Helping Your Stuggling Youngster With School Work At Home

2008 Catalog

1985, revised August 26, 1999.

HELPING YOUR STRUGGLING YOUNGSTER WITH SCHOOL WORK AT HOME

NOTE: Even though the emphasis is on helping the struggling student, this article has 25 items of valuable information for any parent or teacher.

It is easy for a teacher to say to a parent, "I'll teach him; you love him!" Learning is a full time job for a child and learning takes place both inside and out side of the classroom. It is important that parents and teachers work together so that the child has every opportunity possible to grow in skills, stature and spirit. For most parents helping a child with homework is very much like a married couple hanging wallpaper, or putting up curtain rods. They agree on the goal, but each person has very specific, if not different opinions on how that goal should be accomplished. Since some students struggle in school, and are the "fall through the cracks" group, and some have diagnosed learning disabilities, many times one of their parents had similar problems. Therefore the parent-becoming-teacher has a very difficult job. This student is already a challenge to teach in school by dedicated, well trained professionals; what then can parents do to help their child at home?

Teachers have to remember that homework is only to be used as a reinforcement for already learned material. Homework is practice, and should NOT involve new thing to be learned. Teachers should also provide the school's homework policy including expected amount of time spent on homework for each grade level. One suggestion, is 10 minutes per grade level with an additional 15 minutes spent reading, reading to a sibling, or being read to.
If a child and parent can not accomplish a homework task, the parent should write a note to that effect along with the amount of time spent, and if possible, what went wrong. The note and the unfinished work is returned to the teacher. Sometimes a quiet kitchen timer will help a student stay on task. Remember that normal attention span is roughly one minute per age. A 30 minute assignment may be better broken into three sessions for a 10 year old. Under no circumstance, should you do your child's home work! You do not want to create "learned helplessness" or an "emotional or academic cripple"!
Since school work is often frustrating for 33-45% of the population, the time immediately after school may not be the best time for homework. Each family needs to establish a set time when homework can be accomplished and yet will not interfere with other members' activities. Right after supper is usually a good choice for most. Use the VCR to record "favorite programs" to be viewed later as a reward for completing homework.
Structure is a universal need and the struggling student needs more than most children. A consistent place for study is very important. It should be away from distraction such as the TV. Only a few highly motivated students can actually study in isolation, so the dining room table has been used for hundreds of years. One or both parents can monitor work and be available to answer questions. Many parents have homework that can be easily interrupted, such as reading a newspaper, paying bills and writing letters.
It is a tradition in most American homes that the responsibility for education is the mother's responsibility. Since most struggling students are male, it is suggested whenever possible, both parents alternate homework shifts. The father's influence and participation, as well as interest, is a very important factor in determining educational success. Students do better when dad is actively involved. Dad's presence at school conferences has the same effect. Many teachers blame "over mothering," but they forget that it is a compensation for "under fathering".
Struggling students with often have other family members who struggled or struggle in school. This is not to be used as an excuse, but as a reason to work hard. From 5th grade on students should be involved in conferences including the IEP. If a student is a part of the planning, chances are greater that he/she will be more successful in keeping his/her part of the responsibility.
Adults, like their children, enjoy time to relax and do other things after a busy or tiring day. However, a child's education has to be one of the highest priorities in any household. Getting homework completed needs to be a commitment made by all members of the family.
If your child has to write an assignment, have him dictate it to you. Then the student can re-copy it later. Students who are poor spellers must learn to ask you to proof read their final draft.
If a student has problems keeping arithmetic columns in a line, use graph paper. If graph paper is not available, turn lined paper sideways.
Purchase only wide-lined paper. Teach the student to write on every second line. This increases the "sky line effect" and handwriting becomes easier to read, and also there is plenty of room for additions and corrections. Remember that a student's writing belongs to the student. Only proof read. If you re-do it, then it is not the students'. If you don't like what you see, schedule a meeting with the teacher.
Encourage your child to use the "Underlining Option" both in and out of school. This article is attached.
If your child spends a lot of time and energy erasing his work, both in and out of school refer to "Erasing Erasures" which is also attached.
If a child asks how to spell a word, spell it for her. Looking up a word in the dictionary is very difficult, if she can't spell it! Adults have a better chance at looking up a word, because adults are aware of more options. Consider a Franklin Language Master electronic dictionary for spelling, or a "Quicktionary Reading Pen" for reading text and defining words.
If there is an assignment to be read, consider several options, Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic, Kurzweil Reader, and/or tapes from the local library. When the student uses recordings, make certain the student reads along in the text. Two senses are better than one! The next option is for someone to read to him. The third option is to take turns reading one paragraph at a time. However, sometimes when students read out loud, their energy goes into decoding the words and very little room is left for comprehension.
Don't overlook the teaching power of friends, and other children.
Ask the teacher for a duplicate set of texts to be kept at home. This eliminates all sorts of "forgetting" problems. Some schools will lease you books, but all will hold you responsible for lost or damaged books.
Purchase a notebook that is only to be used as an assignment notebook. It is the student's responsibility to write down each assignment for each class each day. The teacher or a study buddy can initial it so that we know the assignment is correct. If there is no assignment then "No Homework" is written. If the student "forgets"to write an assignment, or bring home the assignment notebook, some penalty has to be assessed such as no television, or doing an extra chore.
On the Thursday of each week the student should carry a progress report and have it signed by all teachers. This is to be brought home to the parents. If any work is missing, it must be done and the student "cleared" on Friday. Otherwise, the student is "grounded" until the teacher signs that he is caught up. The key issue for any student is not to get behind at all.
The development of self esteem has to be earned, not work sheeted! Increase verbal rewards and physical rewards for successfully completing jobs and tasks. According to Dorothy Briggs, it takes five positives to undo one negative.
When trying to change behaviors, decide upon the most critical behavior and work on just that one until you succeed. Then shift to the next concern. If parents go after everything, you will accomplish nothing.
One of the most common school accommodations is the study guide. A good study guide helps the child organize the information and helps the student distinguish what is important information. A good study guide will preview important words and ask the important questions before reading the text.
Note taking is very difficult. If a student can't listen and copy at the same time, another student could take notes using NCR (no carbon required) paper. The student is still responsible for taking her version of notes.
Start studying for spelling tests early. If the student learns five a day and keeps reviewing, it is easier. Spelling is a written activity so practice spelling words by tracing them on the table top with the index and middle finger before going to pencil. Some students can spell better by letter sounds than by letter names. Either way, spelling is tested by writing, so words need to be practiced by writing. Many student just learn words for the test and ten minutes later the words are gone!
When a child asks a question you do not know. Admit it and look up the answers together. Don't bluff! All children have to realize that there are "gaps" in everybody's knowledge.
Place completed homework in three ring note book, and place everything in your back pack ready for school the next morning. (See Getting Organized)

