Free Parenting Tips To Prepare For A Spelling Test
October 6, 2008 by Andy Merrett · Leave a Comment
In this article, Deanna Mascle offers up some tips for preparing your child for a spelling test over the course of a week.
Learning to spell words correctly is an important skill that will help students throughout their life. It helps with both reading and writing which are essential skills for success in today’s world. This is why the weekly spelling test is such a staple at schools throughout the United States. Knowing it is important is no consolation to those many students who struggle to learn spelling words each week or worse fail those spelling tests. What can parents do to help their children better prepare for those spelling tests? There are three simple strategies to helping children master their weekly spelling words — read, say, and write.
Most children receive their spelling words on Monday so the work should begin Monday afternoon or evening. Today you will set the foundation for the week’s work. Have the child read the list through and study each word. Then have the child say each word and spell it for you from the written list. Finally, have the child write each word three times. Now put the list away for the day.
When children struggle with spelling it often helps for you to show the child the patterns that can be found in the word list and carefully go over the words that break that pattern. Show the child how to sound out a word and give them clues that will help them remember. Demonstrate how acrobat can be broken into ac-ro-bat, for example.
On Tuesday you will likely want to repeat the same activities unless you feel the child is comfortable with the words and then you can skip ahead to the next day’s activities. The intent of these first two days is simply to familiarize the child with the words without placing any pressure on her.
Wednesday it is time to see how well the child knows the words. Give the child a written spelling test and then check the words. Have the child write each word that is missed three times. Then give the child an oral spelling test on the words that were missed. If the child stumbles on any of the words then spell the word with the child. Now put the list away for the day.
Thursday can be easy or challenging depending on the words that week and the child’s success with them. If the child is still struggling with several words then simply repeat the Wednesday activities. Try to do so as early as possible to give you time to work with the child on a couple words throughout the evening. Remember to emphasize the patterns and clues that you discussed earlier in the week.
Friday is the big day and the moment of truth to see if all your child’s hard work has paid off. Try to allow extra time before school to go over the words again. If the child’s confidence is low then do not test, simply spell the words out loud with the child. If you drive your child to school this is a great activity for the car.
Find more free parenting tips at http://officialfamily.info
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It’s good to talk: 30,000 words a day from 0 to 3 will bring academic success
August 14, 2007 by Andy Merrett · Leave a Comment
Children under the age of 3 need to hear 30,000 words from their parents and caregivers to ensure optimal language development and academic success.
The Power of Talk research study has found that, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic factors, kids who converse regularly with their parents do much better educationally.
Study suggests educational DVDs and TV may not be so good for baby after all
August 8, 2007 by Andy Merrett · 1 Comment
This article was first published at Tech Digest:
A new study from researchers at the University of Washington suggests that using educational TV and DVD, such as the “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby” series, or “Sesame Street”, may not be as beneficial for babies and young children as many hoped.
It’s hardly a crime for parents to let their children watch some TV, and if it’s teaching them something too, so much the better (at least, better than letting them watch Big Brother). Even so, the study suggests that for every hour per day that babies watch these DVDs and videos, they learn six to eight fewer new vocabulary words than babies who hadn’t watched them.
Now, parents being told what’s best for their kids by University boffins often leads to emotions running high. While these studies suggest that children who sit passively in front of TV shows don’t do as well educationally, child-raising is a helluva lot more complicated than that.
