Tracking learning for your child can feel like a mountain of a task on top of your ever-growing list of things to do parents. How can you keep tracking learning for your child, get homework done, do after-school club drop offs and pick-ups as well as do the washing and shopping? Once you get into a good routine of tracking your child’s learning, it won’t feel like a huge task. And it will also save you time in the long run when it comes to transfer test preparation and Year 8 preparation.
Even if your child is in Primary 3 or 4, tracking their learning throughout the school year is something that can make a difference in their learning and development throughout primary school. So how do you track your child’s learning? That’s what we are going to talk all about in this blog post! I’m going to show you how to keep up-to-date with your child’s learning of Maths and English topics in a quick, easy and stress-free way.
Is your child sitting the SEAG transfer test? Then tracking their learning is even more important parents! Grab a copy of my new book, ‘A Complete Guide on How to Prepare and Empower your Child for the SEAG Transfer Test,’ which takes you through the complete transfer test process, from start to finish. From applying to sit the test, to preparing for Year 8. This book is not a read-once-and-forget-about-it book. I have designed it so that you can keep coming back to it during your child’s transfer test preparation and beyond! Grab your copy now and help your child be as prepared as they can be this transfer test season!
Why is tracking learning important for your child?
Is tracking in education for your child actually worth it or is it just another task on your to-do list? Well if you ask my mum if she tracked my learning when I was in school, she will probably say, “No you just did your homework and you were fine.” And that’s the truth, I just did my homework and things worked out great in the end. But I’m sure you’ll agree that times are a bit different now.
Schools, colleges and universities are more competitive now than ever before. It’s not just simple enough to score good grades in your exams, students now need extra-curricular activities, volunteer work and anything else that makes their CV stand out. This is one of the reasons why so many students are getting tutored throughout primary school now compared to previous years. There is just so much to learn and class sizes are larger meaning it’s hard for teachers to keep on top of every student’s learning needs.
Monitoring learning progress
My opinion on learning tracking is that if you can do it, then absolutely go for it. There is no harm whatsoever in monitoring learning progress of your child. It means you will quickly be able to see areas where they need to practise or develop a bit more. If your child is sitting the transfer test or preparing to enter Year 8, it means you can see the areas where they need development.
When you are revising for the tests or during the school holidays, you can quickly see which topics your child needs the most support with. This means you can spend the time your child has at home studying the Maths or English topics that they need to develop an understanding of and build a solid knowledge of. Giving your child the opportunity to learn specific topics that they find difficult can help give them a confidence boost and reduce any anxious feelings towards these concepts.
When should you track your child’s learning?
There isn’t a magic date on which you should begin tracking your child’s learning. Some of you might wait until your child’s teacher draws attention to their progress in a parent-teacher meeting or a school report. And some of you might wait until transfer test preparation or Year 8 preparation begins. There is no right or wrong time to start. Keep an eye on your child’s homework and any information from their teacher and decide when you think is a good time to begin tracking their learning.
Think back to when your child was a baby, you were constantly keeping track of their development, and their weight if they were meeting their milestones. As they get older, naturally this tracking all stops, which is understandable. However, for your child to get the most out of their education and to help them become a happy, confident learner, I believe keeping track of and monitoring learning achievement is essential.
Primary School Stages
If your child is sitting the transfer test, I do recommend using a learner tracker from the beginning of Primary 6. This means you will be able to see how they are progressing throughout the topics. Your child is going to have so much work to do throughout Primary 6, so you don’t want to overload them with topic work that they are already confident with. By keeping track of their learning of the transfer test topics, you can use any spare revision time your child has wisely.
If you are reading this and your child is only in Primary 3 or Primary 4 and you feel that tracking their learning is something that they need at this time then absolutely do it. If you are reading this and your child is in Primary 1 or Primary 2 (Early Years Foundation Stage – EYFS), you can still be tracking EYFS progress. You know your child best and if you feel that tracking their learning will be beneficial for them, then go for it.
Who should track your learning progress?
Monitoring and learning can be tracked for any student. Anyone can track their child’s learning. It doesn’t have to be only students who are sitting the transfer test or preparing for Year 8. It is entirely up to you. If you feel like your child needs some extra support or you would like to make sure they are fully understanding what they are being taught in school, then track their learning throughout the school year. Learning tracking does not have to be super detailed or take too much time. You can simply keep a note of the topics they are learning inside school and that they are getting for homework. Depending on how your child is getting on with each topic you can use a smiley face system to show how they have understood the topic or concept.
What should you track?
The Maths and English topics are the most important topics to track throughout primary school. These are the topics that will appear on the transfer tests and in any entrance assessments that your child must sit before entering post-primary school. Before leaving primary school, your child must have a solid understanding of the Key Stage 2 Maths and English topics. This means that they can enter Year 8 with a solid understanding of the topics that they have learned throughout primary school.
