Buckingham Park Primary School

Years 5 and 6

Homework guide

for parents and carers

When will homework be set?

We will send new homework tasks home every Thursday and we ask the children to return their completed homework to school the following week on Monday (after 11 days). This ensures that the children have two full weekends and seven additional week-day nights to complete their tasks.

What will the children be asked to do?

Children will be expected, over the two weeks to ………..

•  play some games in the Maths Activity Booklet. These may relate to current learning or be revision of topics that have already been taught to the children;

•  read a short text extract (from a book we are reading in school) and identify and add in the missing punctuation (or as much of it as they can!);

•  learn some spellings (selecting from a range of difficulties)

•  choose and complete an additional ‘Take-Away’ task that relates to our current learning in school.

Children will be expected, every day to …..

•  read for at least 10 minutes and keep a record of this in their reading record – please note that if your child is a fluent reader, you do not always need to listen to them read aloud;

•  practise the multiplication tables to 12 x 12 , related division facts and other number facts to speed up mental calculation skills and develop confidence

We will give the children pocket folders to keep their work in. Please ask them to use one pocket for all the tasks they complete during a fortnight (so there are enough for the whole year).

How long should children spend on their homework?

We expect the children to spend:

•  up to 30 minutes on each maths task;

•  at least half an hour each week reading (and ideally much more than this!);

•  about 15 minutes on their punctuation task;

•  a few minutes as regularly as possible (preferably daily) practising handwriting and spellings;

•  about an hour on their additional ‘take away’ task.

This is in line with nationally-suggested times for children of this age group.

Why are children set homework?

We aim to set homework that helps children to:

•  develop and improve essential skills in reading, writing and mathematics;

•  share their learning with you;

•  develop the skills necessary to organise their own time and complete tasks to deadlines, with your support;

•  be independent, imaginative and creative and pursue their own interests, through their selection of tasks and their choice about how to complete them.

How is homework assessed?

Your child’s teacher will keep a record of completed and uncompleted tasks. They will monitor the completion of the maths, writing and spelling tasks and identify and correct any mistakes or misconceptions. Take-away tasks will be celebrated with the whole class, who will agree ways to reward both effort and excellence together, including showing work to the Head Teacher and including it in special displays.

Spellings will be tested on the day that homework is handed in.

Teachers invest a large amount of time into creating homework tasks, giving out and collecting in work and marking what the children do. We are very grateful for all the time and support that you give to the children at home– it does have an impact!

We do not want homework to have a negative effect on home life and we are here to help. Encouraging your children to look through homework tasks as soon as they get them and to take responsibility for asking their teacher about anything they feel unsure of, as soon as possible, and well before homework deadlines, should help to minimise this.

Top Tips
Spellings
Practise learning spellings in preparation for a Friday spelling test is important.
Y1-Y2: 6 – 10 words
Y3-Y6: 8 – 12 words
Spellings might relate to tricky words, high-frequency words, or important spelling rules/patterns.
Daily practice for a short while is more effective than last-minute ‘cramming’ before homework is handed in. / Reading
We stress the importance of reading. This could be fiction, non-fiction, magazines, websites, and instructions. Reading to your child (or sometimes a story tape) is really valuable for all children, so even a bedtime story counts!
A variety of different reading activities and texts is important for your child to broaden his/her skills.
A minimum of 10-15 minutes 3 times a week but ideally daily reading is expected. / Times Tables (Y2-Y6)
Times tables facts should be known by the end of Y4 – this means being able to say the answer to a multiplication or division question (up to 12 x12) within five seconds.
Practice in learning tables is VERY important – don’t forget that division facts should also be known.
Daily practice for a short while is much more effective.
Top Tips:
Parents/carers could also work with the child by using the words in written sentences or stories (to also practice handwriting and punctuation) or even in conversations (speaking and listening for the words). / Top Tips:
Reading aloud to an adult is encouraged, even for older children. Also very important is discussing the texts with the child e.g. asking questions about the characters in a book, the layout of a factual book and the views of a website or magazine. / Top Tips:
Parents/carers should work with the child by working out different strategies and ‘top tips’. Practice in the car, walking to school etc. all helps. Chanting forwards, backwards and alternating as you count through can all help, as can CDs and internet games.
Creative Take Away tasks
This involves a creative piece of work based around the class learning journey. Your child will be able to select from five or six choices that cover a range of curriculum areas and learning styles so hopefully there is something to suit everyone. / Talk Time homework
From time to time children may be asked to disuss a topic at home so that they can be prepared to write about the topic at school. This involves a discussion topic e.g. ‘Should animals be kept in zoos?’
Children should make notes (even pictures, diagrams etc.) ready to participate in a class/group discussion on the topic.
Top Tips:
Be as creative as you like!
Talk with your child to generate ideas:
Could the homework be in the form of a poster, a letter, a comic strip, some writing, a PowerPoint…?
Could it use photos, drawings, fold-out ‘extras’ on the page…? / Top Tips:
Turn the television off!
Sit around the dining table!
Have a chat and share opinions and ideas! Children should talk with family, friends and each other. Your child might want to make some notes in their homework folder.