Learning and Achievement Article Archive

• Talking With Teachers About Student Progress - Don't wait for the report card to find out how your child is doing in school; a veteran principal offers tips for parents to keep in touch all year long.
• School and the Internet: What You Should Know - How students are using the Internet at school, and precautions you should take at home.
• Better Grades—You Can Help! - Make sure your child is ready to learn and achieve at school with these 10 smart tips on what you can do at home to prepare her for success.
• What Is Your Child’s Learning Style? - Understanding how your child learns can reduce frustration and improve achievement.
• Learning Styles Quiz - Get insight into how your child learns best.
• Can Food Help You Learn? - Eating certain “brain foods” might make your kids smarter...but research shows they’ll be better off with a balanced diet, a good breakfast, and regular physical activity.
• How Boys Learn - Many boys need opportunities to move around and like competitive situations.
• How Girls Learn - Girls like to collaborate and often create strong relationships.
• 10 Questions About Your Child and School - The more you know about how your child deals with challenges and what's expected of him, the better you'll be able to help him achieve. Start by asking these key questions.
• Kindergarten Academics: What To Expect - This year, kids are getting ready to read and learning new skills through play.
• 1st Grade Academics: What To Expect - This year, kids will learn to read and will begin to have routine homework assignments.
• 2nd Grade Academics: What To Expect - This year, kids transition from learning to read to reading to learn.
• 4th Grade Academics: What To Expect - This year, teachers move past the basics and students are expected to apply what they’re learning.
• 3rd Grade Academics: What To Expect - Students in 3rd grade are meeting higher academic expectations and learning more complex concepts in school.
• Children Who Volunteer Get Better Grades - Children learn important lessons when families volunteer together.
• Find Out Your Child's Learning Style and Boost Achievement - By learning how your child learns best, you can go a long way toward helping her achieve success.
• Dealing With Student Frustration - “I hate school!” “Math stinks!” “I’m dumb!” Statements like these are often signs of a child who’s frustrated with his schoolwork.
• Encourage Girls To Study Math, Science - Today, math courses are often the key to higher paying jobs. Yet many girls don't take the math they'll need for these careers.
• Children Learn Differently; How Does Your Child Learn? - When your child tries to put a new toy together, does he read the instructions first? Then he may be a visual learner who learns best by seeing.
• It May Not Be Smart To Praise Your Child for Being "Smart" - It’s common for parents to praise children for being “smart.”
• Attendance Is Directly Linked to Achievement - Parents who let their kids miss a lot of school are setting them up for school failure.
• Aptitude and Achievement Tests Defined - Testing is a fact of life for schools today. As a parent, you may wonder about the different types of tests your child takes.
• A Tutor Could Help Your Child Catch Up in School - If your child is falling behind at school, consider getting a tutor.
• If You Think Your Child Needs a Tutor - If your child is having trouble in a subject, you may have thought about finding a tutor. But first try talking with your child’s teacher.
• 10 Easy Tips for Kids' School Success - Sometimes, it’s the little things that can lead to problems in school.
• Find the Learning Style That Works Best for Your Child - Does your child know how he learns best?
• 5th Grade Academics: What To Expect - Language arts and especially math get harder this year, and students will be expected to manage their time more independently.
• 6th Grade Academics: What To Expect - Students will be using more sophisticated thinking skills, interpreting and synthesizing the information they’re learning.
• 7th Grade Academics: What To Expect - Academic concepts continue to get more advanced, and students will really need to use their study skills this year.
• Schools Recovering From Swine Flu - The spread of the H1N1 flu led hundreds of U.S. schools to close their doors. Parents and students might need to make up that lost time classroom time.
• What Kids Are Learning - Standards vary from state to state, but here’s a general look at what kids will be taught at each grade level.
• 8th Grade Academics: What To Expect - Classes get tougher, but students still have time to strengthen academic and organization skills before entering high school.
• High School: What To Expect in 9th Grade - Freshman year is about adjusting to high school and choosing an academic track.
• High School: What To Expect in 10th Grade - Sophomores have more choices at school and may need help to stay focused.
• High School: What To Expect in 11th Grade - Junior year is about preparing for college and learning to drive.
• High School: What To Expect in 12th Grade - Seniors often struggle to stay motivated as they near the end of high school and look toward college.
• Swine Flu and School - Health officials have changed their initial recommendations of how parents and schools should respond to the H1N1 virus. Here's what you should know.
• Address Learning Challenges Early - Potential learning problems don’t have to hold back your child. If you’re worried, speak up early to enlist help from teachers and support staff.

