Starting and Completing High School Assignments v2

If you have been directed to this post, please see this post instead. It bothered me that the formatting did not work in the post below.  So I reworked it and as I did so I tightened up some of the text.  My apologies but you will be directed to a better version!

This post started in the dentist's chair!  My hygienist, Nancy, has been trying to help her son (who has an IEP for ADHD) complete his Grade 10 assignments.  It's a measure of the positive relationship that Nancy and her son have that he accepts her help, but Nancy was concerned that they were spending far too much time on the assignments.  She was also frustrated that neither of them were entirely sure that they were going in the right direction.

Children with (Executive Function deficits and) ADHD have a hard time getting started — and following through — on assignments because they have difficulty picking topics, locating appropriate resources, holding and manipulating information in their memory, organizing and sequencing the material, and getting it down on paper — all before they forget what they wanted to say.

So with the help of additudemag.com and understood.org here are some ideas.

Please keep in mind that if you're supporting your child with his assignments, you are part of the process of helping students learn to do these assignments on their own .  It is not about parents 'doing' the assignment, but rather helping students gain the tools and strategies so that they can be independent learners.  Often, parents have to be their child's 'Executive Functions' until the child has acquired the relevant tools and strategies.  

This process is called scaffolding   because supports are put in place to help the student learn how to achieve her own learning goals.  For instance, "graphic organizers, pictures, and charts can all serve as scaffolding tools.  Graphic organizers ... help kids visually represent their ideas, organize information, and grasp concepts such as sequencing and cause and effect."

Check my very first post Smart but Scattered. Check out the edition for teens.  Lots of good ideas to help with assignments.

I have divided the rest of this post into two sections.  The first is for the student,  the second for the parent.  I hope that that works for you both.

Getting Started

1. Technology
2. Teacher
3. Buddies
4. Calendars
5. BROIL

1. Technology

• Use technology to help you know what is required.
• Take a photo of the posted assignment on your phone.
• Record your understanding of the assignment as soon as you can, either verbally or on paper (text or diagrams).

2. Teacher

• Ask your teacher for exemplars of what a similar completed assignment looks like.
• Take photos to help you remember.
• Ask your teacher for recommendations for succeeding on the assignment.
• Ask for an explanation of anything you are not sure of.  
• Go over the rubric to make sure you know how you will be assessed.
• Know what's in your IEP and talk to your teachers about modifying assignments to ensure your success. This is not easy.  Work with your parents to practise!

3. Buddies

• Find a buddy in class who is open to you phoning or texting to get clarification about the assignment.

4. Calendars

• Use calendars (monthly, weekly) to keep track of assignment deadlines
• Sync these with your parents' calendars 

5. BROIL 

 Nope, it's not a cooking method.  It's a mnemonic.  Use it as a guideline to know what to include in your notes before you start:

• B - anything the teacher writes on the BOARD
• R - anything the teacher REPEATS
• O - anything the teachers says will ON THE TEST
• I - anything the teacher says is IMPORTANT
• L - anything that is in a LIST

  

Completing the Assignment

There are a variety of tools and strategies listed below.  It is not a 'one size fits all' game.  Pick and choose depending on your learning style, your comfort level. Even mix and match.  

1. Technology
2. Soft Technology
3. Parents 
4. Graphic Organizers

1. Technology

• Use voice to text programs/apps to help you expand on what you heard in class or what you have researched.
• Or just dictate what you are thinking about and then play it back to see if your own thoughts generate more ideas.
• Use the photos you took of the assignment, the notes, the deadlines. Print them if necessary.

2. Soft Technology

• Use erasable highlighters in textbooks to note key points.
• Use sticky notes to keep track of main points as you research (there are big sticky notes out there).
• Group the notes together to keep track of similar points.
• If you're a 'moving' (kinesthetic) learner - post the notes around the room, or down the hall so that you can pace and physically move them around to see where they fit best.
• Use a big whiteboard or a large piece of paper up on the wall (painters' tape keeps it there and doesn't ruin the paint) to record your ideas

3. Parents

• Use your parents as scribes; dictate your thinking and then have them type it up so that you can edit and organize on the computer.
• Get their help in setting up the monthly and weekly calendars to keep track of dates.

