Homework strategies
Learning objectives of module:
- To examine strategies to help beginning readers understand, complete and remember concepts in homework assignments
Time: 40 minutes
Materials:
- A Tutor’s Guide: Reading and Writing with Children and Youth (pages 29 to 31 and 35 to 37)
- Sample homework activities that represent the age group of students in the program. Include a reading, writing and math activity.
Background
Explain to the tutors that although the emphasis with students in grades K to 3 is on helping them learn how to read, these students also often have homework. In this module, we have described two ways that you can demonstrate how to help beginning readers with homework. The first method is to provide the tutors with sample homework activities, and the second method is to examine together a writing sample from a student in the club.
Method One – Demonstrate strategies with homework activity
- Divide the tutors into small groups and distribute to the tutors a typical language based assignment (i.e., geography, history, English) and math assignment that the students may bring to the homework club. Ask the tutors to consider the following questions (write these questions on flipchart paper):
- What challenges could a beginning reader face in completing this activity?
- What could you do before starting the assignment to ensure that a beginning reader understands the concepts and information?
- What steps could you take to ensure a beginning reader is able to complete this assignment?
- How could you help a beginning reader remember what he or she has learned?