Work@Home
In today's busy world it is becoming increasingly difficult for families to manage homework issues and yet many of us would argue that homework is important for upper primary school students. This year we would like to trial a programme based around Ian Lillico's research into effective strategies for managing children's time at home. Some of you may remember Ian's talks on Boys in Education a year or two ago.
The purpose of his new approach is:
To broaden the definition of work done at home to include an array of different and less sedentary tasks - some set by school and some set by home.
To recognise the wide range of after-school activities offered by the wider community.
To encourage positive family interactions.
To allow time for children to pursue their own learning.
To encourage a focus on life skills as well as academic skills.
There is no doubt that students need to practice concepts learnt at school but we need to reduce the stress often caused by homework and make it less sedentary, more flexible and tailor it to individual student's interests and needs. The Work@Home Programme asks students to select activities from a grid and complete them over a two week period. Parents are asked to sign off the activities in their Work@Home diary as the student completes them. The grid below will be active for term 1. Activities in the upper (yellow) part of the grid should be completed every week whilst students can select one or more activities from the bottom (green) section of the grid. Over a whole term students should select a range of activities from the green section. Copies of the SQUIGGLES, Sudukos and various puzzles can be collected from a file in the classroom. Homework books will be collected on Fridays.
Work@Home Grid Term 1
|
Read a variety of books. 3 times a week - 15 mins at a time |
Teach your parents something that you learnt at school this week |
Housework - please negotiate a task with your
parents. At least 3 times a week. |
Complete some physical activity. eg sports training, bike riding, walking to school. At least 3 times a week. |
|
Learn your spelling words. twice a week |
Finish any unfinished work. every week |
Practice your times tables. twice a week |
Complete any consolidation, research tasks or surveys etc as set by your teacher from time to time. |
|
Use a computer for work. Be creative! Write a story, create a PowerPoint, do some research or play an educational game. |
Find a newspaper article related to a topic covered in class. Stick it in your diary and write a paragraph summary. | Watch an educational TV program or video and write a brief review in your diary. | Do some music practice if you play an instrument or listen to a song you wouldn't normally listen to and write a short review of it. |
| Learn a new skill eg. cooking, craft, knitting, woodwork. Bring the item in and show it to the class. | Be creative and complete a SQUIGGLE | Complete a maths puzzle eg Suduko | Borrow a library book on a topic of interest and create a Mind Map to summarise what you have learnt. |
| Find 5 interesting, new words in a book, magazine or newspaper - predict their meaning and then check in a dictionary. | Complete a word puzzle or crossword in a magazine or newspaper. Have someone help you if you need to. | You decide! | Play a board game with a friend or older family member. |
Online Games to try