How to Help Your Child Succeed in School

  HELP WITH READING

In the junior class children are expected to read at a reasonable pace for at least 10 minutes every evening. The children have been supplied with a bookmark to record their reading.  As they learn to become independent readers they are asked to have a parent sign their bookmark record at least every third day.  

Ask your child about the detail of the story and pick out any key vocabulary to check they are reading with understanding.

In order to help you we have supplied each child with a card to indicate what area he or she needs to focus on and how you may help them with this focus.

When a book is finished children need to write up his or her response to the book in the form of the book review. Encourage responses that relate to their focus.

 HELP WITH SPELLING

Children write fluently if they are confident spellers. The children are supplied with a spelling list each week appropriate for their spelling age. A weekly check is made to make sure your child is learning words they cannot spell yet. We want the children to learn a minimum of 10 spellings per week. Therefore the children may need to supplement their list with personal spellings to make 10 useful spellings. The children will find their personal spellings corrected in their exercise books across the curriculum, from previous weeks’ spelling tests or new vocabulary picked up from their reading.

Learning spelling patterns can be hard for some children. Encourage your child to focus on the spelling pattern identified on their sheet. to 'look, cover, write and check'. Give lots of praise for success.

It is important that the children know what the words mean and can use their new spellings when writing in context. Therefore the children are also asked to write a short story aiming to use as many of their target spelling words as possible. Good punctuation is vital.

Help with Number skills

Number skills are fundamental to all areas of maths and are greatly improved with repetition and practice. The children should aim to do 10 minutes number skills work most evenings. The children will need a pack of cards with picture cards removed and a partner to play with.

How to play

Shuffle the cards and split into two even piles. Agree the operation (e.g. add, take-away or multiply) Turn the top card over from the top of each pile. The person who calls out the answer first wins the cards. The winner has the most cards at the end of the game.

Suggestions to make the game harder

 Have 3 piles; add the first two numbers and subtract last number;  Have three piles; let the first two to make a 2-digit number.

Suggestions to make the game easier

Concentrate on one multiplication table at a time. Use the cards to practice rapid recall as you turn them over: 1x2 = 2, next card 6x2= 12, next card 3x2=6 and so on.

Mix numbers 1-5 in one pile and 6-10 in the second pile; Limit the game by using only red cards.

 Praise and reward effort.

HELP WITH EARLY MATHS

Children enjoy maths when it is made meaningful to them. When developing early number skills, children need scaffolding in as many ways as possible. It is important for children to use what they need in order to solve mathematical problems and in the infant classroom the children like to use lots of things to help them visualise numbers and calculations. It is important that they use what they can at home too when practicing maths and doing homework tasks.

HELP BY SENDING THINGS IN

Role play is a very important aspect in the early stages of life. Children really enjoy pretending to be the people they see when they are out and about. We like to change the role play area in the infant classroom each half term and at the moment the role play area is an airport. Children can make links with home and school by bring some of their own things in to share in the role play area. Resources from home really help us to make the area the wonderful space that it is. At the moment we would like clothing for the children to pretend that they are packing their suitcase, holiday brochures, old flight tickets and any other suitable things you have that you wouldn’t mind sharing with us. Watch this space to find out what our role play area is each half term.