Worksheets: Reworking A Homework Ordeal
Worksheets are a major part of reading homework in the early grades--and even beyond. And multiple choice items are one of the favorite formats used. For example, there may be five sentences where each sentence has a missing word or phrase. The child’s task is to fill in the missing words by selecting from a set of 10-15 words that are presented in a list above, below or next to the sentences. For children who are proficient in reading, this format --like most of the reading tasks--poses no problem. But for children who have reading difficulties, the experience can be a nightmare.
It’s not hard to figure out why. The design means that for each item, the child has to scan through the list of choices before finding the one that fits. In other words, he or she is reading through a long set of unwanted, irrelevant material.
And this process is not limited to one go round. It has to be repeated for each item. The end result is that the child is doing far more reading of irrelevant material than relevant material. The effort can be draining. Ultimately, it leads to lots of frustration, "careless" errors, and all the other mechanisms a person puts in place when they feel overwhelmed. What can be done?
Ideally, this format should be eliminated. However, since that goal is unrealistic--at least in the short term, it is best to provide your child with the help he or she needs to get through the work.
You can do this by limiting the selections used for each item. For example, instead of having your child peruse the whole set of 10 to 15 choices, you can point to three of them and say, "The correct choice is one of these." This can be done for each item --with the three choices that you select naturally varying from item to item.
Most children are greatly relieved by the help and they readily respond and make steady progress over a few weeks. Ironically, some have become so accustomed to failure that they initially reject the assistance with comments such as “But that’s cheating. You’re making it too easy.†Should this happen, simply say, “This is just a first step. It will help you so that you can learn how to do all the material on your own. All it takes is a bit of time.â€
Comments
I like your suggestions on worksheets and will print them out and show them to my son's elementary school teacher and support staff. I also would like to thank you for suggesting that I use the Phonics Plus 5 Program for my 3rd grade son. Matthew and I are half way through the program and he is doing very well. He is feeling better about his reading ability (processing delay) and we hope to finish the program by July 1st. What would be the next step to take to keep him moving forward over the summer? I would like him to continue on to 4th grade with his new appreciation for reading.
He actually likes to do the lessons, he sees how each new story is built from the earlier ones.
Thank you so much,
Emily & Matthew Calascione Bedford,NY
Posted by: Emily Calascione | May 28, 2007 02:35 PM