Timeless Way Foundation
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Parents need to help each other. As a parent and former math
teacher there are a few tips I would like to share to help your
children succeed in school.
It is most important parents are involved with their children's
education: examining school work, helping with homework, and
checking on performance. If your child goes to a school where
too many of the parents do not or cannot help their children
with school work, you will probably find your child is at an
under-performing school.
Here are some tips regarding the core skills in elementary
school, which is the foundation for all education.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Math
Elementary school is the leak link in the Plano mathematics
program. You will see your child does not have enough math
homework. You can get supplemental math material to give
your child more homework. I use a series called Spectrum
Math, published by School Specialty Publishing in Ohio. I have
found it at Borders and Barnes & Nobel bookstores. It says it is
aligned to state and national standards, and that is important.
The series is organized by grade. Here are links to the 3rd
Grade, 4th Grade, and 5th Grade books. These grades are
crucial for math facts: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division.
Multiplication and Division
Third grade creates problems for some children. If you go to
the official state curriculum and read what it says about 3rd
grade math you will see this: "... the primary focal points at
Grade 3 are multiplying and dividing whole numbers..."
Parents: check your child's work. If your child is not getting
enough work in multiplication and division, then you must tutor
your child on the math facts. Many children enter 4th grade
unprepared because their teacher did not put enough emphasis
on math facts. The TAKS test checks for concept mastery
rather than skills mastery. This means your child can pass the
TAKS test, pass for the year, and still not be able to multiply
and divide proficiently
You should use flash cards and assign your own homework to
your children.
TAKS
I also use TAKS MASTER, Power Practice for School and
Home, Math. I have also use the one for Reading. Here are
links to the book for 3rd Grade Reading and 3rd Grade Math.
Once you understand the TAKS test, you will see it is very well
organized. The TAKS MASTER book organizes problems into
sections by the objectives. You might find your child is strong
in most sections but weak in one or two, then you can coach
your child on the weaknesses. This helps you find where the
school has been overlooking material.
I recommend working with your child with material to help them
with their first exposure to TAKS tests. The TAKS test is
intentionally tricky, especially with "false attractors", answers
that are almost correct intended to mislead your child. Once
they have passed their first round of TAKS tests, I would not
worry about TAKS testing too much, unless your child's school
has poor passing rates.
Reading
In the early grades you must oversee your child's progress in
reading. There was not enough phonics content in the
curriculum when my daughter was young. We supplemented
her instruction with more material on phonics.
At that time a friend recommended "The Phonics Game" by A
Better Way of Learning. That company has been criticized for
making exaggerated and unsubstantiated claims. They might
not be in business now, but the game was helpful with both of
my children.
To help my son when he was learning to read I used Teach
Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried
Engelmann. The book is adapted from the SRA DISTAR
reading program. The program worked well and I recommend
it. When I was a child my school used the SRA Reading
Laboratory Kit. I remember enjoying working my way through
their color coded reading program.
Penmanship
Plano teaches children how to write words, but the school
district does not teach penmanship. Teachers will tell you that
everyone types now, so penmanship is unimportant.
So if you believe good quality printing or cursive writing is a
sign of a well educated person, you will have to teach
penmanship to your child. There are workbooks on
penmanship at teacher supply stores and at Amazon.com.
Vocabulary
Plano teaches children to guess the meaning of words instead
of looking the words up in a dictionary. They did it when my
daughter was in 2nd grade and they were still recommend it
when she was in 10th grade. It was a bad strategy then and it
still is a bad strategy.
Parents need to emphasize repeatedly the importance of using
the dictionary. You need to buy good age appropriate
dictionaries for your home and make sure your children use
them.
I learned much of my adult vocabulary in elementary school
because we were always learning new words, looking them up
in the dictionary. Our children are being short-changed.
Do not wait until your child is facing the SAT test in high school
to care about vocabulary.
Moral Education
The most important contribution parents make to their
children's education is their moral eduction. We have a
separate web page on this topic.
teacher there are a few tips I would like to share to help your
children succeed in school.
