Help re extra homework Year 9

[twincrazy]

I rarely see the twins doing any homework, if they do it will take them no more than 15 min

I havent had a call to say they are not doing their homework.

Alot of parents feel the same that they are not getting enough

The boys could do with some more homework, and I was wondering if anybody knew of a website that could guide me to worksheets for them? and maybe a curriculum of what they cover?

Thanks

[MsAverage]

Ooooh yes. Always empty diary and "nothing was for homework" until it turns out that tomorrow is due day for assessment.

I was buying student books at Amazon and make her do additional exercises on the topics I knew she was weak at.

[startail]

Leave them alone they start GCSEs next year. We mucked about in Y9. I suspect school left us to it to a certain extent.
It's absolutely the last relaxed year you now get. We got the lower 6th, but that's been trashed by AS levels.
Encourage hobbies and out of school stuff not HW. When the exam years come DCs need to love something enough to carry on with it. All work and no play makes very stressed teens and very dull adults.

It's DHs hobbies, not his Oxbridge degree subject that got him head hunted to the job that keeps a roof over our heads.

[CecilyP]

I agree with startail. I also think from your OP that you want homework for homework's, sake as you have made no mention of what you feel they need to work on at home. For example, you refer to worksheets (which usually cover quite basic things) but have given no further information.

I would encourage reading or hobbies or even watching serious programmes on TV. They will start GCSEs with course work next year so then they will have plenty to be getting on with.

[twincrazy]

I dont think there is anything wrong with strenthing them before they start GSCES otherwise it will come as a shock

They do after school activities, youth clubs, football etc..neither of these will help them for the future

Im talking Maths, English, Geography and Science.

Good point about serious programmes on the TV though

[MsAverage]

Never heard of a headhunter hunting for 52th level elf in WoW.

[nailak]

erm after school activities will help them on their ucas forms. they are unlikely to get in to good unis even with good grades with no extra curricular activities.

and becoming a well rounded, stable, succesful adult is more then just a high flying career or academic glory.

[MsAverage]

After school activities are secondary criteria, and grades are primary. Maybe somewhere in the States musical and sport achievements ARE leading criteria, but not here yet.

So entertainment decisions are in the child's hand, and she is free to do what she want, my role is to ensure that tiny easy bit you called "just a high flying career".

[twincrazy]

Tbh Im not really bothered if my boys go to university or not I just want them getting good grades in their GSCES and A Levels..

I dont think that by putting on their cv that they play in a football league will get them far in this day and age

[startail]

I'm not sure it's what you do out off school that matters so much as doing something.
Yes DH's hobbies were electronics and model engineering so he gets paid to sort hardware that mystifies most computer scientists. However, he's also simply got in the habit of spending his free time doing something or learning about something.
I think that makes you happier and more confident than only doing things because they'll help you pass your exams, look good on your CV or earn you money,
I find this very hard I have loads of unfinished needle work projects and I always end up watching TV or on the computer.

[blueemerald]

If they are achieving reasonable grades across the bord then I would suggest strengthening their knowledge outside the curriculum- go and see plays at the theatre, subscribe to New Scientist magazine, get them to read "good" books outside the syllabus, etc. In my experience these are the things that make the different between a place at a good university and a place at a great one.

[ravenAK]

Not much point in doing worksheets unless they're actually struggling in specific subjects or skills - you need to focus on something a bit more 'over & above'.

So I'd agree with others that you need to encourage wider reading, watching some 'serious' telly, advanced level construction kits etc.

I teach secondary English; if my dc were currently in year 9, I'd want them to be confident in varying sentence structure, paragraphing, & those old favourites punctuation & spelling - because they WILL be important for Controlled Assessment at GCSE.

It might be worth checking with the twins' English teacher that this is the case, & if they do need some extra reinforcement, there are loads of websites with practice activities. I can suggest a couple if you know what level they're working at, but their teacher is the place to start.

[Tortu]

Another English teacher butting in here just to say that you can't go wrong with additional reading. Reading a wide range of books (doesn't have to be the classics, though that's nice) will help in all subjects. And, erm, a big skill that we can only really touch the surface of, is critical media analysis skills. The students who actually know something about the way in which the media works really stand out. Just forcing them to watch the news/ read the newspapers and then discussing the reasons why those news stories have been chosen and the way in which they've been reported would be highly beneficial.

[babybouncer]

Have you spoken to the school? I'm a teacher and earlier in the term we had a number of parents complain that pupils didn't seem to have much homework in their diary, so we've now had a push on making sure that a) teachers are setting the homework and b) kids are writing it down. Homework (good/relevant homework that is!) is a valuable part of learning, particularly for independent working skills.

Encouraging reading (of any sort!) and watching/discussing the news is always good, but at this age the extra-curricular activities are more to build their confidence and general personality rather than to boost their CV's. If they apply to universities, they shouldn't be putting anything on their personal statement that they haven't done during their time in sixth-form, so Yr 9 activities are irrelevant.

[babybouncer]

Just another thought - you should have received some sort of progress report this year (parents' evening/report/mini report?) - what did these suggest about their areas for improvement and levels of effort?

[startail]

Babybouncer I was always told the precise opposite. That we weren't suddenly to race around doing things to look good on our UCCA forms in the upper 6th.
We were told it was much better to put things we were committed to and genuinely interested in.
3 weeks in the sea cadets isn't going to give you much to talks about if asked.

[freerangeeggs]

As far as I am aware (and I have read a lot about this) there is no evidence to suggest that homework in itself helps to develop pupils' independent learning skills. I doubt it does since, IME, the effort from 90% of kids is minimal (I'm an English teacher).

Homework itself is not of as much value as parents think, and yet they judge schools by how much homework they set. It's a bizarre obsession.

You could phone the school, ask what their strengths/weaknesses are and suggest that they send some extra work home. You'd have to sit and do it with them, though, if you really want it to make a difference.