Homework this year
The only homework they will have every night, including weekends, will be their reading log. This is to be signed every night by a parent/guardian/older sibling. There are no excuses for not reading. If they forget their book, they are allowed to read a newspaper, magazine, or online book as long as it is for 20 minutes a night.
We will work on several reading comprehension passages throughout the year. It is imperative that your student talks about what they are reading, in order to pass the EOG's at the end of the year. Ask your students questions such as: How did the character feel when he did something, why did he feel that way; what was the character thinking; what is this story mostly about; how do you know that is what the story is mostly about; and how did the character change throughout the story. These questions will help your student to develop the skills needed to interpret more complex reading texts.
Math homework will consist entirely of math problem solving skills. They will work on these skills daily and it is important that they understand the keys to word problems. All of our assessments are word problems, including the EOG's, so we will be working very hard on these types of problems. We will find strategies to pull apart word problems and many different ways to solve them. Students will be asked to underline key words, find key numbers, draw out problems, solve the problem and plug the answers back into the problem.
Spelling will also be given Mon-Thurs. with a spelling and vocabulary test on Friday. There is a student spelling choice board in their homework folder. They may choose any one of the spelling/vocab homework to do, but cannot do the same one every night. If you choose to do one with a star next to it, please sign the planner next to which choice they made.
Parents: Please help your students to solve these problems independently. As a teacher, I never give them the answer or show them how I got the answer. I ask them to solve it and then talk me through their thinking to find out what they did right, or wrong. Ask them questions such as: How did you get that answer, what were the key words that told you to do that, show me, or draw me the answer. This will help them on a test where they are asked to do these problems independently.
The more they read and spell, the better experts they will become in those areas. Have them help you read the newspaper, recipes, menus, signs, magazines, letters, and any books that you have in the house. Also, the more you read to them, the more equipped they are with vocabulary. A story a night will increase their vocabulary, and by the end of the year, they will know 1000-3000 words! READING IS IMPORTANT!
Writing is just as important as reading, in our lives. Help your student, by encouraging them to write stories that they make up, or give them a topic and have them write a character, setting, and a conflict to the story. Help them brainstorm ideas and check their grammar and spelling. The more they write, the better they will read, and the better they read, the easier their writing becomes.
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