"Cathy Kearns" wrote in message
t...

"Chris" wrote in message
ups.com...
That's been my take pretty much. He is bored, he repeatedly states he
is bored. I figure he needs to find some way to occupy himself that is
not distracting to others. Teachers seem to have different levels of
tolerance for this. In 4th grade his teacher remarked that he "read at
inappropriate times." Turns out when she was reading aloud to the
class he preferred to read his own book. I don't see that as a
problem, but she sure did. Similarly, the example of his science
teacher who, despite quite clear evidence that the kid already knew the
material, was upset that he was reading in class. So, we continue to
work on that front. I've suggested doodling, but his teacher is not too
keen on that either. He gets frustrated with helping other kids, but
that is something he needs to learn to deal with better.

My daughter reads ahead in the book the teacher is reading out loud.
Another idea is to present "doodling" as note taking. He can take notes
on
the story being told, perhaps to help him pick out reoccuring themes, or
work on illustrations of the story. In science note taking should be even
more necessary, to pick up minor facts that may be important later on. To
note math equations. Or even to write down questions that explain things
in
more depth that he can ask when appropriate or look up later.

You know, in math class, I never took notes. I never figured out what I
would write down. I learned the basic facts and understood the equations. I
did my homework. I might have copied problems in my notebook. But if I did,
I never used my notebook. However, I used my notes in Soc. Sci. and Science
class. In math, you have to learn the basics, like +, *, - and /. You would
be surprised how many kids use their fingers in math class for counting,
even in the sixth and seventh grades. In fact, I think calculators should be
banned from schools before college, except in science class. I did totally
fine without one in math class, all the way through calculus.

I also learned to take brief notes. I took a class in molecular biology.
When we talked about DNA, I didn't write down that it carries the genetic
information. I already knew. Why waste ink and paper?

When there is a story being read, like in English, he should definitely
learn how to take relevent notes. He should also learn how to take good
notes in science and social studies and math (if it helps him). He should
also learn to outline passages well, like in history and science.

I also like the idea of illustrating things. If he is bored when they are
studying the planets, he could draw pictures of the either planets in this
solar system (pluto is a dwarf planet). This will help him remember things
about the planets. (Of course, if he draws as well as I do, he is better of
taking notes or just looking at pictures. ;-) )

The only other thing I suggest is that he learns to understand things. I
could tell you what the letters in DNA mean, but if you don't understand
what DNA is for, it won't matter. If he learns to understand things, rather
than just memorize things, he will definitely be a leg up.

Jeff