Almost every standardized test your child will take measures Reading and Math. In this part of the series we will focus on Reading Comprehension.
Much of the test is a text (or two) followed by questions. Your child will be more efficient if s/he reads the questions first and then searches the passage to find the answer.
How to Practice
Give your child a page from a practice test. Fold the page between the text and the questions. Put the question side up first. After s/he reads the questions, unfold the page and let her/him read the passage to find out the answers.
Here’s the link where you can get some practice questions:
www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/css05rtq.asp
Most of the Reading Comprehension questions are divided into one of three categories:
1. Point to it
The answer is right there in the passage and the child can point right to it.
“What is Carlos’ favorite food?”
2. Search it out
The answer exists in the text, but the child needs to gather information from various parts to create the answer. “What is the same each morning?”
3. Reflection
This type of question requires the child to use her/his own background knowledge plus what s/he knows from the passage to answer. “How do you think Carlos feels at the end?”
How to Practice
By being able to identify the type of question, your child can more efficiently understand where to look for the answer. As your child is reading the practice questions, ask her/him to identify the type of question with a hand signal: point to the paper if it is a “point to it” question. Hold your imaginary binoculars up to your eyes if it is a “search it out” question and put your finger to your brain if it is a “reflection” question.
Knowing story structure is another way that leads students to the correct answer more quickly. Most stories will have a clear beginning, middle and end.
Answers about the setting can usually be found in the beginning of the text.
Answers about the problem will normally come in the middle.
Answers about the solution will most often be at the end.
How to Practice
As your child reads the questions, ask him or her where s/he thinks the answer will be: beginning, middle, or end. Then let your child check to see if s/he was right.
If you make these techniques feel like a game then you and your child will have a fun together while gaining some great tricks for the big test.
The math portion of any standardized test brings out fear in a large number of the population. The story problem with two trains going in different directions still makes many adults’ hearts race.
Unknowingly, parents often transmit their own fears and feelings of inadequacy about math to their children. Try to look at math as a game and convey that to your child. Don’t worry if your child has more practice with math than you. Just by helping your child feel confident about her/his ability to tackle the problems, you give her/him the momentum needed to jump on the highway to success.
I just looked over the fourth grade practice questions for California’s STAR exam and with simple logic and mental math, a child would perform well. Below is an easy activity to practice mental math skills with your child. Start at a very simple level to keep your child feeling positive about the activity and math then work your way up.
Number Craze
Start by writing down a few easily added numbers on a paper like: 2+3+1+2
Ask your child to mentally add them together without using any pencil or paper. Invite her/him to tell you the answer when ready. Whether the answer is right or not, ask her/him to describe to you how s/he got the answer. If you got the answer by working things in a different order, share that. In the end, check the answer with a calculator.
As your child gets faster and more accurate, make the problems harder by adding more numbers and including different numbers. One mental math trick is finding 10´s. So, include numbers that add up to 10 in your games. A more difficult problem that keeps in mind the 10 trick might look like this:
22+37+68+13
Although there are MANY different strategies to tackle this, here is how my brain solves it:
2+8=10
7+3=10
10+10=20
20+60(from 68) =80
80+20=100
100+30=130
130+10=140
Please don’t start with a problem like that, but it is fun to work up to it. You can have fun doing a couple of these a day. Especially in the beginning, try not to make it too much about a race. The most important parts are getting the answer right and building confidence. As your child practices more, s/he will gain some speed as well.
Also, you can easily change this to multiplication (2×3x1×4) or subtraction. With subtraction, write the larger number at the top with a subtraction sign and a few numbers underneath.
25-
8 2 1
Answer would be 14
You can practice mental math anywhere. You don´t need a paper and pencil. You can ask your daughter/son to help add prices together at the grocery store. You can throw out a few numbers to add or subtract in the car on the way to school. Keep it light and fun and your child will be more efficient on the standardized exams and in many moments in her/his life. Mental math is well worth practicing any time!
