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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this is an unreasonable piece of homework to give to Year 4...

85 replies

BraveMerida · 05/12/2013 10:04

DD's been given a "project" homework...basically, she has to choose a major river and write a Powerpoint presentation and then actually give the presentation to the class.

When I first got the brief, I gawped, but thought I'd leave her to get on with it and see how she goes. SHe wanted to get straight to the Powerpoint, so after getting her started with opening the Powerpoint file, she spent ages tinkering around the edges with the slides without much content. So then, I guided her to Google instead and tried to explain the process for her....research, read, make notes, highlight, write the slides and speech/presentation...I ended up spending ages printing out Wikipedia plus other material and gave her a highlighter pen to sit down with, and of course she wouldn't listen and wanted to use a Sharpen pen instead....this is the sort of homework that drive me up the wall cause it creates so many battles when I try to help and yet I know that I can't just leave her to it....

OP posts:
Original poster
BraveMerida · 05/12/2013 10:08

Sharpie pen....as in permanent marker..

OP posts:
Kyrptonite · 05/12/2013 10:10

Why can't you just leave her to it? Surely she will either figure it out or face the consequences for not having it done?

I would show her how to use basic bits of PowerPoint and let her play around a bit whilst she gets the hang of it.

SilverApples · 05/12/2013 10:15

It's a fairly standard homework, perhaps you are setting the level of expectation and complexity too high?
Is the main focus to create a powerpoint, with a range of images and text manipulation, possibly a hyperlink or two? Copy and pasting text, adding sound buttons?
Or to create an extended written project?

StiffGandT · 05/12/2013 10:23

Not unusual for us - P5 in Scotland which I think is year 4 in England. Last week homework included creating a fact sheet about a famous Victorian which involved research then creating a document and this week we have to create a PowerPoint presentation on another topic. I find it best to let them do it themselves then help tighten it up if need be.

cleofatra · 05/12/2013 10:28

Seems reasonable to me. You may be surprised at what she comes up with

curlew · 05/12/2013 10:31

If she knows how to create a PowerPoint (and I bet she does!)then you can leave her to it.

sassytheFIRST · 05/12/2013 10:33

Quick tip - if you use google to research kids'homework always add "for kids" at the end of your search box e.g. "Mississippi facts for kids" - this gives them a much more accessible list of facts to read and work from.

FrootLoops · 05/12/2013 10:35

I think it seems fine. My DD is in P2 and has had two project homework tasks where she has to research and present the topics. We went to the library and I later sat with her while she googled and read the results. She then chose the information she wanted to include, drew pictures then wrote some and typed some up to present. I think by P4 or 5 powerpoint is not an unreasonable ask.

I'm always confused as to why parents get so overly involved in a childs homework - the aim is for the child to learn something, not to present a perfect piece of work.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 05/12/2013 10:37

My DD had to a powerpoint presentation recently and I have no idea on Powerpoint so I said we would have a play around with it but in the meatime she could see what she wanted to do. We looked up the information and then I left her to it for a while and by the time I came back she had created a presentation all on her own. It was quite simple but looked good.

I don't think it is too much and I think you tried to make it too complicated.

My DD is going to do another soon on Henry VIII and as I know she already has all the information I will let her do it and then just go throught it with her after.

NoComet · 05/12/2013 10:43

Pretty standard and a disaster with most Y4' s and some Y5's.

It's alright in theory, but most younger children simply do not have the planning and editing skills to come up with anything decent.

They either stuff one picture one a slide or a whole unreadable chunk of wiki.

They need far more examples and guidance from school than they get.

DD1 is dyslexic and we ended up using them as a learning exercise, we talked a lot and I typed. (DD recycled a lot if WWII for Y8)

I have left DD2 to her own devices doing a written version (of exactly the river one) and she got an awful mark for doing bugger all. I tried to give her ideas and she was being very stubborn.

Yes it was a useful lesson on not being lazy, but she'd have learnt a lot more if she'd had a bit of guidance as to what to produce from school (not bossy mother).

Young children are used to being spoon fed and guided step by step through carefully planned lessons. They don't have the confidence to suddenly go it alone.

OldBeanbagz · 05/12/2013 10:43

Fairly standard at homework i think. My Y4 boy has done it this term though his class did our local river at school and then the homework was to do another one.

