DEAR TEACHER
– by Peggy Gisler and Marge Eberts
Helping all parents make their
children’s educational experience
as successful as possible
Ways to Jumpstart a
Writing Assignment
Q
uestion: My son in fifth
grade is not doing well on
writing assignments. It’s
like pulling teeth to get him started. I am
willing to work with him. What should I
be doing? — Helpful
Answer: Your son may well be slow
in starting a writing assignment because
he is unsure of how to approach the task.
This is an area in which you can help him.
A common problem is selecting a top-
ic when this is left up to a student. Some-
times just too many topics are appealing.
You can help by having him write his top
choices on cards. Then discuss together
the merits of each topic and eliminate
them one by one. If he can’t make a final
decision, have him shuffle the remaining
cards and then draw one at random.
Getting the first words on paper is
often a roadblock in the writing process.
It can help to have your son write all his
ideas on cards. Then he can lay them
out on the floor and place related ideas
together. You will probably have to help
your son find the most important idea,
which will serve as his topic sentence.
Once this is selected, the other groupings
of topics can be arranged in the order
they will be used. Within each grouping
the ideas can be arranged in their order of
importance. At this point, the paper has
nearly written itself.
A Tried and True Study
Method That Really
Works
Question: My son, who is the fourth
grade this year, is struggling to under-
stand his social studies and science text-
books. The poor kid tries so hard and is
always willing to read his textbooks. In
62 WNY Family March 2020
his reading class, he is actually reading
on grade level according to his teacher
I don’t know why he never seems to
understand what he is reading in social
studies or science. How can I help my
son improve his reading comprehension
in these areas? — Puzzled
Answer: Reading problems can crop
up any time, even for children who are
generally good readers. The most com-
mon times are at the start of fourth grade,
when they start reading content materi-
als, and at the start of middle school or
junior high, when the amount of reading
greatly increases.
In order for children to understand
what they read they must become active
readers. As your son reads, he must al-
ways be thinking.
Here is a good way to help your son
improve his comprehension of both so-
cial studies and science materials. It is
called SQ4R and may even have been
taught to him in school.
A more detailed explanation of
SQ4R can be found on our Dear Teach-
er website under Skill Builders - Study
Skills. Because SQ4R takes time to use
at first, you need to guide him through it
for several weeks in both textbooks.
Here are the basic steps he needs to
learn:
1) Survey: Read headings and sub-
headings. Look at all illustrations. Read
captions under illustrations. Read chapter
summary.
2) Question: Write a question for each
heading and subheading in an assignment.
3) Read: Read only the material un-
der a heading or subheading to find the
answer to each question.
4) Recite: Recite the answer to any
step 3 question.
5) Record: Write down the answers
that were recited in step 4.
6) Review: Review after all ques-
tions are answered. Recite the answers to
each question. Repeat this step the next
day, a few days later, and before a test.
Social Skills Needed
for Kindergarten
Question: My only child did not go
to preschool. How do I know if she has
the social skills needed to start kindergar-
ten? — Worried
Answer: Social skills are an absolute
must for success in school. While kinder-
garten teachers do not expect children
to behave like miniature adults, they do
want them to have most of the following
skills. Your daughter should be able to:
Approach others positively.
Express wishes and preferences
clearly.
• Assert her own rights and needs
appropriately: Give reasons for ac-
tions and positions.
• Express frustration and anger effec-
tively without escalating disagree-
ment or harming others.
• Gain access to ongoing groups at
play and work.
• Make relevant contributions to on-
going activities.
• Take turns fairly easily.
• Show interest in others.
• Negotiate and compromise with
others appropriately.
• Not draw inappropriate attention to
self.
• Interact
nonverbally
(smiles,
waves, nods) with other children.
Parents need to be warm and loving
with their children if they want them to
get along with others. They also need to
have certain rules of social behavior that
they expect the children to follow.
•
•
Do not panic if your daughter does
not have all of these skills. There is still
plenty of time for her to gain most of
them before she goes to kindergarten.
Hopefully she is having some interaction
with groups of children. This can help her
acquire needed skills. To speed things up,
she could participate in programs at li-
braries, churches, and parks departments.
Parents should send questions and com-
ments to [email protected]
or to the Dear Teacher website.