How to support your teenager at home November 2013 Gill Howard Deputy Head SEN Specialist Services / Speech and Language Base Teacher - The Thomas Hardye School

 To discuss the importance of communication skills as a learning tool  To share ideas for developing speaking and listening skills in the home environment  To suggest ideas for developing reading and writing skills at home Aims:

Communication is: “Are you listening to a word I am saying?”

Communication is:

 Speaking  Listening  Reading  Writing

Speaking and Listening

How can parents support speaking and listening?

Psychologists claim that for every negative comment there should be five positive comments. 5:1

Talking about something enables you to take hold of an idea.

“We Learn... 10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30% of what we see 50% of what we see and hear 70% of what we discuss 80% of what we experience 95% of what we teach others.”

Pronunciation! Phenomenon fi-nom-uh-non

Develop vocabulary Word Games Word association: Try to get back to the original word. Words within words (look at the origin): bat, battle, battalion, combat, combatant, combative, battering ram and debate contain the root ‘bat’ meaning ‘to beat’.

Develop vocabulary Synonyms: How many words can you think of with the same meaning as ‘clever’? (intelligent, quick, bright, talented, gifted, keen, capable, smart, sensible, rational, witty, apt, discerning, knowledgeable, astute, brainy (informal), quick-witted, sagacious, knowing, deep, expert etc.)

If they’re stuck… Brainstorm all you know together – use the internet if you can.

Recap… Speaking and listening: Be positive and interested. Talk as often as possible (not just about school). Ask them to teach you something interesting. Make sure they can pronounce tricky words – keep it fun (word games on car journeys). If they’re stuck, talk it through. Look the subject up on the internet and find a solution together.

Reading

How can parents support reading?

Reading Skills Skimming You read quickly through the sentences getting a gist of the understanding of the text Scanning Your eyes dart around a text searching for a specific word/phrase/number

Reading Skills Reading backwards and forwards You can read back in a text or read forward in order to make connections or clarify your ideas

Reading Skills Inferring / making an inference When someone makes a point that isn’t obvious and you have to read ‘between the lines’ to find the meaning WHAT DO YOU INFER? “The boy bit his lip and walked slowly to the front of the class. He hesitated, swallowed hard and then read out loud.”

Reading Skills Close reading You pay close attention to the sentences, taking time to understand the meaning

Reading Skills Proofreading You pay close attention to your own work, reading it aloud to check it makes sense, then check the spelling and lastly the punctuation.

Recap… Reading: Be positive yourself about reading – it has a huge impact on developing vocabulary. Try to make it fun – consider alternatives to paper books. Bedtime routine? Remember, there are lots of techniques we can use to help our understanding. We all need to re-read information and being fastest isn’t best.

Writing

How can parents support writing? 1)Word (spelling) 2)Writing words in a sentence. 3) Texts:

Spelling How do you spell dyslexia mum?

Syllables Car /pen/ ter3 Ex /plan/ a / tion4 Myth /o/ lo /gi/ cal5

Techniques – useful for tricky ‘one-off’ words SUSSUS S tudy the word U nderline the difficult part(s) S ay the word carefully

Make links to other words tion – Action Carnation Election Fraction Nation Station

Writing

Frequently refer back to the title… Think to yourself, “What is this actually asking me?” Title!

Connecting words: So Therefore Also Furthermore Order words: Firstly After Next Finally Point (Paragraph) 1 Point (Paragraph) 3 Point (Paragraph) 2 What are you going to write about? (e.g. 3 points) Main Title What is the question? Introduction Paragraphs Conclusion

Handwriting!

Recap… Writing: Be positive: “it’s okay to find this hard, we can get through it together!”. Don’t ‘dumb-down’ because you can’t spell a word. Organise ideas into a logical order. Consider doing a touch-typing course e.g.

Encouragement not criticism

Create a literacy environment at home

Consider where studying takes place; make sure everything is to hand.

Play literacy games together! Many have DVD version available, or connect your PC or iPad to your TV.

Personal Best!

Multiple Intelligences Smart with Language Movement Music Self knowledge Numbers Other people Nature Art

Be positive You are such a good learner! Well done!