I know, time and practice, but are there any SPECIFIC things you do to teach your kids how to better pay attention? I don't usually do tests. My son is 5, so why would I? He's clearly ahead of where he'd be in PS, so I know he's doing ok. I gave him an english test today just for the heck of it to see how he'd do COMPLETELY by himself. He made a 44%. It wasn't because he didn't know the material. I gave it to him because it should've been a no-brainer, and I wanted to introduce the concept of taking a test completely on his own. Actually, he'd probably make about a 90% if I were sitting next to him. It was because, for instance, it would tell him to circle all the words that should be capitalized. He'd circle just one and move on to the next question, missing 3-5 points elsewhere in the sentence. Carelessness is the reason for the low score. He was SO EXCITED for me to grade his test (which surprised me seeing how it took him 10 minutes to bother trying). When he found out he got an F on it, he was silly-sad (meaning, he was heartbroken, but covered it with silly smiles and jokes). Ugh! I know it'll get better with time. I know it. I just hated to see the devastation on his face knowing he could've done twice as well as he did. :cry:
I have used following directions worksheets that use a picture and have step by step directions to follow. For example, an apple with 5 worms coming out of it. Color the top worm red, and so on. You can either create your own, or find a workbook or online resource that has these activities. This takes the stress of it being a test away while working on the skills.
I give my boys little "mini tests" with only one or two questions, but the questions have several parts or several answers. When they miss answers we sit and go over the questions and they see their mistakes. Also when we do activities where all they have in front of them is a plain piece of paper, or a drawing, and I give verbal directions, they have to follow my directions to get the result, if they get what they are supposed to(I show them my paper) then I give them a prize. It teaches them to pay attention and it carries over into their written work.
I remember a teacher telling us to get ready for a test. She said to read all the directions before we started and when we were done we could take an early recess. The test had ten questions and several lines of directions at the top, ending with, "Read every question before answering any of them". Of course most people didn't do that and when they got to the last question it said something like, "Put your name and the date on this paper and turn it in. Do not mark anywhere else on the page." Suddenly you heard all these erasers going at top speed trying to erase everything they had done without reading first. It really taught me to pay attention to details. I think I will make up a test like that for my daughter and grandson. My gs is always trying to finish first. Maybe it will help him pay attention.
I typically have my kids redo anything that they misssed so things are easier if they are done correctly the first time.
I've started making my DS do math worksheets on his own. I tell him before he starts that he has to do all the questions (usually there are btw 4 and 8), and he needs to tell me when he is completely done. These are things he should have no trouble doing on his own. I don't emphasize marking it, but I have started putting checks beside correct and complete questions and circling incorrect or missed questions. It has helped a bit. But I think it's normal for a K kid to still be missing things. We just need to emphasis what we are aiming for. Also, I'd give your son a chance to redo that test! Tell him you think he could get an A and that you believe in him. It may make a huge difference in him caring now that he's seen what happens when you don't take your time. Good luck!
I remember a 5th grade teacher doing something like this when I was a kid. Fold the paper like this. Put your name here. Do this, do that... I enjoyed it, but a lot of my class was really frustrated. I wonder if there are any pre-made workbooks or printables or something out there?
There are lots of workbooks for "following directions" I downloaded one from a 1.00 sale at scholastic...actually you should check that out, it's still going on I think and for 1.00 you can't beat it!
Well for me I have kids look at their work and I ask them if they were just looking at someone else's would they think it was neat? Are they able to read it? If they miss questions I merely comment by saying it pays to read the whole question before plowing through the work. I tell them that although I know they have the right answer if it isn't written correctly or neatly enough to be read that I will have to mark it wrong. And I am doing this because when they leave the HS environment they will be tested/marked by others even if it is an employer. And guaranteed shoddy workmanship will cost them a job or two. Bad workmanship is also a waste of time. They may think, hey I got that done quick. But if they have to go back over it to correct or redo then no time was saved only wasted. Its an ongoing process of reminding them really that will lead to better workmanship.
5 is really young! I say this as a parent of another academically advanced kid. She could do advanced work but her careless errors were age appropriate. Just remember it is a skill like any other, that gets worked on a little at a time. I would have just given the test right back to him once I saw how much he'd accidentally skipped, and asked him to look through it again more carefully. I probably wouldn't worry about tests for awhile though. I've seen a marked decrease in careless errors and increased focus on detail as our dd approached puberty. Also, the level of work had to be complex enough to hold her interest. I let her take high school math at a local school starting at age 10. She could get a high A in geometry and algebra II, but I still maintain she might have flunked 6th grade math at that time. It wouldn't have been enough depth for her to focus. She needed the rigor to learn to focus. Well, that and grow up a bit. It is a tough skill, so don't worry if it is slow going!
He's gotten a lot better in handwriting because of this ... I make him erase and do it over if he's sloppy on purpose. For example, he's writing a page of common noun rhyming words in HWT? He'll throw capital letters in just anywhere he wants, and he'll write anywhere BUT the line. I've seen a HUGE improvement in writing over the past... I dunno... 2-4 months, just because I make him do it over when he does that. It's not the level of handwriting that bothers me; it's the level of committment to doing it right rather than slopping it on the page to get it over with. Thanks for your insights, everyone! (Oh, and we did go back over the test again after I graded it. I didn't make that clear in the original post.)
I would probably point out to him that his mistakes were made because he wasn't being very careful. Then I would probably give him a clean copy of the test and let him see how much better his score would be had he been more careful the first time. Then each time I would give him a test in the future, I'd probably remind him to read everything carefully because there might be more than one thing to correct in each sentence.
I give tests back for a redo as well. Both of my children are recovering PS kids, and my 1st grader, in particular, suffers from a lack of confidence in academics. The are both perfectionists, as well, so a failing grade for them would mean they would refuse to even try next time. I don't even put the grade on until AFTER the redo. That way, they are set up for success. And my hope is they will do it more carefully the first time, so they won't have to do the extra work.
