FAQs About Homework

FAQs About Homework

There are many common questions about homework and I wanted to take the opportunity to address some of these questions. I also realize that each child is unique and is known best by her/his family.

1. What are some homework tips?

2. What is the homework procedure in 4M?

3. How much should I help?

4. What do I do if my child says, 'I don't get it?'

5. What do I do if my child just sits and stares at the work?

6. My child rushes through his work and shows no pride in it. What should I do?

7. My child spends too much time on homework. What should I do?

8. What about practice in cursive?

What are some homework tips?

These may sound basic but they really do make a difference for most students.

-A consistent place your child completes homework each night - it helps keep

track of materials and reduces the organizational time.

-A quiet, distraction free place

-A routine for "emptying or filling" the backpack each day

-A break or snack before starting homework. After being in school all day some

children need a chance to run around, play and/or eat before starting homework.

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What is the homework procedure in 4M?

Monday through Thursday, each child in 4M writes assignments in her/his

Homework Assignment Notebook (HAN). Each assignment is explained and there is

time for questions about each assignment. I do ask that the HAN is signed by

an adult as a check for children. This is to ensure that children are

recording the assignments, referring to the assignment notebook each evening,

and it becomes a place where you can see what we are doing in class. I do ask

that you sign your full name. I've had some kids get pretty good at scripting

initials. :)

First thing each morning children unpack backpacks and place their HAN at

their table space. I walk around and check to see that they have gotten it

signed. If they have not, I put a "dog stamp" on that page to indicate no

parent signature. It's a way for me, at a quick glance, to see how many stamps

a child has received. An occasional stamp is okay, all kids may miss a day

here or there, but multiple stamps, particularly in one week, is not good.

From there, students put their homework in the Homework Folder and check their

names off. If a student is absent, work goes in the Absent Work Folder. A

student must check that folder to collect her/his own work. If explanation is

needed, I am available and so is their homework buddy. Some assignments we go

over immediately, and others may stay at school as a choice for their

portfolio. If an assignment is not done, or not done with quality, I ask the

student to write me a note to tell me how they plan on finishing or redoing

it. This note must be written by the student at home, and signed by the

parent/adult before they come to school. Students with no note stay in at

recess to complete the work and/or receive assistance. If late homework

becomes a chronic problem, I call home to be sure that parents are aware. A

face to face meeting may be appropriate at some point after a phone call. I

ask the child and parent to meet with me to work together toward a solution.

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How much should I help?

The first thing to remember is that the homework belongs to your child. It is

her/his responsibility to complete the work. Guidelines such as, "read the

assignment yourself", or "try the first one on your own", are good starters

for some children. If a child is unable to complete an assignment, please have

them write the note as indicated above. Writing the note themselves is to get

children in the habit of speaking for themselves. Some children do need

editing assistance. Many parents have successfully used techniques such as "I

notice three errors in the first paragraph", or placing check marks or

underlining words that need editing. Often a check mark in the margin on a

line that needs editing work is often helpful. In this way you are not

actually pinpointing the word, and letting the student find the mistake. A

parent may notice there are computation errors in a math assignment. "I notice

the first problem needs checking - there are at least two more factors."

Sometimes children need help with a discrete skill such as math facts or

handwriting. Some families find that it works to set up specific times to work

on these skills, such as "10 minutes each day before dinner".

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What do I do if my child says, 'I don't get it?'

Often this is a blanket response of frustration for a child. S/he is not

confident of her/his ability or is not sure of all the parts of the

assignment. Work with your child to have her/him tell you what s/he does know

or understand, then come up with the questions that s/he has. It is very

empowering for a student to be able to come into class and say, "I was able to

do the first part of the assignment but I have these two questions, or I

really struggled because I am still learning my multiples... May I have some

help with these?" A child owns the assignment and is learning to self advocate

at that point.

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What do I do if my child just sits and stares at the work?

Some children have difficulty getting started with work. One strategy is to

attack the "easy" part first. Perhaps for one child this may be to do the math

first and for another to do spelling first. At this point s/he has gotten

going. Another strategy is to ask "What don't you understand?", or "Write two

sentences and then I will help you." Time limits sometimes work. "I will give

you 20 minutes to work on the assignment and then I will be back." Lastly,

sometimes homework is a power struggle rooted in other issues unrelated to the

specific homework assignment for a child.

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My child rushes through his work and shows no pride in it. What should I do?

The first question to ask is, "Is this your best work? Does this reflect who

you want to be as a learner?" If your child is seemingly satisfied with the

work, let her/him turn it in the first time and receive the consequences of

redoing an assignment or receiving a lowered score. Then, discuss what

happened. How does s/he feel about that?

If your child is chronically satisfied with mediocre work, then the adults

need to establish the parameters. "I have seen some great work that you are

capable of doing. I expect..." Again, the lack of concern over quality work

could stem from other issues, such as a child wanting to differentiate

her/himself from a sibling or fear that expectations are too great and "Why

should I try? I will never meet the expectations." At this point children need

help seeing clear steps toward the goals. "I expect you to check your answers

before you bring the work to me." Sometimes children need help from us

outlining the steps. "Write one quality Reading Response, and two next week."

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My child spends too much time on homework. What should I do?

At the fourth grade level, children should be spending an average of 45 to 60

minutes a night on homework. However, this varies by night and by child. The

20 minutes of staring at the work adds time to the assignment. Some

assignments are longer term, such as the weekly reading response. Depending on

how families break up the work, some nights are lighter than others. During

the year there are projects and these may take more time. However, a child

consistently spending many more hours than other children needs assistance.

The first assessment is of the quality of time a child is spending. Os all of

the time focused work time? Is the work too hard and what aspects are

difficult? Does the child need to say, practice math facts because that is

impeding other math learning? Does s/he need to read more so that s/he is able

to write longer responses in the reading journal? Does the child need modified

assignments?

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What about practice in cursive?

In the upper grades, students makes choices between handwritten pieces and

using technology... it depends on the assignment and the teacher expectations.

With the increased demands from the curriculum, there is less time to practice

cursive. Check our 4M webpages for cursive practice sheets and websites

(Keyboarding Games for Home). I have searched out a few good ones. But if you

just can't wait to get started :), the following website allows students to

create and print out personalized worksheets with specific messages (for

practice on certain letters in cursive and print): www.handwritingworksheets.com

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