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Feb. 3 Math Homework Weekly homework, which is given out on Friday and due the following Friday, will typically include the following elements, though I will freely modify this as it meets our learning goals for the week. The different parts will be introduced gradually at the beginning of the year. It is important that students bring in their homework themselves Friday morning so that they can check it when we go over the work together. If a student is absent on Friday, it is his or her resposibility to turn in the homework that is due and pick up the new packet once they return to school. If the student knows he or she will be out, the homework should be turned in before Friday. Learning log Students are asked to write at least four pages in their "Learning Log" each week. I can supply a composition book for students to use for this purpose or they can supply their own blank journal or notebook. Students are encouraged to include a mix of styles of writing and content in the log over the course of each trimester. These might include: • Write about what we are learning in science, social studies, or math. These entries might include summaries of what we learned in class or questions the student has on the topic. Students might want to conduct experiments related to what we are studying in science and write about what they did. Students could also get additional information from a family member, the Internet, or a book. Or perhaps they have information on the topic from a trip they have taken or an educational program they have seen. • Write a longer response to a book. This could take many forms - perhaps telling about a particular character, imagining what happened after the ending, or what might happen if that character met a character from another book. • Write a fiction story, poem, play, etc. or just a single scene from a story or an idea for a character in a story. • Write a journal entry about something they did or are planning to do. • Write brief notes of facts that the student has come across and finds interesting or ideas that could be used in a story sometime in the future. • Incorporate text features such as tables, charts, diagrams, maps, timelines, small drawings, special lettering or underlined, highlighted or bold face text to draw attention to titles or important words. • List books, websites, etc. that they've found useful in studying a particular topic. Not appropriate for Learning Log: • A lot of math computation (such as doing multiplication problems) unless it is accompanied by writing such as an explanation of how to solve the problem, different ways to solve the same problem, how this skill might be used, what is easy and what is difficult about doing this kind of problem, and common errors to watch for. • Copying something written by someone else • Retelling a fictional story, cartoon, movie etc. without significant commentary. Occasionally, I may assign a paper or worksheets in place of all or part of the Learning Log assignment. The intent of this assignment is to get students writing regularly, reflecting on what they are learning and seeking additional information, brainstorming ideas for future pieces, and experimenting with different styles of writing and formatting. It is not my intent that each entry undergo the complete writing process and be a polished final draft. Parents are discouraged from marking on the writing or asking the students to rewrite it. We will work in class throughout the year on asking for and giving feedback, revising, and organizing writing so students will get plenty of practice with those skills.. Students will maintain a portfolio of their best work in the classroom, and are welcome to move or type items from their log to place in their portfolio. They may also choose to take something from their log to work on further during class time. At the end of each trimester, they are welcome to use sticky notes to mark items in their logs that they'd like me to consider as I complete report cards. Often students will be asked to share a sentence from their learning log with the whole class or a small group of classmates on Friday when we go over the homework, so they might want to mark what they plan to share using a sticky note or a star or arrow. Vocabulary and spelling test on Friday Many weeks students will learn the meanings and spellings of a list of prefixes or roots. Other weeks the list will be based on something we are studying, such as a list of science or math terms, and students may be tested only on the meanings. Occasionally, the test will focus on spelling only. Words or word parts may occasionally be repeated from earlier lists. Reading log Students are asked to read for at least 20 minutes a day at least four days a week, and to maintain a log of what they have read. Students choose the books for this assignment, and they can be fiction or nonfiction, but should be appropriate to the child's grade level and represent a variety of genres and subject matter over the course of a trimester. Students are welcome to borrow books from the classroom library. The response to each day's reading can be brief. Insightful inferences, questions etc. that reflect the reading comprehension skills discussed in class are preferred to detailed retelling of the text. Students are encouraged to keep their logs once they've been returned to them in case they want to use the information in the log to complete an assignment later on. (At some point in the year they will be asked in class to write a response to a book they have read in which they analyze a character, tell a lesson or theme from the story, etc.) Each week's homework will typically include math work as well. Part of the assignment is always to show how the answer was reached and to check it carefully. Multiple methods of solving the problem are always encouraged and sometimes required as part of the assignment. Typically, the work on these pages will be based on what we have been studying in recent days, and possibly some review questions from earlier in the school year. Students should be able to complete the work with minimal help. If they need a lot of help on a question, parents may want to give them additional, similar problems until they can do them on their own. Often, you will be able to find online information and practice here . Students who are struggling with any of the skills should pay particularly close attention when we correct the homework on Friday morning and be encouraged to ask questions at that time, at any morning class meeting, or after school. Please feel free to contact me if you need further assistance helping your child keep up with math or other skills. |