Helping Parents

I teach third grade in Ohio. We have a requirement called the Third Grade Guarantee which states that students who do not pass the third grade Language Arts assessment could be retained. As you might imagine, this causes an extreme amount of anxiety for parents and students. I have had many parents come to me and ask what they can do at home to improve their child's reading. Even if you don't teach in Ohio, I hope that you can share these tips with parents to help them support their child's reading at home.

• It's a great idea to recognize areas in which the child does well. "Katie is very good at using her decoding strategies to read new words". 
• Direct the parent to resources that can be used to help his/her third grader prepare for the test. I usually offer paper copies of practice resources as well as links to the online practice sites.  
• Do not underestimate the power of nightly reading. Children need ample time practice reading books at their level. Getting kids to do their reading doesn't have to be a power struggle, though! I like to make it fun by enrolling my classroom in the Pizza Hut Book-It Program! Teachers can set a goal for each student (and the goals can be individualized, too!) and students can track their progress on Book-It's printable calendars. Once the goal is met, the student receives a certificate for a FREE personal pizza from our friends at Pizza Hut! This program is completely FREE. My students love it and I love that they're getting their reading minutes in. Plus, who doesn't love free pizza? 
• It is important that students are reading books at their independent reading level. You can help the parents find those books. I also like to give parents a list of general questions that they can ask their child about the story, such as why a character acted in a certain way. 
• Do not forget about writing! I suggest that parents provide a journal in which the child and parent can write letters back and forth to one another. Darling (2005) recommends allowing the child to watch his or her parent work on some writing. 
• Finally, encourage the parent to keep in contact with you. Make sure to send the parent frequent updates on the child's progress, and remind the parent that they can contact you if they have any additional questions. 

References:

Darling, S. (2005). Family literacy: Strategies for engaging parents in home support of reading acquisition. The Reading Teacher, 58(5), 476-479.