I tried this too.... but found that errors (especially in math) that occurred during the week became more engrained because of all the faulty practice...even though I work in an affluent district... I am surprised to observe how many parents do not check or sit in on homework... I am not asking parents to do homework... but monitor.... every back to school night I make a big deal that this is a parent's teachable moment... a way to implant great questioning and strategies.... but I can count on my hands those who do take the opportunity.... i understand it... high powered jobs... commutes to the city... at home after the kids go to bed .... but it seems to me that learning as a social function of the family is dwindling in my neck of the woods.. and i think that is sad because it is at least in my opinion a joyful and hopeful act that occurs best when coached and celebrated by those who love you. That much said... i did try something that I think made homework worthwhile (esp. in math).... in my district we use everyday math... and have lots of smattering of Japanese math,too.... so.... my assignments are not based on what we covered in class during the day or that week but rather usually follow about a chapter behind.... by then I feel i have met with kids in small group and independent conferences and have better secured the strategies for strugglers to be successful with assignments. My team and I tried to develop a differentiated approach to homework .... but creating assignments on the run is murderous... so we came up with a generic grid that goes with most assignments based on strategies of comprehension.... ex:(consider an algorithm) what connections can you make to this problem.... when in your life do you think you might need to use math in this way.... draw a picture of your thinking about this problem.... which strategy/tool will you use to solve the problem... and then finally create a word problem that based on this math sentence.... I think that when kids are able to transfer their knowledge then I feel secure that their learning is secure. That's also why most of my spelling tests are based on unseen transfers of words that are similar in phonetic rule or spelling pattern if you will to what we've studied in class.... this kind of test always yields screams from parents in the beginning of the year because they are words not on a list.... but most of my families agree by the end of the year that their kids are fearless spellers.... most with a high degree of accuracy....my case in point... spelling homework is explicit study of phonics and spelling patterns.... with lots of word hunts... transfers.... you get my drift... no spelling list except for example of what we are working on in class. In a message dated 7/26/2010 1:32:35 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
My first graders receive their homework folders on Monday that includes all of the homework for the week. They are not required to turn the homework folder in until Friday. That way, I have the weekend to check over the papers and re stuff the folders for the next week. Hope this helps:-) ________________________________ From: Robert Kolvek <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sun, July 25, 2010 1:09:33 PM Subject: [MOSAIC] First Grade Homework I was wondering about ideas for checking homework for first grade class. Currently students place their H.Q. in a h.w. folder in a h.w. basket I spend my lunch hour marking the h.w. and then putting in the following night's h.w. It's difficult to do in the AM as I have about 15 students in for the 37 1/2 min extra help required in NYC. Some children skip some days, others come late. I hate to wait until the end of the day, because it can get late and hectic. Any ideas that work? When they come in from Kinder, they have had the h.w. placed in their folders for them by the Kinder paras. I don't have a para and may have 28 students this year. I think it's too much for them to mark their own. If I start walking around checking each folder, I'm afraid it will be too time consuming! Thanks! _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
