Share four steps for improving reading recall
If your teen has trouble understanding and remembering reading material, share this four-step process:
- Read the passage.
- Put a piece of paper over the material.
- With the material covered, try to recall and restate the information.
- Uncover the passage to check accuracy
Expect your teen to prepare for class
Students who don't prepare for class cost the whole class valuable time. When these students don't do their assignments and don't take responsibility for their studies, teachers must spend more time reviewing. This cuts into time for new learning activities. Reinforce the need for academic responsibility. Help your teen plan time to study and complete schoolwork. And make it clear that being unprepared also means facing the consequences.
Introduce your teen to adult responsibilities
Parents often shield their teens from family responsibilities. But in order to become responsible adults, teens need to understand these tasks. To help your teen learn what's involved in running a household, make a family responsibility chart. For each task, include the name of the person responsible, including yourself. Then, as a family, discuss ways to improve and share these job assignments
Parent-tested tips boost student success
In a survey of parents of top students, four out of five said that getting a good education was the most important factor for their teens' future success. They offer this advice to other families: Teach your teen to value education. Expect your student's best effort, and offer support and encouragement. Discipline with consistency and fairness. Ask your teen's opinions often, and encourage independent thinking.
Test-taking is not a competition
Many students are competitive. But sometimes, being too competitive can hurt them in school. Racing to finish a test can lead to careless mistakes and incomplete responses. Remind your teen to use all available test time to double-check answers. Your teen may be among the last to finish the test, but there is a good chance scores will improve.
To make a point with your teen, keep it current
Does your teen tune you out when you talk about the future? Many teens find it hard to relate to a time that seems far off. You may be trying to explain that if your 10th grader doesn't develop better study habits, college will be tough. But to your teen, college seems a million years away. Instead, try linking study habits to a current event, like the math test your teen needs to do well on in order to keep taking driving lessons.
Start a conversation about reading
When students talk about what they've read, they often get more excited about it. Here are a few questions to ask your teen about reading material: What made this book interesting? Did it turn out the way you thought it would? How would you change the ending? Would you want the main character for a friend? Why or why not? Have you experienced something similar to what the main character did?
