The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) and End of Course (EOC) Testing will take place between April 9th and May 3rd. These state tests are used to determine a child’s preparedness for the next grade level. Below are the timeframes when testing will occur by grade level and subject.
Talk to your child’s teacher to find out which dates they will be testing.
Target Skills: Writing
Recommended Grade Levels: K-12
Improve writing skills by developing a short comic.
Tap into your child's imagination and have them create a comic book storyline about where they may want to go one day or a dream that they have for themselves.
Open the Supporting My Child page on the TXEL.org website and click on “Student Activities.”
Scroll down to the “Read Write Think: Comic Creator.”
Click on “Launch the Tool” and have your child develop a title and subtitle.
Your child will decide on how many panels to include in their comic (1, 2, 3, or 6).
Children can add backgrounds, images, and dialogue along with captions to develop their comic.
Once the comic is complete, click Finish and print a PDF to keep a copy of their creation.
Recommended Grade Levels: 4-12
Target Skill: Reading comprehension
Articles for students to read about interesting topics.
Get your child curious about how things work. Ask your child questions about Science, tech, home and garden, or much more. All of these can be found on this site. Then have them share the information they found.
Open the Supporting My Child page on the TXEL.org website.
Click on “Student Activities.”
Select “Howstuffworks.”
Have your child select a topic on the top menu bar and have them read an article that interests them and share what they learned with you.
Let them explore what they want from the different topics. You will be amazed at what they find out.
Target Skill: Planning your future
Recommended Grade Levels: 6-12
A tool to guide students toward a successful graduation.
This toolkit helps you and your child understand graduation program requirements and endorsements that will help prepare your child for their future. Read through the toolkit together and discuss what they will need to keep in mind as they head toward graduation.
Open the Student Resources page on the TXEL.org website and go to the paragraph under Graduating High School and click on the "TEA Graduation Toolkit" link.
Read the resource to find out everything you need to know to prepare your child for graduation.
A great resource to guide the discussion about the future is the Texas Reality Check, located on page 10 of the TEA Graduation Toolkit.
Once you've made a plan together, post the checklist somewhere that is visual so you and your child can stay dedicated to their future.
There may be opportunities to support your child’s learning at home. The following activities are some ideas you can try. For more resources, go to the Supporting My Child page, then click on “Student Activities” on TXEL.org.
Read Together
Make reading together a routine in your household. Reading with your child regularly is one of the best things you can do to increase your child's language skills. Talk about the pictures, the story, or the characters. Ask your child simple questions like: What happened first? How would you change the story? Remind me, what happened in the last chapter? These conversations will help reading comprehension and speaking skills that will lead to stronger writing skills.
Shopping with Technology or Sales Ads
Have your child look at a grocery store app or printed store ads help you shop for items you need. This simple tasks allows your child to use images and connect them with language. This is a simple way to help your child understand basic vocabulary. For older children, this activity will allow them to also build their math skills as well. You can give them a budget or ask them to calculate what they will need to make a certain recipe.
50-Cent Words
A simple way to improve your child’s vocabulary is to encourage your child to replace simple words with words that are not often used. These are often called “50-cent words” because they bring more value to your language and writing. For example, instead of saying “I had a good day.” Encourage your child to replace ‘good’ with a less common word like ‘amazing’ or ‘exceptional’. Just by doing this, your child will become mindful of the words they use when speaking and it will reflect in their writing.
Read more at the Supporting my Child page on the TXEL.org website.
Finding the right college for your child may be difficult. Going on college tours can help! Take your child to a local campus or technical school. It's a great way to spark conversations about their future.
While you're there:
Chat about their interests and strengths. What excites them? What are they good at?
Check out the financial aid office, bookstore, and dorms. Show them the support available and what college life is like.
This trip will open their eyes to different options and get them thinking about their goals. It's the first step on their journey beyond high school!
Taking care of yourself (self-care) is key to feeling good and tackling family demands. So how do you stay energized? Here are two great tips from the article, "Why Self-Care?”:
Eat healthy: Think fruits, veggies, grains, and low-fat dairy. Add in protein from seafood, lean meats, eggs, beans, nuts, and seeds for extra power.
Move your body: Regular walks and stretches will keep your energy levels up and you feeling great.
By fueling your body with good food and getting active, you'll be able to have more energy for both your family and yourself.
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