Helping with homework at high school

1
Helping with homework at high school

• Young adolescents and homework - do they mix?
• What does homework look like at High School?
• How much time should homework take at each year
  level?
• How can we help with homework?
• How can we understand the homework set?
• What do we do if homework becomes a problem for
  our student?

2
Helping with homework at high school

• Do young adolescents and homework mix?
• Young adolescents are going through rapid growth-
  they need plenty of healthy food and extra
  attention to rest. Homework routines need to be
  organised so that students are not skipping
  meals, cramming for exams late at night or
  studying after long hours of television watching
  or computer game playing

3
Do they mix?

• Youthful energy and enthusiasm needs expression-
  are your students involved in sport, dance, music
  or drama activities? Let them expend some
  energy on physical activities before expecting
  them to settle down to work at the end of the
  day.

4
Do they mix?

• Young adolescents have fragile egos- they are
  going through a period of social and emotional
  change and uncertainty.
• Give positive feedback to their efforts, help
  them problem solve and model a positive attitude
  to overcoming difficulties.

5
Do they mix?

• Young adolescents value their peer group highly.
  Sometimes studying with a friend, working on
  group projects or using discussions with mates to
  revise learning is a useful motivating strategy.
  Hover nearby serving refreshments to ensure they
  stay on task!

6
Do they mix?

• Young adolescents want to be independent. Let
  them plan their own study schedule, attempt work
  independently, make a few errors and learn from
  them. Be ready to support them so they dont fall
  too far (teachers call it scaffolding).

7
Do they mix?

• Young adolescents have growing brains- moving
  towards more complex and abstract thinking.
  Growth in learning occurs best when students are
  working just beyond what they already know.
  Remind them that challenging work is good work!

8
What does homework look like at high school?

• Our Parent Handbook, sent home to all parents
  with the first High Flyer newsletter of the year,
  provides information on our homework policy (p
  14). In this policy we have
• defined what homework may involve
• provided reasons for setting homework
• established principles for homework setting
• outlined the roles and responsibilities of
  teachers, students and parents
• The biggest change most parents note with the
  changes to high school is the change from nightly
  or weekly homework sheets to a greater emphasis
  in many subjects on using homework for active
  revision, research and drafting or completion of
  assignments

9
What does homework look like at high school?

• It is a good idea for parents to read the
  assessment planner carefully each semester
• talk with your son or daughter about the
  expectations and due dates for the assessment
  they will complete each semester
• make sure your student has the due dates written
  in their Student Handbook
• place the planner somewhere prominent for both
  you and your student to refer to (fridge magnets
  were created for this purpose- no teenagers ever
  strays far from the fridge!)

10
What does homework look like?

• ask questions about assignments, tests etc as
  they approach and ask to see copies of drafts,
  revision notes etc.
• ask to see marked tests and assignments and
  discuss the teachers comments and marking with
  your student
• Our Parent Handbook, sent home to all parents
  with the first High Flyer newsletter of the year,
  provides information on our assignment policy (p
  16). In this policy we have
• defined what an assignment may involve
• established principles for setting assignment
  tasks
• detailed procedures for late assignments and
  extensions

11
How much time should homework take?
12
How can parents help with homework?

• Your interest in this topic is an indication that
  you are already giving your student vital support
  in their schooling. What families do to support
  their kids is more important to student success
  than whether they are rich or poor, whether
  parents have finished high school or not, or
  whether children are in primary, junior secondary
  or senior secondary school.We do know that
  students who are encouraged to spend more time on
  homework, on average, do better in school, and
  that the academic benefits increase as children
  move into the upper grades.

13
How to help?

• Think about this simple checklist (adapted from
  www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/homework.html)
  
• Show You Think Education and Homework Are
  Important.
• Do you set a regular time every day for homework?
  
• Does your child have the papers, books, pencils,
  and other things needed to do assignments?
• Does your child have a fairly quiet place to
  study with lots of light?
• Do you set a good example by reading and writing
  yourself?
• Do you stay in touch with your child's teachers?

14
How can parents help with homework?

• Monitor Assignments.
• Do you know what your child's homework
  assignments are? How long they should take? How
  the teacher wants you to be involved?
• Do you see that assignments are started and
  completed?
• Do you read the teacher's comments on assignments
  that are returned?
• Is TV viewing or computer games cutting into your
  child's homework time?

15
How to help?

• Provide Guidance.
• Do you understand and respect your child's style
  of learning? Does he work better alone or with
  someone else? Does he learn best when he can see
  things, hear them, or handle them?
• Do you help your child to get organized? Do you
  inspect and sign his/her Student Handbook? Does
  he or she need a calendar/ planning chart or
  study timetable near their study area?
• Do you encourage your child to develop good study
  habits (e.g., scheduling enough time for big
  assignments making up practice tests)?
• Do you talk with your child about homework
  assignments? Does he/she understand them?

16
How can we understand the homework set?

• Secondary school assessment is generally marked
  according to criteria. These are the elements,
  themes or principles the teacher is looking for
  in the piece of assessment.
• Standards are usually described for each of these
  criteria. They express the typical qualities of a
  students work for each level of achievement.
• The students result in a piece of assessment is
  usually decided on by balancing the achievement
  in each criteria. Some teachers dont give an
  overall result at the end of the assignment
  because the assessment is based on the criteria
  average at the end of the semester for the final
  result.
• Using criteria for marking means that your
  students performance is being judged against
  the desired elements for the assessment piece,
  not against other students work. Place in class
  and class averages are not important in this way
  of marking students work. This is a big change
  from how many parents are used to thinking of
  results and achievement at school.
• Always ask to see your sons or daughters
  assessment sheet and discuss the criteria with
  them. You can ask them to judge their draft
  efforts against the standards described. What
  level do they think their performance is at?
  Always encourage them to judge their efforts
  against the A standard.

17
What do we do if homework becomes a problem?

• Share Concerns With the Teacher.
• You may want to contact the teacher if
• your student refuses to do her assignments, even
  though you've tried hard to get her to do them
• instructions are unclear
• you can't seem to help your student get organized
  to finish the assignments
• you can't provide needed supplies or materials
• neither you nor your student can understand the
  purpose of assignments
• the assignments are often too hard or too easy
• your child has missed school and needs to make up
  assignments.
• In some cases, the school guidance officer may be
  helpful in resolving such problems.

18
What do we do if homework becomes a problem?

• Work With the School.
• Talk with teachers early in the school year. Get
  acquainted before problems arise, and let
  teachers know that you want to be kept informed.
  Attend the informal opportunities provided by the
  school (Meet and Greet, morning teas, etc).
• Contact the teacher as soon as you suspect your
  child has a homework problem. Schools have a
  responsibility to keep parents informed, and you
  have a right to be upset if you don't find out
  until report time that your child is having
  difficulties. On the other hand, sometimes
  parents figure out that a problem exists before
  the teacher does. By alerting the teacher, you
  can work together to solve a problem in its early
  stages.
• Request a meeting with the teacher to discuss
  homework problems. You or the teacher may also
  find it helpful to have the Head of Department of
  the subject in attendance. If the Guidance
  Officer, Year Level Coordinator or Community
  Education Councillor has worked with your
  student, they may be involved or to at least
  informed of these latest concerns. Don't go
  straight to these people or the principal
  without giving the teacher a chance to work out
  the problem with you and your child.
• Approach the teacher with a cooperative spirit.
  Believe that the teacher wants to help you and
  your child, even if you disagree about something.
• (adapted from www.kidsource.com/kidsource/conten
  t/homework.html)