School Secrets
Stay positive about school and learning...
Homework
Help your child schedule homework at the same time each day.
Provide a quiet, regular, well-lit working area.
Help your child organize homework assignments.
Show an interest in what has been assigned for homework.
Help your child practice - be an audience or an assistant.
Remember, it’s not your homework - too much help could get in the way of independent work habits.
If you have any concerns about homework, contact the teacher.
Let your child see you do your own homework - paying bills, making grocery lists.
Read, Read, Read!
- Read to your child. It’s never too early to start!
- Read with your child.
- Have your child read to you.
- Let your child see you read.
- Ask your child about what they have read.
- Talk about what you are reading.
- Give books for presents.
- Have a wide variety of things to read in your house.
- Use your public library.
- Get your child interested in the newspaper
Set the tone!
Be positive about school.
Let children know how important you think education is.
Talk with your child about school and about what they are learning.
Listen to your child- encourage them to pick conversation topics.
Be patient with your children when they make errors.
Encourage your children’s effort.
Make sure your praise is specific.
Get involved in your school council.
Visit the school.
Go to parent-teacher interviews.
In grade 5 and 6 students will start putting their own work in their own bag. Each and every day we will use our agenda to make notes and keep reminders. Students should be using the agenda to help him remember all important info. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their education. Granted, it might not be a smooth process as kids tend to forget or not do something if the teacher doesn`t explicitly tell them. However, it`s the consistent approach taken throughout the year that they will benefit from and in the end demonstrate some growth in responsibility. Students in the junior grades will start taking an active approach to their learning. As parent and teacher we need to ask some questions of what they are doing so students can start verbalizing what they are doing and how they might be feeling about it. Not too many questions, just a enough that will get them talking about themselves. It`s not easy, but the benefits are worth it. In this way students can start taking ownership of their work/abilities and be proud of what they might be able to accomplish.
After learning about 'netiquette' and cyberbullying and the do's and don'ts of the internet, we have started our very own class blog. Each child has access and it is password protected. This blog will serve at least two purposes:
- practice our netiquette and online behaviour
- be used as a forum for 40Minute project updates and conversation so they can assess their progress
Ask your child about the blog or sit down with them and browse the site with them.
Grammar:
Take a moment to ask your child if they can describe to you:
a run-on sentenceconjunctionnounsverbsadjectiveswhat compiles a sentencesentence fragmentssubjectpreduciatehow to use capitals properlyhow to end a sentence properly
Take a moment and check out the book, 'The Dot'.
FYI, it's a book by Peter Reynolds in which the message is about:
- starting something new
- how do we feel when things seem difficult to do?
This book can be used as inspiration to use Primary and Secondary colours to create our own 'Dot' inspired art work (perhaps in preparation for a gallery).
If you have the inclination to practice these skills with your child, great! They would all benefit from practice. The biggest advantage to the practice is the confidence they bring to the classroom. In the Junior grades, especially grade 6, knowing the multiplication facts are very valuable in themself, but also in helping to understand division.
Tips for practice:
-In each child's agenda their is a multiplication table. They could practice by taking a minute each night to do the following:
- create their own table and fill in one row each night
- tape a copy of the table in the washroom and practice saying the questions in their head as they are brushing their teeth
- have a math minute competition at home and try to answer as many questions as they can
- have a mini quiz each night with a prize at the end (if they get everything correct)
- pull out a stop-watch and test the speed at which they can recite some multiplication facts
- quiz a parent
If you have any other ways that work in your house, please share. Remember, though, short amounts of time, you'd be amazed at how long a minute is and how much they can benefit from that practice. If they are left wanting more after that minute, great, and let them know we will be doing more in school the next day. Please, don't over do it.
The key is instilling some confidence in the children's skills and getting them to the point where they can do the multiplication quickly. This will help them go deeper with other math topics and not get bogged down by the multiplication.
Once you feel the multiplication is at a peak, then start with division and do the same thing. These skills are important for the junior grades and especially for those children about to enter grade 7, If they don't have these skills they will get overwhelmed and bogged down. We need to practice now. I've heard from some parents of former students who say the jump from grade 6 to grade 7 math is a large one. One way to bridge the gap is to develop the multiplication and division facts.
One activity we will be doing in class in the next little while is:
If I know:
5 x 6 = 30 then I know 6 x 5 = 30 AND 30 ÷ 5 = 6 AND 30 ÷ 6 = 5
If your child is adverse to any extra practice, you could let them know that Mr. Sternberg suggests the practice. Remember, limit the time and try to keep it positive at home.
You may find that your son/daughter brings a scholastic flyer home every month or so...under no circumstance should you feel any obligation to purchase anything.
Usually on the last day of the week we have a Spelling Story and Quiz class. Get your child to tell you about it, it`s a lot of fun. The quiz will involve words from the agenda (which are words that we use during the week and are a reflection of what we are doing in the classroom) and the math questions come from the agenda and the math work we do during the week.
As for more formal math tests, students are given plenty of opportunities to practice and review for a test as all the work we do in class leads to them having the opportunity to succeed on the test. There will always be a practice test - all kids benefit from regular review. What I suggest to students is that they bring home their math folder and show you what we are doing in class. Instead of just doing blank questions for practice, get your child to explain what they already did. See if you can manage to get your child to share strategies they found most helpful before, during and after doing the work. Praise them for explaining so well. You could even get them to show you some of their `skills`. Ask them what was challenging and what they did to overcome those challenges. As well, ask them what they will take-away from having done the work. Ask them if there is any math related or problem-solving related tools that they will use in the future?
Schohlastic Flyers
What I encourage, is flipping through the flyer and asking your child some questions like:
- Which of these books have you read?
- Which of these books would you like to read?
- Could you read the description that goes along with the book you'd like to read?
- Are there any authors in this month's flyer that you recognize? If so, which one(s)? Which titles did they also write?
- If you had $20 to spend, how would you spend it and why?
- Check out the pricing scheme in the pay grid - Why is the price in the grid different than the price listed by the book? Do you know how to calculate sales tax? Could you estimate the sales tax?
- Is there a book in the flyer that you think (I) should read? Why?
We use the flyer like this in the classroom once a month too. It's useful in getting students to provide short descriptions of what they read or are reading and to generate enthusiasm for reading.
If you have any other conversation starters that work for you and your family, please share.
STP Conferences
I will be scheduling Student-Teacher-Parent Conferences the Thursday and Friday after the Progress Reports go home.
Each Student-Teacher-Parent Conferences will be scheduled for 10/15 minutes. The Student-Teacher-Parent Conferences will be led by your child while I will be there facilitating discussion. Students will diligently be preparing for this Student-Teacher-Parent Conference in the upcoming days. Parents/Caregivers will also be provided with a list of questions to facilitate discussion during the Student-Teacher-Parent Conferences. If you would like to meet or talk further upon conclusion of the Teacher-Student-Teacher-Parent, arrangements can be made. Finally, you will be asked to write a letter to your child. This feedback is for your child (not the teacher), and there will be prompts to guide you.
The desire of the Student-Teacher-Parent Conferences is that each student will have the chance:
To provide a ‘portrait’ and a richer array of the learner – the whole person
To value the student as a successful learner
To recognise learning strengths and address areas of improvement
To celebrate growth over time
To encourage reflection and self-awareness
Please complete and return the attached form as soon as possible, so that I may accommodate your request. I will confirm your scheduled time with a note in your child’s agenda or an email. A schedule will also be posted on the classroom website. I look forward to meeting you with your child in order to discuss progress thus far.