Posts: An update on homework

2/23/2014 9:23 PM by krista.mclaughlin

Hi everyone!  I wanted
to let you all know about how our homework model will be changing beginning
this week.  I decided to combine reading
and spelling homework, mainly because most students have been working with the
same list for a while now, and I think they are ready to change it up a bit!  They will still need to read for 15 minutes
per night, however instead of regular spelling homework they will choose 5
words from the book they have read (5 words per week).  They can choose words for a variety of
reasons, such as:

 


 

1.  A word they know they have trouble spelling
& would like to practice

 

2.  A new word they would like to begin to use in
their writing/speaking

 

3.  A strong verb, adjective or adverb that they
find interesting & would like to use in their writing pieces

 

Once they have chosen 5 words, they will add them to their
dictionaries (They will need to take them home and bring them to school every
day so that they can be used during writing time).  If the word is unfamiliar to them, they will
need to look up the meaning of the word and add it to their dictionaries.  They can also write a sentence using the word
or draw a picture if it is helpful to them. 


 

Students no longer need to fill in reading logs.  Instead, they can log on to their emails from
home and send me an email with the name of their book and the pages read for
the week.  I will be adding a section to
our class website that will eventually allow students to submit homework there,
but for the time being an email is fine. 
If a student does not have access to email from home, they are welcome
to still use the reading logs.    

 

I am hoping that this will help students take more
responsibility for their own learning & will help increase their
vocabularies.  They will also be given
incentives in class for using words they have found by doing their homework.  Students should be doing this homework
independently.  We will be going over
this in great detail this week during class time, and I will make sure everyone
understands what they are supposed to do. 
They will all have an opportunity to practice this new process in class.

 

I would encourage parents to ask your child about the
vocabulary words they choose each week, and see if they can use them each in a
sentence.  You are still welcome to use
any of the activities in the package I sent home at the beginning of the year, some
of them are lots of fun and a great way to practice & learn to spell!

 

If students complete their homework by Friday, they will get
a Dojo point.  If they do not complete
their homework by Friday, they will lose a Dojo point (unless of course there
is a valid situation/circumstance that prevents it from being done, in which
case please let me know J)
.  If this happens several weeks in a
row, I will be contacting parents to see if there is something more that I can be
doing to support your child.

 

As always please email or call me if you have any questions
or concerns, and I thank you for your cooperation! 


Category: Literacy
 
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