Lutz School for Work Experience LSSTA Lesson Plans

Expectation from our Matrix: Career/Employment

Specific Skill: Ask for help at community based work sites
Dates of Implementation: TBA
Setting: Classroom or worksite
TEACHING = Tell + Show + Practice + Feedback

RATIONALE: (why does a student need to know this skill?)

As a responsible adult, you should know how to ask for help at school or in a
community based worksite.
When the steps for asking for
help are followed, it will help you achieve your goal. Asking for help will increase
your independence and self-advocacy skills, quality work skills, employability skills,
& safety skills.
If a student is in a dangerous situation, whether it be health or safety, they need to
know who and how to ask for help. If a student attempts a new skill or one that
they are having difficulties with, they should be confident enough to know that they
can ask for help.
As a work crew class, staff wants students to gather the skills and confidence they
need to not have to ask for help. The end result of teaching how to ask for help
should be eventual independence with that skill.
Pretest- Beginning activity, staff would ask the students to find items the students
arent familiar with in their classroom, which would require the student to ask a
question. Data would be collected to determine which students have an
understanding of when and how to ask for help.

TELL
Introduction: Say, It is important to know how to ask for help

Activity #1: Class discussion (possible questions)

What does asking for help mean to you? (How do you ask for help? What
does asking for help look/feel like? Should you wait for staff to come to
you? Staff will ask students what they need to do!)
What is the difference between asking for help all the time and asking
for help just when you need it?
What are some of the steps for asking for help in the school & community
based work site? (refer to LSSTA matrix strands)
1. Understand the job/task
2. Know how to ask for help (who, what words, right time)
3. Deciding what you need help with
4. Deciding who to ask for help
5. Knowing what to ask
6. Listening to the instruction(s)
7. Role play the process toward the expected outcome
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8. Additional step:______________________________________________
Why is it important to understand instructions before beginning task?
Why is it important to request help when unsure of the task?
Should you try a task first before asking for help?
How do know when to ask for help?
How do you ask for help respectfully?
Who are appropriate people to ask for help?
Why shouldnt you ask for help when you dont need it?
Name something you know how do to on your own.
Name something you need help with.
Link to PAWS
Synonyms: assistance, guidance, clarity, sign language for help,
raising their hand
Difference between asking for help and needing attention

Activity #2: Cause and Effect scenarios

What if?

If/Then
Activity #3:
AskingForHelp
(1).pdf

Activity #4:
AskingforHelp
(4).pptx

Activity #5:
SocialStoryLifeSkills
VocationalCBIAskingForHelpatSchoolJobAutismELD (1).ppt

SHOW (Teacher models both examples and non-examples.)

Develop classroom specific task/scenario/role play.
Activity #1:
Using correct and incorrect scenarios, students will identify the correct way to
organize work space, and collect materials & tools. Students will then
practice the correct way to complete this activity.
Basic- Model: Raise your hand- show que card
Advance- Model: Have the student physical move to the staff and ask
for help

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Whats wrong with the way you ______________?

Is this safe the way you did this?
Describe/What differences do you see?
What makes your finished product perfect? Describe
*Staff should wait for student to make the error or do something wrong
when they teach asking for help.
Interrogate in the positive:
1. Tell me what you did that was really great?
2. What could you have done so that you didnt drop, spill or break
this?
3. Let student talk and give their opinion.
4. Staff should not give suggestions or help/ wait them out.
5. Staff is trying to teach students to ask for help when we want them
to learn it on their own.
6. Remember that all students have different processing times.
7. Have staff practice shutting up and allowing for differences in
processing times and allowing students to try and possibly fail.
Activity #2:
Create a task analysis checklist with the students. May want to rank jobs at
different levels.
Activity #3:
Using each of the steps for quality work that was discussed in class, develop
a correct and incorrect scenario and repeat Activity #1 and Activity #2.
Activity #4:
Staff uses the IPAD to record real life work activities on the work-site on HOW
to ask for help.
Activity #5:
Students view various videos (YouTube has a number of social skills) and
discuss how each person performed the correct way to ask for help.
Activity #6:
Modeling/role play (Have staff act out a variety of scenarios and have
students discuss)
Activity #7:
Prompting, questions, using pictures
Activity #8:
A sheet to write activities I dont need help with, sometimes I need help, I
have no idea how to do this task
Activity #9:
Have every student list something that they need help with, put each idea on
a paper, mix up in a bucket, have students pick one, and find a peer that

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doesnt need help with that task. Pair the peers together as helpers to each
other.

PRACTICE (students should practice positive scenario)

How will students practice the skill?
Use technology (iPad, Book Creator (App) video, pictures, etc.) to help
reinforce and review correct scenario.
Role-play positive/correct examples. Move role-play to worksite as
appropriate to encourage generalization to other sites.
Ask for task clarification or Ask for restatement of directions/job steps.
I Do. We Do. You Do.
Engage students imagination by fun games geared to topic such as
Pictionary, bingo, mnemonic or Acrostic poem, etc.
Activity #1: Set up a situation where a student would have to ask for help.
Examples:
1. Do not have enough chairs in the room, so that a student will have to ask
for a chair.
2. Put an out of order sign on the bathroom doors.
3. Remove all of the garbage cans.
Activity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

#2: Make a poster listing the skills needed to solve a problem.

Identify the problem Whats wrong?
Look around (Whats different?)
Think about how you can solve the problem
Try to solve problem
Ask a classmate for help
Ask for help (ask staff)

Activity #3: Creative Role play

Make it outrageous
Example: Today we have no chairs and tables
Set out folder work on floor.
Proceed with daily schedule (minus table and chairs).
Encourage students to problem solve.
*Note: For students who are nonverbal or have limited speech, staff will have a
picture that says I need help on it that will be readily available. Also, will teach
students the sign language sign for help.
American Sign Language: "help" The sign for "help" is made by closing your left hand into an
"A." Place the outstretched palm of your right hand under the left "A" hand and raise both
hands. Note: Some people do this sign by placing the right "A" hand on the left palm.

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FEEDBACK (how will we give feedback for learning the skill)

Positive verbal reinforcement.

Continue modeling.
Weekly or monthly extra PAWS ticket for meeting instructional goal.
Discuss concept of
and remind students that if they practice

they do not have to redo the task.

Quiz
Allow the student to think things through, make mistakes, evaluate
themselves and be presented with all the opportunities needed to learn the
specific task.
Record role play on iPad and show to students afterwards.
Keep track of prompts needed for students to ask for help (make individual
goals for each student so that you are focusing on one thing that they need
to ask for help with)
Pretest/posttest

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