Ready to Learn

Ask four questions when your child has an independent project

Whether it’s a science fair project, a book report or a diorama of Bolivia, independent projects can drive parents crazy. They don’t find out about them until the night before; they don’t understand what the teacher wants and they don’t know how to help.

When your child has an independent project coming up, here are four questions she should be able to answer:

1. What does the teacher expect me to turn in? Finding the answer to this question will save you from a last-minute dash to the store to buy supplies. If your child can’t find the assignment sheet, have her check the teacher’s web page or dig in her backpack to look for something that may have been “misplaced.”
2. What is the topic? If your child can tell you in a single sentence what her topic is, then it is likely that she knows what she’s supposed to do.
3. When is it due? Have her mark this date on the calendar. Teach your child to finish before the deadline. Show her how to break large projects into smaller chunks.
4. What steps do I need to complete to finish the project? This is the time for you and your child to schedule trips to the library for research and to the store for supplies.

If your child can’t answer any of these questions, she needs to talk to her teacher to get the information she needs.

Reprinted with permission from the February 2007 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2007 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Mike Coles, Learning to Learn: Student Activities for Developing Work, Study, and Exam-Writing Skills, ISBN: 1-551-38153-2 (Pembroke Publishers, distributed by Stenhouse Publishers, 1-800-988-9812, www.stenhouse.com).