Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.

1. What can I do to help my student do well on spelling tests?
2. What can I do to help my child become a better reader?

What can I do to help my student do well on spelling tests?

I would suggest doing some type of activity using the week's words that 
help them practice for their test each night, Monday through Wednesday.  On 
Thursday night, see which word(s) they missed on the pre-test that comes 
home.  Focus on any words that they missed on the pre-test specifically.  
When you think they are ready, give them your own pre-test.  You will know 
that any words they miss-you need to work on more.  (Ask your 
child how to play some of the games that we play at school to get ideas for 
activities.  The games make it fun to practice the words.)

You might also try letting them go over the words with you one more time 
before they leave home the day of the test.  If you bring them to school, 
they can even spell them to you on the way.

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What can I do to help my child become a better reader?

Be sure that you let your child read to you each night that they bring a 
leveled reader home in their reading group book bag and sign their sheet.  
Practice makes perfect.  If you act like you are truly interested in 
reading, and their reading specifically, your child will be more interested 
in reading as well.  We do well at what we value as important.

Allow your child to read to you from their hardback reader on the night(s) 
you signed up for them to bring their book home.  Ask questions to check 
their comprehension.  Don't make all of the questions recall questions.  
Think of some questions to ask where your child will have to apply the 
knowledge they have to the story that they read to you.

Make a set of sight word flash cards to use with your child.  Do the words 
that they will be tested over at the end of the week- each night, but don't 
throw them away at the end of the week.  Keep the words that they have 
already been tested over and use them to play games with your child 
periodically.  If you could make it a point to go through the "review" stack 
with your child at least one night during the week and one weekend night, 
you will see an improvement in a struggling reader.  If your child tends to 
try to "sound out" sight words, show them the card only long enough to see 
it but not sound it out.  It is OK to show them the word more than once, but 
not for very long at a time.  This may take a while, but they will 
eventaully learn that they can recognize the words as sight words, rather 
than having to sound them out.  You might also try timing them and make it a 
challenge to see if they can beat their previous time.  This will make them 
want to get them quickly, and deter them from trying to sound out sight 
words.

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