4. Graphic Organizers  

Remember the 'Hamburger Paragraph' from elementary school.  That was a graphic organizer!

• Use graphic organizers to help you organize your thoughts.  Here's a link to some great organizers that you might have used before.  
• Start with three (3) pieces of paper or documents on the computer:
• What I know already
• What I need to know
• Where I can find out what I need to know
• If visuals work for you, use drawings to generate ideas (Remember that a picture is worth a 1000 words!)

Parents Helping Students Get Started

I want to keep this specific to the topic of completing assignments.  There are ideas throughout my posts to help with the organization of work.  I've also suggested to students that they reach out to their teachers.  For any student that can be intimidating (shouldn't be but often is); for students who learn differently it can be a game changer.  

Spending time boosting your child's confidence in self-advocacy is key.  (Self -Advocacy is defined as the ability to speak on one's behalf and represent personal needs and interests.) Role-playing before hand (you're the teacher, your child is the student and you practise what to say; reverse - you're the student; child is the teacher; how does that go?).  Nancy's son went to school with cue cards to help him talk to his teachers.  Here's a graphic from the Ontario Federation of Teachers website.

From OTF (Ontario Teachers' Federation)

• Be in regular touch with teachers, including Special Education teachers and support staff. Use the school staff directory to find all those involved with those who learn differently.
• Stay up-to-date with your child's IEP and specific modifications/accommodations that apply to the assignment.
• Be prepared to help teachers understand your expectations from that IEP.
• Know where to find the links for the assignments (e.g., Google Classroom).
• Look for specific instructions, rubrics, exemplars.
• Ask for specific deadlines, hopefully broken down into manageable segments.
• Add the deadlines to the BIG calendars in your home.  See The Executive Functions of Time Management

Parents Helping Students Complete Assignments

• Keep track of the amount of time spent on the assignment.
• Ask teachers for a guideline of how much time would be expected to complete the assignment. 
• If it's taking 3 hours for what should really be 30 minutes per night, does the assignment need to be modified? (Check to see if your child needs reinforcement to stay on task.  I used to remind my students that the majority of the work was to be on content; the cover page and making the assignment beautiful should be done last and in the least amount of time). 
• Be aware of lagging enthusiasm (i.e. limit the amount of time spent at any one time).  
• Break the time spent on the assignment into shorter periods and come back refreshed.
• Suggest a walk outside or some physical exercise to remove the cobwebs.
• Stay on top of the assignment's deadlines, using the monthly and weekly calendars. 
• Move the 'clock' forward toward the approaching deadline (not to create a sense of panic but to show - in 'real time' - that there is a sense of urgency).
• Be ready to be a scribe. 
• And only a scribe, hard as that is (which doesn't mean you can't make suggestions.  Try
•  'What do you think of...'; 
• 'Have you thought of....'; 
• What would happen if you .....'; 
• 'Can you try.....?') 
• Work with your child to set up incentives and rewards for reaching specific deadlines and/or achievements.
• Celebrate the small steps and successes.

Finally 

As you (both) get closer to the deadline, you may feel like the paper isn’t good enough. Don’t go there. If you have followed all of the steps above and have committed to the project from the start, the paper may be better than you think it is. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Do your best to tidy up what you have produced, and turn it in.

Personal comment: I have spent a lot of time on this post.  I was so disappointed when I previewed it and saw that the formatting was not as it looked when I 'wrote' it.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I should do (and might still go back and do that).  But then I thought I should take my own advice.  I would like it to look perfect but the content is solid.  And so I will not let 'the perfect' be the 'enemy of the good'.  

But if any of you know how to make it look 'better' I'd be most appreciative!

And finally, finally - stay well, stay safe, and stay home!