Lethargy may be caused by a number of factors outside of the student’s control including periods of emotional unrest, the effects of medication and environmental factors. A mismatch of teaching and learning styles may also be a contributing factor.
Incorporate child’s preferred interests into activities where possible.
Intersperse preferred and non-preferred tasks.
Use graphic organisers to assist the student.
Use the element of chance to increase motivation eg. games.
Alternate short concentrated periods with breaks.
Plan for academic instruction at peak learning time for child eg mornings.
Increase novelty and alternate high and low interest tasks.
Always build on prior knowledge- know exactly where your student is academically.
Provide opportunities for the child to take risks in new learning situations.
Increase choice of tasks eg. technology and manipulatives for variety and motivation.
Use physical proximity to maintain focus.
Incorporate student-chosen motivators.
Give immediate feedback for on task, task completion, solid efforts and improvement.
Mentoring from preferred staff person.
Praise and recognize ALL efforts and attempts at improving.
Counsel student to ascertain problems and brainstorm solutions.
Do not reinforce passive or withdrawn behaviour.
Encourage independence at every opportunity.
Offer student responsibilities within the classroom.
Give lots of verbal and non-verbal reinforcements.
Provide opportunities for peer mentoring.
Study groups to keep work books up to date.
Cooperative learning with clearly defined group roles.
Broken tasks down into smaller, manageable steps?
Considered preferential seating near teacher or peer role models?
Established a reward system and method for students to self-monitor progress?
Redesigned resources to be visually appealing and engaging?
Rearranged lessons to incorporate periods of high engagement?