Academic and Behavioral Interventions

Are you looking for ways to teach kids to find supporting details while reading? If so, keep reading.

1. Give practice in identifying the supporting details by using an app that gives the student instant feedback.

2. Make sure the student has mastery of reading ideas at each level before introducing a new skill level.

3. Make sure the student is not required to learn more information than they are capable of learning at any time.

4. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Competitive learning activities may cause the student to hurry and commit errors.

5. Minimize the amount of information on a page if it is causing visual distractions for the student (e.g., have less print to read, isolate information that is presented to the student, etc.).

6. Spotlight essential information the student reads (e.g., instructions, tasks, etc.).

7. Separate at several points during the presentation of information to check the student’s comprehension.

8. Minimize the amount of content the student reads at one time (e.g., lessen reading content to individual sentences or one paragraph, etc.). As the student experiences success, slowly increase the amount of content.

9. Compose paragraphs and short stories requiring skills the student is presently developing. The passages must be of interest to the student using their name, family members, friends, pets, and exciting experiences.

10. Make sure that the reading requirements of all subjects and tasks are within the capacity and ability level of the student. If not, modify or adjust the reading content to the student’s capacity and ability level.

11. Utilize reading sequence learning materials with high interest (e.g., adventure, romances, mysteries, athletics, etc.) and low vocabulary.

12. Provide the student time to read a selection more than once, emphasizing comprehension rather than speed.

13. Consider using AI to teach reading comprehension.

14. Consider using Alexa to teach reading skills.

15. Try using one of our many apps designed to teach literacy skills and help students with reading issues:

10 Apps That Teach Your Child to Read

7 Must-Have Apps to Make Learners Love Reading

7 Must-Have Phonics Apps and Tools

9 Reading Apps and Tools for the Elementary Classroom

The Tech Edvocate’s List of 24 Literacy Apps, Tools & Resources

10 Apps to Teach Children Early Literacy Skills

Are you looking for strategies to help students whose writing is illegible? If so, keep reading.

1. Let the student perform schoolwork in a quiet space (e.g., study carrel, library, resource room, etc.) to lessen distractions.

2. Give the student shorter tasks while increasing the quality of expectations.

3. Observe the student while they are performing schoolwork to monitor handwriting quality.

4. Give the student clearly stated criteria for acceptable work.

5. Get the student to read/go over schoolwork with the teacher so that the student can become aware of the quality of their work.

6. Give the student samples of work to serve as models for acceptable quality (e.g., the student is to match the quality of the sample before turning in the task).

7. Give the student additional time to perform schoolwork to achieve quality.

8. Teach the student procedures for doing quality work (e.g., listen to instructions, make sure instructions are grasped, work at an acceptable pace, check for errors, correct for neatness, copy the work over, etc.).

9. Recognize quality work (e.g., display the student’s work, congratulate the student, etc.).

10. Organize a preliminary evaluation of the work. Require the student to make appropriate corrections before final grading.

11. Create levels of expectations for quality handwriting performance. Require the student to correct or repeat tasks until the expectations are met.

12. Give the student quality learning materials to perform tasks (e.g., pencil with eraser, paper, dictionary, handwriting sample, etc.).

13. Give the student ample chance to master handwriting skills (e.g., instruction in letter positioning, direction, spacing, etc.).

14. Give the student an appropriate model of handwriting (e.g., other students’ work, teacher samples, commercial samples, etc.) to use at their desks.

15. Exhibit appropriate handwriting at all times.

16. Give a multitude of handwriting chances for the student to practice handwriting skills (e.g., writing letters to sports and entertainment figures, relatives, or friends; writing for free information on a topic in which the student is interested, etc.).

17. Get the student to trace handwriting models. Fade the models as the student develops the skill.

18. Slowly lessen the space between lines as the student’s handwriting improves.

19. Utilize primary paper to assist the student in sizing uppercase and lowercase letters. Utilize standard-lined paper when the student’s skills improve.

20. Utilize lined paper that is also vertically lined to teach the student appropriate spacing skills.

21. Consider using one of the apps on one of our best writing apps lists:

The Tech Edvocate’s List of 31 Grammar & Writing Apps, Tools & Resources

Ten Apps to Help Learners Develop Writing Skills

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Elementary School Learners

11 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for High School Learners

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Middle School Learners

Are you looking for hacks to help students improve their handwriting? If so, keep reading.

1. Utilize adhesive content (e.g., tape, rubber cement, etc.) to keep paper positioned properly for handwriting.

2. Utilize a pencil grip (e.g., three-sided foam rubber, etc.) to give the student assistance in appropriate positioning of the pencil or pen.