Anxiety surrounding testing is very real. How many times have we heard of people having nightmares about not being able to find the exam room or showing up for the exam late? Many kids become overwhelmed during exam time. As parents, it is good for us to watch our words and actions to make sure that we do not add to our child’s stress.
Also, by helping your child anticipate the test situation you are dealing with the fears of the unknown. If the teacher has not sent a note home, write her/him asking any questions your child might have.
Feeling prepared also eliminates a lot of stress. Using practice exams, learning test taking skills and practicing the strategies mentioned in this series can help your child feel ready for the exam.
Remind your child that the test has nothing to do with your love for them. Sometimes kids start to worry about disappointing their parents or think that somehow a negative performance on the exam will change the way you think about them. Be sure to assure them that you love them no matter what!
If your child seems particularly stressed out, you can teach them some anxiety management techniques to use during the exam. Read through the ones below to see what seems most appropriate for your child’s age and personality and practice it with your child.
1. Mental Stop Sign-Envision a stop sign when your brain begins the litany of “I don’t know any of this! This is too hard! or I can’t.!” By just stopping the message, you can re-focus on the task at hand.
2. Mantra-Repeat a positive phrase or word many times in a row to help boost your confidence and remove negative thoughts. Use something like: “I can do this.” or “Just do my best.”
3. Use your Breath-When we get nervous, we often take short, shallow breaths. Take a few seconds to try to sit up straight and really breathe deeply. It will slow your heart rate and give you a better chance at turning your attention to the exam.
4. Object with Positive Association-Wear an object (like a necklace) that someone dear gave to you. When the anxiety approaches, touch the object and think about that person. It can have a calming effect. Many people also try to wear clothes that make them feel good about themselves as a way to improve confidence.
5. Humor-Before the exam think about a funny comic strip, movie quote, or joke. When you start feeling nervous during the exam, recall that humorous thought. The chuckle is a good distraction.
6. Change your Focus-If you sense your brain delving into the depths of negativity, start counting the nails in the ceiling or the number of bricks that make up the wall. By changing your focus, you can kick out the negative messages and then go back to the test with a clearer mind.
Test anxiety is something to be taken seriously, but by being able to anticipate the testing situation, feeling loved and prepared and having some relaxation tips ready, your child will better be able to manage the situation before it escalates.
California releases sample test questions that have been retired from previous tests for children to use for practicing for the exam. Here is the link where you can download some sample questions for practicing with your child:
www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/css05rtq.asp
For many of us it has been a long time since our last standardized exam. Therefore we decided to list some of the most common and helpful test taking skills so that you can practice them with your child.
BEFORE THE TEST
Simulate the testing situation.
For first time test takers, the unknown creates nervousness. By eliminating that mystery, your child can be calmer. Also, practicing with practice tests based on the standardized test to be taken will get kids in the rhythm of how long s/he has to be seated, what types of questions are asked, and how to best tackle the various situations. Practicing with a time limit is also important to learn how to budget one’s time during an exam.
If your child has a learning disability or ADD/ADHD and has and IEP, find out what the modifications will look like for exam week and who will be administering the exam.
Here’s the link where you can get some practice questions:
www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/css05rtq.asp
STRATEGIES TO PRACTICE
Read the question and try to answer it without looking at the options.
Then try to match your answer with one of the choices provided. If there is no match, then read all of the given answers to see if the correct one jumps out at you. If not, try “skip the hard ones” or “how to attack the hard ones”.
Practice All of the Above and None of the Above Questions
These types of questions can be particularly difficult for younger kids or kids who struggle. It is a good idea to create some of these questions or use practice questions from the exam, so your child knows how to tackle them.
Skip the Hard Ones.
Sometimes kids get stuck on one hard question and lose their confidence, waste time and ultimately don’t finish the exam. By answering all the easy questions first, the child succeeds in showing off the information s/he knows well and has time to go back and tackle the hard ones later.
