Education Short List

In the month of March I spent a week speaking with parents at conferences. During my time discussing how each child was doing, the same question kept being asked, “What can I do to help my child?” As a teacher, I always want to know what the atmosphere is like at home, after school. Is there an active role of the parent in the student’s homework? When does the student start their studies? And where do they do their work? There are so many factors for parents to consider that affect their child’s learning.

Making sure you have an after school homework routine is a must.

First, realize that children need a break from what they were just doing. Just because they walked or took the bus home does not equal a break. They are still in school mode and need time to adjust to the freedom of home. Let your child have a fifteen minute break to get something to eat and relax. Next, make sure they have a place to do homework that has supplies ready to go. If they have a desk to work at, make sure it is cleared off and not filled with distractions. Extra pencils, erasers, and a pencil sharpener should be handy. If your child does not have a desk, designate an area that would give them enough space that has a good writing surface. Perhaps you can put together a box of supplies that are just for homework that are easy to take to their spot. Then, make sure that their spot, or desk, is in an area that allows complete focus and concentration. Television should not be on in the same room. Students are more likely to make mistakes from lack of focus on the assignment when their focus is interrupted; so much so that it does not allow the information to enter in whole pieces. Instead, it’s in chunks and thereby has less meaning to the student once they complete their tasks. The last step of the routine should be for your child to show you what they have completed so you have the chance to check it and ask how they felt about it. This may be your moment to play teacher and help them understand a difficult concept. If they know you are going to check it each time, they will do a much better job!

I understand that not all parents have the luxury of being home with their children after school. There is still a routine for you to go through later in the evening. Let them know that you will expect to see their homework if they had a chance to do it at the babysitters or daycare. Daycare should provide some type of homework room for you child to visit. Most homework rooms are optional, so please find out if it is offered at your daycare and discuss with your child what your expectations are about completing the homework at the daycare. Once home go through the steps of checking it. They need to know you are going to expect to see it. If they do their homework after you get home in the evening, do the after school routine, but make sure to keep an eye on them. They are much more tired and will easily get off task. This should be expected. They have had a full day just like you have.

This routine has worked for my own daughters. They started this in kindergarten and my oldest still has very good habits in eighth grade. We had some days that they wanted to break routine, but they were not often. Working as a team with your child and the school will definitely have positive effect on your child’s learning.

Parents, families, students, and teachers alike don’t enjoy the hours of homework that students have.  Too often there are only negative emotions and thoughts when it comes to homework; especially the realization that there is just too much homework.  It gets lost the value and importance of having assignments that reinforce what you’ve gone through during the day.  Fortunately there is a template that could provide assistance with that.

Here enters the Reading Log.  Quite possibly – the perfect homework assignment.

A reading log is just that – a log of what you read.  The sample provided (and available for you to use) includes all the necessary parts.

• Space for days of the week, month, year (focus on spelling and knowing the days/months in their proper order)
• Amount of time spent reading – each night can be determined by the grade level of the student (this time could also be used as a simple math problem and allows the student to decide how long they should be reading)
• The Genre and Type sections – again give a student the choice in what they read and it gives them exposure to different reading materials (when using a variety of materials you will also increase your vocabulary, improve your spelling, and gain a higher interest in new reading materials)
• The ‘_____ read to_____’ section – here you have a chance to put some variety into it; for younger students have someone older read to them (this focuses on enhancing their oral language skills {it’s also really great for anyone who is learning a new language}, by listening to someone who is saying the words correctly you then, as the reader, feel confident in saying them correctly.  For older students you can help to read to someone younger or a peer or even a family member.
• The ‘Read from pg.____ to _____pg.’ section – list the number of pages you have read within your given time frame.(great opportunity to do simple math{or for higher level students instead of adding or subtracting the number of pages read, multiply or divide them).
• The total number of pages read can be totaled at the end of the week and used for more mathematical problems and calculations (the level of math would correlate with your student’s ability level)
• The most important part of the reading log would be the Summary.  (Here comes the spelling, grammar, punctuation, writing, and reading comprehension skills)  All of these skills provide the most difficulty for any learner and play a part of the classroom process.

A reading log can be used in any grade level and with a variety of subjects.  In science or social studies, textbook reading, working on a book report, preparing for kindergarten.  It also incorporates a plethora of skills needed in all grades – reading, writing, spelling, reading comprehension, familiarity with different reading types and genres, adding, subtracting, etc.  There are so many ways it can be used.  Give it a shot.

Remember that the reading log doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s homework and therefore a  learning tool.  You can make adjustments as needed by your student.  And if you are using this at home, allow your child to be involved with it.  By claiming ownership you are claiming responsibility – which is another great skill to learn.

DOWNLOAD: reading-log1