As I had written in my Curriculum Night letter, the Homework Program consists of the following:
- Words of the Week
- Practice of Basic Facts (XtraMath program)
- Reading Points Program (introduced last week)
- Monthly Calendar Homework
Today in class, I introduced the main Homework program to the students. We call it Monthly Calendar Homework. Each month, students will be given a monthly homework calendar to complete. At the beginning of the month, (usually the first full week) I will provide you with a link to the homework calendar for that month. The work assigned will not be new material, but will be a review of skills and concepts we have already introduced in class. Please note that while I do send a paper copy of the calendar with the folder, the Monthly Calendar Homework works best for your child when you access the calendar through our class blog mrdstl18.blogspot.com
It is a mix of Interactive learning (requiring a device and access to our blog) and pencil/paper work which will be provided to the students. (Normally, there will be two nights of pencil/paper activities and two nights of interactive activities to balance their learning.) Listed below are the types of activities that will be assigned:
1) Interactive Activities: These are on-line activities/games in the areas of Math, Reading and Word Studies. Simply click on the link provided on the calendar, and it should take you directly to the activity. (Please note that some of these interactive activities will only work on a device with Flash Drive (ex. Desktops, LapTops, Chromebooks/Notebooks etc.)
2) Worksheets Package: Students will be provided a small booklet of pencil/paper activities. It will be placed in their new Homework folder (to be given our tomorrow.) It is important that the students use the calendar posted on the blog mrdstl.blogspot.ca to complete this package as they are not completed in order but are organized into a Math section, a Reading Section and a Word Study section. Each page will be identified as either "M" (Math), "R" (Reading), "Word" (Word studies focussed on grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary) or "J" (journal writing.) This package will also include some lined paper for journal activities. (For the Journal Writing, students are welcome to do their work on a computer/device and send in the printed copies.)
3) Other activities: Students will sometimes be offered the opportunity to do a short, fun activity related to Math, Language or Science: (ex. List 5 objects shaped like triangles you can find in your house)
In my experience, the advantage of monthly homework is its flexibility. Students and their families know what is coming with respect to homework over the course of the month, which means that they can plan around activities, sports, family visits etc. For example, students can plan ahead and do Wednesday's homework on Tuesday. As well, this type of homework helps students to get used to planning their time with a calendar. However, I will be letting the students that leaving all of the work to the last week is not an option! At the same, I also mentioned to them that the work is to be spread out over the course of the month, and should not all be completed in the first week. (The dates are planned strategically so that skills/concepts will have been covered in class before the students have to practise them in their homework.)
Tonight students will be a chance to do their first online activity, a "Working with Words" activity. They simply need to click the link on the October 1st square of the calendar. The students will be asked to take home their Homework Folders tomorrow for the written part of the Monthly homework, which means that they can start their first written activity labelled "M1." tomorrow tonight. I have included the October Monthly Calendar Homework link below, and I will also put it under Quick Links on the left side of the blog. Please write or call me if you have any questions.
Many Thanks,
