Dear parents,
Now that the November has arrived students will be bringing home a weekly homework packet each Monday (or first day of the school week). Along with the usual 20 minutes of reading outside of school each day and the weekly spelling list, students will now have a weekly math problem and a weekly writing assignment to complete each week. I will also begin quizzing students each week on math facts, helping them to achieve computational fluency, so it will help if they devote 5 to 10 each day to studying/practicing math facts.
The parent handbook provides guidance on your role as parent in regard to your child’s homework (providing a work space, limiting interruptions, helping to get started and perhaps providing feedback after work is underway, but avoiding the temptation to do or tell how the work should be done). Below is some additional guidance concerning specific assignments:
READING: Reading outside of school should be material chosen by the child. Although we as parents and educators always want to see our children or students reading appropriately challenging, high quality literature, my take on the research I’ve seen is that the development of fluency and comprehension skills as well as the building of vocabulary is maximized by reading outside of school that is independently selected by the child. If it drives you crazy that your child reads only graphic novels or magazines at home, select a “good” book and read to your child each night—the value (to both you and your child) of reading aloud to your child goes far beyond the academic boost you’ll be providing.
MATH FACTS: I wish I had a magic formula for this, but I don’t, so you have to try a number of strategies and see what works for your child. Making your own flash cards works for some, writing them out works for others. Try quizzes in the car or during mealtime. My son was a kinesthetic learner, so he would write out all his math facts on an old chalkboard in his room, then trace each one with his finger. He claimed the act of wiping each number off the board transferred the fact to his brain. It worked for him.
SPELLING: The first five words of each list are words that follow a particular spelling pattern. Your child should be able to point out and explain the pattern. These words should be studied as a block. It will help the pattern to stick in the mind if your child can identify and spell other words following this pattern. Adding a few more of the “second five” words (those misspelled on earlier tests or taken from a list of words your child has misspelled in his or her writing) each night is far more effective than last minute cramming on Thursday night—which might result in a good test score but rarely achieves to goal of adding words to your child’s long term memory.
WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Each assignment should take at least two drafts: a first to get ideas down on paper and a second to organize and present them in a way that is clear to the reader. It is not your job to correct all spelling, grammar and punctuation errors, although you can certainly encourage your child to apply the skills already learned (e.g., proper capitalization, use of periods, proper spacing, etc.) These are not intended to be long, polished essays, but rather exercises in developing clear writing.
MATH PROBLEM: One purpose of these is to present children with situations where the approach and/or solution are not necessarily clear or familiar. While it might be tempting to show your child an efficient/effective way to approach the problem, it is helpful to remember that we remember some of what we’re told or shown, but most of what we discover. Phrasing your “help” in the form of a question is often an effective strategy. Encourage your child to show all his/her work, even if it does not lead to a solution.
GENERAL: Homework packets are individualized for each student. You know your child. If you are seeing that the work assigned to your child is too difficult, too easy, too time consuming, etc., please let me know so I can make the necessary adjustments.
Please sign and return the slip below.
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I have read the letter about the weekly homework packets and understand what is expected of my child each week.
(child’s name) (parent signature)
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