Putting the Seven Strategies Into Practice
The seven WWC recommendations are most useful when they become part of a structured classroom problem-solving process rather than a list of isolated techniques. This final lesson focuses on selecting strategies, combining supports, checking your own implementation, and deciding when a student needs something more intensive.
Teacher-Delivered Behavioral Interventions in Grades K–5
Review the seven recommendations and revisit the sections most relevant to your practice.For this final lesson, review the recommendation overview and select at least two recommendation sections that would be especially useful in your own classroom. Pay attention to implementation guidance, obstacles, examples, and tools—not only the recommendation titles.
Seven Strategies, One Problem-Solving Process
The seven recommendations address different ways you can shape the classroom environment, increase engagement, support expected behavior, and provide students with feedback.
In practice, you do not need to select exactly one recommendation and use it in isolation. Multiple strategies may work together when they address different parts of the same classroom problem.
From Classroom Concern to Intervention Decision
Translate broad descriptions such as “unmotivated,” “defiant,” or “disruptive” into observable behavior and identify the routines or conditions in which the concern occurs.
Ask what expectations have been taught, what prompts and acknowledgment are already present, how students participate, and whether meaningful choices or feedback are available.
When appropriate, begin with a feasible low-intensity strategy rather than automatically moving to a more complex individual intervention.
Specify what you will do, when it will happen, how often it will occur, and what materials or supports you need.
If behavior does not improve, determine whether the strategy was ineffective or whether it was not implemented as intended.
Continue, modify, combine, intensify, or move toward individualized assessment based on the pattern of student response and implementation.
The Strategy Is Only One Part of the Intervention
Plans often fall short because a strategy is named without deciding how it will actually be carried out. “Use more praise,” “give choices,” or “try a behavior chart” are not complete plans.
Match the Strategy to the Problem
Choose the recommendation that most directly addresses the primary classroom barrier in each situation.
Your students are repeatedly told to “be respectful” during group work, but you have never defined or taught what respectful group participation looks like.
Students know the hallway routine but frequently forget it during the transition immediately after recess.
During a 30-minute lesson, students primarily listen while you talk. Several students become off-task after the first ten minutes.
A student consistently delays beginning a required assignment but becomes more engaged when allowed some control over materials, location, or task order.
Build an Integrated Classroom Plan
Select the strongest components for a classroom problem involving several factors.
Which environmental change should be considered?
What should happen before likely calling-out periods?
How should appropriate participation be supported?
How should the plan be evaluated?
When Is It Time to Intensify?
Work through a final classroom case and decide when a low-intensity classroom strategy should be maintained, modified, or supplemented with more individualized support from your school team.
What is the most appropriate starting point?
What should you examine before calling the strategy ineffective?
What is the strongest next step?
What is the best conclusion?
Build an Integrated Classroom Plan
Apply the seven recommendations as a coordinated problem-solving process. Use the case information in the activity to identify the primary classroom barrier, select appropriate supports, consider implementation fidelity, and determine how student response should guide the next decision.
A Practical Classroom Checklist
Bringing the Seven Recommendations Together
- The WWC practice guide provides seven low-intensity, teacher-delivered approaches that can strengthen classroom behavior support in grades K–5.
- You can use these recommendations as a structured problem-solving process rather than a collection of isolated strategies.
- Intervention selection should begin with a clearly defined concern and an examination of the classroom context.
- More than one recommendation may be appropriate when different components address different barriers.
- Feasibility and implementation fidelity must be considered when evaluating whether an intervention is working.
- Student response data should guide decisions to maintain, modify, combine, intensify, or discontinue a strategy.
- Low-intensity classroom supports remain valuable, but they do not replace individualized assessment and intervention when student needs require a higher level of support.