed has a matching green, red, or yellow square on the outside of the box. The child will remove the first colored square, match it to the outside of the box with the same color square and then complete the task in the box. A piece of loop-Velcro® is placed on the colored square. The photo on the next page illustrates an example of a schedule strip with cards to be matched to the outside of the task box.

      The goal of organized work systems is for the student to complete the tasks independently—without any prompting or assistance from another person. Tasks are only placed in the work system when the child can complete them independently. Work systems can begin with only one or two tasks if that is the independent performance level of the child. As the child becomes more proficient, the number and complexity of the tasks can increase.

      Task boxes are easy to make out of materials you already have or can find around the house. On the following page is a letter that you can use to ask people to save task box items for you.

      Dear Teachers,

      As you clean out your rooms at the end of the year (and clean out your children’s rooms at home, too!), could you save any of the following items that you find and no longer need:

      image shoe boxes with lids

      image ice cube trays

      image egg cartons

      image jewelry boxes (earring or necklace size)

      image coffee cans with plastic lids

      image peanut cans with lids

      image empty Playdoh cans with lids

      image soft-drink-can flats

      image plastic strawberry baskets

      image old Memory games, Bingo games (missing pieces ok!)

      image spare pieces from games

      image groups of objects to sort

      image blocks

      image Legos

      image pop beads

      image plastic links

      image wooden puzzles (even stray pieces are ok)

      image sports cards

      image calendars with pictures

      image Disney catalogs

      image clothespins

      image board books

      image dried out markers with the tops

      image plastic spice jars with lids

      image plastic yogurt, applesauce, butter, cottage cheese, etc. containers

      Please give to ________________________________. Thanks!

      These items can be used as containers for tasks:

      image shoe boxes with lids

      image ice cube trays

      image egg cartons

      image jewelry boxes (earring or necklace size)

      image coffee cans with plastic lids

      image peanut cans with lids

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