READING HOMEWORK TIPS FOR PARENTS
(taken from US Department of Education Website)
Have your child read aloud to you every night.
Choose a quiet place, free from distractions, for your child to do nightly
reading assignments.
As your child reads, point out spelling and sound patterns such as cat, pat,
hat.
When your child reads aloud to you and makes a mistake, point out the words
missed and help her/him to read the word correctly.
After your child has stopped to correct a word have her/him go back and
reread the entire sentence from the beginning to make sure she/he
understands what the sentence is saying.
Ask your child to tell you in her/his own words what happened in a story.
To check your child's understanding of the reading, occasionally pause and
ask your child questions about the characters and events in the story.
Ask your child why she/he thinks a character acted in a certain way and
ask your child to support the answer with information from the story.
Before getting to the end of a story, ask your child what she/he thinks
will happen next and why.
GENERAL HOMEWORK TIPS FOR PARENTS
(taken from US Department of Education)
Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework.
Avoid having your child do homework with the television on or in places
with other distractions, such as people coming and going.
Make sure the materials your child needs, such as paper, pencils and a
dictionary, are available. Ask your child if special materials will be
needed for some projects and get them in advance.
Help your child with time management.
Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don't let your child
leave homework until just before bedtime. Think about using a weekend
morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially if the
project involves getting together with classmates.
Be positive about homework.
Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about
homework will be the attitude your child acquires.
When your child does homework, you do homework.
Show your child that the skills they are learning are related to things
you do as an adult. If your child is reading, you read too. If your child
is doing math, balance your checkbook.
When your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers.
Giving answers means your child will not learn the material. Too much help
teaches your child that when the going gets rough, someone will do the work
for him or her.
When the teacher asks that you play a role in homework, do it.
Cooperate with the teacher. It shows your child that the school and home
are a team. Follow the directions given by the teacher.
If homework is meant to be done by your child alone, stay away.
Too much parent involvement can prevent homework from having some positive
effects. Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent, lifelong
learning skills.
Stay informed.
Talk with your child's teacher. Make sure you know the purpose of homework
and what your child's class rules are.
Help your child figure out what is hard homework and what is easy homework.
Have your child do the hard work first. This will mean he will be most
alert when facing the biggest challenges. Easy material will seem to go
fast when fatigue begins to set in.
Watch your child for signs of failure and frustration.
Let your child take a short break if she is having trouble keeping her
mind on an assignment.
Reward progress in homework.
If your child has been successful in homework completion and is working
hard, celebrate that success with a special event (e.g., pizza, a walk,
a trip to the park) to reinforce the positive effort.
