TUTORING * SES Providers * 
Advice for Parents
You have probably noticed that when you try to learn something new you prefer to learn by listening to someone talk to you about the information. Some people prefer to read about a concept to learn it; others need to see a demonstration of the concept.
Students take in and process information in different ways: by seeing and hearing, reflecting and acting, reasoning logically and intuitively, analyzing and visualizing. Just like learning styles vary so do teaching methods. Some teachers lecture, others lead students through self-discovery, some focus on principles and others on the application of the material, some emphasize memory and others understanding.
When a mismatch of styles occurs between learning styles and teaching styles the student may become bored and inattentive, do poorly on tests, and get discouraged.
At Closing the Gaps Learning Center we determine your child’s learning style and capitalize on it. By getting a better understanding of your child’s learning style we are able to individualize instruction and target his/her preferred style. Whether working in a small group or in a one-to-one setting, your child will follow an educational plan that is tailored to meet his/her individual needs.
What is a Learning Disability?
Learning disabilities usually affect select areas of an individual’s development, such as a reading, listening, writing, speaking, reasoning or mathematical abilities, and can impede social skills. Individuals with a learning disability are generally of average or above average intelligence, and while they may have difficulties with certain types of activities they excel at others.
A learning disability interferes with one’s ability to store, process, or produce information, and may create a “gap” between intellectual potential and actual level of performance.
Learning disabilities are of a life-long nature; they do not go away and cannot be cured. Instead individuals can learn to compensate for and overcome areas of weakness when given the appropriate support. It is important to note that learning disabilities are not a direct result of economic disadvantages, environmental factors or cultural differences.
What should you do when you notice that your child is having difficulty in school?
It is best to arrange evaluations through ability and achievement tests. Private evaluators, clinics, hospital and university clinics can provide diagnosis at a nominal cost. However, the public school system can provide evaluations at no cost, and if they are currently enrolled it is usually preferred since some districts do not accept test results from outside sources. Parents should check with their school district before seeking evaluation services from private facilities.
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Homework Tips for Parents
Maintain a daily assignment planner.
Have him use an assignment notebook so he knows what homework is required each day. This tool is very useful in helping your child succeed in middle and high school, and a life skill they will thank you for.
Establish a set time each day for doing homework.
Don't let your child leave homework until just before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially if the project involves getting together with classmates.
Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework.
Avoid having your child do homework with the television on or in places with other distractions, such as people coming and going. Make sure that it is stocked with the necessary supplies, such as pencils, pens, paper, dictionaries, a computer, and other reference materials.
Be positive about homework.
Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your child acquires.
When your child does homework, you do homework.
Show your child that the skills they are learning are related to things you do as an adult. If your child is reading, you read too. If your child is doing math, balance your checkbook.
When your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers.
Giving answers means your child will not learn the material. Too much help teaches your child that when the going gets rough, someone will do the work for him or her.
Watch your child for signs of failure and frustration.
Let your child take a short break if he/she is having trouble keeping her mind on an assignment. If necessary seek out the help of professional teachers to help target areas of need and help them build a strong foundation.
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Report Cards: Advice for Parents
A child's report card can bring feelings of joy, excitement, and pride; it can also cause concern, frustration, and uncertainty. In either case, the reporting period marks a new beginning to set goals and reflect on past work habits, achievements, and hardships. Most important, it is a time for you to communicate with your children and determine a path for future academic enrichment and social-emotional growth.
Focus on the Positive
Regardless of the grades your child brings home, you must first focus on positive aspects of the report. This is not always an easy task. For some, this might mean highlighting a strong effort or citizenship grade, or praising an academic accomplishment or a perfect attendance record. Starting on a positive note shows your child that you truly care about the accomplishments, not only areas that need improvement.
Ask the Right Questions
Be careful not to overreact to low grades, or grades you view to be unsatisfactory. Instead, use this time to look at past performance and plan for the future. Talk to your child, asking questions to understand how a particular grade was earned:
- Was the work too difficult?
- Could the pace of the class be inappropriate (too fast, so that your child feels "lost," or too slow, causing your child to feel "bored")?
- Does your child complete all homework and ask questions when problems arise?
The Next Step
Creating a plan to maximize future academic success is an important part of every child's education. Help your child set realistic and attainable goals for the next reporting period. Outline ways in which these goals can be met, as well as rewards and consequences if they are not. Type the "official plan" and post one copy in a prominent household location, another in your child's binder, and forward another to her teacher. Involving your child gives her ownership and importance in this process, and this makes the report card important not only to you, but also to your child.
As parents and teachers, we want the best for children, but in too many cases this is measured only by the number of A's and B's brought home. Emphasize to your child the importance of doing the very best job that he can. Encourage him to succeed, and measure his progress in realistic terms, letting him know that you care and are available to help. Break tasks into small steps, so that even the youngest child can measure her growth, and the most advanced child can monitor her progress. By reviewing the report card, and developing a plan for the future, you will help your child find the road to success.
© 2000-2003 Family Education Network, Inc.
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Spelling For Success
Every time your child writes, regardless of the purpose, they are practicing using letter-sound correspondence and high frequency words (Gentry, 1987). Writing provides a reason to spell so encourage them regardless of age to spell words the way they hear them. This is known as temporary or invented spelling because as they learn, it will give way to correctness.
