Top 10 Tips for Teachers at Parent Conferences : Part Four

7. Parental Instruction: Apart from giving acknowledgement of how well a student is doing and giving credit to the parent, you can also make suggestions to the parent on how to help with their child’s work when at home.  Drills are very popular as it allows parents to see exactly what is being learned and helps the student identify the knowledge as coming from an additional source, their mom or dad. Believe it or not, this helps with retention. Remind parents that it is a good idea for them to bring up school especially when their child may not mention it. While sometimes it is just an oversight, sometimes the child may have had something happen that you are not aware of. And if you are not aware of it, how can you address it?

8. Lesson Plans and Parents: There are many different ways that school districts handle lesson plans but none of them say that it is a confidential document between teacher and principal. If you are confident in your abilities and have the plans that go along with it, then share some of them with your parents. This is a nice way that you invite the parent, mentally, into the educational process of the classroom. They will see how you approach lessons and perhaps even relax a bit after seeing how organized you may be in your approach to teaching. There is not a need to hand over your lesson planners, simply send the occasional plan home with a student or have print outs available for parents who would like them at a conference.

Continue to Top 10 Tips for Teachers at Parent Conferences : Part Five