• Helping Your Child At Home

     

    You probably are doing some of these things already:

     

    • Make sure that your student knows that you consider reading a valuable lifetime skill.
    • Read your own materials around your student.
    • Ask your student what they are reading while at school.  Ask them if they can summarize (not necessarily retell) what they have read for homework that night.
    • Occasionally have your child read aloud to you after he/she has practiced a selected reading piece so that he/she is fluent with it.
    • Make sure that your student follows school policy and reads at least 20 minutes a day after school.
    • Ask your student what we are doing in my class.

    Additional Suggestions

    • Allow students to read books in their own “comfort zone.”  Many Literacy Support Skills students are reading below grade level by a year or two.  Let them read books at home at their own reading level when reading independent materials.  Allow them to choose books of interest to them, and if they prefer magazines or even comic books, allow them to read these items.  Any reading is better than no reading at all!
    • Read at home with your child.  Many students still enjoy the warmth of your presence, and will welcome reading with you.  You can choose to read a page and alternate with your child, or read silently together and discuss the portion that you have read.  You are giving your child the message that reading is important, and that spending time with your child is an important part of your day.  What can be better than that?
    • Be aware that your child can access to the audio of your child’s textbooks!  If the text is above your child’s reading level, he or she won’t want to read it – it will take too long and will be too difficult.  Ask your child’s teacher if your child doesn't know how to access the audio version. Make sure your child is reading along with the audio, but realize that there is nothing wrong with your child listening to the recording at the same time!
    • If your child is diligently doing homework and it is taking them many hours to finish, please contact your child’s team of teachers!  We never want to turn children off from learning, and an unbearable amount of homework will be extremely frustrating for you and your child.  If your child’s reading pace is slow, then it may take your child many more hours to complete the homework.  If that is the case, your child’s homework may have to be modified in order to assure a better situation for him or her. 
    • Let your child know that you have reasonable, but high expectations for his or her success.  I expect that ALL my students will improve their strategies and skills over the year.  Every child can learn!