Have your child help you make grocery lists, labels, and cards, or compose a letter. The most important help you can provide is showing interest and encouraging your child to participate in writing activities. Your involvement will stimulate him/her to engage in the activity and do better. Following are some suggestions of activities to do at home to help your child become a better speller.
- Pick a letter of the week and post it on the refrigerator. Have your child come up with as many words as possible throughout the week, starting with that letter.
- When asked how to spell a word, help your child by breaking the word down and referring to words they already know that sound like it. (Example: the word ring which he/she does not know looks like sing but with a different beginning). In other words, help them compare and contrast known words to words that are not known.
- Have shared reading experiences that include hearing and reciting nursery rhymes or being read to while drawing attention to letter-sound correspondence.
- Use letter-sound correspondence when spelling words so as to model their use in writing.
- Go to the library with your child and take out one of the many alphabet books. Read it together with your child and practice naming and sounding out each letter.
- Have your child cut out or draw pictures and group them by initial sound.
- Encourage your child to learn to spell the names of all family members and friends.
- Ask your child to help you write thank you notes for gifts or notes to say hello; try not to overcorrect their spelling, as this can be discouraging.
Homework Tips for Students with ADD / ADHD
There are as many different ways to study as there are different people. The trick is to find the study tips that work best for you. Some of these may work for you; some of them won't, but try them all and work out your own study plan.
- Study in the Same Place ~ Find a quiet place, away from distractions, with ample room to work. Once you've found it, study at the same place every time. It could be a desk in your bedroom, the kitchen table, or the local library. Laying down on your bed or sprawled across the living room rug are generally not good study places.
- Study at the Same Time ~ Figure out what time of day you can concentrate best, and what works into your schedule. Use that time every day to study. Try to make sure it is not too late in the evening.
- Use a Homework Box ~ Keep all your homework supplies in one place, ready to be used. Keep them organized, and you won't need to waste your time searching for supplies.
- Cut Out All Distractions ~ You need to be able to concentrate on your homework and nothing else. The TV should be off, other people's conversations should be in another room, music should be turned down, and phone calls should be taken after you've finished studying. Any other thoughts in your mind should also be set aside for a later time.
- Do the Hard Stuff First ~ If you are dreading a particular assignment, or know it requires a lot of extra effort, do it first. Your brain will be fresh. Besides, you won't have to dwell on it while you are working on other homework.
- Schedule Long Term Projects ~ Larger projects need to be broken into smaller components to make them manageable. For example, these components could be such things as gathering notes, writing a rough draft, making corrections or additions, writing a bibliography, and completing the final copy. Set yourself a deadline for completing each component and make sure you stick to it.
- Write Up a Contract ~ Sit down with your parents and write up a homework contract at the beginning of each term. This sets out in writing what is expected of each of you and gives all of you input into your homework plan.
- Schedule Each Homework Session ~ When you sit down to do your homework, make up a quick schedule as to how you are going to use your time. Break it up into blocks of time that you will spend on each task.
DOS & DON’TS OF READING ALOUD
DO:
- Budget in time ~ Set aside at least one regular time each day for reading aloud.
- Practice ~ Reading aloud successfully and with ease comes naturally to very few people. Remember to use plenty of expression and change your tone of voice to fit the dialogue.
- Read slowly enough ~ The most common mistake in reading aloud is reading too fast. Read so children have time to visualize what they’ve just heard and to look at pictures. Slow down even more for the suspenseful parts.
- Keep things interesting ~ Vary the length and subject matter of your readings.
- Be consistent ~ Announce the name, author, and illustrator of the book, every time you read it.
- Follow through with your reading ~ If you start a book, it is your responsibility to continue it - unless it turns out to be a bad book. If chapters are too long to finish in a day, stop at suspenseful parts.
- Remember that mood is an important factor in listening ~ An authoritarian “Now stop that and settle down!” will not produce a receptive audience. If you’re reading a novel, start by asking children what happened when you left off yesterday.
- Keep an open mind ~ Read picture books even to older kids.
- Create a wall chart so children can see how much has been read ~ A graph in the shape of a caterpillar or train works well, with each section or car representing a book. Also post a world map on which you attach small stickers to identify the locations where books are set.
- Lead by example ~ Make sure your children see you reading for pleasure, other than at read aloud time. Share with them your enthusiasm for whatever you’re reading.
- Arrange for read-aloud special treats ~ Encourage older children to read to younger ones, but make this an occasional- not a frequent or regular- substitution for you.
- Make it always accessible ~ Record audiotapes of book readings to have on hand for children to listen to.
- Don’t read stories you don’t enjoy yourself ~ Your dislike will show in the reading, defeating the purpose.
- Don’t continue reading a book if it was obviously a poor choice Admit the mistake and choose another. Make sure, however, that you’ve given the book a fair chance to get rolling; some wonderful books like Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1993) start slowly.
- Don’t choose novels that are heavy with dialogue ~ Indented paragraphs and quotations show the reader that a different person is speaking - but the listener might not follow. Also, there is nothing wrong with shortening or eliminating long descriptive passages.
- Don’t be fooled by awards ~ A Newbery or Caldecott medal doesn’t guarantee that the book will make a good read-aloud.
- Don’t start reading if you’re not going to have enough time to do it justice ~ Stopping after one or two pages frustrates, rather than stimulates, children’s interest in reading.
Want more information? Call us at 305-854-3516