How to Catch Up a Student That Has Fallen Behind
Do you have a kid(s) that have fallen behind because of sickness, school closures, a move, or for other reasons? This is an issue many of us are facing right now. It affects homeschool families and public/private school families alike. Maybe just keeping up on school was hard enough before, but now facing catching up a year or months’ worth of schooling can seem downright daunting. It can be done, and likely a lot easier than what you are imaging. Take a deep breath and read through this post for how to help your child catch up in school.
Steps to Help Your Child Catch Up
Step 1: Assess Where They Are Behind
Maybe you have noticed that they are not reading at the level they should be, or they are in 7th grade and don’t know how to multiply fractions. Consider doing some more informal testing. Check their understanding of what they read, see what math concepts they know/don’t know, check writing proficiency, etc. I would recommend using more formal testing if the informal testing left you feeling more than just mildly concerned. There are many different kinds of tests available. If your student hasn’t recently taken a standardized test, this might be a good time to look into having them take one. Curriculum pretests can also be very helpful. Do more than one kind of testing if possible. Combine what you learn from formal tests with what you have observed informally.
Step 2: Prioritize
By looking at the testing results and your observation notes, you can then list the areas that they are the farthest behind in. List these in order by priority of most critical to least critical based on the assessments and what areas you consider most important.
Step 3: Write Goals
After you have prioritized the areas of most concern, you will want to take the top 2 or 3 and write specific goals for them. You don’t want to overwhelm them (or yourself) by setting goals for all of them at once. You will still be working on those areas, but it is best to make only 2 or 3 a focus. And don’t forget to plan rewards for reaching a goal met.
Step 4: Make a Plan to Reach the Goals
Write a plan for each of the goals. I have listed some ideas to consider for planning depending on the schooling situation. Also include in the plan a way of tracking the progress.
Homeschooling Plan
One way to add extra learning time in, but not overwhelming a kid is to write a plan that includes lessons in the morning, and then a fun activity (or activities) in the afternoon. These activities are intended to introduce a new concept or put learned concepts to practice. They may be concepts learned from last week, 3 weeks ago, or that day. Activities might include cooking that requires measuring and using fractions. Other ideas are science projects, building projects, certain arts/crafts, playing educational games, and reading to a sibling or grandparent (or reading along while listening to an audiobook).
Remote or Hybrid School Plan
You can likely do something similar to the Homeschool Plan. Be ready to give extra help with lessons in areas that you know they are behind in. Don’t hesitate to talk to the teacher(s) that are assigning the hybrid schoolwork. Teachers have found it harder to know how students are really doing now that much of the schoolwork is being done remotely.
Attending Full-time School Plan
Set up a meeting with the teacher(s). Come prepared with notes of what you have noticed with your child and your priority list. Express to the teacher that you have some concerns and would like to work with him/her/they to make a plan to bring your child up in X,Y,Z areas. Most teachers will be happy to work with you and can get you resources that can be very helpful. Remember to take notes as to what you and the teacher(s) made for a plan. It is also a good idea to set a future meeting date about a month out to go over how the plan is working.
Finding Resources to Help
Now that you know what you need to teach, and have a plan made, it is time to execute the plan. You will need to find resources to help you.
Outside Help/Tutors
If you don’t have the time, or you don’t feel completely confident in teaching an area your child is behind in, you may want to consider help from someone else. Think about someone you know that would be good at this and may be interested in helping your child in this area. It could be a friend, grandparent, parent, a retired (or current) teacher, or maybe an older kid. If you cannot think of anyone, you can contact the local school. Oftentimes, schools will have a list of people interested in tutoring. Likely these individuals already have an hourly wage they charge for tutoring. This will also give you an idea of how much to budget for hiring a tutor, or consider trading or bartering (babysitting, housecleaning, etc.). Tutoring job can vary widely. You will need to decide in your plan what kind and how much help you feel will be beneficial.
Textbooks, Workbooks, Worksheets, Printables
If you find that your kid(s) are behind in all areas, you may want to consider purchasing a textbook or workbook for their performing grade level. I recommend one that does not show the grade level on the textbook or workbook. Kids, even if they know they are that far behind, don’t need to see (and be reminded daily) that they are not on grade level. Sometimes it can be difficult to find ones that don’t say “Grade 3” or “Level D” (if the letter levels are by grade level). There are some textbooks and workbooks that are leveled more discreetly (i.e., Levels A-C are Kindergarten, D-E are first grade, F is 2nd grade, then G is 3rd grade).
If you can’t find discreet leveling books, look for worksheets/workbook pages that you rip out that don’t have a level written on the sheets. Another option is to find printables online that you can download and print off your computer. If this is too much for your printer, you can download onto a zip drive. Then take the zip drive to a copy & print place to have them printed (and bound) if you like.
Online
I try to limit my kids’ screen time, but feel some online academic games are super helpful (especially when you are trying to catch up a kid). The best ones are those that allow the parent or teacher to set up specific areas of learning (i.e., calculating percentages), so that the child’s time online is focused only on what they need to be working on. Some sites also offer an update on how the child is doing, what areas they have mastered, etc. Prodigy, ABC Mouse, Adventure Academy, FunBrain and Epic are games worth considering.
Watching YouTube videos on a specific subject matter can also be super helpful. Some good YouTube sites I have used are Homeschool Pop, Khan Academy, Science Max, FreeSchool, and Elf Kids. There are also some really good apps (at least for primary grades) that you can download to a phone or tablet. I like Starfall, Math Games by AppStudios, and Kahn Academy Kids. There are so many apps, online educational programs and educational videos available, and many free or very inexpensive. The ones I have suggested above are only a small number of the good ones out there. You can also download (some free, some paid) digital lessons designed by teachers from Teachers Pay Teachers.
Books & Audiobooks
Many local libraries now have audiobooks available as well as books. Ask your librarian if you are not sure. Other homeschool parents will often share these resources as well. Amazon Audible has a huge selection with varying membership deals/prices.
Games
A fun way to practice and learn a lesson is with games. Some board games are specifically made for teaching a subject, and there are others that just happen to have lessons in them (i.e., Yahtzee is great for practicing adding 3 or more numbers and beginning multiplication). You can also use a deck of playing cards to practice math numbers and facts. I have a blog post that explains some of these games. You can also use blank printable game boards to make a game specific to something you are working on. Below is a listing of some fun educational games & puzzles.
- Yahtzee, Quizmo, Sum Swamp for math fact practice
- Other board games: Money Bags, Life, Chutes & Ladders, Scrabble, Boggle
- Puzzles: States & Capitals, World Map, Human Body
Recap: How to Help Your Child Catch Up
- Assess where the need is
- Make a plan (Prioritize, Rewards)
- Use unleveled workbooks, textbooks, worksheets, printables
- Use Online resources (audiobooks, educational videos, apps)
- Play games to reinforce and teach
