homework help

cheeswright

Hi Double mummy
although I have read the advice given here I think there is a very specific problem with his literacy work that there isnt with his maths or..well any of his others
and that is - he doesn't know if its right

That probably sound odd - but lots of kids go through a stage of mental development where they are very goal oriented - not that they understand that - but if they can do something and know they have done it right then they will do it quickly and efficiently and be pleased with the result. like maths..
the trouble with literacy is it can be done multiple ways and is never completely correct or completely wrong...and that fries their brains - causes tantrums and all sorts of other acting out behaviors.

Trust that I'm qualified in a number of ways to know that this is absolutely correct. I will bet If you can take his homework and re write it so that its broken down into exact targets he will do it without any problems.
So given the "what are these people feeling" he has no hope whatsoever
but ask him to write a list of 10 emotions - any emotions
then circle the 5 that are most likely to be happening in the picture
I'd bet he can do that
this is very normal for children of this age - in fact much more normal than being able to do the empathetic story writing.

he'll probably have a problem with you doing it but if you do it on a piece of work that the school hasnt set he might be more co-operative and that will at least give you a starting point to work with him and to discuss his work with the school

skattykatty

Agree with cheeswright and Bella.

This seems way too soon to do empathetic writing! Maybe discuss feelings and compare what leads me to feel sad compared to what leads you to feel sad. Maybe begin to explore where, in your body, you feel sad or happy or angry...At 6 children are still grappling with not quite being the centre of the universe!!!

hitatotatus

Sorry, haven't been able to read the whole thread, but just wanted to say this sounds very much like my son was at a similar age. He is now 15 and predicted As and A*s in English, Lit and Drama.
Your son will be fine, just tell him you understand and you are always on his side, and put your concerns in a formal letter to the school.
Also, you can do the homework for him. I did for mine in some subjects up to Year 9 if they didn't know what to do. Once it was done, I would get them to re-write or put in their own words. They start to work independently eventually, and sometimes they just don't know the answer until someone tells them. If you give them the answers they will know the next time, so I never saw any harm in giving them an example to work from. Homework shouldn't be a test.

double_mummy

cheeswright wrote: »

So given the "what are these people feeling" he has no hope whatsoever
but ask him to write a list of 10 emotions - any emotions
then circle the 5 that are most likely to be happening in the picture
I'd bet he can do that
this is very normal for children of this age - in fact much more normal than being able to do the empathetic story writing.

he cant do this he only knows 4 emotions angry scared happy and sad that is it he cant tell me another emotion or even about it

i have talked to the school this morning and he will not be doing literacy homework except for little bits i get him to do on an when and if he wants to try basis he will not be staying in at break time for not doing his homework am waiting for a phone call back from senco at his school and will keep you all updated thank you for your support and i know this may be a matter of his age or that he is a boy but i would rather make sure there isnt anything underlying now rather than later

heretolearn_2

"nope no dyslexia is an amazing reader and is currently reading harry potter and james and the giant peach he reads aloud so i know hes not just skimming through them"

OP- while I'd resist any urge at labelling such a young child, and there could be all sorts of reasons for his distress/resistance of writing, I just want to let you know that reading and writing are two completely different skills - and some dyslexics only have problems with one of them. My own son behaved in a very similar way to yours (again, it's just an anecdote, not a suggestion your son is the same) - total resistance/inability to write/crying/adults getting very frustrated as he refused to even try (including me I'm sorry to say) but very intelligent and an excellent reader. After years of stress and struggle and being labelled 'lazy' by the school, I finally managed to get him assessed, and yes, he is dyslexic. It only effects his writing, not his reading.

When I discussed his resistance and distress at even trying with his SEN, she made a very good point. He can read well. Therefore he looks at what he's writing and knows it's wrong/bad/not what he wants to produce. How often would I want to keep trying at something I know I'm failing at? If your son can read well, this might be putting him off the trying/learning/failing/trying again stage of learning to write?

cutestkids

Just to pick up on the reading bit, some children can pick up reading very quickly in that they know the words by sight and could read just about anything by the time they are 7 years old but often they do not have the comprehension skills at this age so although they read very well the finer points of the text mean nothing to them, it is just words on a page that they can read.
So things like reading with expression, emotions within the story and a true understanding of the plot are not at the same level as the actual reading of the words.
I have come across this at work just this term with a very young child who like your son was on Harry Potter and other books of a similar style and she could read the words well but found it very difficult to put any expression into it, when asked about the finer details of the plot and the characters and how they may have felt she just did not understand what we wanted from her.