Education is currently evolving. Professionals everywhere are shifting their thinking, classrooms and the way that education has traditionally been done. During the process, we are learning online and waiting to see what school will look like in the future. Nothing is certain, but here are five ways that you can help your scholar avoid the COVID slide.
Know their stats
In the area of reading specifically, it is important to know your child’s reading level.
Reading levels can come in a variety of forms. It can be their DRA level, their lexile level, or their guided reading level.
There are a few ways to get this information:
- Ask your child’s teacher
- Use an online program that tests levels
- Pay a private tutoring service to assess your child
Knowing your child’s reading level will ensure that they are reading engaging texts at their independent reading level. It will also help you to easily select books when making trips to the bookstore or buying texts online.
Find Scholarly Learning Programs
The learning program(s) that you choose should be interactive and engaging. If there is an incentive built in that is a bonus. It will motivate your scholar to fully engage which will ensure that they get the most out of the content.
This can be one all inclusive program like Education galaxy or Moby Max or you can narrow down one to two different programs that each focus on two related subjects. For example one program may focus on Reading, Language Arts and Social Studies, while another only focuses on math and science.
*Tip- don’t go overboard with 5 different sites, programs and passwords. Less is more.
Daily Reading
Research shows that daily reading creates confident and fluent readers. This is especially true if your scholar is reading at their independent reading level and being challenged and questioned about the texts they are engaging in.
It is recommended that children read for at least 30 minutes each day. As your child gets older the time should increase.
Please note that the time can be broken up into different sessions throughout the day if needed.
Spiral
Spiraling is simply having your scholar review or continue to practice skills that they have already mastered. For example, by the fifth grade your child should know how to identify the type of story they are reading ( the genre) or subtract with regrouping.
Well, the old saying rings true. “ If they do not use it, they will lose it.” And we do not want that.
So, to ensure that they do not “ lose it”, I would recommend asking their current teacher to provide you with a packet or workbook recommendation that specifically focuses on skills that were most recently taught so that they are fresh for the upcoming grade.
Now you might be saying, but can’t the computer program cover that? Yes.
But your scholar should not be online for more than one hour per educational session.
Variety is key here. Offer them some online practice, some paper and pencil practice and some good ole reading out of a real book.
Research
Now to put all of this into practice!
Research has proven to have a plethora of educational benefits for elementary aged scholars.
Viewing a variety of sources gives them the opportunity to explore complex topics.
It requires them to solve problems and form opinions.
It ensures that they learn how to cite sources.
The process of writing out their findings gives them a voice.
In addition to all of this, it allows them to put into action all of the reading and writing skills they have been working on.
You can find a variety of research topics online for your scholars grade level. Pick one, go over it with them, give them a few requirements( i.e. must be 2-3 paragraphs and must have 1-2 sources cited) and a time frame.
I know that instantly becoming a homeschooling parent was hard, but I can assure you that if you write out a routine and get your scholar working, it will be less stressful and they will be all the better because of it.