It is most important parents are involved with their children's
education: examining school work, helping with homework, and
checking on performance. If your child goes to a school where
too many of the parents do not or cannot help their children
with school work, you will probably find your child is at an
under-performing school.
Here are some tips regarding the core skills in elementary
school, which is the foundation for all education.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Math
Elementary school is the leak link in the Plano mathematics
program. You will see your child does not have enough math
homework. You can get supplemental math material to give
your child more homework. I use a series called Spectrum
Math, published by School Specialty Publishing in Ohio. I have
found it at Borders and Barnes & Nobel bookstores. It says it is
aligned to state and national standards, and that is important.
The series is organized by grade. Here are links to the 3rd
Grade, 4th Grade, and 5th Grade books. These grades are
crucial for math facts: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division.
Multiplication and Division
Third grade creates problems for some children. If you go to
the official state curriculum and read what it says about 3rd
grade math you will see this: "... the primary focal points at
Grade 3 are multiplying and dividing whole numbers..."
Parents: check your child's work. If your child is not getting
enough work in multiplication and division, then you must tutor
your child on the math facts. Many children enter 4th grade
unprepared because their teacher did not put enough emphasis
on math facts. The TAKS test checks for concept mastery
rather than skills mastery. This means your child can pass the
TAKS test, pass for the year, and still not be able to multiply
and divide proficiently
You should use flash cards and assign your own homework to
your children.
TAKS
I also use TAKS MASTER, Power Practice for School and
Home, Math. I have also use the one for Reading. Here are
links to the book for 3rd Grade Reading and 3rd Grade Math.
Once you understand the TAKS test, you will see it is very well
organized. The TAKS MASTER book organizes problems into
sections by the objectives. You might find your child is strong
in most sections but weak in one or two, then you can coach
your child on the weaknesses. This helps you find where the
school has been overlooking material.
I recommend working with your child with material to help them
with their first exposure to TAKS tests. The TAKS test is
intentionally tricky, especially with "false attractors", answers
that are almost correct intended to mislead your child. Once
they have passed their first round of TAKS tests, I would not
worry about TAKS testing too much, unless your child's school
has poor passing rates.
Reading
In the early grades you must oversee your child's progress in
reading. There was not enough phonics content in the
curriculum when my daughter was young. We supplemented
her instruction with more material on phonics.
At that time a friend recommended "The Phonics Game" by A
Better Way of Learning. That company has been criticized for
making exaggerated and unsubstantiated claims. They might
not be in business now, but the game was helpful with both of
my children.
To help my son when he was learning to read I used Teach
Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried
Engelmann. The book is adapted from the SRA DISTAR
reading program. The program worked well and I recommend
it. When I was a child my school used the SRA Reading
Laboratory Kit. I remember enjoying working my way through
their color coded reading program.
Penmanship
Plano teaches children how to write words, but the school
district does not teach penmanship. Teachers will tell you that
everyone types now, so penmanship is unimportant.
So if you believe good quality printing or cursive writing is a
sign of a well educated person, you will have to teach
penmanship to your child. There are workbooks on
penmanship at teacher supply stores and at Amazon.com.
Vocabulary
Plano teaches children to guess the meaning of words instead
of looking the words up in a dictionary. They did it when my
daughter was in 2nd grade and they were still recommend it
when she was in 10th grade. It was a bad strategy then and it
still is a bad strategy.
Parents need to emphasize repeatedly the importance of using
the dictionary. You need to buy good age appropriate
dictionaries for your home and make sure your children use
them.
I learned much of my adult vocabulary in elementary school
because we were always learning new words, looking them up
in the dictionary. Our children are being short-changed.
Do not wait until your child is facing the SAT test in high school
to care about vocabulary.
Moral Education
The most important contribution parents make to their
children's education is their moral eduction. We have a
separate web page on this topic.
Copyright © 2008 Robert Canright