3. Utilize handwriting models with arrows that indicate the direction in which the student should correctly form the letters.

4. Give older students with functional handwriting chances (e.g., job application forms, reinforcer surveys, order forms, checks to write, etc.).

5. Make sure that all educators who work with the student keep consistent expectations of handwriting quality.

6. Make sure the student has a number line and alphabet strip on their desk to use as a reference for the correct formation of letters and numbers to reduce errors.

7. Make sure the student knows that work not done neatly must be redone.

8. Give the student shorter tasks, but more of them throughout the day (e.g., four tasks of five problems each rather than one task of 20 problems).

9. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Competitive learning activities may cause the student to rush and perform work in a careless manner.

10. Tasks not finished according to teacher instructions and expectations must be finished during leisure or break time.

11. Get the student to record the number of times their handwriting is acceptable during a given week.

12. Utilize a pencil grip or various-sized pencil to assist the student with fine motor skills to produce acceptable handwriting.

13. Inspect the student’s grip on the pencil to make sure that they are holding the pencil correctly.

14. Designate a peer to model acceptable work for the student to mimic.

15. Assess the appropriateness of the task to ascertain (a) if the task is too easy, (b) if the task is too complicated, and (c) if the duration of time scheduled to finish the task is sufficient.

16. Connect with the parents to disseminate information about the student’s progress. The parents may reinforce the student at home for improving the quality of their handwriting at school.

17. Draft an agreement with the student stipulating what behavior is required (e.g., improving the quality of their handwriting) and which reinforcement will be implemented when the agreement has been met.

18. Praise the student for improving the quality of handwriting based on capacity and ability. As the student shows success, slowly increase the amount of improvement expected for reinforcement.

19. Praise those students in the classroom who turn in tasks that are legible.

20. Create classroom rules: • Complete every assignment. • Complete assignments quietly. • Remain in your seat. • Finish tasks. • Meet task expectations. Examine rules often. Praise students for following the rules.

21. Talk with the student to explain: (a) what the student is doing wrong (e.g., turning in work that has spelling errors or spacing errors, work that is illegible, etc.) and (b) what they must be doing (e.g., taking time to check for spelling, spacing errors, etc.).

22. Praise efforts to improve handwriting (e.g., double-checking spelling, proper positioning of letters, correct spacing, etc.): (a) give the student a concrete reward (e.g., privileges such as leading the line, handing out learning materials, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the student an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).

23. Consider using one of the apps on one of our best writing apps lists:

The Tech Edvocate’s List of 31 Grammar & Writing Apps, Tools & Resources

Ten Apps to Help Learners Develop Writing Skills

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Elementary School Learners

11 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for High School Learners

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Middle School Learners

Are you looking for strategies to help students learn to copy content? If so, keep reading.

1. Let the student have periods of rest to avoid eye fatigue.

2. Assess the appropriateness of giving the student tasks that require copying at a close proximity if the student’s capacity and ability make it impossible to finish the tasks.

3. Designate shorten tasks that can be quickly and accurately copied. As the student shows success, slowly increase the length of tasks.

4. Support the student with copying information. As the student shows success, slowly decrease the assistance, and require the student to assume more responsibility.

5. Show the student what they are doing wrong (e.g., hurrying just to get things done), and what they must be doing (e.g., carefully finishing work). For example: The student is hurrying through copying tasks. Tell them that they are hurrying and need to slow down and carefully copy the content to finish the tasks correctly.

6. Get the student to copy small amounts of content (e.g., a sentence or line) at a time.

7. Modify the format of the learning materials from which the student copies (e.g., have less content on a page, remove or cover images on pages, enlarge the print, etc.).

8. Inspect what the student has copied from the smartboard, textbook, etc., for accuracy. Working quickly is acceptable if the student performs the task accurately.

9. Assess the appropriateness of the task to ascertain (a) if the task is too easy, (b) if the task is too complicated, and (c) if the duration of time scheduled to finish the task is sufficient.

10. Take into account the student’s capacity and ability level and experience before expecting them to finish copying tasks on their own.

11. Urge the student to monitor their neatness. Awareness should lessen the production of poor quality work.

12. Urge the student to create a 30-second definition of their goal to help them remain on-task and focus (e.g., “I will copy this sentence perfectly. The better I focus and remain on-task, the better I will perform.”).

13. Make sure that the student has only those learning materials appropriate for copying (e.g., pencil, pen, paper, etc.) on their desk.

14. Create a timeline for finishing a project. Expect the student to meet each deadline to finish the project on time.

15. Create rules for finishing tasks (e.g., have the student to ask for help when necessary, proofread content copied from the board, textbook, etc.). These rules should be consistent and followed by everyone in the classroom. Talk about the rules often.

