What you can expect for Homework at each grade-level

  Kindergarten:

Our optional kindergarten homework consists of:

1. Monthly Activity Calendar – The monthly activity calendar is sent home at the start of every month and students are asked to complete the noted number of activities each week. Any completed work is returned at the end of the month.

2. Project-Based Activities – Occasional, thematic projects that correlate with our curriculum throughout the year.

3. Book Bag – A book and a response journal is sent home every other Monday starting later in the school year. During the week families read and re-read the book with their student. Students then write or dictate a response and draw an illustration about the story in the provided journal.

1st Grade:

In first grade, we give weekly homework packets that are sent home on Monday and returned on Friday in the child's "homework folder." Each week, children receive 1-2 language arts activities (grammar, reading comprehension, writing, etc) and 1-2 math activities (tied in to the  unit we are studying or review of previous units). Students also have weekly spelling. From September-December, spelling words based on high- frequency sight words; then beginning in January, spelling  consist of sentences following a spelling pattern (e.g. short a) and a word family. Students are also asked to read daily. Optional math homework is sent home towards the end of every math unit.

2nd Grade:

Second grade students have daily homework that consists of one spelling activity, one word problem in math, and reading for 20+ minutes.  Students are encouraged practice their 1-20 math facts on a regular basis.  Occasionally, students will have a specialty project which will need to be completed and returned by the given due date.  Optional enrichment and “Red Dot” homework will be sent home periodically.  Students may also used the web-based programs (as stated on each teacher’s website) from home.

3rd  Grade:

1. Math practice four nights a week

2. Weekly writing prompt

3. Spelling activity twice a week

4. Independent reading daily, 20 minutes

5. At-home project each trimester (for example a book report or a social studies report)

6. Students are responsible to write down their homework and are responsible for their own materials.  This is to prepare them for upper grades.

7. Students may be required to complete unfinished classwork at home.

4th Grade:

Homework is nightly and includes:

• Read for 20 minutes. Students are expected to read for 20 minutes each night.
• Spelling (one double-sided sheet assigned on Monday and due Thursday)
• Math workbook page, (Page assigned will depend on student level for each concept).
• Other:
  • Preparing for test and quizzes would require more practice at home
  • Other assignments (including science and social studies) will be sent home in the homework folders with written instructions and a due date.
  • All assignments - regardless of which teacher assigned them - will be returned in the homework folder on the due date.
  • We hope this system will allow the students to take more responsibility for completing and returning their work.

5th Grade:

All homework assignments are given a specific due date and are expected to be turned in on-time.
We emphasize the following:

1. Reinforcement and/or review of skills taught in class.
2. Students usually have at least one writing assignment per week
3. An attempt is made to integrate higher-order thinking skills
4. Reading for 15-20 minutes a night
5. Typically there is a weekly vocabulary list on which students are quizzed.

6th Grade:

Homework is designed to build on skills, extend or enrich content areas and reinforce lessons.
Predictable homework is given and can be completed on any day as long as it is ready by the due date. Most lost worksheets can be located on my website. If homework takes more than 2 hours nightly (assuming assignments and projects are not being left until the last day), please schedule a conference.

Math

• Nightly ­ - Plan at least 1/2 hour depending upon the math class and students’ individual strengths. Need More? Khan Academy modules to work on are listed on the website.

Science and Social Studies

• Note taking will be given several days to complete, or time will be given in class.
• Look in your child's table of contents in the notebook for note due dates. These are given at the start of a new unit/chapter.  Any assignments will be due the next day.

Vocabulary

• Unit Tests are given every other Friday.
• Work/assignments are due on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week. (Predictable)

Reading and Writing

• Assignments are given as coursework dictates.
• Nightly reading time.