Home Visit Questions

Home visit questions:

To effectively utilize a home visit for pre-assessment of the student’s prior classroom experiences, try to interact with as many of the family members as possible. Ask them to tell you what they expect out of a teacher. Have them write it in native language, then translate if necessary. Try to ask about the typical school day in home country, what kind of student s(he) was there, and the role of the teachers from home country. By taking your spouse or child, you will lower the affective filter by showing them that you are similar to them in many ways. They can see you as a normal person. Ask the student’s favorite subject or the one which the student found most simple. This will give you knowledge of comfort zones.

By finding out information about the student’s prior experiences, you will be able to build upon prior knowledge and skills. Also finding out the most difficult subject areas will allow you to target those and help that student find success. Another relevant area may be prior schooling in America.

A creative way to find time to have semi-structured conversations with the CLD family is to visit their place of work for a short “hello.” Going to markets or businesses run by a community of similar ethnic background to do business shows you are interested in getting closer to them. Asking them to help you understand their language better would be a good gesture.