We don’t give a teenager the car keys to run errands without having taught the young person how to drive, so why would we bombard students with assignments from multiple teachers without having taught them how to manage workloads? Where do they even begin? Prioritizing tasks can be difficult for adults with excellent executive functioning skills— just imagine how an overwhelmed young person feels trying to prioritize schoolwork.
What about students who don’t need help prioritizing?
All students require time and guidance to develop prioritization as a skill, even those seemingly able to manage their workloads. Some students may present as “on top of it” but could hide substantial stress and anxiety related to deciding where to devote their time. Consider parents who report their children are working well into the night to complete assignments. The good news is teachers willing to devote time—either through mini lessons or class meetings—to teach prioritization explicitly can help students become more efficient and make wise choices to maximize learning while minimizing feelings of hopelessness.
Prioritizing—where to begin?
So, you are willing to help students learn how to prioritize, but you’re thinking, “How do I approach such an abstract concept?” From the teacher’s perspective, knowing how to prioritize in one’s daily routines and being able to describe it as a process are two very different abilities. Consider using this script as an introduction for your students:
“Every decision involves choosing one option over others. Do you mow the lawn this afternoon or pull weeds from your family’s garden? Choosing to mow the lawn means you will weed the garden tomorrow. This decision about how to use your time is simple and does not have serious consequences. Other decisions about time may involve many tasks with multiple consequences and need to be considered carefully. Prioritizing is choosing which tasks to complete (or start) before others. When faced with many tasks, think about due dates, each task’s importance, the benefits of completing one task before another, and how challenging each task may be compared to others.
Do you complete your science homework for Wednesday or study for the Social Studies test at the end of the week? A task’s due date plays a role in decision-making, but it’s not the only role. Some tasks are more important than others. The science homework is due soon, but the test is a bigger grade. The benefits of completing one task before another can also play a role in your decision. Studying Social Studies now may help you more than doing your homework, because you already understand the science material. Finally, test-taking may be challenging for you, so studying Social Studies first may be a good idea. When making decisions about which tasks to tackle first, second, and so on, think about time, importance, benefits, and challenge.”
How do I turn this into a learning experience for my students?
The introduction script presents a four-part approach for a mini-lesson or class meeting: 1) due dates or time, 2) importance, 3) benefits, and 4) challenge. Consider asking students to list assignments and assessments from their planners and to take some time to record due dates, what they feel are the tasks’ relative importances, and comparing the benefits of completing each task before others. Finally, students should reflect upon the natures of their tasks and how challenging each may be to finish. Determining these values requires some evaluative thinking, which may necessitate teacher modeling and encouragement for young students. The information and reflections students collect then inform the creation of a prioritized (ranked) list.
Prioritizing—What Should I Do First? is a teaching resource providing seventh through ninth grade students with a process of ordering assignments and assessments based upon timeliness, importance, benefits of completion, and perceived challenges. This resource begins with a description of prioritization to use as an introduction, a ten-step procedure to facilitate learning, and a detailed checklist leading students through an authentic graphic-organizer-based application activity. Prioritizing—What Should I do First? can be used in any instructional setting in which an executive-functioning-oriented mini lesson and/or class meeting would be helpful for students.
Prioritization is process above all else.
Prioritizing involves quite a bit of subjectivity, and determining the accuracy of students’ lists would be a daunting task, not to mention missing the point of this exercise. We want to establish with our students a mind-set to think evaluatively about the demands placed upon them instead of plowing through lists with the blind hopes of finishing as quickly as possible. Can (or should) we grade students on their abilities to quantify tasks’ importance, perceived benefits, and levels of challenge? Of course not. We can and should provide students with the tools and guidance to determine these values for themselves so they can avoid situations in which they feel buried under mountains of tasks. Teaching prioritization is truly an instance of process over product.
david cooper writing 
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