Study Skil s Tips and Recommendations for Parents
Dear parents, the fol owing information given from http://www.education.com/reference/article/good-school-study-habit- parent-guide/ and adapted to our experiences, presents tips and recommendations for you to take into account when helping your kids to study at home. It is essential for us as teachers and you as parents to speak the same language when dealing with our kids’ wel being, since study skil s wil help them to develop as social y responsible and adaptable learners to any situation.
It is important for you to set up a regular study time for your child and to try and be strict about maintaining it. This wil helpyour child establish a routine for studying, which is a key to good homework habits. Routines develop into good habits, and ifyou help your child stick to this routine, you wil soon notice that he/she automatically uses that time as study time. Also, ifyour child is often done with his/her schoolwork, try to make this a regular time to read together (Raz-Kids, Tumblebooks,book from the library, etc.) or work on basic skil s (spel ing list of the weeks, writing about your day at school in Spanish orEnglish, etc.)
2. Place:
Having a regular place to study wil also help you and your child establish a routine for good study habits. Probably the mostimportant thing to keep in mind when choosing a study spot is to keep it away from distractions, like the television, x-box, playstations or any other distraction. The best place wil always allow your child to be surrounded of proper light, a table only withnecessary materials to help your kid to study, such as pencils, erasers, dictionary and the necessary books and journals; pc,laptop or Ipad if needed. 3. Schedule and practice:
Establish a regular schedule for your child to fol ow and practice during study time. This could look something like the one below, but don’t be afraid to try your own ideas as wel . Different schedules and practices work wel with different students depending on their strengths, interests, age, and extra activities like sports, band, dancing, etc. Create a schedule that works wel for your individual child. Some guidelines and a sample plan are listed below: 10 minutes- Do something together with your child: read a book, do a puzzle, etc. If possible, allow him/her to choose the activity. Try some games he/she learned at school and don’t be afraid to make up games of your own. Enjoy this time together!!! 5 minutes- if your child has a particular homework assignment to work on, begin by pre-reading the assignment and/or reading the instructions. Talk about what the main ideas of the homework seem to be, based on this pre-reading. You can guide your child with the fol owing checking list:
1. Check the agenda with your child every day. 2. Which assignment wil be done first? 3. What is the assignment about? 4. Design an organization or planning chart in order to organize time for each assignment; mark checks when activities
are finished. We have applied the chart in Elementary and Middle School during Study Skil s sessions in the afternoonsand it has been a success because children feel committed and wil ing to accomplish their objectives in specific periodsof time.10-15 minutes- Do the assignment, reading, writing, etc. If your child has a difficult assignment, do the assignment together, using the above questions as a guide. If your child seems to have understood the assignment and he has a good idea of how to
approach it, go ahead and let him do it alone. To help develop independence, encourage your child to use some sort of mark,like a question mark, to identify problem areas for you to go over together. 5 minutes- Break/Study Snacks—Brain research has discovered connections between what we eat and how we learn. The fol owing information was taken from an article by Deborah Joy Braithwaite featured at www.family.disney.com:“Getting a child into good eating habits during homework sessions is essential. Fast foods, snack bars and carbonated drinks are ful of taste enhancers, artificial colorings, caffeine, salt, saturated fats and refined sugars. They do provide a quick burst of energy; however, it is a false energy boost and is quickly fol owed by lethargy. Children seem to be natural nibblers and like to eat small amounts of food often. Nibbling the right food every 90 minutes keeps the blood sugar high to energize the brain for thinking and learning. During a study session, fil them up on fruit and raw vegetables (an apple or banana, slice of cheese, handful of peanuts, carrots, or celery.) Raw foods of any sort increase the rate at which the brain cel s use oxygen, so that thinking and learning is easier and better. There is an abundance of evidence in medicine, education and sport to show that drinking plenty of water is essential for optimal performance. The message is ‘if you don’t drink enough you can’t always think enough!’” 10 minutes- Review the completed assignment/reading with the child. Work on any problem areas, again asking questions that encourage him/her to find the answer on his/her own. For every mistake that you point out, try to point out two successes. In the Kids Can Learn! Article, the writer offers this suggestion:
“Help your child believe in his or her ability to succeed. When you praise work completed successful y, you are showing yourchild that he or she can do wel in school. Success builds confidence. This can be achieved in many ways, for example, if youwrite a word such as when and your child reads it as what, don’t say “wrong.” Instead, say the word aloud and ask your childto repeat it after you. After the word is repeated, praise your child and move on.”
Talk about how the assignment/reading/activity, etc. went that night. Note things the child had success with and areas thatare stil a problem. It may be helpful for the two of you to keep a journal noting what you discuss each night and comparingthis to similar assignments in the future.
Finally, as a last, five minute task for yourself and/or with your child, work on writing an e-mail at least once a week to the teacher. Was there something from the assignment that you didn’t understand? Were the directions unclear to you? Did you feel the assignment somehow didn’t achieve what it was supposed to? Instead of feeling frustrated, especially when you first start this process, communicate your frustrations with the teacher. Did you feel this assignment was especial y effective? Would you like more assignments like this to work on with your child? Communicate these ideas as wel with the teacher. Remember as teachers we are here to help and to be guidance to your child and to you because is part of our job.
Now, make a commitment to making study time a part of your routine! It is not that hard and we are always wil ing to helpand to develop new strategies to help you when working with your child at home. Sources:
http://www.education.com/reference/article/good-school-study-habit-parent-guide/ www.family.disney.com Kids Can Learn, Inc. Miss Mónica Zafra Lizarralde Miss Carolina Meneses Rodríguez K5/ES/10th English/ Study Skil s Support Teacher. MS English/ Study Skil s Support Teacher.
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