Choice Challenge Activity: Follow Directions
Updated: Nov 5
Choice Challenge Activity: Follow Directions #7
Now that you have read My Teacher Is Not an Octopus, reviewed the Choice Challenge blogs, and tried the activities from the book — here is more practice.
Three activities per choice for the specific behavior. No timer. No one size fits all. Parents know their child(ren). Teachers know their students. Give each a try. Practice builds choice fitness.
When a child understands how to use the six choices, this leads to more fun. The choice becomes their own. The result is happier children, families, and classrooms.
These activities engage PILES. Physical, Intellectual, Language, Emotional, Social. They build teamwork. And they give a child the words to say, "I can do this."
The goal is not a timer. The goal is the choice becoming part of a child's internal dialogue. The words a child says to themselves when no one is watching.
The student will perform a desired better choice without being redirected or reminded.
Here are three ways to practice.
Activity 1: Treasure Hunt Cleanup
Goal: Make cleanup feel like a game, not a chore.
How to do it:
Before cleanup, say:
"We are going on a treasure hunt! Let us find the treasure and put it back in its treasure chest."
Name the "treasures" (blocks, crayons, books) and the "chests" (bins, shelves).
Use the chant:
Adult: "If we follow..."
Children: "DIRECTIONS!"
Adult: "We can have more..."
Children: "FUN!"
Adult: "We can have more..."
Children: "FUN!"
Adult: "If we follow..."
Children: "DIRECTIONS!"
End with a quick celebration: "Everyone did amazing following directions. Now we have more time for fun!"
Activity 2: Direction Detective
Goal: Help children listen carefully and follow multi-step directions.
How to do it:
Say: "You are Direction Detectives. Your job is to listen and follow the clues."
Give two to three step directions, like:
"Touch the door, clap twice, then sit on the rug."
"Pick up a blue crayon, draw a circle, then put the crayon back."
Start with two steps. Add a third when the first two are complete.
When they finish, say: "You followed every step. That is a better choice."
Activity 3: Follow-Me Freeze Dance
Goal: Practice stopping and starting with directions.
How to do it:
Play music and let the children dance.
Call out simple directions:
"Freeze!"
"Hop like a bunny!"
"Walk in slow motion!"
Use the chant between rounds:
"If we follow DIRECTIONS, we can have more FUN! We can have more FUN, if we follow directions!"
Keep it short and end while they are still having fun.
How the choices work together in this activity
Following directions is not one skill in isolation. When a child stops the dance on "Freeze," they are also practicing Breathe and Calm (#5). The pause is the breath.
When a child waits for their turn at the treasure chest, they are practicing Wait and Take Turns (#4).
When a child hears a direction they do not like and use words to say so, they are practicing Use Words (#2).
Consider one moment from the Treasure Hunt: a child asks for a block another child is still carrying, then grabs it.
Breathe and Calm (#5):
Zach takes one breath before reaching. The pause keeps the exchange from escalating.
Wait and Take Turns (#4):
Theodore says: "Not now. When I am finished carrying it, you can have it."
Use Words (#2):
Zach grabs anyway.
Theodore says: "Zach, I don't like when you take my block. It hurts my feelings."
Own Behavior (#3):
Zach says: "Theodore, I apologize for taking the block. You can have it back."
Rethink (#6):
Zach says: "My first choice was grabbing. My new better choice is asking."
Follow Directions (#1):
Theodore hears the next direction: "Put the block in the blue bin." Theodore follows it.
See blogs for the following choices: Choice #2: Use Words, Choice #3: Own Behavior, Choice #4: Wait and Take Turns, Choice #5: Breathe and Calm, and Choice #6: Rethink.
All six choices are a collaborative learning experience. They partner with each other on most occasions.
A simple takeaway
Activities are a fun way to practice building choice fitness.
Review:
What is the Choice Challenge? Blog and choices one through six for extended examples began on page 29 of My Teacher Is Not an Octopus.
All six choices are a collaborative learning experience. They partner with each other on most occasions.
Children need consistent practice with this strategy before the skill becomes automatic.
Each child experiences social-emotional development at different speeds and levels.
As a child uses the choices interacting with others, adjustments increase competency. The foundation through patience and practice builds behavior muscles.
Every time a child follows a direction without being reminded, the skill is building. Filling gaps or holes, as explained in the blog What is the Choice Challenge? and the Choice Challenge Guide, is practice. Practice builds choice fitness.
Choice Challenge Guide will be released in eBook and paperback. You will have the option to download for free by signing up or buy online.
The choice is yours :)
About the author
Patience Filippo is a children's author, artist, educator, and veteran with decades of classroom experience. She created the Choice Challenge: Poor to Better Decisions for Everyday Behavior to help children and grown-ups be better humans, one better choice at a time. The Choice Challenge is the framework behind My Teacher Is Not an Octopus, a self-regulating behavior management book one of the Nurture Learner Series for early learners. Begin at birth. Grow into lifelong learning.
Motto: Empowering happiness through literacy.
Find Patience online https://linktr.ee/askmisspatience
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