How to Attack the Hard Ones
After reading the question and all the answer options, eliminate the absurd. Don’t just discard them in your head because it is easy to waste time continuing to read them. Cross them out.
Your first choice is often the correct choice, unless you didn’t read all the answers or misread the question/answers.
Sometimes you have no idea what the answer is. If there is no penalty for guessing, make sure to make your best guess.
What to Do When You Are Finished
Many kids are so relieved to have finished the exam that they race up to the desk and turn it in. With the few remaining minutes, kids should make sure every question has a bubble filled in.
It is not necessary to practice these skills daily for hours on end. Paying too much attention to exam week can add nervousness where little was present before. Find out from the teacher what is being done in class to prepare the students and then create a plan for your child from there.
This is an article about Adam – my first home-training student – and the amazing progress he’s made.
You can read it here.
It is standardized test time again! As a result, it is time to help get our kids prepared mentally, physically and academically. Even for parents who aren’t concerned with the test results, it is healthy to prep children for this experience that can be overwhelming. This series will help you do that. It will cover: six basic ways for parents to help, how to calm nerves, general test taking skills and some subject-based advice for the academic sections.
Even if you choose to do nothing else, you can help your child have the best opportunity to perform well by just implementing these 6 simple ideas:
1. Proper Rest
Getting enough sleep the night before is helpful, but try adjusting your child’s schedule starting a few days before exam week starts. By putting her/him to bed 15-30 minutes earlier than usual, your child will be truly well rested and you can gain those minutes in the morning to make sure suggestions #2 and #3 happen.
2. Healthy Food
During exam week, it is beneficial to pump up all the meals on the family menu with highly nutritious foods. Eating a healthy breakfast helps give your child the energy and stamina s/he will need to endure the long exam times. A healthy breakfast includes complex carbohydrates, protein, fat and fruit. Some options include:
1. Juice, whole wheat toast with peanut butter, and scrambled egg
2. Breakfast burrito (tortilla, cheese, beans, eggs, veggies, avocado) and juice
3. Peanut butter and banana sandwich and milk
4. Oatmeal or high fiber cereal, fruit, and protein
It also great to pack a healthy snack to keep your child’s energy flowing. Try to stay away from simple carbohydrates like chips and cookies that will just give your child a quick energy spike followed by a huge dip. An apple with cheese or peanut butter, cheese and crackers, or a homemade trail mix with nuts and raisins are some yummy and healthy choices.
3. On time Arrivals and Attendance
Exam time is hard enough without being distracted by the panic involved with missing 15 minutes of test time. Some children will freeze up under this extra pressure. It is best to get kids to school a little earlier than usual to eliminate this stress. Also, avoid scheduling any appointments that would take the student away during test time.
4. Materials Ready
Find out what materials your child needs for the exam and make sure that they have them. Sharpened #2 pencils, an eraser, and calculators are commonly needed supplies.
5. Physical Activity
Standardized testing involves a lot of sitting still, concentration and stress. Scheduling some physical activity for your child gets the blood pumping and reduces tension. Go for a walk or bike ride together, visit a park, or play ball in the front yard.
6. Pep talk
Sometimes standardized tests and the hype surrounding them make kids feel a large amount of pressure to perform well. Even if your child seems to be handling the situation with relative ease, it is a kind gesture to give her/him a little pep talk the morning of the exam. You will calm them and boost their confidence by saying something like: “I will be thinking about you during your exam today. Just do your best and know that I love you no matter what!”
Put these simple suggestions into place and you will help your child have the best chance at showing off all s/he knows. Good Luck!
People who belong to a gym (and actually use their membership) aren’t only getting more physically fit than us sedentary beings, but their BRAINS are actually reaping benefits from the cardio.
It has long been known that three 30 minute exercise sessions per week are good for your heart, but many recent studies have focused on how that same exercise routine positively affects the brain.