16. Assess the level of task difficulty to ascertain whether the student will require additional time, assistance, etc., to copy written information.

17. Assess the visual and auditory stimuli in the classroom and remove or lessen the unnecessary environmental stimuli.

18. Provide recognition for quality work (e.g., display the student’s work, congratulate the student, etc.).

19. Use in an assortment of ways for the student to acquire information without copying it (e.g., teacher-made content, commercially produced content, photocopy of the content, etc.).

20. Provide the student a short break while they are working on monotonous tasks to relieve restlessness and improve concentration.

21. Consider using one of the apps on one of our best writing apps lists:

The Tech Edvocate’s List of 31 Grammar & Writing Apps, Tools & Resources

Ten Apps to Help Learners Develop Writing Skills

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Elementary School Learners

11 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for High School Learners

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Middle School Learners

Are you looking for ways to teach students to copy content? If so, keep reading.

1. Select a peer to assist the student in copying the content (e.g., read the content aloud as the student copies it, copy the content for the student, etc.).

2. Get the student to ask for help when they need it.

3. Give the student the appropriate learning materials to finish tasks (e.g., pencil with eraser, paper, dictionary, handwriting sample, etc.). Make sure that the student has only the appropriate learning materials on the desk.

4. Provide a consistent format from which the student copies.

5. Get the student to read their written work out loud when proofing.

6. Create an environmental setting for the classroom that promotes optimal individual performance (e.g., quiet room, background music, fresh air, etc.).

7. Get the student to question any directions, explanations, or instructions they do not understand.

8. Put the content from which the student is to copy at a distance to him/her. As the student shows success, slowly move the content closer to the student.

9. Get the student to work on the task at another time (e.g., later in the day, during lunch, etc.) when they should be able to concentrate better.

10. Praise the student for copying letters, words, sentences, and numbers from a model at a close proximity: (a) give the student a concrete reward (e.g., privileges such as leading the line, handing out learning materials, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the student an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).

11. Assist the student in completing writing tasks so they will not have to hurry.

12. Spotlight the content the student is to copy.

13. Widen the print from which the student is copying.

14. Select a peer to proofread all the student’s work before it is submitted.

15. Find any particular letters or numbers the student has difficulty copying and have them practice copying those letters or numbers.

16. Get the student’s vision reviewed if it has not been recently reviewed.

17. Boost supervision (e.g., by teacher, peer, paraprofessional, etc.) of the student while they are performing tasks that require copying.

18. Train the student to list five attributes of a peer who produces neat work. Get them to select one of those attributes to work on each week for five weeks.

19. Get the student to practice writing letters, words, and sentences by tracing over a sequence of dots.

20. Provide consistent expectations for the student to finish a task neatly and accurately.

21. Consider using one of the apps on one of our best writing apps lists:

The Tech Edvocate’s List of 31 Grammar & Writing Apps, Tools & Resources

Ten Apps to Help Learners Develop Writing Skills

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Elementary School Learners

11 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for High School Learners

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Middle School Learners

Are you looking for strategies to help students learn to improve their content copying skills? If so, keep reading.

1. Make sure that the content to be copied has a sharp contrast with the background/foreground to maximize visibility (e.g., black on white projections, white chalk on a green smartboard, etc.).

2. Utilize an overhead projector to enlarge the content to be copied.

3. Get the student to proofread all their work before submitting it.

4. If the student wears glasses, urge them to wear them if needed while working.

5. Give the student a number line and alphabet strip on their desk to use as a reference for the correct form of letters and numbers to reduce errors.

6. Make sure there is no glare on the content to be copied from a distance.

7. Teach the student that work not done accurately must be redone, corrected, etc., during their recreation time.

8. Make sure the student’s desk is free of all content except that from which they are copying.

9. Make sure the student has all the learning materials appropriate prior to beginning a task to lessen unnecessary distractions while copying.

10. Pair the student’s tasks with their learning experience level. On occasions where the student is feeling highly active, assign tasks that require a great level of movement. On occasions where the student is most likely to keep attention, assign more sedentary tasks (e.g., copying from a textbook, smartboard, etc.).

11. Give an incentive statement along with an instruction (e.g., “On occasions where you have copied the work correctly, you can work on the computer.”).

12. Give more hands-on learning activities instead of copying learning materials from books.

13. Alter the content from which the student is to copy (e.g., lessen the amount of content to be copied, enlarge the print, etc.).

