Are you looking for ways to teach kids to take pride in their classwork? If so, keep reading.

1. Along with instruction, give an incentive statement (e.g., “On occasions where you finish your work neatly, you may have free time.”).

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

3. Teach the learner to practice basic study skills (e.g., reading for the main idea, note-taking, summarizing, highlighting, studying in an excellent environment, using time wisely, etc.).

4. Get the learner to keep a chart representing the number of tasks finished and the accuracy rate of each task.

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

6. Praise those students in the classroom who turn in tasks that are accurate and of high quality.

7. Minimize the emphasis on competition. Competitive learning activities may cause the learner to rush through work. Students who compete academically and fail to succeed may cease to try to do well and do far less than they are able.

8. If the learner does not finish their work according to teacher instructions and expectations, it must be finished during leisure or break time.

9. Give the learner evaluative feedback for tasks finished (i.e., find what the learner did successfully, what errors were made, and what should be done to correct the errors).

10. Give a time during the day when the learner can receive assistance at school if they have difficulty finishing homework tasks with minimal accuracy

11. Alter instructions to include more concrete examples to enable learner learning.

12. Assess clarity and quality of directions, explanations, and instructions given to the learner.

13. Get the learner to question any directions, explanations, and instructions not grasped.

14. Acknowledge accuracy and quality (e.g., display the learner’s work, congratulate the learner, etc.).

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

16. Observe learner performance to detect errors and determine where learning problems exist.

17. Talk with the learner to explain (a) what the learner 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.).

18. Give the learner chances for review prior to grading tasks.

19. Do not grade every task performed by the learner. Assignments may be used to assess learner capacity and ability or knowledge and give feedback. Grades may not need to be designated until mastery/minimal accuracy has been attained.

20. Give older students functional handwriting chances (e.g., job application forms, reinforcer surveys, order forms, check writing, etc.).

21. Consider using assistive technology designed to help students to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to concentrate. Click here to view list of assistive technology apps that we recommend.