In conclusion, the one common denominator that all of the school subjects have is language. The vocabulary of each subject matter is critical to the comprehension of the subject. There is a saying, "Just because it has been said, doesn't mean it has been taught." People have to use words many times before these words are learned. Don't overlook oral vocabulary development. Urge your children to tell you about what they have read or heard in class. The Editor of The Orton Dyslexia Society, now The International Dyslexia Association, once wrote, "Real children think and feel. Learning is influenced by the relationships between teachers and learners, and language development promotes discrimination between emotional states and empathy. Motivation is a variable in the learning process. Linguistic competence stands at the very center of what is crucially human in each of us. We are as we speak; we work as we read; we become human as we understand each other through language." Parents and teachers must work together so that the struggling child can become the very best person that he can be; not only for himself, but for the people in his future.

Thank you to Regina Cicci, Ph.D., Nita Lussenhop MA, and Christi Perkins for their valuable input into the original article.

THE UNDERLINING OPTION

Too often, students who are not good spellers, for whatever reason, seriously "sandbag" their written expression in order to cover up their inability. When this happens, three results can be observed:

Students spell only words that are known. The word/syllable ratio usually drops quickly from a comfortable conversational level to a stilted writing level.
In a test, students create strange sentences to avoid difficult but often important words.
Students lull themselves into thinking they have everyone "off their backs" when, in fact, the poor quality of the writing costs them both grades and "points" by their instructors. Teachers are often confused by good verbal behavior against the lazy appearing, if not intellectually embarrassing, written responses.

The "Underlining Option" provides that, when students write essay tests or reaction papers, they should use the appropriate vocabulary but may underline all words they know or suspect they have misspelled. No points are deducted. This enables the teacher to better judge the student's intellectual capability or, at least, the knowledge acquired. In addition, a whole area of writing deficiencies emerge which can then be remediated. Subsequently, students produce better quality work, allowing the instructor to assess more accurately the mastered knowledge of the student. In-class papers can be used as a basis for referral to the skill center resource staff. Requiring in-class writing on a regular basis allows the teacher to assess the student's true abilities and ensures that the student's needs are detected.

ERASING ERASURES

A significant number of students have discovered that erasing words, lines and paragraphs is viewed by teachers as honest academic labor. These students use erasing as an avoidance behavior, usually to compensate for their inability - real or imagined - to spell, write legibly or compose intelligent thoughts in sentence form.

Those teachers who have in their possession stacks of papers not only full of erasure holes, but which also appear to have been slept on, can take heart. There is an alternative: the draw-a-line-through-the-mistake approach. It is a simple approach which does not cost the taxpayer's money; in fact it saves money.

Instruct all students they are not to erase anymore. Instead, they are to draw a neat, single line through any error and continue with their work.

This approach produces several results. The first is that the line allows the teacher to see the mistake. This provides valuable insight as to the struggles a student experiences in writing. Secondly, the student's time can be spent on getting as much information down with a minimum of interruptions. The third result is helping the student understand that it is "OK" to make mistakes in class; that's what rough drafts are for. The last result is that when all these errors surface, they can be noted and managed by both the teacher and the student.

Stopping the constant erasing is similar to breaking a bad habit. It is best done school-wide and in "cold turkey" style. The student's initial resentment is soon lost in more productive work. Papers become neater, the writing becomes more legible and the level of production increases.

RESOURCES

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, 609-452-0606

Franklin Electronic Spellers, 800-266-5626

Kurzweil 3000 Reader, 800-888-0305

Quicktionary Reading Pen, 800-344-4040

Permission to reproduce this article is granted. CWA