Foremost in an effective curriculum for students with emotional and behavioral disorder (E/BD) is a high level of engaged time--time spent doing meaningful learning activities. Engaged time (time-on-task) is the portion of instructional time that students spend directly involved in learning activities. Walker and Severson (1992) defined the following components of academic engaged time: (a) The student is attending to the material and the task, (b) the student is making appropriate motor responses (e.g.. writing), and (c) the student is asking for assistance in an acceptable manner. Effective teachers of students with E/BD understand the importance of the time-on-task variable and realize that the time the students spend engaged in meaningful activities must provide them with a high degree of success. To assure that students can meet with a high degree of success, the teacher must engage in systematic planning and use academic materials that are appropriate for the students' performance level. Much of the research done on effective instruction has used academic engaged time as the measure of students' use of time and the appropriateness of the curriculum. This article discusses several suggestions for increasing meaningful student engagement. (Contains 1 figure.)