PURPOSES OF HOMEWORK
- Bridges the gap between learning at school and learning at home.
- Strengthens home-school links. Reaffirms the role of parents as partners in education.
- Reinforces work done in class and helps develop skills such as research, time management, habits of study, concentration and self-discipline.
- Develops the learning capacity of children through home-school partnerships by providing experiences which foster learning.
- Stimulates individual initiative, personal responsibility and self-direction.
- Provides parents with insights into what is being taught in the classroom and the progress of their children.
- Provides challenge and stimulus to gifted and talented children.
- Due to difference in age level and modes of instruction between the primary and secondary sections, homework expectations will necessarily differ.
Responsibilities of Teachers
- Assign relevant, challenging and meaningful homework that reinforces classroom learning
- Give clear instructions and make sure students understand the purpose
- Provide appropriate and timely response / feedback to all homework assignments
- Involve parents and contact them if a pattern of late or incomplete homework develops
- Ensure that students who are absent know how they may make-up homework
- Ensure that homework is a relevant extension of work assigned in class.
Responsibilities of Parents
- Establish a quiet, well-lit study area.
- Set a regular, uninterrupted study time each day.
- Assist and correct but not do the actual work and notify the teacher if students experience extreme difficulty.
- Monitor student’s organization and daily list of assignments in their agenda.
- Contact teacher to stay well informed about the student’s learning process.
- Contact the teacher if he/ she observes an absence of or inconsistency in homework.
Responsibilities of Students
- Be sure all assignments are clear
- Ask questions when necessary to clarify the assignment
- Set aside a regular time for studying
- Find a quiet, well-lit study area
- Work on homework independently whenever possible, so that it reflects student ability.
- Produce quality work.
Homework at different grade levels
Grades 1 and 2
- Homework in these grades should focus on literacy skills and mathematics concepts and vocabulary.
- There should be parental involvement and low dependence on paper and pencil activities. In addition, a read aloud program should be in place in kindergarten augmented with independent reading of Graded readers as appropriate.
- Mathematics homework assignments should deal with how mathematics can be found in the lives of students and parents, basic counting and sorting skills, and mathematics vocabulary.
- In first grade, a read aloud programme should be encouraged all year long.
- Students are required to participate in an independent reading program as they develop reading fluency.
- By the end of first grade, students should have transitioned into a homework programme that requires regular completion and return of homework assignments.
- Homework assignments should be according to grade level standards in core content areas with a focus on reading and mathematics including memorization of facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication and number bonds.
- Homework should be assigned Monday to Friday.
Grades 3 and 4
- Homework in reading and mathematics and other content areas should be assigned on a regular basis
- The homework should be meaningful and consistent with grade level content standards including maintenance of basic arithmetic facts.
- Homework assigned over weekends should only be used for projects or independent reading.
Grades 5 to 8
- Homework at this level should be regularly assigned in core curriculum areas, not necessarily daily.
- Whenever possible, guided practice, individually and in pairs, should be provided for students prior to independent practice being assigned to students as homework.
- Weekend or holiday assignments should be largely for projects or makeup work.
- It is the student's responsibility to complete homework assignments.
Grades 9 and 10
- A structure is provided so that teachers can plan cooperatively in assigning long term projects or major activities in order to ensure an equitable load results for the student.
- Students are also responsible to meet with their teacher(s) when they have difficulty completing an assignment or need additional help in understanding the assignment. It is the student's responsibility to study and review all subjects whether a formal assignment has been given or not.
- Students who have not met the Grade level standards may be required to complete additional homework assignments beyond the stated guidelines.
- Students should receive feedback on homework assignments in a timely manner using a variety of correction methods.
Though it is impossible to predict the time necessary for all students to complete assignments because of different learning rates and age levels, the following is suggested:
|Grade 1 and 2
||35 minutes + 15 minutes independent reading
|Grade 3 and 4
||45 minutes + 15 minutes independent reading
|Grade 5 and 6
||1 hour + 30 minutes independent reading
|Grade 7 and 8
||1 ½ hours + 30 minutes independent reading
|Grade 9 and 10
||2 hours + 1 hour independent reading
Suggested Break Up
||Thrice a week
||Five times a week
||Thrice a week
||Twice a week
||Once a week