Spelling- For some children spelling comes more easily than others. When studying at home choose about 5 words a night to focus on. For a few students writing the words repeatedly works but unfortunately for our poor spellers this rarely does. Some techniques work better than others for different students. Try a few of these and see which works best for your child.
- Write the words in shaving cream. When doing this make sure your child is saying the letters and words out loud.
- Put the spelling of the word to a rhythm or beat.
- Use hand movements or gestures and link them with the words. Make sure your child is using the same movements every time he/she spells that word.
- Find a way to spell the word where your child can see it, hear it, and feel it.
- Have your child write the words with his/her fingers on a rough surface. They should do this with their eyes open then with their eyes closed. As they are writing the words with their eyes closed they should picture the word in their heads.
- Go outside. Let them practice the words with sidewalk chalk. Even have them spell the words while jumping rope. Link some type of active "play" activity with the spelling of the words.
- Break the words down into its syllables or into smaller parts. Learning the word in small parts may be easier than learning it as a whole. example- jug/gle.
- Try writing the word parts in different colors. example- centuries
Science- Talk to your child about the concepts. Don't worry about memorizing the definitions. If you can, find examples around your house that illustrate the concepts. For example, if he/she is studying a liquid then get a cup of water. Talk about its shape and size. Pour the water into another container. Talk about how the shape changed but the size is the same. As much as you can make science real but use the science vocabulary words. Some children have to see it, hear it, feel it, and sometimes taste it.
Social Studies- We will be learning many new things about our state this year. Involve your child in reading a road map of Louisiana or even another state if you are traveling. Have your child plot any hurricanes that may develop. When using a hurricane tracking chart use words such as coordinates, longitude, latitude, map grid, etc. If you travel to a new area in Louisiana discuss the land features (marsh, hills, forest, lake, river, etc), the population of the area, and the location on the map. Social Studies can be integrated into everyday life. Just talk to your child about our state.
Math- Every Wednesday students will have a word problem test and every Friday they will have a two step problem test. The day before the test we will be completing a practice that is set up like the test. Be sure to review those pages with your child. Sometimes children have trouble with the test because of the format. They do not work out the problem when it is multiple choice. Stress the importance of showing their work. Also students have a tendency to pick the numbers in the word problem and add them together without knowing what the numbers represent. Stress the importance of putting a label with the number to help them with which numbers are needed. Example- Bob was only 7 years old when he collected 45 toy cars. His 12 year old brother had 87 toy cars. How many cars did they have all together? The labeled numbers would be 7 years old, 45 toy cars, 12 years old, and 87 toy cars. Students want to make sure they add the car numbers and not the age numbers. They should actually write the words toy cars and years old to help them see it better.
Reading- Some students struggle with reading. When doing the reading homework at night, read with your child. Alternate reading. For example, you read a sentence, your child reads a sentence. This will keep your struggling reader from becoming too frustrated. When you are finished reading, talk about what you have read. Ask questions like- Why do you think the author wrote this book? Is it to teach you something, entertain you, or to persuade you to do something? What type of person is the main character? Is the character helpful, trustworthy, a hard-worker, etc? Ask questions that make them think about what they have read. The best questions are the ones when your child will have to tell you why.
Nighttime Routines- I recently attended a training on how to help students with ADHD, Tourettes, OCD, and Aspergers. The presenter Dr. Emily Stevens discussed that these students often have trouble falling to sleep. She suggested that TV, video games, and the computer should be turned off about 30 minutes before bedtime. This would be a good time to sit with your child and read. She also suggested using "white noise" in their rooms. This would be noise such as the noise produces by a fan. Finally she said that the smell of lavendar helps to relax children. Her suggestion was to use lavender essential oils and place it near their beds. She said to never put it directly on your child just somewhere near to where they are sleeping.