ASK A TEACHER Parent-Teacher Conferences with Nancy Downing |
Q. When I go to my child’s conference what do I need to ask the teacher? A. If your child is in elementary school, reading and math are your priority subjects. If your child cannot read, s/he will not be able to function for long. You want to know your child’s reading grade level. What I mean by this is on what level does your child comprehend what is being read, NOT what level your child can pronounce words correctly. The teacher will have that information. Ask if your child has phonetic concerns (the sounds single letters or combinations of letters make), and if so what sounds are they? In math your child has been reviewing the skills taught in the previous grade. New math skills have just been introduced. Ask if your child has mastered last year’s skills. If your child is weak in any skill, do catch up at home. Your child will have a lot of reading in “today’s” math. Word or Story problems are a major part of the curriculum. Reading carries over into every subject. Your child’s behavior goes hand in hand with the academics. Here are a few questions you will want to ask. Does my child follow verbal instructions? Does my child stay on task? If the answer is “no,” ask “How long does my child stay on task before becoming unfocused?” What causes my child to get off task? What type of behavior does my child display when not focused? If you and the teacher work as a positive team with the focus being to help your child work to his/her potential, your child can do nothing but to grow, grow, grow, grow! Copyright © by Nancy Downing. All rights reserved. |
Nancy has been an educator for 30 years and is currently a special education teacher.
She is the former Center Director of LearningRx in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has
received local, state, and national recognition for her development of Downfeld
Phonics, a multi-sensory reading program. Nancy also wrote curriculum for an
educational technology company.
Nancy is a single mother of three children: one with learning differences, one gifted,
and one who has to work for his grades. Not only does she know what it is like to teach
all these different learning styles at school, but she has the experience of dealing with
all aspects of each twenty-four seven.
She is the former Center Director of LearningRx in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has
received local, state, and national recognition for her development of Downfeld
Phonics, a multi-sensory reading program. Nancy also wrote curriculum for an
educational technology company.
Nancy is a single mother of three children: one with learning differences, one gifted,
and one who has to work for his grades. Not only does she know what it is like to teach
all these different learning styles at school, but she has the experience of dealing with
all aspects of each twenty-four seven.
| Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6) |