Research studies consistently reveal that high student achievement and self-esteem are closely related to positive parental participation in education. One of the best ways that parents can participate in their child’s education is through assistance with nightly homework.  Homework provides children with the additional practice that is needed to master a new skill or concept. It also increases the amount of learning time available to students to allow for a deeper level of understanding.

Most teachers assign nightly reading of high interest material to improve student fluency and comprehension. Parents can encourage and support their children with reading homework by following these simple tips.

•Have your child read aloud to you every night.

•Choose a quiet place, free from distractions, for your child to do his nightly reading assignments.

•As your child reads, point out spelling and sound patterns such as cat, hat, pat.

•When your child reads aloud to you and makes a mistake, point out the words she missed and help her to read the word correctly.

•After your child has stopped to correct a word he has read, have him to back and reread the entire sentence from the beginning.

•Ask your child to tell you in her own words what happened in a story.

•To check your child’s understanding of what he is reading, occasionally pause and ask your child questions about the characters and events in the story.

•Ask your child why she thinks a character acted a certain way and ask her to support her answer with information from the story.

•Before the end of the story, ask your child to predict what he thinks will happen next and why.