Building Learning Skills

• Summer Amnesia: Avoid the Brain Drain - Kids lose academic ground in the summer. Use these tips to keep them from falling behind.
• Parents Are Teachers, Too - Use these simple ideas to reinforce learning at home and develop your child’s academic skills.
• Playing With Clay Teaches Children To Follow Steps - Your child probably loves making things with clay.
• Begin Questions With How & Why To Promote Thinking - Four-year-olds hear a lot of questions that begin with who, what, when and where.
• Build memory skills with storytelling & drawing - Researchers have found that children’s ability to remember is tied to their language skills.
• Build your child’s concentration with some hands-on activities - Staying involved with one activity encourages preschoolers to concentrate.
• Watch for Changes in a Special Plant or Tree - March brings hints of the spring that will be coming soon, including changes in trees and plants.
• Explore Worlds of Fun and Adventure at the Library - The local library is a great place to explore.
• Asking, ‘How Do You Learn?’ Gets Children to Think - Kids learn more and stay more motivated in their schoolwork when they reflect on their own learning—when they continually make a self- assessment.
• Four Strategies To Boost Study Success - A child's success in school does not just depend on intelligence.

View all 'Building Learning Skills' articles.

Learning at Home

• Make Summer Count - Yes, learning and summer fun can coexist. Use these tips to help your child get the most out of summer.
• Let the Kids Plan the Vacation - Children learn a wealth of skills by planning the family vacation. It’s a lot of fun, and not as risky as you might think.
• Sneak Learning Into Summer Fun - Teachers offer their favorite ideas to combine education and fun.
• Talk With Your Child About All The Things That Make Her Special - All adults and children have qualities that make them special, and it’s important to talk about them together.
• Strong Self-Esteem Helps Prepare Children To Succeed in School - One of the most important ways to prepare children for school is to help them feel good about themselves.
• Make Sure You Are Noticing the Things Your Child Does Right - It is so important that parents take time to recognize his successes, his attempts and his good behavior, too.
• Show Your Child You Love Him by Making February Special - How to make Valentine's Day special for kids.
• Giving Attention Is Another Way To Recognize Your Child’s Efforts - What children really need is acceptance. The best way to give this is to give your child your full attention.
• Celebrate Children’s Successes by Dedicating Special Dinners - When children succeed, they should feel proud of themselves.
• Give Specific Instructions To Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem - The best self-esteem comes from within your child when she realizes she is a capable person—that she can do things on her own to help herself and other people.

View all 'Learning at Home' articles.

Apathy & Underachievers

• Ideas To Help Boost an Underachieving Child - The tests show your child should be doing better in school. But somehow, he's always behind in his schoolwork.
• Banish Your Child’s Boredom - Children often complain of being bored.
• Make advice easier to take with three pluses and a wish - Sometimes we need to give our teens advice.
• Help Your Teenager Resolve Problems Before Next Year - Maybe this hasn’t been the best school year for your teen.
• Motivate your middle schooler during the mid-year doldrums - It’s normal to fall into a rut once in a while, but you don’t want your child making a habit of it.
• Help Your Underachieving Middle Schooler Improve - The end of the school year is near. Is your middle schooler still not making the grades?
• College Courses May Motivate Some Bright, Bored Teenagers - Bright but bored. Teens who fit this description often start to “turn off” from school.

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Report Cards & Grades

• Steps To Help Your Child Earn Great Grades - Some kids—and even some parents—believe that an A student is just born that way. But teachers know that students can learn the skills they need to earn A’s.
• Help Your Child Deal With Report Cards; Good or Bad - No matter how your child’s grades are, you can use the way you talk about her report card to help her do better in school.
• Do You Know Why Your Child Gets Bad Grades? - Your child has brought home a report card that’s less-than-perfect.
• Report Card Time: 3 Ways To Help Your Child - A midyear report is a good time for you and your child to set goals for the remainder of the year.
• Find Problems, Set Goals to Overcome a Poor Report Card - A poor report card at mid-year isn’t good.
• Teach Your Child That a Grade of F Means ‘Feedback’ - Your child has just come home with a test or paper graded F. What can you do?
• Don’t Assume Your Child ‘Isn’t Trying Hard Enough’ - It’s easy for parents to get frustrated with kids who don’t do well in school.
• Getting Good Grades, Getting Into College Top Teen Worries - It isn’t easy to be a teen today. In a recent survey, two out of three high school students said their life is tough.
• Help Your Teenager Resolve Problems Before Next Year - Maybe this hasn’t been the best school year for your teen.
• Help Your Child Get Back On Track With Schoolwork - Even students who never had problems in elementary school may seem to struggle in the middle school years.

View all 'Report Cards & Grades' articles.