The summertime is a wonderful time to help your child learn how to write sentences and paragraphs, which follow a logical sequence and include interesting details.

Children typically need to be encouraged to write. Students who believe they have interesting ideas and can write well generally develop their written language skills at a faster rate.

The initial step in helping your child to develop their written language paragraph writing skills is to ask your child to examine and study a picture you choose for them. Most written language assignments will include a picture to write about at the elementary and middle school level.

Spark Ideas

Ask your child the question, “What do you see in the picture?” Then ask, “What is happening in the picture?” Then ask your child, “What can you say about what is happening in the picture?” As your child answers your questions orally write down some of their answers on a scratch piece of paper. Next, go over their answers with your child and talk about their perceptions of the picture. If your child added details that are not in the picture, then nicely point out which details do not fit the picture.

Help Getting Started

Next, show your son or daughter how to write a quality opening sentence that describes the picture on their assignment. Numerous students with learning issues or those who struggle in school do not always understand how to write an excellent opening sentence. Talk about the opening sentence with your child and prompt them to study what is happening in the picture for a minute or two.

Instruct your child to include the main idea of the picture in their opening sentence.

The Middle

Ask your child to focus their middle sentences on two or three main ideas or details found in the assigned picture. The middle sentences can be made more interesting if they include a cause and effect or “because statement”. Often children can say the sentences orally better then they can write them.

Hint: If writing is a difficult area ask your child verbally to tell you the detail and stop them and say the detail back to them as they write it.

Tools

Use a thesaurus to help them locate two or three strong nouns or verbs, which can replace the more common ones they used.

Next, the student may wish to add a detail sentence or two about the sentences they have already written. Aim for five to seven sentence paragraphs and in some cases nine sentences.

The Ending

Lastly, ask your child to close the paragraph with a good sentence that answers the why or restates the opening sentence. Some students may wish to make a prediction about the subject of the paragraph in their closing sentence.

Parents it is important to complement your child on their effort and reread their paragraph with them for clarity.

If sequencing changes should be made, then nicely point out why the order should be different.

Thanks for joining me this past week on DrGreene.com. I wish to complement all the readers of my posts for your diligence in researching information to help your child reach their scholastic potential.  May you have a happy, fun-filled, educational summer with your children.

Grammar game time can help students enjoy learning grammar concepts they will use throughout their journey to be educated. Short grammar games can help students master grammar concepts during the summer while they are having fun.

Parents, when students, whether they are Dyslexic, ADD, ADHD, struggling, or average students are having fun learning they typically are absorbing more information at faster rates.

When children become active learners, they also become more excited about learning. A fun way to teach and reinforce grammar concepts is by playing the following grammar game a few minutes several times a week.

“Name It” Game Makes Nouns Fun

Pick two or three objects such as a soft ball, spring flower or objects you or your child chooses. Next, you need a small white board and erasable markers. If you do not have a white board plain paper, and a washable marker is fine.

Ask your child to look at each of the items one by one. As your child studies each item ask them, the name of the item and write the name of the item on the white board. Then write the word noun after the name of the item. Next, ask your child to tell you three describing words about the item. Allow only one describing word to describe the color of the object.

Then write the three describing words under the name of the item on the white board. Label the three describing words adjectives.

Adjectives and Verbs

If your child wishes to name more describing words, you can make another game out of how many adjectives they can come up with to describe the object.

Next, ask your child to name two or three uses for the objects you are describing. As an example of this, if your child is describing a soft ball, three uses can be throwing, catching and hitting. Label the two or three uses for the object as verbs.

Adverbs and Prepositions, Too

In a few minutes, your child can practice nouns, adjectives and verbs. As your child masters nouns, adjectives and verbs then add adverbs to the game. Ask the child to name three adverbs that modify the verbs and in some cases adjectives and clauses. Remind the child adverbs describe the verb’s action.

Next, teach prepositions such as: in, on, over, about, above, across, after, around, for, past by helping the child list several of them that apply to the nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs they have on their white board.

Children who are Dyslexic, ADD, ADHD, struggling or average students usually really enjoy learning grammar when they play grammar games. 

Summertime is an ideal time to reinforce the past grade math concepts and pre-teach upcoming grade math concepts. Dyslexic, ADD, ADHD, struggling or average students can improve their math skills and be more prepared for the next school year by working on math during the summer.

As children enjoy summer days, math skills can grow at an accelerated rate. Parents set aside fifteen to twenty minutes a day to work on math concepts, and the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts with your child. Everyday provide your child with ten to twenty math facts depending on their upcoming grade level to work on learning and retrieving at a faster rate.

Students who are going into third grade through middle school should work on all four categories listed above. Remind your son or daughter the best math students are the ones who know the math facts.

Make It Fun

Create a contest for your child to see how fast they are able to complete ten to twenty math facts either on paper or using flash cards.  Time your student on how long it takes him or her to complete the ten to twenty math facts correctly. Afterwards record the time in a calendar and encourage your child to beat their pervious time each day.

When your child knows each of the ten to twenty math facts within two seconds then change the facts. Parents you can purchase a math facts workbook at a teacher supply store. Cut the pages in the workbook into thirds or fourths for your child to complete each day.

Summer Time is a Great Time for Review 

Parents of younger school-age students, please review addition and subtraction with carrying and borrowing during the months of summer. If your child is in the third, fourth or fifth grade, then review two, three and four-digit multiplication and long division problems with them.

