In the education world, the word intervention is tossed around with little to no real understanding. Many times I have had a casual conversation among colleagues about interventions.

They usually state, “Yes, I use those.” Then they go on to provide an example of an accommodation or modification. These are not one in the same.

7 Effective Intervention Strategies for High School Students  

Effective intervention strategies are a critical piece in education to ensure students are successful. Although, there is not a one way fits all model when using interventions.  

Academic interventions vary based on the student’s needs and his strengths and weaknesses. They can occur across all subject areas, grade levels, and all three tiers in MTSS.  

Below is a list of intervention strategies for upper-grade levels (this is not an all-inclusive list) for English and Math.

English Language Arts Interventions for Grades 6-12

These are instructional interventions to help struggling learners in Tier-II, focusing on key ideas and details.

#1 KWL Chart–

This strategy helps to improve reading comprehension by activating background knowledge. The process represents: 

• What I know
• This is what I want to learn
• What I did learn 

#2 Story Element Web–

This tactic helps to improve the student’s understanding of story elements. When using this intervention, the student reads the given story then records the story elements using a graphic organizer. Doing this also helps to build reading comprehension as well.

#3 Sum Summary-

This strategy helps the student identify similarities and differences between stories. Using this reading intervention, the student will build on his prior knowledge about similarities and differences while reading a text in the student’s instructional-independent reading level range.

#4 Reverse Outlining-

This tactic improves the internal flow of the student’s compositions. The student will do this in this in the following order: 

• Writes a draft
• Reads the draft
• Makes notes in the margins adding the main idea of each section
• Organizes the margin notes into an outline to reveal the organizational structure of the paper

This intervention helps the student identify if any draft sections are: 

• Repetitious
• Out of order
• Doesn’t logically flow

Mathematics Interventions for High School Students

These math interventions help struggling learners in Tier-II when focusing on key ideas and details. 

#5 Self-Correction Checklists-

This strategy allows the teacher to analyze a student’s pattern of errors commonly made when solving a math algorithm. The student utilizes the checklist to self-monitor and correct his performance on the assignments.  

#6 Metacognitive Strategy-

This math intervention requires the student to learn a seven-part process for attacking a word problem. Then the teacher trains the student to utilize a three-part self-coaching routine for each of the seven problem-solving steps. Within this intervention’s cognitive part, the student learns an explicit series of steps to analyze and solve the problem. 

#7 QAR- 

QAR is a four-step intervention sequenced to teach the student to use question answer relationships to understand math graphics better. The four steps include:

• • • • Distinguish among different kinds of graphics
      • Interpret information in graphics
      • Link the use of QARs to Graphics
      • Use question answer relationships independently to interpret math graphics

Additional Strategies to Help Your Students as a Special Education Professional

Interventions are a critical piece in the classroom for the student to be successful. If the student does not understand the material presented in class, the teachers need to implement interventions to learn, grow, and be successful.

Have you used interventions in your classroom? Please share your experience with us! 

Here are a few other posts that may give you more ideas for helping your students:

• Interventions For Autism Defined
• Special Education Accommodations: Finding the Right Fit
• 10 Benefits Of Special Education Tutoring For Children With Learning Disabilities

Click here for weekly tips and techniques from a fellow Special Educator and parent of a special needs child?

Do you have a student that needs one-on-one special education tutoring that can be done from anywhere? Our special education experts conduct their sessions online! Get them started with a free consultation!