Ms. Rao’s Lesson on “Knowing Strengths and Weaknesses”

 

Implementing the Direct Instruction Lesson

Ms. Rao prepared for the 1-1 direct instruction lesson by observing Rico throughout the week. She made a list of activities / skills in which Rico excelled and wrote this list on a notecard for Rico. The list would function as a visual prompt.

She began the lesson by reminding Rico of the definition of a personal strength. She told him he did a good job of identifying areas he needed to improve (i.e., personal weaknesses), but sometimes he did not recognize the variety of ways in which he excelled. She told Rico that identifying these areas of strength would help him plan his education and eventually pick a career path. 

Ms. Rao then provided Rico with the list of the strengths. She asked him, “What are you good at?” and Rico named a strength from the list. For the first five strengths Ms. Rao explained to Rico why she knew these skills were strengths. Next, Ms. Rao asked Rico to name the last five strengths and explain how he knew they were strengths. Rico used the list to name a strength, and Ms. Rao prompted him to explain how he knew it was a strength. Finally, Rico practiced naming strengths without referencing the visual prompt. Each time Rico named a different strength without looking at the list, Ms. Rao gave him a token.

Reinforcing the Lesson

After the lesson, Ms. Rao asked Rico to name and describe other personal strengths. She prompted him when he hesitated, and together, they thought of five new strengths. Ms. Rao wrote these strengths down on Rico’s list. She told Rico that she would ask him to identify strengths at opportune times during the day. Each time he told her a different strength, he would receive a token as reinforcement. She also told Rico that he could share strengths that were not originally on the list as he discovered new skills and talents.