Many of us have experienced mood improvement through exercise. As we get our bodies moving, certain hormones are released like serotonin that adjusts one’s mood.
One study even showed that this (mood lift) lasted for 12 hours! Exercise also seems to not only lessen our current stress level, but also improve how we handle stress.
Exercise also “improves attention, memory, accuracy, and how quickly you process information, all of which helps you make smarter decisions,” says Charles H. Hillman, Ph.D., an associate professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A study in Neurobiology of Learning and Memory demonstrated that people who performed intense exercise learned vocabulary words 20% faster than those who did a low intensive workout.
As parents this information is important on many levels:
- In the age where G.P.A, grades and test scores seem of utmost importance, schools that include Physical Education in our child’s schedule are not taking away from the student’s academic experience, but rather enhancing it.
- In an interview on NPR’s “Your Health”, Dr. Antronette Yancy, Director for the Center to Eliminate Health Disparities in Kids, said that kids “are less likely to be disruptive in terms of their classroom behavior when they’re active. Kids feel better about themselves, have higher self-esteem, less depression, less anxiety – all of those things can impair academic performance and attentiveness.”
- “When Mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy” is true in our house. As parents, we often focus on our children’s needs before our own without realizing that by taking care of ourselves, we are improving the home environment. Find time to exercise too! You will be more productive at work and more patient and wise at home which is good for you and your child.
So, let’s go get our kids (and ourselves) healthier both physically and mentally!
The benefits of participating in sports can span from increased self-esteem to physical fitness to learning life skills like cooperation, perseverance and dealing with disappointment. Taking the following steps will help you and your child get the most out of the experience:
1. Find out the Local Options
Talk to other parents, the park district, and look on the internet for age appropriate options in your area.
2. Talk to Your Child about their Interests
It probably surprises many of you that the most important question is not listed first. This experience is all about your child having a good time and gaining some experience. However, the reality is that as parents we need to make sure that we don’t offer the world without being able to follow through. When asked the open-ended question: “What sport would you like to play?” my friend’s son replied “fencing.” That surprising answer sent her wildly researching the possibility (which didn’t exist within 3 hours of her home).
3. What is the Financial Commitment?
Almost all sports involve a fee. Be sure to probe to find out what is included in the fee and if there are any hidden costs (uniform, equipment, snack fees…etc).
4. Prepare for the time commitment?
It is important to know what you are getting into. How many practices per week? What time are the practices? When are the games? This sometimes requires adjusting your work schedule, planning ahead with your spouse, and coordinating rides with a neighbor if possible. Also keep in mind that your child will want to practice with you and s/he will also probably need to debrief about some of the new experiences.
5. Investigate the Level of Competition
We want these first experiences to be positive ones. Talk to other parents involved to find out about the level of competition. Yelling coaches and pressure to win are not characteristics of a positive first experience for most kids.
6. Be prepared for a Buffet Experience
It is unlikely that your child will find the perfect fit with the first sport s/he tries. It is very normal. In fact, it is beneficial for kids to try different activities to develop different skills and work with different people.
7. Mention it to your Doctor
It is always a good idea to check with your doctor before starting any sport.
8. Discuss Responsibilities with your Child
To prepare your child for the new responsibilities s/he is taking on, it would be appropriate to talk about the expectations: attend all of the practices and games, treat all involved with respect even when something doesn’t seem fair, talk to you about any concerns that come up…etc.
9. Monitor your Behavior
Often we do really well with number eight and then find ourselves caught up in the moment criticizing our child for errors, focusing too much on victory, and disagreeing with the coach. Unfortunately, our kids often pick up our actions instead of listening to our words.
Although there is a lot to think about and plan for, participating in sports can be a wonderful experience and definitely worth some effort. Let the games begin!
Sherrie Hardy has over 35 years of experience as a classroom teacher, school director, and perceptual-motor specialist. She holds a teaching credential, a reading and adult education credential, a Masters in Marital and Family Therapy, and a Masters in Interactive Metronome Certification (MIMC). She is the mother of two daughters who struggled early on in school and later became successful women.
