[LucyQua]

Hi Everyone,

I am after some feedback or guidance on Year 4 homework. My DS1 is in Grade 4 and I find the homework thing laughable.

I hear both arguments for and against homework and my greatest concern is that (well the parents I talk to) alot of our kids are greatly underprepared when it comes to highschool as we havent experienced homework.

2 weeks ago the class were given homework to complete over 2 weeks - 8 activites. This inlcuded things like:

* Write down your favourite pizza toppings
* Write a mothers day letter to your mother
* measure your family's heights and place in a table
* Write down as many words as you can think of that you might hear on a basketball court
* Write down as many words using the diagraph 'a" (Thrass chart learning)
* draw a bumper sticker

DS1's care factor has gone out the window nad his attitude is how quickly can i get this done on the first night rather than taking care and completing something with a little substance.

Very little substance in the homework and at times it is nto even corrected.

What sort of homework and how much do other grade 4 kids get?

Thanks Lucy

[warriorsfan]

Some examples from my DS homework book. The have to do 3 activities a week, this is some from the whole tern.

Draw and label a map of your house and backyard.
Read a newspaper article, write 3 sentence to tell me what it was about.
Write a holiday recount.
Create 10 different addition and subtraction problems using 3 and 4 digit numbers, solve them and check your answers with a calculator.
Make a list of 5 goals that you have for yourself this year.
List 5 ways you can help protect you local environment

Etc My DS gets bored with these things, he would go stir crazy with that! plus there is spelling words, readers, a reading diary for other books, mathletics, and other online activities.

[mumto3princesses]

DD2 & DD3 are in Year 3 but in a 3/4 composite and the Year 4's have the same homework. This fortnight's homework is:

* Reading every night
* Mathletics - usually a minimum of 5 or 6 tasks per week
* Maths Times Tables Worksheet
* Spelling activity of some sort - I think this fortnight's was write spelling words in reverse alphabtical order and write 5 silly sentences
* Talking & Listening - class blog discussion
* Life skills - varies. Last one was hang the washing out and bring it in
* Physical Activity - List all physical activity minimum 30mins per week
* Puzzle questions like - As soon as it is spoken it is broken - what is it etc
* HSIE/SCIENCE- This one is 3 different types of energy
* Grammer - This one is what is an adverb and list 10 examples

So usually about 10 things with 7 of them compulsory. The things that aren't compulsory this fortnight are Life skills, Physical Activity and the Puzzle.

[daisydo]

This weeks homework is:

Write out spelling errors each night.
2 pages of math questions (handouts).
Find words from spelling list that match the rule of the week (and write them in book).
Type or write out words from spelling list.
This week special: work on speech
Challenge option (optional): Use some of the rule of the week words in a sentence or story.


Other examples from previous weeks include:
Looking up words in dictionary and writing the meaning.
Magazine words.
Times table wheels.

[Carmen02]

wow my 10yr old DD in grade 4 would love that homework she finds hers to hard.
she has to read every night a chapter book (a bit of it) and has to write about things that happened in it, she also has a homework folder to complete over the week where they get 10 spelling words to practice once a night then they have a maths sheet and an activity they have to complete which usually is finding info about a subject and reporting back about it. Sometimes they may have some other activity to do

[caesie'n'linc]

DS1 is in grade 4.

He gets 20 spelling words, 10 'maths mentals', times tables (eg 2 x 1 to 2 x 12), he has to do each of these each of the 4 nights. He also has to write a sentence for each of the spelling words.
He is also supposed to read aloud for 10mins each night but I don't make him do this one, I get him to read to me for a few minutes, he usually reads a bedtime story to the younger kids and then he reads for 20-30mins before bed as well so I feel he gets enough practice.

[~THE~MAGICIAN~]

I have a DD in Year 4. They currently bring home a book each night, spend 15 mins on Mathletics a night and bring home various projects and maths sheets that are completed anywhere from 2-7 days.

My 10year old DD in Year Six, gets 15mins reading a night, 15mins, Mathletics per night and 15 mins written work per night. Then they have 20 book reports to complete before the end of the year, and from time to time other various projects/research to do (at the moment they are researching junk food and its effects)


Last year when she was in Year 5, she got nothing. I'm glad this year she has a nice balance otherwise HS next year would be a huge shock to the system.



This post has been edited by ~THE~MAGICIAN~: 15/05/2012, 02:36 PM

[LucyQua]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Wow there is certainally some homework out there - none of it terribly hard or too much - I would say a mere extension on what they are already learning in the classroom.

Mathletics seems popular with some schools - not ours - but I am looking at investing in it.

My DS1's teacher today had a talk to the whole Grade 4 class (after I queried her about homework this morning) saying she doesn't believe in it but has to do it as it is policy. Guess there is not going to be a great dela of improvement there.

Thanks again for all your replies. I really appreciated it.

Cheers

Lucy

[Akatara]

my DD would love your homework! lol.

she gets spelling, maths worksheet, and reading each week, and that's it.

The don't seem to get any projects, news, book reports, or anything remotely creative.

She hates it. She does it the night before it is due, or in the car on the way to school.

[JRA]

DS struggles academically so homework is hard work.

Current unit of inquiry is "I believe"

This week he had:
- some mathletics
- there are 20 "life is" statements from mother theresa - supposedly, and he had to paraphrase those
- sit with a family member to discuss then write up about beliefs that affect that influence your life in the area of:for family life, health, leisure, school, environment, spirituality.