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- What should my child be reading at home?
- Should my child read every day/night?
- What if I can't help my child with his math, and he just doesn't get it!
- Who should I refer my questions to regarding homework?
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What should my child be reading at home?
Your child's independent reading at home should be, most importantly,something
that interests and engages him/her as a reader and thinker. Whether it be
fiction, or nonfiction...book or magazine...it is our hope that this year
reading will be an enjoyable part of his/her day.
As the year progresses, I do encourage students to read a variety of texts as
this exposes them to different vocabulary, writing styles, and ideas. For
reluctant readers, I strongly suggest magazines that address their interests,
recorded books with supplemental texts, and buddy reading with a
parent, sibling, or friend. Magazines are a great choice because they provide
plenty of visual interest and provide short articles and
stories that allow your reader to still experience the concept of beginning,
middle and end. Recorded books are also a fantastic way to hook your child on
stories and reading - even start with some in the car as a family, or for a
small amount of money get them their own tape player with headphones
for a relaxing bedtime ritual. Having them follow along in the book is fine
some of the time, and some of the time just let them enjoy the story - they
will get hungry for more and that's what we are
working for! Reading to your child is not only allowable, but a wonderful way
to spend some relaxing quality time, and there are so many wonderful books
that we as adults enjoy equally as well. All of this reading counts as their
independent reading time, and it is critical that it becomes a routine part
of their day, and hopefully enjoyable enough that they look forward to the
time. Our public libraries offer wonderful, free access to unbelievable books,
tapes, magazines, etc.,and the catalog is available online to allow for
browsing their collection from home.
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Should my child read every day/night?
While our goal is to make habitual readers out of your children, family and
scheduling demands sometimes do not allow for them to have a 20 minute block
of reading time every day. The overall goal is for 400 minutes per month, or
100 minutes per week - so 20 minutes 5 days out of 7 will do
just fine, or 25 minutes 4 days a week. The point is, we are trying to build
habitual readers; so try to avoid having them do all of their 400 minutes in
one weekend. Likewise, I try to discourage blocks of reading less than 15
minutes, as it is more difficult for them to become truly engaged with a high
level of connection and comprehension.
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What if I can't help my child with his math, and he just doesn't get it!
Don't panic, you are not expected, nor do we want you to reteach what has been
taught in class if your child is truly lost. Just write a note after you have
done the basic "troubleshooting" strategies and your child has
used his/her problem solving strategies - as reviewed in class. Mrs. Armstrong
reviews homework daily and works with students who struggled - either as a
whole class if necessary, in small groups, or as individuals.
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Who should I refer my questions to regarding homework?
All students hand in their homework to their homeroom teacher to be recorded,
so if there are questions regarding the completion of homework or notices, the
homeroom teacher can be contacted. For questions regarding the content of
homework you can directly contact the teacher of the specific content area.
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