The summer temperatures may not give a hint of fall time, but the sales at the stores give every hint that folks in Cherokee County are preparing for the back to school season. As the summer winds down, many parents and students begin to prepare for the school year in a multitude of ways. There are tell tale signs of the back to school shopping, there are those that work on their daily routines leading up to school, and there are those that try to polish up and review academics. Of course, there are many that work on a combination of all of these preparations. We wanted to share a few resources, on behalf of AroundAbout Local Media, for the reviewing of academics and polishing up on curriculum.
Review the Previous Curriculum
The phrase, “You have to know where you’ve come from to know where you’re going,” applies to preparing for the coming school year. A great place to start with a refresher for academic preparation is with the parent brochures for the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (Common Core GPS) that the Cherokee County School District uses. This will allow families to view what content their child was exposed to in their previous grade. For example, if a student completed third grade in the 2014-2015 academic school year, it is a good idea to review the third grade concepts they were exposed to. Review these key concepts with your child as a refresher to make sure your student is comfortable in their prior knowledge of academic content.
Preview the Coming Curriculum
In addition to reviewing where a child has come from academically, it is a good idea to look at what lies ahead. The same parent brochures are a good resource for this. Also, the complete Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics are great places to look for specific standards that your child will be covering. Reading through these standards may be be time consuming, but it will also lead to a much richer knowledge and understanding of what your child will be expected to learn and master academically this coming school year. As you read them, imagine what sorts of activities you can encourage at home to help add exposure for these standards. This is a great way to help them through their academic strengths and areas of concerns leading up to and throughout the coming school year.
If you have questions or concerns about the content that your child will be learning or that he or she may be struggling with after reviewing and previewing, don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher. As a subject matter expert, the teacher will be able to partner with you in helping your child succeed.
How do you prepare your child for the start of the school year?