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Why Structure?
Why Structure?
Structures help us in our daily lives. You might keep a to-do list; you might have a drawer where you keep pencils, scissors, paperclips, and other materials; you might have a box or envelope where you keep coupons or important mail; or you might have a specific place where you put your dirty clothes.
Structures help us in our daily lives. You might keep a to-do list; you might have a drawer where you keep pencils, scissors, paperclips, and other materials; you might have a box or envelope where you keep coupons or important mail; or you might have a specific place where you put your dirty clothes.
Structure provides students with a sense of consistency. Strong structures will help them develop self-management skills and learn the skills they need to take responsibility and take charge of their learning at school.
Structure provides students with a sense of consistency. Strong structures will help them develop self-management skills and learn the skills they need to take responsibility and take charge of their learning at school.
Here are some ways you can help!
Here are some ways you can help!
Create a Workspace
Set up a workspace, or a home-based learning zone, where the student can go to complete homework and other activities. If you have room for a desk, great. If not, consider even a box in which the student can store pencils, pens, crayons, rulers, and other materials to use when working, and have the student bring the box to wherever they are working on school assignments at home. This structure will ensure that the student is not looking around for materials or trying to decide where to work. If the student can work in multiple places, have a conversation about each and the pros and cons of each. For example, working on the couch in the living room could be a problem if someone else is watching television and the student needs to concentrate, but might be a great place to work if they need to focus on reading and the room is quiet.
📎 Download or print this resource with Tips for Creating a Home-Based Learning Zone.
Tips for Creating a Home-Based Learning Zone.pdf
Develop Norms
Norms are guidelines or "rules" that explain how members of a group interact or communicate, and they help clarify what is expected, especially in terms of how we behave, or act, in different situations. Include students in talking about how they think group members should interact.
As you create a list of norms for home, think of the times when conflict or confusion might happen, and create a norm. You might consider having norms for cleaning up the kitchen, sharing technology tools and games, saying kind words to one another, or for older children, you might have norms for communicating by text with status updates when the child has arrived at a location, needs a ride home, etc.
MBK Norms.mp4Sample Norms for Home:
Use only kind words and think before you speak.
Leave the room in better condition than when you entered it.
Cheer loudly and celebrate the accomplishments of your family members.
Help one another work through challenges.
Listen to one another.
Use Schedules
Scheduling time is a key skill in life. Have students create schedules for how they will spend their time after school and on the weekend. At the youngest level, they can number in order what they want to do. Snack first? TV first? Play first? Homework first? Then what's next? And so forth. From third grade and on, students should insert times, including deciding how long they will engage in each activity.
📎 Download or print this resource on Scheduling Time at Home.
Scheduling Time at Home.pdfCreate Checklists to Support Scheduling and Structure
Use a checklist like the one shown here to help younger children with making the schedule — and support your child in making good choices, too!
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