Middle school students with special needs usually function relatively well in the classroom; they typically don’t need their lessons coached in purely behavioral terms. Help your students foster their own independence by beginning this lesson with a discussion about lunchtime sequencing. Start by asking your students to tell you the order of lunchtime activities. You can make this specific to your school by including items such as the bell ringing and walking to the cafeteria, or generalize the topic to include lunchtime at home as well. Get feedback from your students about their typical lunchtime and help them to put events in the correct order.
Students of all intellectual and physical ability levels profit from participating in activities and games related to what they are learning. Make a fun lunchtime sequencing game by writing down a typical lunchtime description, with one sentence for each event. Cut out the sentences and scramble them up. Have your students read all the sentences and then put them in order. Play other games and work on other activities related to lunchtime sequencing as desired.
Be a model for your special needs students. During lunchtime in your classroom, demonstrate the proper sequence of events with your own lunch. At first, explain each step as you perform it. Ask students to tell you what you should do next after you complete each step; for example, ask your students what you need to do next after you sit down at the lunch table with your brown bag in front of you. Later on, continue to silently model the lunch sequence for your students and verbally redirect them to watch you if they begin to skip steps.
Most students benefit greatly from positive reinforcement. Any student, especially one with special needs, will respond better to school lessons when his achievements are highlighted and approved of than when his failings are singled out. Be liberal with your praise when students perform the correct sequence of events. For students who miss steps, correct them gently but firmly and praise their efforts once they get it right. Reserve reprimands as a last resort technique.