Learning to read and write efficiently is of the utmost importance in elementary school. However, writing is frequently difficult and can be demotivating for beginning writers. Fortunately these barriers can be partially alleviated with parental help. Many studies showed that parental involvement influences children's competence and motivation in…

Homework is an important way for teachers to develop relationships with their students' parents and other caregivers. The learning activities teachers assign for homework provide parents a window into the content and skills their children are learning at school. Parents have a chance to participate in their children's schooling by…

Recognizes the essential role parents play in teaching and learning, the importance of developing both compassion and intelligence, and a shared responsibility for creating a more equitable world. Focuses on two sets of written conversations that parents and children created after reading texts about civil rights and human rights. (SG)

Describes a four-part writing project that requires students to write about family memories and recent history, literature and folklore of their family heritage, migration patterns that brought their people to the United States, and their reflections on all of these areas. Shows how the project involves research, computer skills, and cooperation…

Data on the writing achievement of 11th-grade students in 1990 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) may help answer the question of who is right: employers and educators who say students are poorly prepared in writing, or parents and students, who are more positive about the results of the writing preparation students receive…

Ideas and guidelines for the organization of effective homework assignments, based on the principle that homework should offer opportunities for learning outside the classroom, are offered. The examples given are for English second language instruction as practiced in public secondary schools in Cyprus, but the principles outlined could be applied…