{"id":302,"date":"2017-09-24T22:00:12","date_gmt":"2017-09-24T22:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/?page_id=302"},"modified":"2025-11-02T06:39:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T14:39:16","slug":"how-is-it-assigned","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/how-is-it-assigned\/","title":{"rendered":"How is it assigned?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Homework assignments can differ in:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>amount<\/em><\/strong> (frequency, length)<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>difficulty<\/em><\/strong> (hard, easy, interspersed)<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>purpose<\/em><\/strong> (instructional, practice, preparation, extension)<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>skill area utilize<\/em>d<\/strong> (reading, writing, memory or retention)<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>student choice<\/em><\/strong> (compulsory, with task options, voluntary)<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>completion deadline<\/strong>s<\/em> (short-term, long-term) and<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>social context<\/em><\/strong> (independent, assisted, parent, sibling, other students, group).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-334 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/files\/2017\/09\/images-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"260\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I restrict\u00a0homework to be done Monday to Thursday.\u00a0 I do not want to impose on weekends and family time.<\/li>\n<li>Some projects, though, may require extra time on a weekend where students can get together to work on an assignment, or parents are available to be a part of it.<\/li>\n<li>Some students take work home because they dawdle in class.<\/li>\n<li>My rule of thumb is no more than 1.5 hours in one night.<\/li>\n<li>Some nights I assign no homework!<\/li>\n<li>I won\u2019t dole out an assignment just for the sake of having homework or to keep them busy.<\/li>\n<li>I bear in mind that students complete homework at different rates.\u00a0 Thus, on occasion, I hand out a time limit to do their homework assignment, rather than say the whole assignment must be completed.<\/li>\n<li>We must keep in mind that students who spend more time on homework may possibly be doing so because they are poor achievers and homework is harder for them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-342\" src=\"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/files\/2017\/09\/images-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"185\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-336 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/files\/2017\/09\/images.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"224\" height=\"239\" \/>I never grade math homework<\/strong> as policy since I see it as a means of practice and exploration.\u00a0 I do however track its completion. Quizzes\/tests\/exams are graded.<\/p>\n<p>I find that my student\u2019s <strong>attitude towards homework<\/strong> and school is more positive when they\u00a0know I will check it and acknowledge their time and effort.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I often design what I\u00a0assign<\/strong>. Rather than use prefabricated worksheets and exercises in textbooks, I take more time to create an assignment; it makes me\u00a0more likely to be selective about what I\u00a0make my \u00a0students do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Drafts are done in sch<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-343 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/files\/2017\/09\/images-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"204\" height=\"247\" \/>ool and involve the student consulting with\u00a0me. \u00a0Final copies are then normally sent home for publishing<\/strong>. \u00a0At this point, students are aware of the criteria and are confident that they can proceed independently with good results. \u00a0If a child still struggles, it is because they often don&#8217;t have the criteria or sample with them at home.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Suggestions to parents:<\/strong> be a stage-manager, a motivator, a role model, a monitor, and a mentor.\u00a0 If homework is a battle, please ask to meet with me.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-337\" src=\"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/files\/2017\/09\/images-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"195\" height=\"199\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-338\" src=\"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/files\/2017\/09\/images-4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"175\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-339\" src=\"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/files\/2017\/09\/images-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"215\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Suggestions to students:\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>pick a good time to do homework<\/li>\n<li>find a place that makes studying easy<\/li>\n<li>remember to make time for long-term projects<\/li>\n<li>if homework gets too hard ask for help<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-341\" src=\"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/files\/2017\/09\/images-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"278\" height=\"208\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-340\" src=\"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/files\/2017\/09\/images.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"181\" height=\"207\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Alfie Kohn\u2019s assertion that <strong>homework should be shared<\/strong>, not graded resonates with me and I will employ that process more often. \u00a0 To illustrate, I instructed my grade 6 &amp; 7 students to research a group or individual who is helping with global poverty.\u00a0 The assignment was to hand in one page. \u00a0Rather than mark their homework and simply hand it back, I came up with a scheme for them to share what they had done for homework.\u00a0 After skimming and documenting that the homework had been completed, I decided to pair students with their homework in hand.\u00a0 One student (the educator) spoke for three minutes.\u00a0 Next the other student (the learner) had a minute to voice what they had learned.\u00a0 They then switched roles. Students assessed their partner as an educator and a learner (strong, okay, weak).\u00a0 It was an interesting method for students to extend their homework and make it more meaningful and engaging. \u00a0I will continue to move towards a model where students explain and explore with one another what they have done for homework.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Homework assignments can differ in: amount (frequency, length) difficulty (hard, easy, interspersed) purpose (instructional, practice, preparation, extension) skill area utilized (reading, writing, memory or retention) student choice (compulsory, with task options, voluntary) completion deadlines (short-term, long-term) and social context (independent, assisted, parent, sibling, other students, group). I restrict\u00a0homework to be done Monday to Thursday.\u00a0 I do not want to impose<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6537,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/302"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6537"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5668,"href":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/302\/revisions\/5668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/smithjoanne\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}