ADD Student

Posts Tagged ‘reinforce learning’

Have you ever really thought about why teachers assign homework? I know kids think of it as so much busy work, designed to make their lives more difficult, but we know that’s not true.

The purpose of homework is twofold: to review the day’s lessons and increase understanding and to prepare for the following days lesson.

A reading assignment, for instance, is designed to sort of put down that first layer of understanding on what may be a new topic. Doing the reading makes you more prepared for the following day’s class.

The following night, the assignment might be to answer some questions at the end of the chapter or to do a worksheet. At this point, the homework serves to push that new knowledge deeper into the brain and to measure how well the student understands the material.

As parents of kids with ADHD, we know that homework can be a nightmare for everyone involved. Sometimes assignments that should take one hour take three, and we find that we don’t have enough time in the evening to get it all done.

To me, it makes no sense to wage this battle night after night, working until everyone is frustrated and exhausted. How much good is being done here?

As parents we have the power to say “enough”.

Teachers do not rule our lives. They are on our side. In fact, there are no sides here. Everyone is working towards the same goal: to educate our children.

What I’m saying is this: remember the purpose of homework – to increase and measure understanding.

If your child can skim through a chapter, stopping to study pictures and charts, to read headings and definitions, and if they can then reasonably answer questions about the chapter’s content, then they have accomplished what was intended – whether or not they actually read the chapter.

If, after 15 math problems, it is clear that your child understands the material, why make them spend the extra time to complete 15 more when they could be working on something else?

And the reverse is true: if, after trying for 30 or 40 minutes, your child is still not grasping how to do the math, another two hours spent on it is not likely to bring success, either. Stop. Take a break. Come back to it for a few minutes to see if it has helped. If not, a talk with the teacher and perhaps hiring a tutor are in order.

Remember: homework is ultimately about grades, but it is first and foremost about understanding and comprehension.

Keeping those ideas in mind may help to eliminate the homework wars around your house.

Everyone can remember a class clown or two from their school years. You may even know an adult version.

Class clowns are often kids with ADHD who use humor as a defensive device. The kid with poor grades and awkward social skills could quite easily find himself on the fringes of the classroom when it comes to popularity.

Being the class clown, providing entertainment to the class, can make him more likable. Awkward or non-existent social skills become less important, because the child is always perceived as the silly clown, looking for another laugh.

Like a lot of clowns, though, the class clown might be laughing on the outside but crying on the inside.

All kids know that grades are important. The ones who shrug them off as no big deal do so because they have trouble earning good grades. Pretending not to care seems to make it hurt less.

If you have a class clown, you need to take some action:

If you haven’t already, consider testing for ADHD and/or learning disabilities.

Consider medication as an option. There are many ADHD medications available; it takes trial and error to find the right one and the right dose.

If you decide not to medicate, you will have to be more vigilant when it comes to things like diet, sleep habits, and exercise. Some people do respond to treating ADHD naturally, but it does take some work.

Consider tutoring and extra help in order to reinforce learning.

Work with the teacher to establish proper behavior in the classroom. Dr. Ruth A. Peters recommends a simple system. Each day, the teacher tapes a 3 x 5 card with 5 stars on it to the child’s desk. At any time of the day, if behavior is not under control, the teacher will walk by quietly and cross off one star.

Dr. Peters suggests that if the behavior occurs after a period of diligent work, to let the child keep the star.

At the end of the day, the teacher initials the card and sends it home with the child. If there is at least one star remaining on the card, the day should be counted as a success. A card with no stars means a loss of a privilege for a day.

According to Dr. Peters, this method can be very effective in maintaining good behavior. After two weeks of good behavior, step the card down to 4 stars. Continue on in this manner until there is only one star on the card or the system is no longer needed.

Above all, let your child know that while it’s OK to be appreciated for your sense of humor, it shouldn’t come at a personal cost.

I used to teach a class for UAW workers at Daimler Chrysler. The class was designed to prepare them for a skilled trades exam and included a lot of math and some physics.

I vividly remember one gentleman I worked with who was having trouble understanding percentages. It seemed that the concept was too much a concept to him and not rooted in anything he could relate to.

That is, until we found some common ground.

I pointed out another student. “See this guy? Let’s say he owes you $100 and he’s just paid you $40. What percent did he pay and what percent does he still owe you?”

It was like I had turned on a light. His face lit up and he got the answer right away. Not only that, but he understood the concept as well and could apply it to more complicated problems.

Talk theory and he doesn’t understand. Talk about money you owe him and now it’s personal; he gets it.

The same thing is true for your ADD Student. Often what they need is to have an idea demonstrated to them in a way that they understand and can relate to.

Want to teach percentages to a teen aged girl? Take her to a sale at the mall. If she can get that cute outfit for 20% off, she’ll be doing math in no time. You could probably work in a little supply and demand lesson in there as well.

There are all kinds of real life lessons that can be used for making theory come alive. Got a sports fan? All kinds of math there – percentages, statistics, supply and demand – I’m sure there’s more.

Need to understand Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”? Rent “10 Things I Hate About You” with Julia Stiles and a very young Heath Ledger.

Physics or science in general giving your child a hard time? Check out some of the cable channels like the Discovery Channel, or the Science Channel. Myth Busters is a very entertaining show that is just full of physics and science.

You might need to help your student relate what they read in a textbook to what they see on TV, but in the end, the lesson will stick with them.

Take advantage of all the resources we have at our disposal to help make learning relevant for your child.