Starting Primary 1
We always delight in receiving new pupils for our Primary 1 English programme each year. Every child totters in, unfailingly bright and cheery , inquisitive and enthusiastic about learning.
Most parents of new Primary 1 children are understandably concerned about what exactly to learn for Primary 1 English.
However for most effective learning , it is necessary to understand how exactly Primary 1 children learn.
Today, we will talk about what you should expect when teaching your Primary 1 child.
Primary 1 English – 4 things to expect when teaching your child
1) Quality learning, not quantity
Refrain from solely focusing on the use of assessment books and emphasize on your teaching and explanation of the grammatical rules.
A learning environment in which children are taught to apply grammatical rules with precision ensures quality learning which takes up far lesser time than quantity learning.
For our English programmes, children generally solely rely on our classroom instruction and weekly homework sets which they complete in 30 minutes or lesser.
2) Do expect careless mistakes
Sometimes parents are baffled as to why their children simply cannot copy answers correctly.
Transfer errors are common. So are capitalisation, spelling and punctuation errors.
Making such errors at Primary 1 does not mean that the child is weak in the English language.
This is to be expected, particularly at the start of Primary 1 when children are just starting to learn to apply the grammatical rules with precision.
When it comes to such errors, we gently and consistently remind Primary 1 children without expecting immediate results.
When will my child stop making careless errors ?
The grammatical accuracy varies according to the individual child. Some children can achieve perfect grammatical accuracy while others will be occasionally making such errors.
The real cause for concern arises when there is an excessive number of errors made over an extended period of time with no seemingly logical reason.
3) Your child needs your guidance
Why can’t my child complete the homework set by himself?
Wanting guidance does not mean the child is incapable of completing the work.
At the start of Primary 1 , most children do find certain comfort to have a parent guiding them / seated with them as they complete their work.
It takes a while before they feel more confident of doing the work by themselves.
By the end of Primary 1, most pupils are fully capable of completing the homework sets by themselves.
4) Be patient with your child
Primary 1 children can be rather slow. They take a while to write a word and even longer to write a sentence.
We counsel patience as you teach your child. Good penmanship is a hall mark of higher-ability learners and the acquiring of this skills starts at the Primary 1 level.
So do be patient as he carefully writes each alphabet and reward his efforts to practises his penmanship.
