English

How can you help your child to study for a Language Arts assessment?

I get this question a lot and really, the best way to help your child to be prepared for the test is to encourage them to really focus during our Language Arts block. If they have been in class and done their classwork, they should be ready for the assessment. I try to go over all the concepts they will need to be successful on the test. If they are still not feeling confident, here are few ideas to follow up with at home.

• Find a novel that interests both of you. Have your student read one page aloud and then you read the second page aloud. Break often to discuss what you have read. Talk about the "main idea" of your reading. (I have the kids put the reading down and tell me in one sentence what they just read.) Then ask them to provide details from what you read to support their main idea. (I ask them what details from the reading makes them say that."

• Create a twitter book club! Either using a real, very heavily monitored twitter account, or just an email or google doc, "tweet" the main idea of a chapter in three sentences or less. You both should be tweeting and don't forget to incorporate hashtags!! I've seen parents do this with books they are reading at the same time or when they are both reading different books.

• Listen to a book on tape together before bed. Recap the previous night before starting the new segment. Free audible books for kids can be found here!!