6 Ideas about How Parents Can Share Information with Teachers
by Amy Cherwin
As a teacher I was trained how to teach certain subjects, manage my classroom, adjust my teaching for various levels of difficulty, and assess knowledge…etc. Even though my education was thorough, it is impossible to learn about all the aspects necessary to be a great teacher for each individual. On more than one occasion, I frustratingly depleted my bag of tricks without helping a child achieve the goal.
As I watched Successful Student Now, I found myself remembering certain students and wishing I had this information back then. I would have adjusted my techniques, made suggestions to parents, and helped that child feel more successful. I would have loved to sit down with a parent who had information that would help me better understand the root of the difficulty and plan together how to move forward.
Here are some ideas to think about as you plan for your parent teacher conference.
1. Prioritize the Information
By prioritizing the information, it allows the teacher to readily access the most important data that will positively affect your child’s school day. Think about the answers to these questions: What is the root of your child’s difficulty? What are concrete actions you have taken at home that have been beneficial?
2. . See the teacher as a teammate.
You are both trying to help your child. Both of you have information that the other needs to fulfill the goal. Work together. Feel confident enough to share your ideas.
3. Have reasonable expectations.
The teacher is there to help your child AND the other twenty seven children in the class. Try to think of ideas the teacher can do to help your child that are not hugely time consuming on a daily basis. Offer to help create systems that facilitate the teacher helping your child (like a homework calendar or a homework notebook format).
4. Be succinct
Parent Teacher Conferences are short. By staying focused and keeping to the point, you will leave time for the teacher to ask questions and make a plan with you.
5. Offer to send more information
Since time is so short, leave the teacher with some written materials or website addresses that might shed more light on the situation.
6. Time to Digest
People need time to digest new information and try out suggestions. Give the teacher a few weeks to implement some of the new strategies and read the websites. Then send her/him an e-mail to check in.
By keeping these ideas in mind as you head into the parent-teacher conference, you will be prepared, share the most important information and leave the teacher with a better understanding of your child’s reality and how to best help him/her.
Parent teacher conferences are an opportune time to get to know more about how your child spends the seven hours a day away from you. It is a great opportunity to see your child in a different light and share more about your child’s personality with the teacher.
It is a chance to get to know that infrequently seen teammate who is working hard to help your child’s learning process at school while you are parenting at home.
Here are six ideas to help you make the most of the short time you will have with the teacher:
Ahead of time
1. Talk to your child about school. What does she like best? What does she feel like she does really well? What doesn’t she like about school? What is difficult for her and why? What would she change?
2. Write down any questions you have for the teacher in order of importance and bring the list with you to the conference. Some might be specifically related to your child and others may deal with the class in general: What will be covered in Math this year? How are grades determined? What is the homework policy? The reality is that time is limited and in the moment we often forget to ask the most important question.
During the Conference
3. See the teacher as a teammate. This year you and this teacher are working together to help your child. Listen to your teammate. Ask your teammate questions. Share your ideas. Come up with a game plan together.
4. Get an understanding of what the teacher has been doing to help your child with her/his weaknesses.
5. Find out ways you can support your child at home. Is there a math or phonics game the teacher could show you how to play with your child? Do you need to beef up the amount of time spent reading with your child everyday? Would more play dates help practice some social behaviors? Do you need to implement more organization techniques?
Post-Conference
6. Chat with your child about what happened at the conference. Be sure to share the praise as well as any weaknesses. Talk about the plan made for making progress and ask for feedback.
7. After a few weeks, follow up with the teacher to confirm that the plan of action you created together is working. This can be through a quick e-mail or phone call after school.
Following these tips will help you have a conference that allows you to walk away with the information most significant to you, to create a closer relationship with your teammate, and to provide your teammate with important knowledge about your son/daughter. Go Team!
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