How to Help a Third Grader Succeed in School

One thing that most adults forget when they grow up is just how hard each successive grade level can be for a young student. Third-graders know nothing beyond their own experience. Thus the third grade needs to be treated as a time when succeeding becomes a goal. Here are guidelines on how a third grader can succeed in school.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Read to the third grader and encourage them to read on their own. Listening to others read can help them gain reading comprehension that is hard to gain on their own. Reading is the best and most efficient way to energize and enlighten a young mind. Also vary the reading material and try to find out which titles or subject generate the most interest from the third grader.

2. Help the third grader with math flash cards. Third grade is usually the first year that children are asked to start working out math problems in their head or on paper. While flash cards are a good tool, a parent can just simply asd their child random math questions. For example, ask the child to compute how much a grocery item sells for by the pound or ounce.

3. Take the third grader outdoors as much as possible. Also encourage them to ask scientific questions about how things work in nature. This will also help with peer bonding--as you both learn together. Often in third grade the science classes start to expand to more complicated theories and the child will be asked to make observations about nature.

4. Understand that most third graders are good at making friends with classmates but not so good at keeping friends. Help them understand the dynamics of a friendship. The may seem outside of the scholastic parameter but social dynamics is very important for a child to succeed and enjoy school.

5. Realize that at or around the third grade children start to assert their independence from the parents. This should not be taken as bad behavior, provided the assertion of independence is within reason. While this is healthy emotional growth in the third grader it can make helping the child with school harder. She will want to do more and more things on her own to show her competence. Be patient and understand this reaction for what it is.

Tips & Warnings

• Stay active in your third grader's school as much as possible. That way you can get others' views of what your child is experiencing and how he or she is progressing.

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[arcticexplorer]

on 1/15/2009 continued....the entire course of his life between now and age 18 and keep from being cast into a class of outcasts. He does well in school academically and does well in little league but I won't stand by passively and allow him to be demeaned. Any suggestions on a better approach than four hard paunches in the nose? Thanks.

[arcticexplorer]

on 1/15/2009 My third grade son is extremely intelligent but is showing signs of depression because he has no friends. The first three years of school found him with many friends. I used to observe him acting like a clown to get others to laugh. This year we have problems with kids calling him names and causing trouble for him whenever possible. I asked him who he he played with at recess and he said "no one." I then became more concerned when he said he was alright with that. However, I know he is not. I trip to the school resulted in a teacher and principal warning some of the other kids. A week later all is forgotten and its happening again. I can't make him likable I fear but I can make him a very effective boxer and put an end to the teasing very effectively. I hesitate to take this route because I don't want him to be punished but from experience, such a move could change the entire course of h