This week we provide additional suggestions to help you remain task oriented with homework in different subjects.
Spelling
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Encourage the use of a computer with a spell and grammar checker as a strategy for self-correction.
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Provide lists of most frequently misspelled words.
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Provide lists of homonyms (e.g., their/there).
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Make use of coloring specific letter combinations that appear difficult for your child to remember.
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Encourage the use of manipulatives when studying for spelling tests, such as letter tiles and magnetic letters.
Storywriting or Report
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Have your child draw small sketches of a sequence of events or ideas for the story that will be written.
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Teach a “webbing technique.” In this technique your child first provides a main sentence describing the theme of the story then three related sentences are provided. Make an oval around the first sentence and draw three extended lines from the oval. Have your child provide three supportive sentences. Draw an oval around each of these. Then for each of these supportive sentences provide a number of additional sentences related to the supportive sentence. Then have your child sequence these sentences and write the initial story draft.
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Break writing assignments down into parts or chapters that you can check.
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If your child experiences significant written language problems, consider acting as a secretary or working with your child’s teacher to allow tape recorded reports to accompany written products.
Homework can also play an important role in helping you understand your child’s learning style. Watch your child as homework is completed. Provide feedback and ask your child’s opinion about what appears to work best. Avoid non-productive comments such as “you will never go to college if you don’t complete your homework” or “you’re just like me I couldn’t understand math either.” Such comments shift the focus from the task to your child’s self-worth. Although misery may love company, it is unlikely that telling your child that you struggled in math will make your child feel better. It would be better for you to say “you seem to be able to answer more chapter questions when you look at all the picture captions, charts, graphs, and subtitles before reading” or “let’s make a list of the steps to follow when doing these math problems.” Such comments provide children with a direction to accomplish tasks by using strengths rather than trying to motivate them with parental fears.
