Enroll your child in tutoring. If your child's school offers after-school tutoring, take advantage of the program by enrolling your child at the beginning of the year. This extra time dedicated to study may help him succeed on the FCAT at year's end.
Read aloud with your child. Daily oral reading is highly beneficial to students. Make reading aloud a bedtime routine. Alternate between reading to your child and having him read to you to ensure that he both hears fluent reading and practices his reading skills.
Create word parts flashcards. Study roots and affixes as these word parts can help your students determine the meaning of unknown words. Using standard index cards, write the word part on the front and the meaning of that word part on the back. Practice the flashcards with your child as you work to build his vocabulary.
Build a personal dictionary. As you read with your child, record any words with which he is not familiar in a notebook. Look up the definitions of the word and write the meaning next to it to create a personal dictionary.
Study a newspaper article daily. Clip a new article out for your child daily. After he reads it, discuss the article with your child.
Discuss the main ideas of books, movies and TV shows. Many FCAT questions ask students to pick out the main idea. Practice the concept of main idea by regularly asking your child to determine the main idea of a book, movie or TV show.
Practice movie prediction. As you watch movies with your child, pause them periodically and ask your child to predict what he feels might happen next. This simple prediction practice will prepare him to answer prediction-based questions come test time.
Make a treasure map hunt. Make reading a diagram fun by creating a treasure map for your child to follow. Make a map of your house or backyard, and label the map with clues and a path to follow. Hide a treasure for your child to uncover as a reward for successfully following the map.
Help your child with his math homework. Keep on top of what your child is learning in math class by helping him with his math homework each night. Relearn the math concepts along with your child so that you can better help him with his math assignments.
Institute a problem of the day. Using your child's math book as a reference, select a problem to complete each night. Place a chalk or dry erase board in your kitchen and write a new problem on it daily. Have your child complete the problem prior to dinner each evening as added math practice.