Home Learning assignments are designed by teachers to serve one of the following purposes:
practice a skill to become more fluent and elaborate in information that has been addressed in class to deepen knowledge and understanding
Introduce new content through reading or other media that will be further developed in class
provide opportunities to explore topics of interest
Each of these above purposes for Home Learning may also be tailored by the teacher to suit a student’s learning needs by differentiating the Home Learning assignment so that students focus their time on what would be most beneficial for their learning.
The maximum amount of time a student should spend on all of their Home Learning assignments is 60 minutes per day for Grade 6, 70-80 minutes for Grade 7, and 90 minutes per day in Grade 8. Some students may take longer to complete Home Learning than others but if a student requires much more time than the maximum for their grade level, please confer with the Grade Leader or the teacher to get a better understanding. The maximum time limits on Home Learning are in place to ensure that time spent on Home Learning is focused and beneficial for learning, while allowing ample time for students to explore other interests and to spend quality time with friends and family.
Research demonstrates that building a regular habit of reading has a multitude of benefits for adolescents; an increased vocabulary, improved writing skills, increased critical thinking and creativity, and greater academic success overall. For these reasons, we recommend that students read a book of their choice regularly, about 20 to 30 minutes each day. Although independent reading is encouraged, it is not part of the overall Home Learning limit.
There are some occasions when students may exceed the maximum time limit for Home Learning, such as when students have to prepare for an assessment and they need additional time to review content and concepts learned in class.
If a student is struggling to make progress on their Home Learning, they may be required to attend After School Learning to get subject specific support.
Students are expected to complete their Home Learning independently without parent support. However, parents do play an important role in supporting the development of successful Home Learning habits. Parents are advised to support their child by helping them learn without distractions, such as social media or other entertainment. We recommend that students and parents establish a Home Learning routine of completing Home Learning in a particular time and place where students can be easily monitored by their parents and that students are expected to complete their Home Learning before they are allowed to use their phones, social media or other forms of entertainment.
While most Home Learning is assigned and due the following class, occasionally teachers will have assigned more long-term assignments or projects. These assignments are still considered Home Learning and included in the maximum time limits for Home Learning.
To help students make progress on such assignments teachers will specify the specific steps students will need to complete by each class, and students should record these in their student planner like they would any other assignment. By working on long-term assignments incrementally in small chunks, students will consolidate their learning and successfully meet the criteria for completing long-term assignments and projects.
For Home Learning to be helpful for learning, students need to be responsible about doing their assignments so they have an opportunity to practice and receive feedback on their learning. If a student forgets to do an assignment then the assignment will be considered “missing” and represented with an “M” in PowerSchool. When the assignment is submitted, teachers will update the “M” in PowerSchool to “L” for “late”, which identifies that the work was collected after the due date.
If doing Home Learning becomes a frequent problem for a student, additional support structures and interventions may be applied including but not limited to mandatory Break Reflections, After School Learning, Parent Meetings, and/or placement on an Academic Improvement Plan.