Developing Academic Skills at Home for Elementary School Students: Grades K-4

Teaneck Public Schools March 24, 2022
7:30 PM

DEVELOPING ACADEMIC SKILLS AT HOME FOR
March 24, 2022
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTSTeaneck School District GRADES K-4                                       7:30 PM

Workshop Objectives:

• Identify the importance of developing a stimulating learning environment at home.

• Discuss skills, strategies, and techniques to use at home to strengthen intellectual growth.

• Learn activities to develop and strengthen higher-order thinking skills, problem-solving strategies, memory function, and creativity.

Reflection:

Think back to when you were a child...

What is your earliest memory of learning at home?

• Having a story read to you?

• Learning how to play a new game?

• Making something with a family member?

Developing Communication Skills at Home:

An important way to strengthen cognitive development is through talking to your child.

The more you talk to your child, the more vocabulary words they will learn. Their ability to understand knowledge and procedures is associated with the size of their vocabulary.

Intellectual Development at Home:
foster a child’s intellectual growth and
A stimulating home environment helps

development and involves expectations.

Different aspects of intellectual
development should be considered: • Cognitive Reasoning
• Higher level thinking skills • Problem solving
• Memory development • Developing creativity

attitude towards learning.
Parents should also cultivate a positive

Creating a Stimulating Home Environment:

The home is the first place where a child is educated. It is necessary to develop simple play activities where a relaxed environment allows for natural, organic learning to occur.

There are two fundamental ways to do this: 1. Planned activities
2. SpontaneousActivities

Developing Academic Skills Through Play and Games:

Through play, games, and activities, stimulation is promoted in a pleasant environment for learning, developing thinking skills, solving problems, and developing levels of learning and creativity.

Model the behavior you wish to see in your child…

• Create a stimulating learning environment at home for children to develop and strengthen academic skills!

• Demonstrate a positive attitude towards learning to create life-long learners!

• It is important for children to see their family members learning as well!

Gradual Release Method:

When teaching your child something new such as a skill, a new game, an activity, a chore, or a task…
1. Model or explain first

2. Have your child practice doing the activity with you 3. Have your child do the activity independently

I Do, We Do, You Do

LIMIT DISTRACTIONS

Create a Print-rich environment to develop and strengthen reading and writing skills in your home…

• Write handwritten notes to your child often and encourage them to do the same
• Leave Post-it notes around the house with messages to your child
• For families with younger children, label objects around the house
• Leave paper, notebooks, notepads, post-its, and pens around the house
• Find a place in your home to display your child’s writing, stories, tests, assignments etc.

ABreakdown of Academic Skills

1. Time Management

2. Prioritization & Task Management

3. Cooperative Learning & Delegation

4. Research

5. Analysis

5 academic skills for primary students, by Carol Higho
www.english.com/blog/author/carol-higho

Time Management:

TELLING TIME VS. MANAGING TIME…

Task Analysis can be used for: • HOMEWORK
• CHORES

• PRACTICE • READING
• DAILY ROUTINES

5 academic skills for primary students,
by Carol Higho www.english.com/blog/author/carol-higho

Prioritization
(part of Task Management)

• Helps children recognize what they must do

• List 5 things (activities, chores or tasks) they need to prioritize

• Encourage them to list them on a daily schedule and/or weekly planner

5 academic skills for primary students, by Carol Higho
www.english.com/blog/author/carol-higho

Collaborative Learning & Delegation

are academic as well as life
• Collaboration and Delegation

skills

home?
• How can this be reinforced at

5 academic skills for primary students, by Carol Higho
www.english.com/blog/author/carol-higho

Research & Analysis

• Big questions about every day occurrences can help develop these skills

• Ask questions about stories (news, books…)

• “How could we help…?” • “Why do you think…?”
• “What do you think caused ____?”

• Ask your child a question about something they read. Then ask them to pull evidence from what they read to support their answer.

5 academic skills for primary students, by Carol Higho
www.english.com/blog/author/carol-higho

Helping Elementary Students Develop Study Skills:

•	Acronyms & Mnemonics •	Active Listening
•	Chunking Tasks •	Flashcards
•	Highlighting

•	Using Text Features

ROY G BIV (Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet)

My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nuggets (Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune)
31 Study Skills for Elementary Students That Make the Learning Stick https://elementaryassessments.com/list-of-study-skills-for-elementary-students

Teach Active Listening

Teach your child what it looks like: • Model
• Eye contact

• Ask questions • Nod
• Summarize

• Have them practice

• Praise them when you see/hear active listening

31 Study Skills for Elementary Students That Make the Learning Stick https://elementaryassessments.com/list-of-study-skills-for-elementary-students

“Chunking” Tasks Chunking Tasks

• Chunk tasks and assignments into small parts

• Set a timer

• List and prioritize

• Chunking is essential as projects and work increase in difficulty

31 Study Skills for Elementary Students That Make the Learning Stick https://elementaryassessments.com/list-of-study-skills-for-elementary-students

Flashcards

Flashcards

• Easy to practice anywhere

• Practice alone or with someone

• Useful for:

• Vocabulary • Math Facts • Dates

• Digital options available

31 Study Skills for Elementary Students That Make the Learning Stick https://elementaryassessments.com/list-of-study-skills-for-elementary-students

Identify Text Features…

Highlighting…

Children want to highlight everything!

• Practice identifying 1-2 words or a phrase
• Highlight and then dicuss the importance of selected items

Note Taking , Organization

Note Taking

& Post-It Notes

Organization

• Improves retention

• To be beneficial notes must:

• Be tied to what is being said

• Work space, back pack, desk, notebook, folders, schedule

Post-It Notes

• Summarize main points

• Use standard & unique abbreviations

• Minimize or eliminate need to erase

• Use for short quick notes

• Mark location in book or notes

• Record a question or thought

• Need to go back and review notes

31 Study Skills for Elementary Students That Make the Learning Stick https://elementaryassessments.com/list-of-study-skills-for-elementary-students

Making Connections & Mindset

Making Connections

• How does this relate to me?

• Have I read this in another book?

Mindset

Studying and Learning skills won’t work without proper mindset

• How does this connect to the world?

• These 3 questions improve comprehension and understanding concepts

• I can do this…

• I will be successful at…

• It is hard but not imposible

• I can do whatever it takes

31 Study Skills for Elementary Students That Make the Learning Stick https://elementaryassessments.com/list-of-study-skills-for-elementary-students

Read, Cover, Remember, Retell

Help children remember main ideas:

• After reading, cover the words/page

• Improves comprehension

• Math

-Retell steps to problem solving

• Have your child think about and then retell main points

• Practice up to 3 times if they have trouble

-Move to easier text if still having trouble

• Social Studies

-Retell sequence of events -Retell facts

• Science

-Retell steps and outcome -Retell facts

31 Study Skills for Elementary Students That Make the Learning Stick https://elementaryassessments.com/list-of-study-skills-for-elementary-students

Reciprocal Teaching

Your child becomes the teacher

• To teach a skill or strategy

• Ask your child to show you how to make a PB&J sandwich or how to use a number line.

31 Study Skills for Elementary Students That Make the Learning Stick https://elementaryassessments.com/list-of-study-skills-for-elementary-students

Additional Resources:

New Jersey Student Learning Standards (nj.gov)

Set Goals…

Pick one or two skills to focus on developing with your child…