Executive Function Skills

Skills for Learning. Skills for Life.

Learning to get started, stay focused, manage frustration, and follow through is essential to becoming an independent learner. At Red Oaks, we teach and practice executive function skills every day, integrating them into academic learning, classroom routines, relationships, and responsibilities.

These skills help students manage their attention, actions, emotions, and time. They empower children to approach challenges with confidence, take ownership of their learning, and turn their ideas into action.

The Skills We Teach and Practice

The same language appears in every classroom, connecting these skills across subjects and grade levels.

Foundational Skills
Goal-Directed Skills

Foundational Skills

These self-management skills provide a foundation for purposeful learning and action.

Response Inhibition: We stop and think before we act.
Working Memory: We hold information in our minds and use it.
Emotional Control: We manage our feelings so we can keep going.
Flexibility: We adjust when plans or circumstances change.
Sustained Attention: We stay focused, even when work is challenging.
Task Initiation: We get started without unnecessary delay.

Goal-Directed Skills

An Intentional Approach, Every Day: “Name It and Tame It”

Our approach draws on the work of Dr. Peg Dawson and gives students a shared language for understanding how they learn and what helps them succeed. By naming a challenge—getting started, organizing materials, or adjusting when a plan changes—students can identify the skill they need and practice strategies for moving forward.

Teachers make these skills visible through instruction, modeling, guidance, and reflection. Whether students are solving a math problem, rehearsing a performance, collaborating with classmates, or planning a project, they have opportunities to practice executive function skills in meaningful settings.

Growing Independence, from Montessori to IB

Throughout this progression, guidance and expectations grow with the child, helping students become increasingly capable and independent.

Early Childhood

Elementary

Middle School

In Middle School, our International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme deepens this emphasis on planning, application, and reflection. Dedicated instruction and advisory support students as they manage competing responsibilities and longer-term projects. The eighth-grade Community Project brings these skills together: students choose a meaningful goal, develop a plan, track their progress, work through setbacks, and evaluate what they have learned.

Beyond the Classroom

Our goal is for students to understand themselves as learners—to recognize what they need, choose useful strategies, seek support, and adapt when something is not working. With daily practice, they build habits that support academic achievement, healthy relationships, and the growing responsibilities of life beyond Red Oaks.

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