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Hvernig geta foreldrarnir stutt við heimanám barna sinna? Hér eru nokkrar hugmyndir.
How to best support your child in their studies and with homework? Here you can see some practical ideas.
Málheimur barnsins - Child's Language Environment
Málheimur barnsins - Child's Language Environment
How much time and quality in languages is your child exposed to in order to learn them well?
According to Dr. Elín Þöll Þórðardóttir, professor in Bilingual Speech-Language Pathology, children need 40-60% of their waking hours and quality exposure in Icelandic to be able to reach age-appropriate academic milestones.
There are only 180 school days out of 365 days a year during compulsory schooling. How much Icelandic language environment is your child exposed to on a day-to-day basis, especially outside of school hours?
Mentor / Námfús / Inna
Schools use platforms such as Mentor, Námfús or Inna as a tool to relay information and messeges to and from compulsory schools much like Vala or Karellen for Preschools. Parents and teachers can access the child's school information such as timetable, homework, results from tests and evaluations from each of the subject areas. Parents are encouraged to regularly monitor their child's educational progress via these platforms. Parents can also send messages to the teacher or school in this platforms, such as when their child is sick or if they have to send excuse letters or leave of absence.
Schools in Reykjavík also use Google Classroom where students and parents can find each of the subject area's curriculum, modules, classworks, projects, assignments and deadlines. Each student has a school account ending with @gskolar.is. Parents also bear the responsibility to monitor and make sure the child is up to date with the classworks and reaching deadlines.
Lestur / Reading
Lestur / Reading
The most common homework for students from grades 1-10 is to read for 15-20 minutes every school day (or most of the school days). Iceland also has a rich literary history and culture that it hails itself as one of the most literary countries in the world.
Here is a video about children's reading training at home and at school:
Þátttaka foreldra í íslenskunámi og lestrarþjálfun barna sinna – Tengjumst (hi.is)
This is also available in other languages such as Arabic, Polish and Spanish.
Would you like to see the books your child is reading and learning at school?
Did your child forgot their book at school but has to do their homework?
You can open the website of Menntamálastofnun or the Directorate of Education https://mms.is/namsefni where you can find most of the academic books used in schools. They have e-book versions (rafbók), which you can either open online or print as pdf files. You can also find audio book versions (hljóðbók) to listen to the correct pronunciations while reading the text. This is free for everyone. Here are the directions:
Remember, you can always contact your child's teacher to ask for books or any materials that you may want your child to bring home.
Search the title of the book in Leita að. You can ask your child's teacher about the book titles.
Choose the school level or Skólastig.
Yngsta stig - Grades 1-4
Miðstig - Grades 5-7
Unglingastig - Grades 8-10
Choose the subject or Námsgrein.
Once a book is chosen, click on opna vöru to open the book.
This list is for students who are beginning to read. Here you can see the levels of each of the book usually used by the students from grades 1-4 or yngsta stig.
The Smábókaskápur is a collection of 10 interactive books. Users can choose to read and/or listen to the texts, and also answer the questions in every page.
Here is a list of books in Mathematics in the middle years or grades 5-7. You can search the title of your child's book. They usually use the student's book or nemendabók at school while they may have the workbook o æfingahefti for their homework. You can also check the answer sheet by clicking on the version of the book for solutions or Lausnir.
Krakkavefir is the website with free educational games and apps for children.
Words in Icelandic. Are there words you or your child do not understand?
Here you can find some tools you can use.
Myndaþema is a multilingual picture dictionary that is open to everyone, with images, text, and audio divided into themes. Users can jump between languages easily by clicking on the target languages on the top right corner.
Málið.is is an free database of Icelandic dictionaries, database of modern Icelandic inflection, terminology banks, word net, language usage database, neologisms, coinages and written language archive.
Snara.is is an onlince dictionary for Icelandic, English, Danish, Polish, German, Spanish French, Italian and Greek as well as a Food dictionary. Although this is a paid service and requires a monthly payment, it is free for Reykjavík students using their school e-mail or @gskolar.is
Math Word lists
Math Word lists
Concepts in Mathemetics for 9th graders and is available in 14 different languages from Icelandic.
Concepts in Mathematics for 4th and 7th graders translated from Icelandic into English, Swediesh and Danish.
BÍN o Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls is the Database fo Modern Icelandic Inflections, a collection of inflectional poaradigms which shows individual conjugations and declensions of Icelandic words, including personal names.
More ideas on how to support your children in learning specific subject areas
Here are some ideas you and your children can use.
Icelandic Online Börn is an interactive and playful learning material in Icelandic as a second language for children of preschool age and in the first grades of elementary school. The website has seven courses of various difficulty levels. The target group are children whose mother tongue is a foreign language and Icelandic children who have grown up in a different language environment and are starting to read. The course is within the framework of Iceland’s main curriculum for kindergarten and elementary school, and uses the Icelandic Online platform, which is suitable for both computers and smart devices. The website can be accessed at https://born.icelandiconline.com. It is free of charge and open to everyone.
Skólavefurinn is a comprehensive and interactive website to help train your child's skills in Icelandic, Math, English, Social studies, Danish, etc. There is a monthly fee for this website.
Rasmus.is is a free interactive website for Mathematics in different languages. They have lessons as well as interactive quizzes for compulsory school and upper secondary school students.
Mimisbrunnur.is is a database for educational apps, programs, websites and video games for children in Icelandic and other subjects.
Fleiri hugmyndir til að efla ríkulegt málumhverfi í íslensku bæði í magn og gæði fyrir börn utan skóla
More ideas on how to promote quantity and quality language exposure in Icelandic for children after school
Borgarbókasöfn - City Libraries
There are 8 city libraries and they offer various free services and events. Families can spend quality time in an environment that encourages positive view towards Icelandic culture. Free for children.
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