14. Establish time at the end of each class period for the student to complete unfinished tasks.

15. Utilize a frame or window to cover all content except what the student is to copy.

16. Give the student the content to be copied at their desk if they are unable to copy it from a distance.

17. Teach the student the relationship between unacceptable behavior and the consequences that follow (e.g., failing to copy the instructions will result in homework tasks being done incorrectly).

18. Acknowledge quality work (e.g., display student’s work, congratulate the student, etc.).

19. Minimize distracting stimuli (e.g., noise and motion in the classroom) to enable the student’s capacity and ability to copy letters, words, sentences, and numbers from a model.

20. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Competitive learning activities may cause the student to hurry and be careless when copying.

21. Get the student to use the word processor on the computer as an alternative to using a pencil and paper.

22. Utilize the computer and monitor as an alternative writing tool.

23. Make the student proofread all written work. Praise the student for each correction made.

24. Place the student closer to the content being copied.

25. Make the student finish a task again if it has been done incorrectly due to their hurrying just to get things done.

26. Give the student a private space to work (e.g., study carrel, private “office,” etc.). This is used to lessen distracting stimuli, not as a form of punishment.

27. Consider using one of the apps on one of our best writing apps lists:

The Tech Edvocate’s List of 31 Grammar & Writing Apps, Tools & Resources

Ten Apps to Help Learners Develop Writing Skills

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Elementary School Learners

11 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for High School Learners

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Middle School Learners

Are you looking for strategies to help students who use capitalization incorrectly while reading? If so, keep reading.

1. After checking the student’s work, require them to make all appropriate corrections in capitalization.

2. Inspect the student’s work at several points throughout a task to make sure the student is capitalizing where needed.

3. Display a capitalization rules chart in the front of the classroom.

4. Place emphasis on one rule of capitalization until the student masters that rule, then move on to another rule (e.g., proper names, cities, states, streets, etc.).

5. Find names, cities, states, etc., on a newspaper page and underline them.

6. Provide the student a sequence of sentences representing all the capitalization rules. Get the student to find the rules for each capitalization. Remove each sentence from the task when the student can explain the rules for the capitalization in the sentence.

7. Get the student to take part in writing learning activities that should cause them to do as well as possible in capitalization and other writing skills (e.g., writing letters to a friend, rock star, famous athlete, etc.).

8. Get the student to practice writing words that are always capitalized (e.g., countries, bodies of water, nationalities, languages, capitols, days of the week, months of the year, etc.).

9. Spotlight all the capitalized letters in a passage or paragraph and have the student explain why each is capitalized.

10. Create a notebook of rules for capitalization to be used to proofread work.

11. Give the student a list of rules for capitalization at their desk to use as a reference.

12. Teach the student capitalization at each level before introducing a new skill level.

13. Get the student to practice correct capitalization by providing the student with several sentences with errors on the smartboard or overhead projector. The student is then expected to correct the capitalization errors and discuss them with the teacher.

14. Do not require the student to learn more information than they are capable of learning at any time.

15. Consider using one of the apps on one of our best writing apps lists:

The Tech Edvocate’s List of 31 Grammar & Writing Apps, Tools & Resources

Ten Apps to Help Learners Develop Writing Skills

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Elementary School Learners

11 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for High School Learners

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Middle School Learners

Are you looking for ways to teach students to use capital letters? If so, keep reading.

1. Teach the student how to form all the capital letters of the alphabet.

2. Make sure the student proofreads their work for correct capitalization. Praise the student for each correction made in capitalization.

3. Examine with the student common capitalization rules before starting a creative writing learning experience.

4. Make sure the student receives instruction in the rules of capitalization (e.g., the first word of a sentence, the pronoun I, proper names, cities, states, streets, months, days of the week, dates, holidays, titles of movies, books, newspapers, magazines, etc.).

5. Teach appropriate capitalization of sentences when assigning creative writing learning activities. This could be done on the smartboard, an overhead projector, or in chart form.

6. Praise the student for capitalizing correctly: ( a) give the student a concrete reward (e.g., classroom privileges, line leading, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the student an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).

7. Draft an agreement with the student stipulating what behavior is required (e.g., using capitalization correctly) and which reinforcement will be implemented when the agreement has been met.

8. Give practice with capitalization using an app or a hand-held educational device that gives the student instant feedback.

9. Give the student the appropriate learning materials to finish the task (e.g., pencil with eraser, paper, dictionary, handwriting sample, etc.). Make sure that the student has only the appropriate learning materials on the desk.

10. Give the student a list of examples of capitalization (e.g., proper names, cities, streets, holidays, etc.) that the student keeps at their desk to refer to when writing.

11. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Competitive learning activities may cause the student to hurry and make mistakes in capitalization.

