The role of homework:

We value homework as a means of building a partnership between parents and teachers. Homework helps parents find out what their children are learning at school and it lets parents know what skills they can help their children practise at home. Many parents also like to help their children with research on topics they are studying at school.

 

We also understand that sometimes it is difficult to find the time for homework to be completed. For example, some children are very busy with activities outside school, like sports training and music lessons. We do not want homework to cause friction in families and we ask parents to let us know if our expectations are causing problems. One of the most important things children should take from their primary school years is a love of learning and this will only be achieved if work is done happily and successfully.

 

Class homework programs:

At the beginning of each term, each class teacher will inform parents in writing about the class homework program and will outline the purposes of the homework tasks. At times throughout the year teachers may also inform parents about specific homework projects. Each teacher plans a homework program that suits their class. That means that not all children in one year level will have the same homework.

 

How parents can help?

There are several ways parents can help with homework. Primary school children should read regularly and parents can establish routines such as bedtime reading. When children bring work home on a regular basis, parents can help them establish homework routines and set aside a suitable area.

 

Parents play an important role in helping children make connections between home and school.

 

What homework should children do?

Talking:

Teachers today are aware of the importance of good speaking and listening skills for success in reading and writing. One of the best ways parents can help their children become good readers and writers is to spend time in conversation with them. Talking with children helps them develop their vocabulary, grammar, fluency and confidence. At home children have their best opportunities for one-to-one listening and speaking.

 

 

 

Reading:

A very important form of homework is reading because it is a key to success in most areas of learning. Children can read ‘take home readers’, books from the school library, books in the home and books from the local library. We strongly encourage daily reading by all children, either alone or with a parent or older sister or brother. For our younger students, there is a formal home reading program involving children regularly taking home books in personal reading folders.

 

Spelling:

Children are often given spelling homework. The focus can be: high frequency words; words related to a topic; individual or small group lists. Spelling can be practised happily through games such as cutting up a word and trying to put the letters in the correct order, or using magnetic letters to make words. A useful strategy for learning to spell a word is look-cover-write-check. The child looks carefully at the word, talks about how it looks, covers the word, writes the word, then checks to see if the spelling is correct.

 

When children write at home parents can help them learn some of the common words that they misspell. When a child asks how a word is spelt it is a good idea to ask them to have a go at how they think it is written, then go through the word showing them which letters they have correct, before writing the correct version for them.

 

Research:

Teachers sometimes set projects or other research tasks. These might involve children interviewing adults, watching television programs, searching information on the internet or reading. If the children need to borrow books from the school library or the local library, they are given plenty of time for this to be done.

 

Numeracy Skills:

Children have many opportunities at home to develop numeracy skills. Handling money, telling the time, interpreting a television program guide, measuring, cooking and solving everyday problems are mathematical activities. We urge parents to involve their children in these as often as possible.

Children can reinforce number facts and the multiplication tables at home. We do a great deal of work at school in helping children understand and learn about numbers. This can be built on at home by number facts and tables practice. They can be practised by rote and through playing games.

 

 

How long should homework take?

Children in their first years of school should not spend any more than 15 minutes at a time doing homework. Senior primary students can spend about 45 minutes at a time.

 

We hope children and parents enjoy working together, talking, reading, watching television and playing games. Too often in the past homework has been the cause of much friction between parents and children, and we hope very much to avoid this at Palmerston.

 

A copy of our Homework policy can be requested through the front office.