SOMA Living December 2021

EDUCATION

MID-YEAR GOAL SETTING FOR 2022

We’re about one-third of the way through of this school year and parents should have a sense of how their child is doing in their classes, i.e., marking period grades are out and first parent teacher conferences have been had. Now is a great time for parents to mentally project forward to the end of the school year and create some academic goals for their children. 1. Improved reading fluency. You can measure this at home and work with your child’s teacher or tutor to chart a path to improvement. At home: Pick a passage in a book your child can read, but that has a bit of a challenge to it. Have your child read it to you, without your help, and take note of the areas that were difficult for them. Reassure them that this is not a test, and nothing is at stake. They may have trouble with phonics and sounding out words. They may skim over words that they don’t know and can’t easily decode. Whatever the issues are that you see, just take note of them, circle the challenging words or sections for your own reference. Carry on with whatever approach you have determined to be best to improve reading fluency (e.g. reading 30 minutes every night, reading to younger siblings or pets, reading to you, tutoring, or in class supports) especially targeting the issues you took note of. In June have them read the same passage to you. Look for the improvements and celebrate with your child! Tie their reading-based practices to the improvements you see. 1. Improved math fluency. Math fluency is important for all students, but particularly for those in 5th grade and below. Strong numerical fluency (quick access to math facts, number sense, order of operations, etc.) is the underpinning of applying math concepts to math problems. This will go far to ensure your student can both take on the math they are currently working on and confidently progress with more complex math as they move up in grade. Start by asking your child’s teacher whether they see any gaps in math skills in your child or if they are on level or ahead, what areas they can focus upon to facilitate greater fluency. Either way determining where there is an opportunity for improvement is important. At home: you can play math games with your child—card games with standard playing cards, counting up or down to larger and larger numbers, even the dreaded flash cards can be made fun and rewarding with the right approach. See how well they, for example, can “recite” the 6-, 7- or 8-times tables. Check now and check again in June. Again, celebrate any growth you see! Setting goals for improvement will leave you with an opportunity to plan now for success this school year. Your goals could include:

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Dr. Alissa Gardenhire is the owner of Best in Class Education Center, named one of the three best tutoring centers in the region by 3 Best Rated dot com. Copyright 2021 © Dr. Alissa Gardenhire and Kids Win, Inc.

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