March brought a few Math and ELA workshops for PS 217 parents! Whether you came in for our 3rd and 4th Grade Math workshops on Tuesday, March 8 witnessing the thorough explanations of Ms. Glier, Ms. Pak Santiago and Ms. Coffey or you made it to the ELA and Math Night on March 15, listening to our teachers sharing some useful information about the upcoming State Tests, THANK YOU all for your interest and participation! We strive to support you in any way we can in your effort to help your child with homework, testing and beyond.
Besides becoming familiar with the ELA and Math Common Core Curriculum and with the strategies that children need to master in order to succeed with their assignments and standardized tests, parents can become true learning partners by simply assimilating some of the following tips:
- BE A LEARNER YOURSELF
- Read and discuss magazines, newspaper articles, TV shows, sports and scores, classified sections of the newspapers, and websites that are related to ELA and Math
- Play games that involve math, reading and problem solving at home: Chess, Checkers, Monopoly, Scrabble, Uno, Connect Four, Sorry etc.
- Research topics together online or at the library
- ASK QUESTIONS
- Ask your child questions like: What are you doing in class? What’s for homework? What’s your favorite subject? What are you having trouble with? When is the next test or assignment due?
- Ask the teacher what are their expectations? How can you help your child at home? What should we work on? How are their grades in reading and/or math? Has my child handed in their homework on time? Are their homework assignments complete? Is my child raising their hand and trying to answer questions in class?
- Be curious about their thinking when they do Math or ELA homework. Ask questions like why did you solve it this way? Are there any other ways we can work the problem out? What words don’t you understand, or what do you think this word means?
- Ask your child to point out where they see math and reading at home, where are numbers and words used the most? (kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom)
- PROVIDE AN ATMOSPHERE THAT WELCOMES LEARNING
- Give the child a quiet space that belongs to them to do their homework. If space is limited try to section off a part of the bedroom or a corner of a living room.
- Provide materials that help with homework: paper, pencils, glue, rulers, clocks, counters (cereal, beans, buttons etc.), crayons, puzzles, calculators, maps, dictionaries, practice workbooks. All of these items are important and necessary for the child to feel and be prepared to do assignments, and they can be found at your local dollar store.
- Offer praise and comments for work well done, and let your child know that you are there for them. Be their cheerleader!
- Make and use flashcards that you and the child can hang up around the house. The child can put words with definitions, times tables to practice, reminders and positive sayings or quotes about themselves.
- Write special notes or a letter to the child letting them know how proud you are of them.
HELPFUL WEBSITES:
All Subjects/All Grade Levels
www.Globalclassroom.org
www.Brainpop.com
www.khanacademy.org
www.Kidsites.com
Math-Various Grades
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
https://www.mathabc.com/
English/ELA/ESL
www.Starfall.com
www.Eslflashcards.com
www.elahelp.com
www.readingrockets.org
www.myvocabulary.com