NOTE: To change the image on this slide, select the picture and delete it. Then click the Pictures icon in the placeholder to insert your own image. HOMEWORK STRATEGIES Tips to Support Children at Home

Is Homework Worthwile?  Homework provides additional learning time  Strengthens study and organizational skills  Keeps parents informed of their children’s progress

Accommodations Students with disabilities who require instructional accommodations in the classroom, may also need homework accommodations

Set up a home routine; consider your child’s daily rhythms Set specific time…with your child Early risers might do better in the a.m. Use a timer to set total or partial work times Studies show starting homework within 1 hour of getting home helps kids succeed Time Create a dedicated and consistent homework location stocked with supplies Experiment to see if your child works better with silence or white noise. Choose a spot free from distractions Place Provide a break between time when student comes home before starting homework Refocus during homework tasks by taking short movement breaks Breaks To develop the homework habit keep the schedule as consistent as possible Consistency

DON’T OVER-SCHEDULE Try not to fill up every afternoon with sports, therapy sessions and other activities. Consider moving some activities to the weekend Bring homework along if there is “waiting” time somewhere

BE YOUR CHILD’S COACH  Review assignments for the day with your child before he starts  Separate tasks into sections  Decide upon a time allotment for each section  As your child completes each assignment, review it to be sure all parts are complete  Make sure he checks off the task on his assignment notebook

HELP HER GET STARTED  Read the directions together for each segment  Highlight key words in the directions  Discuss how to tackle the first problem/item  Let her know you are near to answer questions  For easily distracted children, sit in the room doing another task  Some students may need grade level material read to them  Include homework supervision in after school childcare arrangements

HAVE A PLAN FOR LONG TERM ASSIGNMENTS  Go over assignment with your child, write due date on a master calendar  Break the assignment into parts each with its own deadline  Charts and checklists with separate due dates can also be helpful  Let your child decide how he/she wants to track the assignment

BEND THE RULES  Students who read below grade level tire quickly when attempting to read higher level text; take turns reading text and questions or come up with a plan with your child.  Have students dictate longer responses.  Let students type responses or use voice recognition software to state their answers.

REMEMBER THE POWER OF PRAISE  Reinforce task completion with specific verbal praise  For example: I can see it took a lot of time and effort to write that so neatly.  Let him know how impressed you are with how hard he worked  Make homework a period that is associated with praise, physical comfort and some treats

CREATE A HOME FOR COMPLETED HOMEWORK  Your child should know exactly where to put homework to bring it home  After homework is done, she should pack it in whatever special folder is going back to school the next day  You may need to double check that assignments are completed and packed

Apps & Websites to Help with Homework  Does your child struggle with getting their thoughts into writing? You may be interested in trying the following… Dragon Dictation (Nuance App) free and paid versions. I use the free one on Ipads and it works well. All students at RV have GoogleDocs accounts; go to the add-on tab to get speech recognition set up (free). This is also a great way to “share” homework with your child’s teacher. Have you ever struggled with how to help your child with math homework? Check out the following….. This site offers practice for students and also step by step directions for any math concept you can think of! Free This app allows you to scan a math problem and it will tutor you step by step on how to solve! Free

Thank you for taking time to learn how to support your child at home. I hope you found some useful tips! Bev O’Rozco, Learning Behavior Specialist, Reading Specialist, River Valley Elementary School students-learning-disabilities