Please check the nightly agenda for daily/regular homework assignments. The agenda will remain our primary means of communication for homework throughout the year.
Parents Please Read:
Homework (e.g., repetitive practise worksheets) does not play a large role in our classroom. However, home practice of skills and reflection of concepts in reading, writing and Math, are important to review at home on a regular basis. Home support and encouragement is crucial to the development of these skills in children of this age. Please check your child's agenda or my website to find out about specific homework items.
On occasion, a student may have taken particularly long finishing an assignment during class time. In a rare case, it may be sent home to be completed. Unless otherwise notified, no other written assignments or parts of assignments should be completed at home. To assess a student authentically, work tasks and assignments must be completed in class.
Setting a Nightly Schedule
Setting a nightly schedule to maintain the items listed below is highly recommended to help your child do their best. Working on one item per night (50-60 mins) would be ideal.
Please see the nightly agenda for nightly homework and regular home practise items.
Homework should not be filled with tears. It should not feel too much like "work," but more like a good conversation with your child and as much as possible, a positive, enlightening experience. Continue to maintain positivity through support and encouragement.
Please see my link on Growth Mindsets for more info.
Below is a site word list for Grade 3, that your student can use for practise.
Home Reading
Students should aim to read with you between 20-30 minutes per night, Monday through Friday. When reading with your child, please remember to discuss the book, ask questions and have students make connections (text to text, text to self, text to world) about the material they have read to you.
Students are challenged to read at least 300 minutes in a month. Please record minutes on the monthly calendar that is sent home. This program will begin in October. There will be a small incentive for reading 300 minutes or more each month.
How to help your child succeed in reading - Tips and discussion items
What your child can do for you after reading:
1. Explain the main elements of the story (beginning, middle, end, characters, setting, plot, problem, solution).
2. Retell their favourite part.
3. Use the clues from their story as well as their own ideas to make a prediction
about what may happen next.
Make Connections:
Text to text: How does the reading material/story relate to other books?
Text to self: How does the reading material/story relate to the student?
Text to world: How does the reading material/story relate to a worldly or current event?
Retell the story:
1. List the important events of the beginning, middle and end of the story.
2. Repeat and practice the reading to build fluency.
Summarize
A good summary is brief, describes the main topic or theme of the selection, includes only the important information, omits minor or irrelevant details, organizes the information in a clear way, and restates the meaning in the reader's own words.
Characters
Define and describe the main and secondary characters and their traits.
Plot and Theme
1. Analyze the plot, including inferences
2. Make connections between the book and other books they've read, as well as some personal and world connections to the story
3. Frequently provide a retell of the story as they read
Setting
Give details about where and when the story is taking place
Problem/Solution
What is the problem in this story? What solutions might or have been made?
Discuss the climax of the story and what makes it so.
Writing Journals
(Info Coming Soon.)
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Keep your student sharp by reviewing some of these essential homework activities with them on a regular basis.
Addition and subtraction facts
Spelling practice of word wall list and commonly misspelled words.
Math and grammar skills.
Using a dictionary for speed and accuracy.
Printing / cursive writing practice (with an adult to ensure proper letter linking and formations)
Complete any in-class work that was not finished.
Homework is a Learning Skill
In each term's report card, homework is represented under the "Learning Skills" section. In class, homework is checked on a weekly basis and evaluated on completion and quality.
This is the marking breakdown that will be used as a guide when assessing homework completion:
E "E" stands for excellence!
My homework is neat and organized.
It is complete and correct.
My homework shows that I have challenged myself!
G "G" stands for good!
My homework is neat and organized.
It is complete and correct (or "almost there").
S "S" stands for satisfactory (okay).
I have done what is asked of me in my homework, but I might have
made errors, or my work might be disorganized.
I might be missing things.
I did not complete my homework as carefully as I could have, or with
as much effort as I could have.
N "N" stands for needs improvement.
My homework needs improvements to meet the standard for Gr. 3.
For additional information on homework, please visit:http://www.hdsb.ca/ParentInfo/Pages/HomeworkGuidelines.aspx
For additional information on the Grade 3 curriculum, please visit:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/elemcurric.html
After reading connections including, "What your child can do after reading", "Make Connections", "Retell the Story", "Summarize", "Characters" "Plot and Theme", "Setting", and "Problem/Solution", have been adapted from the original work of Cerise Robertson, HDSB.
Homework mark breakdown adapted from Rhonda McLeod, HDSB.