The goal is for homework to be an enjoyable learning experience each night that isn’t too easy or too hard.
Homework serves three very important purposes:
- Because it is a reflection of what we are learning in class, it gives you an idea of what your child is learning and it gives you the opportunity to be more involved in their education. I believe that in many cases, this type of parental involvement is the most important key to success in a child’s education. Please take time whenever you can to sit down with your son or daughter and help them with their homework. I know some of you have big families and this isn’t always possible, but whenever it is, it sure helps.
- Sometimes concepts become clearer when thinking about them in an environment other than the classroom or when going over it with other people such as siblings or parents. I remember many times as a child when math concepts became much clearer when I was sitting at home doing my math homework.
- It gives them the extra practice they need.
Students write their homework in their planner every Monday through Thursday. Each day, I check to make sure that they wrote the homework for that day correctly and then give them a stamp. If they are ever unsure what their homework is, all they need to do is look in their planner.
The most consistent homework throughout the year will be reading, math, and writing/spelling.
I ask the students to read for at least 20 minutes at home at their level every day. This should be something they look forward to doing! At least that is my hope for each student. This can be reading with parents or siblings (including parents or siblings reading to them) or reading on their own. There is a spot right on the stamp I give them to record their reading minutes. After they have recorded their reading minutes, they are supposed to bring their planner to you and ask you to initial next to the letters PI (Parent Initials) to the right of the stamp. Please initial it every day when they ask you to (it is their responsibility to ask you to initial it, but until it becomes a habit you may need to remind them to bring it to you). There is no homework over the weekend, so they will leave their planners at school on Friday so that I can record their reading minutes for the week into the grade book. To receive credit for their homework reading minutes they need a stamp from me, the number of minutes recorded on the stamp, and your initials. On a regular week, they are required to read for 80 minutes (20 minutes each on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). If they don’t get the full 20 minutes one day, they can read more on another day to make up for it. They just need 80 total minutes by Friday. If they are absent, they still need to get that reading in and can record the minutes without the stamp.
I can’t stress the importance of reading enough! Reading every day helps children in all subjects – not just language arts. It keeps their minds engaged and active.
It is important that they read books at their current reading level. A simple way to tell if a book is at their level is to have them open the book to the middle and have them read one page to you. Keep track of the number of words they don’t know. If it is more than five, it is probably above their level. If it is between one and five, they are learning new words and it is not too difficult. If a book is too easy for them, they get bored, and if it is too hard, they get frustrated. A great resource at home is www.arbookfind.com, where you can find the reading levels of books they are comfortable with and find other books at that level.
On top of reading, your child typically will have math and writing/spelling homework on Monday through Thursday nights that shouldn’t take more than about 30 minutes. If it is consistently taking too long, please let me know so we can make some adjustments if necessary. It might help to set aside a study time each afternoon. Math homework is an extension of what we learned in class that day and writing/spelling homework will often involve writing quality paragraphs using the vocabulary and spelling words to give students practice on their writing, spelling, and vocabulary skills. When we are working on projects and book reports, students may need to do some of the work at home. My goal is to be sure that homework is always productive. I think it is very important that it’s not busy-work. It is only effective if they are learning from it.
I completely understand that some afternoons and evenings are just crazy and sometimes things come up that are more important than homework. I can definitely work with you and your child to extend deadlines when necessary. Just let me know. I also know that sometimes kids will just “hit a wall” and from that point on, doing homework is just not productive. If this ever happens, please just write a little note right on their homework explaining the situation. They can work on it if they have extra time in class or for homework the next day and still receive full credit. Please also let me know if they are having a hard time with certain concepts on their homework and I will make some time to work one-on-one with them to help them understand.
I think the most important thing you can do as parents to help your child in school is to show them that education is important to you. When your kids know that education is important to you, you instill that idea in their minds. Work on their homework with them when you have time. Read with them. Help them expand their minds. Ask them about what they learned in school each day. Spend one-on-one time learning with them. There’s nothing more beautiful than watching a child’s mind grow!
Turning in Homework
Isn’t it frustrating when you know your child has completed an assignment and then it shows up as missing on a grade report because it wasn’t turned in? Despite what they might tell you (haha), I give them very specific instructions on where and when to turn their work in, as well as consistent and constant reminders to turn it in. They know exactly when and where they are supposed to turn each assignment in. There is an inbox on the counter under the window where they know all of their work needs to end up. Sometimes it is collected and placed in that box, and sometimes they put it in the box themselves.
An incentive they have for keeping up on their work and turning it in is Friday Fun Learning time. On most Friday afternoons, they get to choose from several fun learning activities around the classroom. However, only those with no missing assignments get to participate. I hand out missing assignment printouts, and if they get one of those, they need to work on those missing assignments at their desk instead of participating.
Homework that is turned in late will typically not receive full credit. All homework should be completed and turned in, even if it is late. If a student has an excused absence, they will have additional time to do their homework for full credit. It is their responsibility to complete the work and get it turned in.
If you don’t have the Infinite Campus Mobile Portal App, I highly recommend that you get it and request your login information from the office. You can also log in from a computer. You can set alerts on the app to notify you when assignments are missing or grades drop below a certain level. Grades are updated on Fridays and sometimes over the weekend.
Parents sometimes ask how they can best be involved in their child’s education. I tell them that I think one of the most important things they can do is show them how much they value education. When your kids know how important education is to you, you instill that idea in their minds. Work on their homework with them when you have time. Read with them. Help them expand their minds. Ask them about what they learned in school each day. Spend one-on-one time learning with them. There’s nothing more beautiful than watching a child’s mind grow!