Communication With

Teachers, and Study

Habits

COMMUNICATION

Parents Communicating With Teachers

• Schedule and attend parent-teacher conferences• Be involved in parent-teacher organizations (PTO,

PTA, and Booster Clubs)• Phone calls • Visits to the classroom• E-mail• Notes with your child• Volunteer in the classroom• Go on field trips or participate in organized activities • Do not be an overbearing parent

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/succeed/communication.cfm

Teachers Communicating With Parents

• Classroom website• Schedule parent teacher conferences for all students • Do not limit phone calls to only bad news• Write a message in the student's assignment book

and ask for the parents to sign it once it is read. • Leave messages at home• Make a welcome call in first 2 weeks of school• Newsletters to update parents on what is happening• Be clear of your expectations of child ahead of time

http://www.teaching-tools.com/parents-teachers/communicating_parents.php

Appropriate Attitudes for Communication

• Stay calm• Use the sandwich method• Be courteous of time• Ask questions• Be aware of surroundings –• private conversations• Do not abuse availability of

teacher • Do not embarrass your child• Maintain good eye contact and

positive tone of voice • Make notes of what of what you

want to discuss

How can I handle “tough” conversations?

• Prepare ahead of time• Put yourself in the parents’ position• Always find something positive to say that will make

parents proud• Be sure that you don’t blame the parent • Show support• Be familiar with family support in your community

and have contact information available if needed.• Keep the meeting on track• Be sure they have all the information they need• Make sure parents know they can contact you again

at any time• Give them information on the best way to get in touch

with you

http://www.mpf.org/factsheets/NCLB5.pdf

How can I deal with conflicts?

• Don’t argue back. Stay calm• Choose your words carefully• Don’t take it personally.

Sometimes parents just need to be heard

• If the situation worsens, schedule a meeting to continue the discussion at a later time

http://www.mpf.org/factsheets/NCLB5.pdf

STUDY HABITS

What Parents Can Do?• Have designated study

time• Place to study• Calendar for major

projects• Ask what is for homework• Do not do your child's

homework for them• Make sure homework is

done before TV/computer goes on

• Take advantage of every learning opportunity

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/studytips.shtml

Questions parents can ask children…

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/studytips.shtml

How are things going at school?How did the math test go?

How did you do on the history report?

How's your science project coming along?

Need any help?How was your day?

Do you like your teacher?

What was the best part of school today?

Family Study Habits

• Have quite time when everyone is doing homework

• Be interested in your child’s schoolwork

• Good grades go on the fridge • Turn off the TV• No phone unless it is for homework

help, during study time• Provide healthy snacks

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/studytips.shtml

Should children be

rewarded for good

grades?

And the Answer is….

• “Let's celebrate your effort, not your genius, and it really should be a celebration more than a reward.”

• Be spontaneous• Praise effort, concentration, and hard work• De-emphasize grades- C’s get degrees• Teach your children that their brains will get stronger• Its very hard to get good grades, so do not stress out your

child by pressuring them.• Love your child for who they are and how hard they work to

be the best person they can be.

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3745989

Teachers Helping Children Study At Home

• Give clear notes• Study guides• Time for extra help• Make lesson plans

interactive• Make sure homework

relates to lesson• Explain homework

clearly• If students are

confused, go over example problem

What to do About Extracurricular Activities• Children who are involved in

many extracurricular activities need to learn either– Time Management– How to prioritize

What does this mean?

Time Management

• Developing the skill to multi-task• Doing things in an efficient order• Working ahead• Stress management• Keep an assignment notebook• Schedule time for a break

How to Prioritize

• Choose what’s important to you• How to say no• Ask yourself, “Is this activity

beneficial?”• Don’t just choose something

because your friends do it• Don’t do it because you feel

pressured by your parents

Parents Teaching Time Management and

Prioritizing• Have a schedule to avoid confusion• Encourage children to think about the

week ahead• Don’t pressure your child to do something

that they are not happy with• Make yourself available to help as needed• Tell children that it’s OK to focus on a

specific activity– However, don’t make it seem like quitting is

an option– Once a child starts an activity, they should

see it through

STUDY GAMES

TIC TAC TOE

Game 1: Description

• Create tic-tac-toe board• Write questions about what the

child is studying• To get an “x” or an “o”, the child

must answer a question correctly• The first person to get three-in-a-

row wins

PENNY NICKEL DIME

Game 2: Description• Player rolls a dice and reads the

number• Give player the same number of

pennies as the number on the dice• When player has five pennies,

replace with nickel. When player has five more pennies, replace pennies AND nickel with a dime

• First player to set amount (25 or 50), they WIN!

THE END