Therefore, tracking learning of the various Maths and English topics is what I believe you should keep a record of. There are lots of Maths topics that your child will learn up to Primary 7. With English, you will be focusing more on comprehension skills, reading, spelling, grammar, punctuation and writing skills. Maths is a bit easier to track compared to English as with Maths the answer is either correct or it isn’t. Keeping in contact with your child’s teacher and reviewing any tests or classwork that is sent home will also be beneficial when tracking your child’s learning.
Most importantly, ask your child if there are any topics or concepts that they are finding tricky in school or they would like a bit more practice with. At first, your child might be reluctant to tell you because A – they are a bit nervous or B – they know if they tell you it means extra work for them to do! All jokes aside, if you consistently ask your child this question, they are more likely to feel comfortable discussing what they find difficult in school. As well as discussing what they find difficult, celebrate the topics that they are doing amazing in!
How can you keep track of your child’s learning?
Tracking learning does not have to be a long, lengthy process. You don’t need to keep super-detailed notes or write entire essays about each topic. Keep it as quick and simple as you can because this means you are more likely to continue tracking their learning. If you make it complicated and lengthy, chances are you are going to end up ditching it after a few weeks.
Smiley Face and Traffic Lights System
Firstly, I recommend downloading the list of Maths topics and English topics from the Northern Ireland Key Stage 2 Curriculum (Primary 5, 6 and 7) or Key Stage 1 if your child is in Primary 3 or 4.
Next, go through each topic as your child is completing it and use a smiley face system or a traffic lights system so you can easily see if your child completely understands a topic (green/happy face), they are ok at a topic but need a bit more practice (orange/neutral face) or they have no idea what they are doing and the topic stresses them out or upsets them (red/sad face). This is a quick and easy way to keep track of your child’s learning and show you the areas that they need to work on. Make a couple of copies of your topic lists so you can review them during different intervals throughout the school year. I recommend having a list for each of the terms – midterm, Christmas holidays, half-term, Easter holidays and the summer holidays.
If you would like a list of topics and a ready-made learning tracker to help prepare your child for the SEAG transfer test, don’t forget to grab a copy of my new book! You will get a FREE workbook which includes learning trackers, topic lists and reading lists to help your child to be a happy, confident learner during this transfer test season.
What are the benefits of tracking learning for your child?
There are so many benefits of keeping track of your child’s learning throughout primary school which I have scattered throughout this blog post. However, I will summarise my top four benefits of tracking learning for your child. Just in case you need some extra convincing!
Develop your child’s confidence inside the classroom and out
Tracking your child’s learning is essential to see how your child is progressing throughout primary school. It means you can help them develop an understanding of any topics that they struggle with or give them anxious feelings. Helping your child to become a happy, confident learner inside the classroom and out, will do wonders for their motivation to learn, and complete homework and give them the confidence to raise their hand to answer questions in front of their peers.
Help with transfer test preparation and preparing for Year 8
During transfer test preparation or preparation for starting Year 8, tracking your child’s learning will allow you to see where they need revision and help with particular topics. If your child has a tutor, they are probably doing this anyway. But if you are keeping your own learning record or learner tracker, you can communicate specific areas where your child needs some extra attention. I have a couple of parents who do this weekly and it helps me to plan my sessions and leave some additional resources which my students can work on between our tutoring sessions. If you would like some extra information on hiring a tutor, check out my blog post, ‘5 terrific reasons you should hire a primary school tutor for your child,’ here!
Involve your child in the monitoring and learning process
Life is busy and with so many different school events, extra-curricular activities, birthday parties and family events to attend, keeping a learning tracker can feel like yet another thing for you to do. Make the tracking learning process easier by letting your child create their tracker. Grab some coloured cards, felt tip pens and stickers and create a topic list together. Involving your child in this process will help them feel part of the process (even though the entire process is about them and their learning!) and help them to take ownership of their learning.
Visual tool to see your child’s progress
Lastly, keeping a tracker of your child’s learning is a visual tool where your child can see how their learning is progressing. Celebrate the wins and support your child if they are becoming upset or annoyed that they cannot grasp a certain topic. Be there with a smile, a high-five or a hug whenever your child needs it. It can be demotivating if there are lots of oranges or red colours on their tracker. But be positive with your child about this and give them the motivation to learn and develop. Watch how their confidence soars and their smile becomes brighter the more those oranges and reds transform into greens!
More information on learning tracking
How to Track Your Child’s Progress When Learning from Home
Keep education going – how to educate your child at home
10 Effective Ways to Track Your Child’s Learning Progress
4 ways to keep your child on track with their learning
Monitoring evaluation learning. These three things are what tracking learning is all about. I hope this blog post has helped convince you of the benefits of tracking your child’s education and show you that it doesn’t have to be rocket science or a long, lengthy process. I firmly believe in ‘work smarter not harder.’ So make this process as easy as possible for yourself and your child. Once you get into a consistent tacking routine, you won’t even think of it as a chore. You do it automatically! If you would like any more tips on tracking learning, get in touch with me via Facebook or Instagram! Let’s get tracking learning together parents!
