Giving instructions is important for a classroom.

2. GIVING INSTRUCTIONS
ORGANIZACIÓN DE LA ENSEÑANZA DE IDIOMAS

3. In a multilingual class
you have to use English
for instructions. But, in
monolingual class you have
a choice: English, native
language or some mixture
of both.

4. Giving clear and concise instructions is a
vital step in becoming a good teacher.
If you don’t give clear instructions, soon
you will realize that almost everyone in
the classroom is confused. This situation
can lead to lesson success or fail.

5. Giving Instructions
Example 1
Ok, everybody listen to me. Sit down and take a piece
of paper. Fold it in half and then pick up a pencil.
Draw a house with four rooms on the paper and write
bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and living room for each
room. Then draw a toy in each room, for example a
yo-yo, a kite or a robot. Then tell me, for example,
“The robot is in the bedroom.” I will listen and draw,
ok? Do you understand? Go!
Is this a good way to give instructions? How can we
make it better?

6. Giving Instructions Example
2

7. Clear Instructions in the Classroom
We’ve all been there. We all know what happens when the students are clear on what
they are to do; we’ve also experienced what happens when students aren’t clear on
what to do or how to do it.

8. Breaking things down:
• Were the steps digestible enough?
• What about the steps made them
digestible?
Explaining the activity:
• How many different ways was the
activity explained?
• What kind of language do you think
the teacher used to explain it?

9. Creating a step by step outline:
• What’s the benefit of writing out the instructions?
• What role does brevity play?
Letting students see what the activity looks like:
• What’s the benefit of showing students what an activity looks like first?
• When might you choose to not do this step?
Experimenting with a student:
• How does this step benefit the students?
• How does this step benefit the teacher?

10. Assessing their understanding
• How does the student to student
model help us assess their
readiness?
• How might other students benefit
from seeing it done by two of their
peers?
Repairing misunderstandings:
• How does this step-by-step process
help repair misunderstandings?
• If the students seemed confused, what
might the teacher do?

15. Checking Questions with
Instructions (ICQs)

17. Some tips for
giving clear
instructions

18. 1. Make sure you have the
attention of the entire class
before giving instructions
Before you start giving your
instructions, make sure you have
everyone’s attention. Wait until all
the students stop talking, are
seated, calm, and ready to listen to.

19. 2. Use concise and specific commands
Instructions must be kept as
simple as possible and they must
be logical.
For example:Now, I want you to
get out a piece of paper and put
it on your desk. Once the paper
is on your desk, could you please
write down five sentences about
what you did last weekend? (Wordy
commands)
Please, take a piece of paper,
and then write down five
sentences about what you did last
weekend. (Concise commands)

20. 3. Give instructions one at a time
Try not to give students too much information at
once. Especially for kids who have attention
challenges, try to avoid giving a series of
instructions. Instead, create a step by step outline.