By Alan Bailey
In the third of a series of articles on parent assistance in class we look at some ways in which parents can help in the middle grades.
Actions often do speak louder than words. And, as at any level in Chugach Optional, parent involvement at the school in the middle grades – grades three and four – sends an unspoken message to the students about the importance of education.
“Parents’ presence in the classroom speaks volumes about what they value and the kids adore having their parents in class,” said middle grade teacher Sharon Lee Jones.
Coming into the school at the beginning of the day, rather than just dropping your child off, sets the right tone and provides opportunities to visit with other parents and to check in with what is happening in our learning space, said Pam Rowell.
“We’re a community,” Pam said. “We greet people and model an inviting tone. Not only is the learning attitude set for the day, but it’s also a welcoming time for the kids with their friends and other adults.”
However, parents are welcome to come in to help in class at any time during the school day. And, contrary to what some may think, there’s at least as much parent involvement needed the middle grades as in the primary grades – it’s just that the nature of the help changes, Pam said.
Take reading and writing, for example.
When students enter the middle grades they already have the building blocks of reading and writing in place, ready to move forward with independent work on more advanced material. So, there is more of a focus on grasping the meaning of a narrative, and understanding the subtleties of a story.
“The nature of the reading changes because they’re not learning how to read. They are now learning to understand what they’re reading, so it’s more about the comprehension and conversations of their understandings of their reading selections,” Pam said.
Class work typically involves book groups and writing workshops, with parents interacting with groups of students, or with individuals. The parents act as reading or writing coaches, coaxing out ideas, perhaps bringing thoughts into focus.
“In my class we do a lot of writing workshops, where the kids are at different stages of the writing process,” said Heidi Edwards. “That requires a lot of parent help and time.”
For example, a parent can work with a student on the final edits of the student’s work, guiding the student on how to tidy up the piece, pointing out any technical problems such as missing periods at the ends of sentences, and giving the student the kind of individual attention that is only possible through parent involvement in the lesson.
“I can’t do it all on my own because it literally takes hours to have the one-on-one time with the children,” Heidi said.
In a book-group session, each group of students reads the same book and parents can guide the students through the reading process, asking questions that encourage the students to think about what an author is saying.
Pam said that different students tend to have reached different levels of reading ability, thus requiring the teacher to flexibly arrange groups of readers. Then, while the teacher is working with a group on one book or independent selections that are “just right” for each student, a parent can help keep other readers on track or lead their own group as a reading coach.
This type of approach becomes especially important in math, with different students moving through different grade-appropriate subject matter at different times in a multi-grade family group, said Sharon Lee. A student will typically feel overwhelmed when faced with a too-advanced math problem, she said. So, with the teacher helping some students through a new math concept that is appropriate to them, a parent can keep other students on task.
“It’s a huge benefit when we’ve got a parent in class during math time … seeing who needs help, sitting down at a table and asking them what they’re doing,” Sharon Lee said.
In math, in particular, parents should resist the temptation to tell students the answers rather than asking questions that guide the student through the struggle of arriving at the solution. A developing student needs to try different strategies, different methods, finding ways to understand and solve a problem, Sharon Lee said.
“When that all comes together, and it will, they’ll be much better off than they would be if they were just told,” she said.
There is a completely different dimension to parent help when it comes to assisting with the theme studies that thread their way through the middle grade program and that add great richness to the students’ learning experience. Projects such as the Middle Ages fair, a highlight of the Middle Ages theme that recurs every couple of years, require an army of parent helpers, sewing costumes; cutting wood and other materials; and purchasing various supplies.
“Middle group could potentially put on a medieval fair without parent help but it wouldn’t look the same,” Heidi said. “The fair has evolved through the years to become what it is today, an exceptional enrichment to our study of middle ages history, only because we have so much help, guidance and preparation from parents."
Then there are the home projects, such as model castle construction, that come with the themes. These projects, a type of student homework, give the kids experience in planning and time management, as well as in doing research and using math skills. Parents perform a vital role by providing support, by helping with planning, and by making sure that the project progresses.
Assistance done at home in other areas of the curriculum includes guidance with word study, where students have to sort sets of words into groups. Word study would not work without parent help, Heidi said.
But in whatever way parents become involved, they should treasure the all-too-fleeting years when their child delights in seeing them at school, Sharon cautioned. Time is short, she said. And that parental involvement sets a solid foundation for a student’s continuing school career.
