At Home Learning

Students are encouraged to have a device at home to work on online learning programs. Additionally, there will be a reading log and a math page each week.

Choose a quiet study area with a hard surface to write on. Equip your child’s work space with a At Home Learning Kit:

Device with wifi capabilities so your child can access digital learning sites.

Pencils

Paper

Crayons

Scissors

Books

Make learning at home a part of the daily schedule.

Parents need to assist first graders with their home learning (that doesn’t mean they do the work for them).

Reading at Home: Support and Compliment

Reading is the best homework! Sit with your child daily as they read to you and you read to them. Encourage and support all effort.

Word Solving

When an error is made or a student is stuck on a word, WAIT to give your child a chance to work on it independently. After multiple tries, or when you are certain they will keep going, stop them and say something like: "let's try that again." or "does that make sense with what you already read?"

Examples of Support:

  • "Great job sticking with it and not giving up!"
  • "You looked at the picture and what you already know to help you figure out that word!"
  • "Great job using a different strategy to help you!"

Comprehension

Ask questions that invite recall AND thinking, such as, “Why do you think __ happened?” or “What do you think __ means?” Urge re-reading to build comprehension as needed.

Example of Support:

  • "Great job stopping and thinking about what you just read!"
  • "I can tell you are stopping when something does not make sense, and you are rereading to make sense!"

Fluency

Model expressive reading & have your child echo read. Encourage just-right pacing (not too fast, not too slow). Demonstrate how to attend to the punctuation (pausing at the end of sentences, adding expression based on the punctuation mark).

Examples of Support:

  • "You are reading just like the character would say it!"
  • "You are reading just right! Not too fast and not too slow."
  • "Great job looking at the punctuation and reading it like a (question, exclamation, statement)."

**More details available at Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences or upon request.

Growth Mindset

The first thing our kids need to know is that our intelligence isn’t fixed – that it can change. It can get stronger or weaker depending on how much effort we are willing to apply.

Growth Mindset vs. a Fixed Mindset

A person with a fixed mindset may:

  • Give up when things get difficult
  • Ignore feedback
  • Avoid challenges
  • Try hard to appear as smart or as capable as others

A person with a growth mindset may:

  • Embrace challenges and mistakes
  • Give their personal best
  • Learn from feedback
  • Believe they can learn or be good at anything if they word hard

Ways to Support Your Child

Encourage failure and praise the process: Let your child know that failure can and does happen often and that it is ok! Remind them that with each failure your brain is growing. Don’t step in to prevent your child’s failure – this is how he/she learns to persevere in the face of challenges.

Your brain is continually growing: Remind your child that anything is possible. If you are willing to put in the effort, you can learn and grow. Remind them that when things are difficult, the brain grows if they persist through the challenge.

**More details available at Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences or upon request.