Homework

Have you got any homework?

Homework can be very confusing for students and parents/carers. The following guide will hopefully clarify some of those uncertainties.

Homework has three parts to it:

• Set Homework - work that is given during a lesson, usually based on current learning, and expected to be completed for the next scheduled lesson
• Revision - the active re-engagement with what you have learned during each lesson. This can involve a number of strategies or approaches. For example, some students have a separate exercise book at home for each subject. At the end of the day they briefly record what they have learned in each lesson including formulae in Maths, for example. This not only helps them to revise and determine questions they may need to ask next lesson, but also prepares revision notes for upcoming tests and exams
• Assessment Preparation - this is the process of checking the Student Assessment Planner to determine the nature and due dates of upcoming assessment and, where time permits, students may commence planning, research and preparing an overview of what the task involves. Where students already have the task/criteria sheet for a subject, the preparation may be more specific including familiarising themselves with the genre and content of the task and all that they involve. It is also important that students familiarise themselves with all criteria for an assessment item, and their elaborations, to facilitate self-checking and feedback during the drafting process

Homework time will not always be an even balance of all three components but we should certainly never see a case of 'I've got no homework' just because there was none officially set! Set homework is only ONE aspect of the homework process.

At Centenary Heights State High School we value homework as an integral part of learning and, to that end, it will always be checked by our teachers.

Homework - a guide for students and parents/carers

Starting your homework...

The first step in the homework process is to determine what is set homework. This should be recorded in your student diary and may include anything you might not have finished from previous days.

Your diary entries could look something like this:

Once you have completed the set homework you can move to the revision phase. For each subject you have had that day record the key learning goals and any critical information that may go with these. For example...

English

24th April

Learning Goal: Features of a sonnet

Key Information:

• 3 types (Shakespearean, Spenserian, Petrarchan)
• 14 lines
• Regular rhyme scheme (depends on type)
• Usually iambic pentameter (rhythm)

As you do this, record any question you might have that relate to your understanding of knowledge and concepts that have been taught.

Once the revision stage is complete, find your assessment planner and look for the next assessment piece due. Once you have determined this you could use the following approach:

If you do not yet have the task sheet you could still do research into the features of an effective narrative and make notes accordingly. For example you could use the internet to search the characteristics of a narrative and record your findings as follows:

A guide to the amount of time to spend on homework and study is as follows:

Year 7

45 minutes, including reading - 4 nights a week, and where needed, an hour on the weekend.

Year 8

1 hour - 4 nights a week, and where needed, an hour on the weekend.

Year 9

1 hour - 4 nights a week, and where needed, an hour on the weekend.

Years 10, 11 and 12 

2.5 hours - 3 hours 4 nights a week, and where needed, more on the weekend.