In the classroom... Homework is written on the board every morning. First thing, every morning, each student is to copy it into their planner, right after they unpack. Please notify me if your child is not doing this properly. Thank you.
Math homework... In Math, homework is randomly collected and graded. It is checked everyday for understanding and completion. Students get to sing our homework song if all complete their work! Often times partners work together to "buddy check" their answers and a discussion follows to review difficult homework issues, confusion, or problems.
Consequences... If a child does not do their homework, they must stay in from play and complete it in the classroom. A call home will follow. A list is generated and every missing assignment is logged. Any questions, just email or call.
If my child is sick... When your child is sick, please try not to ask for the homework to be sent home. I want them to rest. When they return, a green folder will be waiting for them on their desk. They will bring home the material to go through with you and complete only if necessary. (Such as learning log classroom pages or classroom assignments)
On the day of a test, if your child misses school, they must complete the test the very next day. If this happens and your child stays home two or more days in a row, they may have the same amount of days extended before taking that test.
What if my child is confused with homework? If your child does not understand how to complete a homework assignment, please stick a small note in their page, telling me just that. During enrichment time, I will cover the material again with your child.
Social Studies is taught in the second and fourth marking periods. Learning Logs follow the chapters and will most likely be collected and graded. Students need to carefully complete them when told and keep up with them if they are absent. The students may choose independent study activities as well as teacher directed lessons.
Science is taught the first and third marking periods. Rubric scoring is an important way to measure how they are processing the subject matter. Grades will come from a conglomerate of assessments.
Math Class is taught just like a workshop. We warm up, check homework, discuss problems, then come to story-floor for a mini lesson. After teaching the mini lesson, the children get to try-out a few problems right there on the floor before, using slates to show how well they grasp information. Next, I send groups off to complete work, using i-Pads, Chromebooks, the Smart Board or their notebooks. There is math homework every night.
During the Day, etc...
Reading and Writing Workshop follow a predictable routine everyday where the children sit around me on the carpet while I teach them a strategy and model how it is done. The children get a chance to try the new strategy with me before they go off into their nooks and begin working on their own.
As they work, I may take a small group of students, who need practice with one particular skill, to the front table, to work with them. I also try to visit a few children, individually, to discuss their progress and assist them with any issues I may notice.
The children are held accountable for the upkeep of their notebooks. These notebooks will be checked and graded, periodically and unannounced, throughout each marking period. A report card grade will be given to them for a general overall grade for performance. Often times, the children, themselves, create rubrics to assess their own progress.
What should a notebook for workshop look like? Date at the top, teaching point clearly and neatly written, and notes from the lesson under it. Any assignments or homework under that is complete. Sticky-notes and mini posters to assist in the learning process will also be glued in at particular places inside as reference. A homework assignment should also be within that day's section. Many lessons are pasted right into their notebooks and should be review and referred to frequently.
The use of "sticky-notes"-The students were taught the uses of sticky-notes. They must write on at least two of them, nightly. The comments must be "thought out" and not just a quick question or idea. These notes are collected and graded. At the end of a book, the students are to remove the dated sticky-notes and compile them in an orderly fashion on a page in their RNB (Reader's Notebook). I can read them and see if they have followed the book and/or used the strategies.
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about homework. Thanks!