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Multi-step classroom directions for grades 3-5

Prefilled below. Adjust the settings, then build and copy the prompt.

How to run it

1. Start with a quick check of the concept words the directions will use (before/after, unless, except, first/last, either/or) and have the student act out or point to each one.
2. Give theme-based directions in order of difficulty: 2-step, then 3-step, then directions with a condition ("If your paper is blue, put it in the bin before you sit down"). Let the student repeat or rephrase a direction before acting on it.
3. Finish with a short real classroom task, like setting up a simple science experiment from spoken steps, and ask the student which strategy helped (picturing it, counting steps on fingers, asking to repeat).

What to track

• Record accuracy by direction type (number of steps, concept words, conditionals) and whether the student needed a repetition or a visual.
• Note which strategies the student used without a reminder, such as asking for a repeat or rehearsing the steps.

Make it easier or harder

• Easier: Cut back to 2-step directions, add a visual checklist or gestures, and pause between steps.
• Harder: Add longer or conditional directions, background noise, a delay before starting, or directions given to the whole group instead of one-to-one.

Home practice

Send home 3 everyday directions to try, like a 3-step chore or recipe step, and ask the family to note whether the student needed a repeat.

General ideas for planning, not a treatment plan. Your assessment data and clinical judgment decide what fits each student.

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• Tier 2 vocabulary for upper elementary
• Narrative retell with story grammar
• WH questions with a short story
• Following 2- and 3-step directions

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