Transcript How to help your child achieve

How can you help your child to
achieve?
Research shows:
Students with support from home
achieve 80% more success at GCSE
Can you make a difference?
“Parental support is 8 times more important in determining a child’s
academic success than social class.”
TES
“Parents have the greatest influence on the achievement of young people
through supporting their learning in the home (parental engagement)
rather than supporting activities in the school (parental involvement). It is
their support of learning in the home environment that makes the
maximum difference to achievement.”
Professor Alma Harris and Dr Janet Goodall
Demands on your child
•Being more self motivated - taking responsibility for their
own learning
•Asking if they do not understand
•Developing abilities to overcome frustrations and strategies
for persisting when the going gets tough
•Organising themselves, notes, handouts, different subject
topics
•Completing more work at home independently
•Organising and planning their time over longer periods, to
complete major projects
•Understanding the exam structure
•Planning and carrying out revision – exam technique
Your role as a Parent
•Your role will depend on the needs of your child
•Lots you can help with and keep them motivated
•Attendance officer
•Going to parents evenings – asking each subject questions on how
you can help
•Providing “a quiet space” for them to work at home
•Banker – paying for equipment, books, paper etc
•Study buddy – Showing an interest in the subjects they are
studying
•Entertainments officer – finding out about TV programmes,
exhibitions, museums, plays films etc. that may be relevant to their
courses
Your role as a Parent
•Sounding board and adviser – Helping your child to
break down tasks, discuss their work, keeping a subtle
eye on progress
•Project manager – agreeing the rules for homework,
revision, realistic timetables etc. – AND then enforcing
them.
•Go-Between – Between the school and your child to
make sure things are nipped in the bud
•Information Provider and Interpreter - Being there to
answer questions, help, and make something make sense
The Secret to Exams
1. Learning the content the first time around
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Revision does assume you have looked at it in the
first place!
2. Revision
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You need to revise as no one can remember 2
year’s work. There are lots of different ways to
do it but make sure you do
3. The exam itself
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Even if the first 2 stages go well the exam can
still be an issue.
Diet
Poor diets have a significant effect on a child’s•Behaviour
•Concentration
•Mood
•Learning ability
Children with diets lacking in essential vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids
tend to perform worse academically, cannot concentrate and are more aggressive.
Sleep
Important to help child get the necessary amount of sleep. 25% of teenagers
report being too tired to exercise.
Teenagers are under a lot of pressure to be increasingly alert in the evening owing
to their social activities.
Most teenagers sleep in at the weekend to catch up on sleep.
Lack of sleep in teenagers leads to irritability, anxiety, depression, poor
concentration and poor learning
Partnership with the
School
Know the names of all relevant staff – Form tutor, Head of Year, Subject
Teachers, Exams Officer etc
Try to attend all parents evenings
Find out when you should receive information
Meet/Phone/Write with staff as soon as something happens so it can be
dealt with quickly
Don’t expect teachers to be able to talk straight away – they are probably
teaching
Let each teacher know that you want to work with them from the beginning
Other Ways to Help
•Rewards
•Time off
•No nagging
•Equipment
•Comparison to older brothers/sisters
•Check their timetable – PE kit etc.
•Helping to find the balance
•Stay strong – it will all be over in less than a
year!!!
Turn negatives into positives
Why are you
so
disorganised?
Why can’t
you be like
your sister?
Why do you
fail at
everything?
Try these more positive comments:
You make
me so
proud!
You deserve
to do well!
You are a
credit to
the family!
You’re a
star!
Useful strategies to avoid
confrontation
• Social Greetings - always say “hello”, talk about
their day and their interests such as sport or
music
• Broken Record -repeat instruction with calm tone
of voice until action is done
• The Passing Technique – acknowledge fact but
state you will deal with it later e.g. not washed up
• Not Saying “Please” – replace please with “thank
you”, this gives assumption the action will be
done
Three truths
• Students who know more do better in exams
• Students who revise know more than those
who don’t.
• Students who know how to revise do it more
effectively
And some lies ...
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It’s too early to start yet
It’s too late to start now
No-one else has started revising
You can’t revise for ….
You don’t need to do well in …….
Revision is boring. It’s just staring at a book
I can revise and listen to music/watch the TV
All you can do is your best
Knowing how to revise
• Being ready to learn
• Knowing how you learn
Being ready to learn
• • It’s time for a test…
So, being in the right frame
of mind is vital
As a parent, you can help this to happen by…
• Being relentlessly optimistic
• Using positive presuppositions
• Emphasising the positives; don’t dwell on errors
• Picking your battles – let them listen to music!
• Not joining in the anxiety – be a model of calm
confidence
• Not continually referring to how you revised at
school, or to how siblings revised etc
What can you do to help
them remember?
Break work down into small sections – they’re easier to handle
It’s no co-incidence that the BBC revision website is called
“Bitesize” !
Study skills
Knowing how you learn
Visual
Auditory
Kinaesthetic
Key revision methods
• Spend some time each day on rote learning.
Revision Methods
• Reduce everything you know on a topic to 500
words, then to 200, then to 50, then to 10.
• Write those ten on a card for the morning of
the exam
Revision Methods
Highlighting key information
Encourage your child
to:
• Do something with
their revision material
other than just
reading it
• Highlight key points
that they can re-read
• Use colours and
create a set of notes
to make revision
more focused
Revision Methods
Creating notes
Get them to
do something
with their
highlighted
notes e.g.
• Create
revision
cards/posters
Be
Imaginative
Revision Methods
They could even build a
REVISION WALL !
Revision Methods
• Do exam questions from past papers
(for an hour or ten minutes or …)
Revision methods
• Make podcasts and then listen to them
repeatedly
Revision methods
• At the end of each day, write everything you
have learned in very quick bullet points. And
then read them first thing in the morning.
Revision methods
• Make flow charts, diagrams, graphs, drawings
as well as notes.
Revision Methods
Remembering lists
Get them to use different memory techniques to
remember key words/lists
Mnemonics:
Mnemonic:
n. A device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in
remembering.
30 days has September, April, June and
November…
Revision Methods
Shape
Shape
Size
Size to show
importance
Shape
Shape
Size
Use Spider Diagrams
Easy to read
And for emphasis use….
Colour
Size
Revision Methods
Using the computer
• Creating power points for revision
• Key websites e.g. MyMaths, SAM learning,
GCSE bitesize
• Podcasts
TAKE CARE – Are they revising or social
networking?
Revision Methods
What else can they do?
Record themselves reading their
notes out loud
Play it back whilst relaxing or doing
other things
Get together on
MSN with 3 or 4
friends
One asks questions on a topic –
the others see who can answer
first
Get together with 3 or 4
friends
Each create a
PowerPoint on a different
topic
Swap Power Points
What else do you need to
consider?
Being organised can reduce stress
and lead to higher production
Study areas
The learning environment
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The place
The time
The calm
Food and drink
Built in rest time
Physical activity
How long?
How long?
How long?
How often?
How often?
How often?
How often?
Revision Timetable
Sunday
1st April
Monday
2nd April
Tuesday
3rd April
Wednesday
4th April
Thursday
5th April
Friday
6th April
Saturday
7th April
Subject 1
Science B7
PM
Triple Science B7
9.00 – 1.00
In school
Triple Science
C7 and P7
9.00-1.00
RE Ethics
AM
Maths
9.00-1.00
In school
Urdu
AM
D&T
AM
Subject 2
English
PM
Unit 3 Maths - Angles
PM
English literature
PM
RE Philosophy
PM
D&T
PM
English
PM
Maths
PM
Your support with
revision
What can you do to help?
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Ask questions
Know their timetable
Offer rewards and incentives
Engage with their revision
Show an interest
Before exams preparation
• Good diet e.g. Healthy breakfast before the
exam
• Good nights sleep
• Structured revision
• Right equipment for each exam
• Attendance at revision sessions
• Make sure that they are on time
• Know what exams they have and when
In school support
• Intervention e.g. Intervention booklets, catch
up controlled assessment sessions, extra
lessons etc.
• Revision/support classes during the week
• Moodle
• Teachers!
We will intervene if:
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Grades are dropping
Results are below expectation
Behaviour is a worry
Classwork is below standard
Controlled assessments are disappointing
Target grades are not being met
Pupils will have:
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High quality teaching
Regular homework
Regular in class assessments
Mock exams
Module tests
Controlled conditions assessments
Coursework
Types of
support/intervention
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Revision classes
Holiday school
‘One to One’ tuition
Small group withdrawal
Additional external lessons
Course changes
Access arrangements
GCSE revision guides
On line revision materials – GCSE pod, My Maths,
Adapted timetable
To help your child succeed:
• Talk to us about any worries
• Attend parents’ evenings
• Discuss the Report and Grades card with your
child
• Buy revision guides, support books and tests
• Give a clear message that you are in full support
of the school in supporting your child to get the
best possible results
Summary
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Know how your son/daughter learns best
Know when they learn best
Know where they learn best
Give them space and opportunities
Be positive & encouraging; don’t dwell on errors
Get involved
Don’t join in the anxiety; be a model of serene
confidence
• If in doubt, contact the school…