12. Give the student apps that gives practice and reinforcement in capitalizing words.

13. Identify quality work (e.g., display student’s work, congratulate the student, etc.).

14. Give the student lists of words and have them indicate which ones should be capitalized (e.g., water, New York, Mississippi, etc.).

15. Consider using one of the apps on one of our best writing apps lists:

The Tech Edvocate’s List of 31 Grammar & Writing Apps, Tools & Resources

Ten Apps to Help Learners Develop Writing Skills

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Elementary School Learners

11 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for High School Learners

10 of the Best Grammar and Writing Apps for Middle School Learners

Are you looking for strategies to help students who do not understand content when they read silently? If so, keep reading.

1. Pair the student with a peer to summarize content read to answer the questions “Who, What, Where, On occasions where, How, and Why.”

2. Get the student to read aloud when reading to themselves.

3. Utilize a sight-word vocabulary approach to teach the student keywords (e.g., circle underline, match, etc.) and phrases when reading directions and instructions.

4. Utilize lower grade-level texts as alternative reading content in subject areas.

5. Get the student to practice comprehension skills that are causally related to high interest reading learning activities .

6. Get the student to look for action words (e.g., sailed, discovered, founded, etc.).

7. Get the student to look for direction words (e.g., circle, underline, select, list, etc.).

8. Get the student to look for keywords (e.g., Christopher Columbus, Spain, New World, etc.).

9. After reading a selection, have the student finish a semantic map answering the questions “Who, What, Where, On occasions where, How, and Why.”

10. Get the student to read high interest signs, advertisements, notices, etc., from newspapers, magazines, movie promotions, etc., placing emphasis on comprehension skills.

11. Teach the student to find the main points in the content they have read to assess comprehension.

12. Get the student to answer in writing the questions “Who, What, Where, On occasions where, How, and Why” using the Flash Card Study Aid.

13. Get the student to read independently each day to practice reading skills.

14. Minimize the amount of information on a page (e.g., less print to read, fewer images to look at, etc.) if it is causing visual distractions for the student.

15. Make sure the student is reading content on their capacity and ability level.

16. Consider using AI to teach reading comprehension.

17. Consider using Alexa to teach reading skills.

18. Try using one of our many apps designed to teach literacy skills and help students with reading issues:

10 Apps That Teach Your Child to Read

7 Must-Have Apps to Make Learners Love Reading

7 Must-Have Phonics Apps and Tools

9 Reading Apps and Tools for the Elementary Classroom

The Tech Edvocate’s List of 24 Literacy Apps, Tools & Resources

10 Apps to Teach Children Early Literacy Skills

Are you looking for ways to support students who do not understand text while reading silently? If so, keep reading.

1. Make sure the student is practicing comprehension skills that are causally related to high interest reading learning activities (e.g., adventure, romance, mystery, sports, etc.).

2. Create a list of main points from the student’s reading content written on the student’s reading level.

3. Alter or adjust reading content to the student’s capacity and ability level.

4. Record complicated reading content for the student to listen to as they read along.

5. Get the student to take notes while reading to enable comprehension.

6. Teach the student meanings of abbreviations to assist in comprehending content read.

7. Get the student to underline or highlight essential points in reading content.

8. Get the student to orally rephrase content they have just read to assess their comprehension.

9. Spotlight essential points before the student reads the designated content silently.

10. Teach new vocabulary words prior to having the student read the content.

11. Get the student to read progressively longer segments of reading content to build comprehension skills (e.g., start with one paragraph and progress to several sections, short stories, chapters, etc.).

12. Give the student a quiet space (e.g., carrel, study booth, etc.) where they may go to take part in reading learning activities.

13. Make sure that the reading requirements of all subjects and tasks are within the capacity and ability level of the student. If they are not, adjust the reading content to the student’s capacity and ability level.

14. Teach the student when reading to look for keywords and main ideas that answer “Who, What, Where, On occasions where, How, and Why” (e.g., “Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain to discover the New World during the year 1492.”).

15. Provide the student high interest reading content on their capacity and ability level (e.g., comic books, adventure stories, etc.) requiring them to answer the questions “Who, What, Where, On occasions where, How, and Why.”

16. Consider using AI to teach reading comprehension.

17. Consider using Alexa to teach reading skills.

18. Try using one of our many apps designed to teach literacy skills and help students with reading issues:

10 Apps That Teach Your Child to Read

7 Must-Have Apps to Make Learners Love Reading

7 Must-Have Phonics Apps and Tools

9 Reading Apps and Tools for the Elementary Classroom

The Tech Edvocate’s List of 24 Literacy Apps, Tools & Resources

10 Apps to Teach Children Early Literacy Skills