A Parents Guide to Helping With Homework
Help your children put the time
they spend on homework to the boost possible use by guiding them in the
basic study techniques listed here. Your children will be able to use
these strategies throughout their school careers. Have them:
1. Do the hardest part first.
When they're ready to begin studying, ask your
children to list the subjects they have for homework that day.
Have them include both written homework and study homework. Next, have
them number the items from hardest to easiest. Then encourage your
children to start with the hardest subject or assignment and work their
way through to the easiest. This way they'll be tackling their
most difficult subjects when they have the most energy. And completing
their homework should take less time - giving them more time for other
activities.
This approach does have some exceptions. Very young
children and children having severe school problems should start with
an easy subject or assignment. Their initial success will motivate them
to continue.
2. Take breaks.
Remind your children to take breaks during
their study periods. Children typically can concentrate for only about
a minute for each year of their age. For example, and 8-year-old can
concentrate for about 8 minutes. Stretching or getting a snack after a
period of study can do wonders for reviving attention. But don't let
your children start something too diverting - like watching TV-during
their breaks.
3. Study with others.
Ask an older sibling or friend to review a
younger child's homework with the child. Both children children will
benefit. The older on will get a boost in self-esteem and a review of
basic skills. The younger one will get additional attention and help
from a peer.
4. Establish a review system.
Even if your children don't have written
assignments, they should review the new material they've learned in
each class. To remember information and completely master new material,
your children should review their notes three times - the day the
material was presented, 2 days later, and the day before a test.
For the first review, have your children make up
index cards. Have them write each important item - name, date, word -
on one side of an index card. On the other side, have them write what
the item is about- what the person did, what happened on that date, the
definition of the word, and so on. (You may need to help younger
children with this.) Have your children repeat this process each
evening for each class.
The the second review 2 days later, have your
children glance over their index cards before starting any new
homework. This will refresh their memories and will make pretest
studying mush easier.
For the third review, have your children separate
the cards with material they know from the cards with material they
don't know. Then have them study only the cards they don't know. Many
children spend far too much study time on material they already know.
Your children can also use a tape recorder to review
without adding any time to their study schedule. All they have to do is
turn on the tape recorder and read their notes and index cards aloud as
they study. They can play back the tape when they're organizing
materials for the next day, preparing for bed, or getting dressed the
next morning. The day of a test, the taped review can be invaluable in
refreshing their memories.
By: Richard Gallagher - author of the book How to Study