Dear teacher,
Our daughter’s fourth-grade teacher scarcely has a free space on her walls. She has hung up all kinds of charts, pictures, and examples of the children’s work. The doors, and even the blinds, have stuff on them. Is this visual overload? Does it affect students’ ability to concentrate?
Dear parents,
Teachers are usually encouraged to have bright colorful displays on classroom walls. But when a classroom takes on the appearance of a supermarket, some educators believe that it can make it difficult for children to concentrate. They believe that when teachers are presenting a lesson, students need to pay close attention to the teacher — and not the wall.
On the other hand, more educators think this is a ridiculous view and that students need to be stimulated. There is no solid research on this subject. Why don’t you ask your daughter if she finds all the things on the wall bother her concentration? If so, you might ask the teacher to evaluate how other students regard the classroom walls.
One area in which some research has been done is on worksheets, handouts, and tests that are crowded. Students will look at a math test with 10 problems and think that they can handle it. Seeing 50 problems on a page can them believe the task is impossible to accomplish. This is a situation of visual overload. Teachers should be aware that too-small print size and little spacing between letters do slow down the students’ reading rate.
Is text messaging considered reading?
Dear teacher,
I am really puzzled about what counts as reading today. My children feel that they are reading when they read text messages or comments on social-networking sites. Are they correct?
Dear parents,
Reading on electronic devices is reading. Your children are right about this. However, a survey by Scholastic and the Harrison Group points out one big downside to this view: they found that from age 6 to 17, the time children spend reading books for fun declines, while the time they spend going online for fun and using a cellphone to text or talk increases. Incidentally, most parents do not consider reading on social-networking sites reading.
The survey also found that technology could motivator kids to read. Fifty-seven percent of the children in the survey said they were interested in reading an e-book, and a third of the children said they would read more books for fun if they had access to them on an electronic device.
This year, the sale of e-books has dramatically increased — especially in the children and young adult category.
Parents understandably have concerns about the amount of time their kids spend on electronic or digital devices, but e-books do offer a way to get more kids to read. The survey also found that the more time struggling readers spend reading e-books for fun, the more proficient readers they become.
Should children use assignment books?
Dear teacher,
You often mention that children should have assignment books. However, in my experience, children fail to use them regularly. Or, if they do, they invariably lose them. Fortunately for our children, all the teachers in their school put all their assignments on the school website. The children never have the excuse of not knowing what their assignments are, and parents always know if their children have homework.
Dear parents,
We’ll admit that it is handy to have assignments put up on websites. It is decidedly helpful for parents, children who are absent, and those who may or may not have written the assignment down accurately.
But there is a big negative to not having to write down assignments: it doesn’t prepare students for high school or college, where the responsibility for knowing what the assignments are, is usually the responsibility of the students.
Ways to make test taking easier
Dear teacher,
My children do well in school — even on most tests. Are there any tricks that they can use that will help them do even better?
Dear parents,
The book, “The Simple Way to an A,” lists three steps that can make test taking easier. You might suggest that your children try them. Plan: find the questions with the highest point value and do them first. Prioritize: if children are unsure on an answer, they can use a number system to show their level of confidence in an answer and go back and check the answer again. Strategize: for example, when matching answers, read the longer column first, as it will give more clues to the answer. Then look for the correct answer in the shorter column.
In addition to these steps, we would add the necessity of reading the directions more than once.
Parents should send questions and comments to dearteacher@dearteacher.com or ask them on the columnists’ website at www.dearteacher.com.
©Compass Syndicate Corporation, 2012.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate
