Dear Teach: Homework & Reward

Hi Boys and Girls.


You would probably agree HOMEWORK is the most discussed after school topic. Either it is in the form of a question, such as: Do you have any homework? or it is in the form of a statement: I have so much homework!

Which ever way it is, and despite how you feel about it, homework in small quantities or in large quantities is something that is synonymous with being a student.

So, here's the deal---get it done as soon as possible-- as well as possible--make it a habit--and take pride in the fact you can indeed do it.

WOW! Just think back to your younger school years---I bet you are amazed at how much more you now can do.

So, to keep you going, here's a few TIPS in reading homework completion:

TIPS

Read when you are MOST alert i.e. early evening, NOT late at night

Get into a routine of when and where  you will always do your reading assignments [a very quiet place free of distractions]
Have a second copy of any novels; one for school and one for home

Have materials such as your lit log, or journal, questions, author’s craft sheet, a dictionary, etc. at your work area

Study Skills

As you read a few pages:

  Pause and think, “What did I just read?”

•    Try to answer a few guided reading questions

•    Make reflections in lit log [Focus Words]

•    Enter summaries that tell the main plot events of the passages

•    Attempt higher order evaluation of author’s craft; see author’s craft sheet

•    Read with a family member, a friend,

•    Alternate between reading a few pages out loud and silently

•    Use POST-IT notes to mark passages that you do not understand and/or include those passages in Focus Words label clarify

•    Reread confusing parts 2X

•    After you have read quiz yourself; where does the story take place, what happened, why, how, etc.

•    make up 5 quiz questions you think will be on the daily quizzes

•    If you don’t know the meaning of a word, try to look up at least one per page, or ask someone

•    NEVER skip paragraphs, pages, chapters, etc. because you are behind and want to move on with this

•    PAY ATTENTION TO TEXT AND VISUALIZE

•    Use our strategies for Questioning, Predicting, Connecting, Responding, Clarifying, etc.

•    Lastly, enjoy the readings, they are like watching a movie, it's just in print!

It is a bad habit to skip around and not to read all the assigned text. Doing so prevents you from practicing an important skill you need in order to become a fluent reader.

, 

On a final note, gaining in reading comprehension is a process that requires daily practice. Reading and writing on a daily basis will provide you with the practice you need.

Once you have finished one hour of daily homework [more or less that is],  it is time for a REWARD!

Always set a reward for yourself. It can be anything. Most kids like to play with their electronic toys, or watch TV. 

Here's a few new ideas for you:


View Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. He was a Cosmologist.

 

What is your opinion on his perspective? What message is Mr. Sagan trying to give humanity? Write about this idea.


Invent something:

The Inventor

Jeffrey Nash, shown with Donna Sanchez
 invented the Juppy, a sling that helps 

children learn to walk

After 15 years selling men’s clothing for a national retailer, Jeffrey Nash, 58, was earning $90,000 a year and was often the top salesman in his company. But as the recession deepened, he began referring his customers to struggling co-workers. His sales commissions took a hit.

“I kind of softened up,” he says. “My sales went down because I was sharing them.”

His income fell to $65,000. And as shoppers became more cautious during the recession, he knew that it would soon fall even further.

“I was doomed,” he says. “I knew I had to come up with an idea.”

Mr. Nash, who lives in Las Vegas, had invented a device he called the Juppy, a sling that helps toddlers learn to walk more safely and confidently.

“I had already touched base with a patent attorney and had started the ball rolling,” he says. He took three weeks of vacation to see if he could make a go of his invention, telling only a few people about his plans. Their opinions were “really negative,” he recalls.

Undaunted, he drove to Los Angeles and San Diego, selling the Juppy from his trunk and on a televised sales show, and earning $12,000 in three weeks.

“I never went back to work,” he says.

Investing $35,000 of his savings and an additional $9,000 from his father and a friend, Mr. Nash had the device manufactured in China.

“The transition was simple,” he says. “If I’d stayed in my old job, I was going to lose in the end. I was done. I needed a massive change. I needed income of several hundred thousand dollars. I knew I had to take a risk, a massive risk.”

That included selling his home — for $200,000 less than he had paid for it, because of the downturn — and renting a house instead.

“I used to drive a Lexus,” he says. “I let that go. I don’t need it anymore.”

Mr. Nash has since sold $500,000 worth of his product, netting $200,000 in two and a half years, an annual average of $80,000.

He is relieved, and proud of having successfully leapt from the familiar into the unknown.

“It’s unbelievable to me that at my age I recognized a need and filled it,” he says. “We’re having a hard time filling orders right now, we have so much demand.” 

Start an indoor garden:

                                                                        In Bottles:

                                                                        In a glass jar:

Use a plant part:

Be Well.

The Teach