How to get children to follow instructions

Those wide-eyed stares might seem attentive, but there’s no telling what carnival of dreams is taking place in children’s heads. Sue Cowley looks at how to make your instructions understood....

When you first become a teacher, the idea of ‘giving instructions’ sounds so simple. Surely all you have to do is explain to the children what you want them to do, and then they will go and do it? But you very quickly discover that giving a clear set of instructions that everyone will understand is one of the most difficult tasks known to humankind. It is the difference between a class full of children merrily working on task, and a Mexican Wave of hands up, with the children demanding that you repeat the instructions you just spend 10 minutes giving.
Over the years, I have discovered a number of useful techniques for giving effective instructions. The first thing to understand is that you must go from you knowing what you want the children to do, to the children knowing what you want them to do. This is not as straightforward as it sounds. You spend time planning the lesson; you have the details clear in your mind. It is tempting to assume the children already know what is in your head. Explain each activity in a way that assumes the children know nothing at all about what they are about to do. Use the clearest, simplest, most concise language you can find. This is not the time for an extended metaphor or an amusing anecdote.
You must also help your children overcome their urge to jump the gun: to believe they know what the activity is before they have heard all the instructions, as though endowed with telepathic superpowers. This problem is especially pronounced when the children are keen to do what the teacher asks. ‘Miss/Sir has spoken,’ they think, ‘I must get going quickly, so that she/he will be pleased with me.’ To help your pupils learn how to wait, use the phrase ‘when I say go …’ before you begin your instructions. Then, if a child attempts to start before you have finished, simply pause, arch an eyebrow and, if necessary, remind him you haven’t said ‘go’ yet.
If an activity involves resources, and you have put these on the desks, then expect your children to reach out to grab the exciting ‘things’ the moment you open your mouth. From this point onwards, the rest of your instructions will be drowned out by the sound of papers shuffling, pencils crashing to the floor and children battling each other for their favourite colour pens. It is often best to give out resources after you have explained what is to be done with them. Alternatively, make it crystal clear to the children that they must not touch the resources until you say the word ‘go’.
As part of your instructions, set a time limit for the activity, because if you don’t, the children will assume that they have all the time in the world. Help your pupils focus by setting short time limits for quick activities: two minutes, three minutes, five minutes. For longer tasks, divide the activity up into pieces and pull everyone back together to give feedback once the first part is done. You can support understanding by writing the steps on the board or, for younger children, by using a series of symbols. Use pauses to give the children time to assimilate the information you are giving, and lots of repetition to ensure it sticks.
One of the key difficulties with giving effective instructions is that it can sometimes appear children are listening, when they are not actually taking in what you are saying. Get the children to repeat back what you have said, to check that they are listening and retaining the information. Use vocabulary that makes the order of the instructions clear. Words such as ‘first’, ‘second’, ‘next’ and ‘finally’ are useful hooks. Give an example of how you want the activity to be done, so that the children have a model to follow.
A final piece of advice – be very clear with your children about what they should do when they need help with understanding the activity. The ‘three before me’ strategy is very effective. Explain to your pupils that they should try three strategies to get an answer before they come to you. They might ask a friend, read what you put on the board, or refer to the worksheet or textbook. Put all this in place, and in return you get to avoid the No.1 Most Irritating Classroom Phrase of All Time: ‘What did you say we have to do again?’

About the author

Sue Cowley is an experienced teacher, author and presenter. Her latest ebook is The Seven Ts of Practical Differentiation. Visit suecowley.co.uk to find out more.