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Seven Steps to Homework Success By Anissa Pletcher Children who spend more time on homework do better in school and the academic benefits increase as they move into the upper grades. Here are seven steps to help your child make homework a priority and improve study skills:
Communicate with Teachers Meet with your child’s teacher early in the year to discuss homework policies. Find out how long you should expect your child to spend on homework nightly. Follow up with regular contact throughout the year. Review the teacher’s expectations with your child and hold him/her accountable. If a problem arises, contact the teacher immediately.
Designate a Study Place Pick a homework spot with limited distractions, ample work space and adequate lighting. Include supplies and access to resources (computer, dictionary, encyclopedia, thesaurus). S chedule a regular study time. Determine the time your child best concentrates, work it into your schedule and follow it diligently.
Provide Guidance and Support Your role is to provide guidance and support — not to do the assignments. It is important to understand your child’s learning style. Does your child learn things best when:
Put up a calendar and record assignments. This helps your child get used to tracking what is due and when. With visible accountability, the chart will help your child feel good about accomplishments and learn to manage time.
Check for Understanding After assignments are completed, look over them together and have your child explain what he/she did. This presents an opportunity to provide positive, constructive feedback. Interactive study games take studying to the next level and help ensure your child absorbs what is being studied. Try practice tests for memorization assignments or spelling, flashcards for vocabulary or math facts and study games to help your child prepare for a test.
Show an Interest The attitude parents express about homework will be the attitude their children develop. Discuss school and learning activities every day. Volunteer in the classroom, at book fairs, science fairs, plays or sporting events. On the weekends, take your child to visit museums, parks, zoos and science centers.
Use Positive Reinforcement Positive reinforcement helps keep children motivated as they continue to build their self-esteem and become active lifelong learners. Giving praise and encouragement will help your child remain positive and focused. A reward-based motivation system allows your child to earn rewards based on performance, effort and completion of homework activities. Great rewards include a night at the movies, dinner at a special restaurant or a new book. Once the rules of your system are in place, be consistent.
Notice Struggles In order to maximize your child’s learning experience, you must be able to detect signs of struggles and frustrations. Learning can’t take place if a child is angry or upset over an assignment. Meet with your child’s teacher regularly to discuss any problems you might observe and co-develop a plan of action to remedy the situation. Try to answer the following questions about your child’s study behavior: How often is my child struggling? What subject(s) is my child struggling with? Does my child enjoy school? Use information you have gathered about your child’s struggles to find solutions that best meet your child’s learning needs. Whether your child struggles with basic skills needed to complete homework assignments, or needs an additional challenge, there are professional tutoring services available in your community with the tools and resources to help your child achieve his/her academic goals. Homework has the power to bring together children, parents and teachers in a common effort to improve learning. With these seven steps, parents can help build a foundation for success in school. _______________________________________________________________ Anissa Pletcher is the education adviser at KnowledgePoints, a tutoring and enrichment center for students PreK-12. For more information visit www.knowledgepoints.com or e-mail anissa.pletcher@knowledgepoints.com. |
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