Write out four to six problems with carrying, borrowing, several digit multiplication or long division on a white board for your child to do each day. Review the steps for addition and carrying with your child using washable markers to demonstrate the steps on a white board. Then ask your child to repeat the steps orally to you each day as they work the math problems.

Students should alternate every other day the steps for addition and carrying and subtraction with borrowing. This will help students be able to retain the regrouping steps and perform them at a higher scholastic level.

Older elementary or early middle school students should review the steps of several digit multiplication and long division on a white board. Ask the child to use different color erasable markers for each math step. The use of different colors for each step provides children with a visual review of the steps needed to perform the mathematical operations.

Begin the daily math reviews as soon as the school year comes to a close.  Dyslexic, ADD, ADHD, struggling and average students with math issues can improve their skills while having fun learning.

Parents what are some creative ways you have used to help your child learn the math facts?

Here’s some great summertime news — Dyslexic, ADD, ADHD, struggling or average children can learn to be better spellers during the summer months. Here’s how:

Each week of the summer children should have a spelling list consisting of eight to twelve words. Make the word lists using phonetic rules such as the short vowels, ee, ea, au, aw, oy, oi, and two sight words your child is unable to spell.

Some suggestions for sight words this month are: there, their, they’re, where, would, should and could. Some younger students may wish to learn: are, air, care, only, over, upon was, wear, said, been, and ready.                                                                                          

Practice Makes Perfect

Provide time for your child to practice the word lists on a small white board or large paper. Children generally like writing their spelling words on a white board or large paper. Next, analyze the written words with your child to help your son or daughter see patterns or categories, which the words fit into. An example of how to do this is, ask your son or daughter to place all igh words in a list, all of ite words in another list and so on.

Spend time helping your son or daughter memorize the word patterns or commonalities found in the weekly spelling list.  Also, place the weekly spelling words on cards written in colors. Use one color for the vowel rules and other colors for consonants.

While looking at the words on the cards, ask your son or daughter orally to spell the words using a rhythmic beat. Chant the words with your child in a set of four repetitions. Make sure you concentrate on spelling one word to a rhythmic beat four times before moving on to the next word to be learned. Adding a rhythmic beat to oral spelling review time helps increase the brain’s ability to retain information.

Learning Tricks

Next, ask your child to write the spelling words inside an outline of a picture such as a soccer ball, baseball, flower or ballerina shoes drawn by you or found online. Your son or daughter should write the words at least four to six times a piece or type them if writing is difficult.

The words can be easily reviewed by chanting them when extra time arises and before bedtime. If the word lists are too long for your child to learn all at once, then help your son or daughter learn partial lists.

Every Little Bit Helps    

The word lists should be divided and learned in sets of four to six words at a time. Then add the next set of four to six words to the list which has been learned. Learning the entire weekly spelling lists may take several days to accomplish. The rate you are able to add sets of four to six words will depend on your son’s or daughter’s ability to retain spelling patterns.

ADHD and Spelling  

For more active children ask them to add movements while spelling the words orally, on paper or on a white board. Some of you parents may even wish to have your son or daughter verbally practice spelling while playing a game of catch if it is not too distracting.

Summer is almost upon us once again, and parents are beginning to plan for their children’s days without a school schedule. Dreams of long afternoons filled with family, friends, freedom and laughter fill students’ heads as they prepare to say good-bye to another school year and hello to summertime friends and social bonding. An academic plan for the summer might not even be a thought. However, a non-academic summer can cause students at every grade level to digress two to three months in their scholastic skills.

Close Learning Gaps

A half an hour to an hour daily of learning can help students close learning gaps and perform at higher levels once the new school year rolls around. Children who work on learning for a half an hour to an hour a day can gain several months of scholastic improvement instead of regressing in their academic skills. Summertime is an ideal time for students of all ages to strengthen their academic skills and still have plenty of time for sports, clubs and other activities. Set up a schedule for summer learning to ensure time is made for academic improvement.

School-age students may find themselves reading below their current grade level expectations. Reading below grade level standards often causes students to have gaps in their scholastic skills. Students who are reading below their current grade level can improve their ability to decode and blend words by implementing educational strategies designed to improve reading.

Summer and Learning

Parents of school-age students can help their children gain reading skills during the summer by working on helping their child learn or review phonetic rules. Students of all grades can be taught the vowel phonetic rules and sounds. School-age children can learn how to decode words at a higher level by learning the phonetic basis of the English language.

An example of this educational solution is students or their parent can make a flash card with a phonetic sound such as -ight which is read as ite. On the front of the card students or their parent can write the phonetic spelling of ight and under it write the sound ite in a different color. The student can read the phonetic rule ight and the sound it makes to improve their reading skills.

Next, the student can locate using a dictionary or online source a list of words, which are spelled with ight to write on the opposite side of the flash card. The student or parent should highlight the phonetic spelling of the word to make it stand out to the child or teenager. Then the student can practice reading their list of ight words.

Every week, children and teenagers can learn and review three to five phonetic rules. Students and parents should keep a list of the types of words they are demonstrating difficulty reading. Focusing on the phonetic rules that are the most difficult for the student will help the child improve their personal reading problems. A list of common English phonetic rules can be found online or in a dictionary. Children can grow several months in their reading skills during the summer using this phonetic technique.