Parents can play a key role in reinforcing classroom strategies at home by creating an environment and habits that mirror the skills and routines their child is practising at school.

Securing Attention / Focus

• Encourage short periods of focused work or reading without distractions.
• Model “stop, look, listen” behaviour at home when giving instructions.
• Use clear signals when giving directions (e.g., a verbal cue or hand gesture) and expect your child to pause and focus before responding.

Do Now / Retrieval Practice

• Ask your child short questions about what they learned in school that day.
• Encourage them to summarise or explain key points out loud (like a mini “Do Now”).
• Praise effort and recall rather than correctness to build confidence.

Cold Call / Participation

• Ask your child questions at the dinner table or during homework, giving them think time before expecting an answer.
• Emphasise that mistakes are part of learning; encourage them to try answers even if unsure.
• Promote discussion where everyone has a chance to contribute, not just the fastest speaker.

Turn and Talk / Verbal Thinking

• Encourage your child to explain what they’ve learned to you or a sibling.
• Ask them to discuss ideas with you before writing them down for homework.
• Praise the process of explaining, not just the correct answer.

Mini Whiteboards / Low-Stakes Practice

• Provide opportunities for low-pressure practice: flashcards, sketching ideas, or writing short answers without fear of being “wrong.”
• Encourage them to improve their answers step by step, reinforcing the “level up” mindset.
• Celebrate progress rather than just the final result.

I Do / We Do / You Do / Gradual Release

• Support step-by-step learning at home:
  • I Do: Show them how to do something.
  • We Do: Practice together.
  • You Do: Let them try independently.
• Give guidance as needed but resist doing tasks for them.

Behaviour for Learning / Routines

• Help establish predictable routines at home for homework, reading, and bedtime.
• Reinforce the idea that calm, focused work time helps everyone learn.
• Encourage responsibility for following instructions and completing tasks independently.