SomethingkindaOod · 05/12/2013 10:43

DD is year 3 and has just learnt to use PowerPoint, she picked the basics up surprisingly quickly and has just started on a similar project to your DD (city rather than a river).
I got kicked out of the room for 'interfering' when I tried to give her a little guidance...
YABAbitU to end up practically doing it for her, however tempting it might be to reassure yourself that it's been done properly but isn't part of the homework to learn to do research as well?
I do sympathise though, it seems like too much for them to cope with until they actually tell you or show you they can do it. Or tell you to go away and let them finish, whichever comes first...

littleducks · 05/12/2013 10:43

I think the problem is that the research materials might be too complex, I wouldn't recommend wiki for this age (or probably ever as when they get older they need to reference). A google search of 'nile facts kids' give some pretty accessible info links like these:

resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/egypt/nile.htm

www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/nileriver.html

LEMisafucker · 05/12/2013 10:48

What about the chldren that don't have powerpoint at home? I don't think my DD could do this

OrlandoWoolf · 05/12/2013 10:53

We didn't have Powerpoint till a few weeks ago.

Of course, there is Prezi but that is a massive assumption on behalf of the teacher.

newfavouritething · 05/12/2013 10:54

No powerpoint here either, I do have a ye 4 child though, and the only 'electronic' homework that he's ever been given was to send an email

Fannydabbydozey · 05/12/2013 10:55

My year 4 and year 6 kids have project homework like this every week. I like it as it means they do lots of research and planning - they like it and find it really enjoyable. They are actually keen to do their homework. The spelling and maths is always done last, after their more interesting project work.

Does it have to be PowerPoint? Perhaps she just has to create a document that can be displayed and talked about to the whole class. My kids use apple's Pages app to make a lot of their projects. It's easy to use, has lots of templates and you can embed pictures or video very easily. Being able to drag and drop pictures and text using your fingers means they are pretty much able to it by themselves.*

*ive learned my lesson about checking it afterwards. Things that have slipped my notice have include guinea pigs drinking gin and the fact that Egyptian women killed their men when they got bored with them... Blush

Takver · 05/12/2013 10:56

What do the dc who don't have access to a computer at home do?

It really annoyed me at primary - you could tell it was just 100% reinforcing the differences between the dc whose parents have a computer, have the skills/time to help etc etc and those who don't.

The library here is open for 3 x 3 hour slots each week, and the computers are always booked up 1 -2 weeks in advance, so that isn't an option. And besides, at that age they don't have the skills to do that sort of homework on a computer unless they've spent loads of time playing with it already.

I'm so pleased now that dd is at secondary, the homework is a revelation - relevant to what they are learning in class, if they need to do it on a computer and don't have one available at home they have access with support in the library plus IT rooms, level is appropriate to the children instead of the same work being set for 30 children across 2 year groups.

Takver · 05/12/2013 10:57

They also have printers at school, or can take work on a USB, so no stress if you don't have one working!

NoComet · 05/12/2013 10:58

Yes I totally agree the web, is a part of the problem. It was far easier to do these projects if you have a child's book or a child level web site, but that is not what DCs find by googling on their own.

Some museum sites are great, some are very adult or they are very pretty and interactive (Mary rose) you learn lots, but it's very hard to put into your own words.

I have ended up buying books on the Aincent Greeks and DD1 borrowed a Castles one. No way can our little rural library cope.

hallowisitmeyourelookingfor · 05/12/2013 11:04

I think you are getting unnecessarily involved in her homework (in a nice way!). It's entirely probably that the actual learning objective of this task isn't 'find out as much as you can about xyz' but is 'get to know PowerPoint'. Leave her to it, that tinkering around becomes less and less a part of the homework the older they get, but it's important to get used to formatting things like PP from the beginning, and good to be comfortable with the basics.

WankingInAWinterWonderland · 05/12/2013 11:07

We had it last week for homework and I have no powerpoint and the printer is not connecting to the laptop to print something else internet related

niceguy2 · 05/12/2013 11:13

Plenty of free products that are compatible with MS Office such as OpenOffice.

Personally I prefer Kingsoft Office because it's almost an identical clone of MS Office without the bulk, faff & cost!

I think OP maybe was expecting a bit too much of the homework. I'm guessing a slide, maybe 2 with some facts on and a picture probably would have sufficed.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 05/12/2013 11:14

I know if any children don't have powerpoint at our school they can do a handwritten or printed presentation.

Original poster
BraveMerida · 05/12/2013 11:15

Thans all. If it is a matter of writing a report, or creating some PowerPoint slides it would be more straight forward...the homework is to give a PowerPoint presentation, which is a lot more complex ( in my mind), it involves knowing the topic, distilling it into the slides, writing a speech, learning it and standing up and speaking...

I have tried to leave her to it but she's not interested in the research, just playing with the PowerPoint on the computer.....

OP posts: