Healthy homework habits Aiding their study skills
Helping your child
develop healthy homework habits will support their day-to-day learning
and give them the study skills they need to cope with tests and exams.
Research shows that parents spend up to six hours a week helping their
children with homework and this is time well spent as there is a lot you
can do to make sure they achieve their potential.
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Ask about
subject meetings for parents so you can learn about the methods being
used with your child. Avoid the temptation to show him how you were
taught as this will only confuse him. -
Set
up a dedicated homework area with all the materials your child will
need. Sitting in the same place each day to complete homework will help
him switch into study mode. -
Working in front of the TV is generally not a good idea but some children may find listening to music helpful.
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Check
your child’s homework diary each day so you can help him plan out when
he will do each piece and how long he can spend on it. -
Agree
a time for doing homework with your child. Give him a break after
school and let him eat something first. Don’t leave homework until the
end of the evening, though, as he will be winding down for sleep and
unlikely to perform at his best. -
Ask
your child to explain his homework to you and how it fits with his
lesson that day. This can be a great way of finding out other
information about how he is getting on at school. -
Support
your child in his task and try not to take over—particularly if he is
struggling. It can be very frustrating when you know he can do something
but try to stay calm, patient, and positive about his efforts. Build on
his learning by helping him to work things out for himself rather than
just telling him the answer. -
Be
positive about tackling homework with your child. If he sees your face
drop when he hands you his math homework he is unlikely to feel
confident himself! -
If
your child rejects your offer of help but seems to be struggling,
praise him for taking an independent approach to learning, let him know
that you are available should he want your help, and offer to check his
work afterwards. If he has made a few mistakes, point out what he did
well first of all and don’t insist that he corrects everything as the
school need to be aware of your child’s strengths and weaknesses. -
If
your child is consistently struggling with his homework, arrange to
speak to his teacher about it. Many schools now offer homework clubs
with teaching staff on hand to give additional advice and guidance.
Helping out
Getting your child to explain his homework to you will make it clearer for him.
Study strategies Realistic methods to help your child
How your child
approaches studying is just as important as how long she spends going
over the material. Before she buries her head in a book, sit down
together and draw out a timetable to help organize her time. If she has
several subjects she needs to cover, set some realistic target dates for
each, so she can monitor her progress. Once work is underway, staying
motivated is likely to be the biggest challenge. Plenty of praise and
encouragement goes a long way, but building in extra rewards such as
playing on video games, watching TV, or spending time with friends will
give her an extra boost when her motivation is flagging. You could also
offer a larger reward for when it’s all over. Regular breaks, a healthy
diet, plenty of sleep, and exercise are also vital when your child is
studying.
Strategies for learning and remembering
Every child has an
individual learning style that works best for her. Some learn by simply
reading over the topic repeatedly, while others may need to write notes
and draw diagrams. Although your child’s school may recommend particular
study strategies, it is worthwhile to look at a wide range of options
with her so she can try out alternatives and see what works for her.
Rehearsal and repetition
Repetition is the
most commonly used strategy for learning, and involves going over the
same material a number of times to help transfer the information into
memory. Repetition can be made more effective by encouraging your child
to group items together into categories—this is known as chunking.
Younger children may need a little help to use this strategy
effectively. Rehearsing the material out loud or mentally (similar to
learning lines for a school play) will also improve learning.
Notes and diagrams
Writing notes
to summarize material and drawing idea webs or mind maps to show how
things link together makes your child’s learning a more active and
effective process. Redrafting and shortening notes each time she goes
over the material will help her to hang her knowledge on key headings.
Encourage her to aim for no more than one page of notes and one diagram
per topic at the end of her studies.
Elaboration
Information can also be
learned by using mental images to link material together—the more
unusual the image, the more likely the information will be remembered.
Mnemonics are another example of elaboration. For example, the phrase
Every Good Boy Does Fine can be used to help your child remember the
names of the lines on a musical staff—EGBDF. Younger children are
unlikely to adopt elaboration strategies spontaneously, but can easily
make good use of them with your help.
Multimedia
Your child will
probably use textbooks, handouts, and her own written work for most of
her study activities. However, making use of other media will make her
learning much stronger. The internet provides access to lots of
additional sources of information, and revision websites often contain
educational games and fun quizzes to test her knowledge. TV programs can
also be useful, and your child may find them more interesting than
learning only from textbooks. Visiting museums, historic houses, and
other relevant places of interest will help bring subjects to life and
give them meaning. The wider the range of memories your child has about a
topic, the more effective her learning is likely to be.
Own way
Encourage your child to find the tactics that best suit him or her; some will like you to help, others prefer to work alone.
Encourage
Your child is likely to lose motivation at some point. Have some rewards in mind to help keep him on track.
Mind maps
Using charts and diagrams to draw out what he knows about a subject may really help your child to remember.