Have I got my stuff?

Key points

This strategy is about reminding the student when they need to get materials for a lesson or activity, and supporting them to know where to find them. The idea is that over time they will be able to organise their resources more independently

Plan

Looking at your lesson plans and timetable for the week, note the points where the toolkit student is likely to need a prompt to get their things for another task
Use our digital stickers (reminder icons), real stickers or colour-coding mark the places in the day where you will need to remind them
Customise, edit and print the Have I got my stuff flowchart to support the student in class
Customise the locker/tray/bag list and diagram with the student to match their set-up and the materials they have at school
Use the ‘what do I need’ sheets to customise them to common situations for your students

When the student needs something for a task, prompt them to identify what they need using the flowchart
Ask them where the things are. Use the locker/tray/bag planner as a reminder so they can see which place each thing should be in
Give them the what do I need? sheet (home, daily or per subject) and support them to add anything else they need
Send them to find their things, and when they return with the right materials, use specific praise to tell them what they did well

“I liked that you realised your tablet would be in your bag, you went straight there and got it and came back to your desk, which means we are ready for the next lesson. You did a really good job of following instructions”

You could use stickers or other pictures on the what do I need? sheets to reinforce and check off when they have what they need
Encourage other classroom staff to use this approach consistently
Consider helping them to use the home version of the what do I need? sheet at the end of the day in order to plan for what they might need from home for the next day’s lessons, or ask parents/carers to use this with the student
If age-appropriate, support the student to come up with a strategy to remind themselves to bring things they need, for example write themselves a note, send themselves an email (ask them to describe how they will they remember to look at the note/email); or if they have a mobile phone, suggest they set up a reminder alarm or text

Assess

This strategy will probably go wrong a few times, students get easily distracted! If this happens, think about what you can do to prompt them to keep on track (for example, can you say “what are you looking for next, based on your what do I need sheet?”)
It may also take time when the student has lost things and they are not where they should be, so giving the student time to return their possessions to the right place after the activity is also important
Use the reflection template to note any problems or positive outcomes

Review

Talk about the strategy with your SENCo and the student’s family to think about ways to make it easier for the student and promote the use of similar strategies at home
Consider moving things around in the classroom to make it easier for the student to move their things to where they need to be

Resources

Editable PDFs