Parents I know many of you lead busy lives and school is not what it was. However as parents you are expected to play much more of a central role in the academic lives of your children.
Help your child improve their reading
In order to be successful with your English there are a number of things you could do to improve your reading.
- Parents: you have to help here. Leading by example is the best way for any parent to encourage their child’s reading. If a child sees his parents reading they will want to know what you’re reading and why. They will want to emulate you.
- Talk about what you are reading. If it’s from a magazine or newspaper, explore any issues you feel that your child may be interested in. You may be surprised – children have their own opinions and can be quite forthright about them.
- Show your child any interesting comments from the article read the words and quote from the article. Let your child see you have engaged in the text.
- Take your child to the public library, look around. Members of the library team are a mine of information and they are the most helpful of people. Many libraries, especially approaching the holidays, start publicising and organising some wonderful activities for children. The staff are always eager and willing to get children involved in reading. Libraries have talking books as well as DVDs. and music.
- Encourage your child to join the Library and, if you have not, join it yourself!!
- Discuss any books your child is reading at school and give some form of constructive comment which will enable your child to share his/her reading experience with you.
- Let’s not start with “Well, back in my days we…” Leave that to the grandparents. It will be more worthwhile as a history lesson!!
- Read to your child at night… or if they feel they are too old for that then try and spend time listening to your child read. Allow them to comment on their Shakespeare text remember it is their experience you want to enhance not your own!!
- Give lots of praise!!
Help your child improve their vocabulary
Make vocabulary building fun!
- Games of scrabble always a useful tool especially at family get together
- Games using car registrations to help build a word
- In pairs with grown ups helping children how many words you can build using the starter “Constantinople”
- Using different words for the word “said” e.g. replied, responded etc.
- Games using proverbs: What does “too many cooks spoil the broth” mean?
For Examination Preparation for GCSE English
Those of you who have children in year 10 will have noticed that GCSE examinations are starting much earlier than they use to.
Yes, we have the coursework however some children are taking their actual exams earlier. What can you do to help?
I am well aware that parents lead incredibly busy lives, few of us are privileged with an income which allows one parent to stay at home but that does not mean that children are closed off to their parents upon their return.
Discussion around the table at mealtimes can be so important. We all know that children when they reach a certain age think more and emulate their peers rather than their parents. However parents still have a voice and should make their views known and leave it to the child to make an informed choice. So parents controversial topics can be aired and even if your teenage daughter or son does not agree, at least they can see another viewpoint. All this is so important when looking at GCSE English in which discursive skills will be explored in essays.
Areas Covered
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