Hi, I am interested in hearing what people give for literacy homework each night? Last year, I just had the kids do independent reading for 15 minutes and write a couple of sentences about what they read. Sometimes I had them read something aloud to someone else at home (if there was someone). I rarely gave writing or grammar homework because it was difficult to differentiate and keep up with checking it all. I also think 8 - 4 is a long enough school day for 7-8 year olds without dumping a lot of extra work on them at night. I am planning on using Words Their Way this year, and Lucy Calkins Units of Study. We use the HM reading series, although I don't really use the practice books much. I would really like to have a homework routine that is pretty much the same every week, only with different content or skills. That way the kids and I would know what was expected. Last year I gave out a weekly packet on Monday and collected it Friday. This was great in terms of not spending 20 minutes collecting and recording homework each day, plus for families who had commitments some nights, they could do a little more the prior or next night to make up. I don't "grade" homework because children receive various degrees of help with it, so it's not really fair. I do record completion. The downside of the weekly packet is that I must rely on classroom observation to spot problems, rather than on the homework. This really isn't a problem for me, though. It does seem like the kids who put the most effort into homework are the kids who need it least and have the most involved families. Is there a way around this? Your thoughts on homework? (And yes, we have to give it ;-) Maggi
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