Now that the school year is well under way, your child has likely brought home some at home assignments. The purpose of this brief article is to provide parents and caregivers with an idea of what typical homework assignments might be.
Every teacher of grades K‐5 expects children to engage in nightly reading. In the early primary grades, reading at home can look like an adult or older sibling reading to a child. As children become more competent readers, reading at home should also include time when a child reads independently by her or himself. Reading at home can also include a child reading to an adult or older sibling. In the upper grades, students are often expected to record their at‐home reading habits in a reading log, write a summary of what they’ve read, and/or respond to a specific question or set of questions provided by the classroom teacher.
In addition to reading at home, most students will have math homework. Math assignments may not come home every night, but you should expect to see them frequently. The Math Expressions curriculum includes “Homework and Remembering” components in grades 1‐5, and classroom teachers know children’s completion of these assignments greatly enhances students’ success in math overall.
Some children will bring home additional assignments for their homework. For example, some older students work through a “homework pack” that includes a variety of exercises. These homework packs have the purpose of reviewing and/or building skills and, most important, the purpose of homework packs is helping children build their study habits through nightly attention to homework tasks.
A general rule of thumb is that children should spend approximately 10-15 minutes per grade level on homework, beginning with Kindergarten. And no child should ever work on a homework assignment that is too difficult. If you find that your child is unable to independently complete a homework assignment that you’ve explained to her/him (if necessary) or your child becomes frustrated and unable to complete a task, then stop their work for the night and write a note to your child’s teacher. Your child’s teacher will help your child and, if needed, make adjustment to the type or amount of homework provided to your child in the future. Homework is intended to review skills and extend the practice of concepts from school into the home. A regular routine at home that includes reading and the completion of any additionally assigned homework tasks helps your child build important study habits that will help her/him learn how to manage time and work deliberately to complete goals. In the next edition of Principal’s News, tips will be offered for how to ensure homework time is productive and stress‐free.