General Homework Expectations: Homework should not take more than one hour to one and a half hours each night. If you find that homework is taking much longer, please contact me. It is also important to have a special place and a designated time to do homework. This will help your child establish a routine that will help him or her to be successful. Homework is due when indicated in your child's agenda or on his/her homework slip. It is a good idea to check the agenda/homework slip to be sure that all homework for the day is complete and placed back into the home folder (a home folder is given out on the first day of school). When in doubt you can always check on line for the current homework.
For more information about specific content area homework, please click on the links below.
|Math|Reading|Writing|Spelling|Penmanship|
|Science and Social Studies|Projects|
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Math: Math homework is given out each night. Your child can expect one to three math papers. The math homework will reflect what we have covered in class that day and may also include a review of previously learned material.
Reading: It is expected that your child read each and every night. Making a routine of reading before bedtime can help build a life-long habit of reading. It is recommended that your child read for at least 20 minutes (36 minutes is preferred), and it is important that your child reads a book that he or she is comfortable reading. One way to accomplish this is to have your child choose his or her own book to read. Comic books and magazines can be a good choice for a reluctant reader. The goal is to have your child practice reading as well as enjoy what he or she reads. Research shows that the more children enjoy reading the more they read, the better they become at reading and the better they do in school. The research is overwhelming! The following quote is taken from http://www.ed.gov/pubs/CompactforReading/app_b.html.
"Of fourth grade students scoring in the 90th percentile in reading ability and literacy practices, 60 percent read for fun daily or almost daily, 66 percent discussed studies at home daily or almost daily, and 63 percent read more than 10 pages each day for school or homework. Nine-year-olds who read more pages per day both in and out of the classroom perform significantly better in NAEP assessments (NAEP, 1996, U.S. Department of Education)."
Penmanship: A penmanship packet is assigned on most Mondays and is due on most Fridays throughout the first part of the school year (usually until January). Students should practice their penmanship each day by completing a portion of their packets. In fourth grade, it is expected that students will write in cursive by January.
Writing: Writing in a journal each night is encouraged. Your child needs to practice writing to become a fluent writer. He or she should write each night for at least 5-10 minutes in an at-home writing journal (black and white composition notebook works great). Each entry should be dated. Your child may write about anything; he or she just needs to practice writing down thoughts. The content of the entry can be anything: poetry, paragraphs, lists, drawings with words, etc.
Spelling: A spelling packet is given out on a Monday and is to be returned each Friday. So that your child doesn't become overwhelmed on Thursdays, have her do one page per night. It is recommended that your child study these words each night in addition to completing one page per night. There will be a spelling test just about every Friday.
Science and Social Studies homework will vary depending on the area of study. You can expect homework in these areas at least once a week.
Projects: There will be both outside and within class projects assigned throughout the year. Outside assignments will require a signature on the directions page and the directions will be clear. Most projects will contain a scoring rubric that will help your child to see what is expected of him or her. Occasionally the within class projects will have parts that may have to be completed at home.
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