List A (Required Activities)
1. School Notebook and Related Materials
2. Study Center
3. Family Dinner or Breakfast
4. Homework Chart
5. Television Viewing
List B (Four of Six Activities are Required)
1. School and Public Library
2. Magazine Article or Novel Sharing
3. Career Exploration
4. Museum, Live Theatre, or Art Gallery Visit
5. Higher Learning Experience
6. Transfer of Learning
At the parent and student meeting, the teacher should describe each of the activities listed in handout #1. Handouts #2-#5 will also be distributed at this meeting. These additional handouts are necessary for various activities and each will be explained in the unit. Parents should be encouraged to ask questions as each activity is presented. All handouts are to be returned by the parents and children at the end of the unit along with and other required materials. Activity descriptions follow.
List A (Required Activities)
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1. School Notebook and Related Materials. The child without a spiral notebook, an assignment pad, pen, and pencil is in no way prepared to take on the responsibility of school. Specific instructions and a sample of the type of notebook that is required should be presented by the teacher. There should not be any confusion about what is expected. This will vary from teacher to teacher and no further details are necessary. What is important is that the notebook be neat. A special folder for returned papers should be required. Too often notes and tests are lost or just thrown into a desk where they do no one any good. A well organized person that takes pride in his or her work will strive to excel. Item #1 should be purchased and organized within one week of the meeting. Pens and pencils are required each and every day throughout the unit.
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2. Study Center. Item #2 refers to a place to study at home. It is very important that students have an area that is used exclusively for homework and other related activities. Students are required to photograph this area and to bring the photo to school. If no camera is available, a drawing would be acceptable. The study area should include a dictionary, ruler, stapler, tape, paper, and proper lighting. Developing a study center at home gives continuity and importance to school activities. The center must be completed within one month from the meeting which is the end of the unit time span.
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3. Family Dinner or Breakfast. “Education and schooling are not synonymous. Education is a process that begins at birth and lasts a lifetime. Therefore, parents are the child’s first teachers.”
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Much of what we now know we learned from what was said and done at the breakfast or dinner table. While the family schedule and the family itself have certainly changed, it is still vital to spend time together, to exchange stories about the day’s events, and to offer encouragement.
Many mothers now work and there are many one parent homes. Despite these facts, a real effort must be made to have dinner together. If work schedules do not permit, breakfast may be used as a substitute. To complete this activity, the family must eat together at least four times per week during the one month unit. The chart on the following page should be completed by the student, signed by the parent, and returned to the teacher at the end of the orientation period. It is important that at this time together each member of the family has the chance to share his or her thoughts. Helping to prepare and clean the table should be a part of the process.
*Distribute handout #2 which follows.
