Helping your child in s4 Session 2015-16 Lanark Grammar School Helping your child in s4 Session 2015-16

The philosophy

Motivating and Supporting You were your child’s first teacher: in this sense you can help more than any teacher. You can use what “makes them tick” to get the best out of them. You can tune into prior learning or relevant points more than a teacher. You can coach your child through difficulties in a way that cannot happen in a class.

The Iceberg Image 168 hours in a week 33 hours in school

Helping your child do their best It’s not about being the teacher. It’s about supporting the teaching that has been done. The home can turn teaching into learning. Talking through your child’s understanding is crucial.

Reflective learning conversations You do not have to know the course content inside out, but having your child’s notes in front of you as they teach you an area of one of their courses will quickly determine: how much they know whether they have a full set of notes whether this is a topic they know and can move on from if it is a topic that needs to be addressed further (by approaching the teacher/ taking more time to learn). TEACHING IS THE BEST FORM OF LEARNING!

A Mentoring Approach

What does this approach look like? Each subject is given one hour per week (at least) for study. This is increased in the lead up to the exams. E.G. Monday – Chemistry – Metals Child spends an hour studying the topic addressed that week using whatever study method they choose. Parent spends 5-10 minutes (or longer if they have time) just checking over what the child has learned.

A final point to remember….