What is the Purpose of Homework?

Our homework is intended to be at an independent level for your child and to reinforce concepts taught in class.  Some homework, such as writing, is a continuation of work started in class that day.  Homework is an opportunity to extend thinking begun during the school day.  A night’s homework is built on and used in subsequent lessons.  There are opportunities for students to ask questions and share their work.  In this way, students learn from their peers’ work, such as a new strategy for solving a math problem.

We don’t expect students to labor over their homework, but we do expect the work to be neat, thorough, and conform to expectations. We want our students to take pride in their work.

The Planner, Budgeting Time, and Expectations

All students have received a planner to record their daily and long-term assignments.  Students write down assignments in the proper sections of their planners each night.  In addition to the half hour of reading each night, there is usually about 45 minutes to an hour of other work. A few nights a week, there is writing in the Writers’ Notebooks; this may be more or less frequent depending on the current writing unit of study. A reading log is kept each night.  Students will get a new reading log each month.  They will be checked each Monday.  “Wordly Wise” lessons, consisting of five sections, are assigned every other Monday. All five sections are due on Thursday.  On “off” weeks for “Wordly Wise”, we give other word study assignments which may or may not include preparing for a quiz.  Math homework is given in the form of practice sheets, game playing, or problem solving work.  Science or Social Studies assignments are given about twice a week.  As we are a team, we consider the content area work each of us is giving in order to avoid overloading students. 

We teach good budgeting of time and appreciate your help in this endeavor.  We have made up a sample weekly schedule that you may choose to fill out with your child.  As we do give more long-term assignments at this grade level, leaving work to the last moment may create a lot of stress and anxiety.  We are expecting that students will spend a certain amount of time on these assignments each night.  To this end, we give suggested amounts of time to spend each night.  However, it’s important to consider your child’s extracurricular activities and plan accordingly.  We recognize that students may require more or less time to complete assignments.  Our suggested time limits are approximations and presume that students are working for that amount of time without distraction in a focused manner.

What are the Consequences for not Doing One’s Homework?

• The homework we assign needs to be completed in order to participate in follow-up lessons.  Therefore, if homework is not completed or brought to school on time, a child may not be able to participate in an activity.
• If your child’s homework is not completed, the assignment(s) must be made up on his or her own time.  This could be at lunchtime that day, before school, or that night, given to us by 8:45 the next morning.
• If your child has not completed and brought in a homework assignment, he or she signs the “Oops!” sheet, detailing which assignment was missed and when.  After your child has completed the missing homework assignment, he or she crosses his or her name off the list.
• If your child does all homework neatly and thoroughly for the week and therefore is never on the “Oops!” sheet, he or she gets a homework pass.  Homework passes can be used for a one-day extension on an assignment (in certain circumstances), some teacher selected assignments (such as a section of “Wordly Wise”), or to perform classroom roles, such as “playing teacher” for a lesson.
• Forgetting work at home is regarded as being unprepared. We know it is equally inconvenient for you to receive a phone call about work left at home.  For the first few months of school, we write a “To-Go” list on the board at the end of the day to allow children to check that they have all needed materials.  Please create a system with your child (perhaps putting all materials in the backpack the night before) to ensure that all materials are brought back to school.  This will help your child be prepared for the school day.
• If a child is unprepared with an assignment, he or she may use a homework pass to avoid signing the “Oops!” sheet.  Only one homework pass may be used per week.  If a student is on the “Oops!” sheet twice in a week, we will call home to discuss the situation with you.

Parental Role in Homework

Our homework is intended to be at an independent level for your child and to reinforce concepts taught in class.  Work should be the student’s own, but you are encouraged to help your child plan time, provide a quiet place to work, and clarify directions, if necessary. If your child is struggling with an assignment and asking for more than clarification of directions, please let us know via a brief note or e-mail.  We will handle it at school.  Homework should not be causing undue stress in the home.  The homework is generally gone over in class, so the concepts will be reinforced and clarified for your child.  The Science Fair is one area where we will ask for more parental involvement.  We send home a “Parents’ Handbook” for the Science Fair indicating areas where you can help out. Since the Science Fair work is done in partnerships, your help to schedule playdates and collect materials for your child is greatly appreciated. 

Other ways to get involved in your child’s homework are:

·        Reading “book group” or “literature circle” books along with your child.  Not only can you enhance your child’s comprehension of the books through conversation at home, but we also invite parents in for book discussions led by small groups of the children.

·        Playing math games with your child. Math games are an excellent way to reinforce concepts and skills taught in class.  We understand your lives are busy.  Having your child play with older siblings or peers is also beneficial.

·        Checking planners each night.  For longer term projects, students are often required to get parent signatures.  We also communicate with notes in the planners.