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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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:

BumPotato · 05/12/2013 11:18

My DD1 just did hers this week.

I think for them to learn presenting skills at a young age is a good thing. At DDs' school they can do their own posters if PowerPoint isn't available to them.

sashh · 05/12/2013 11:20

The home work given is reasonable, the process you are making her go through is.

givemeaclue · 05/12/2013 11:21

I think you are over complicating it. 2 slides with a picture and a few bullet points is fine. She then reads it as she gives the presentation. Keep it simple, she is not addressing the United Nations.

friday16 · 05/12/2013 11:22

'get to know PowerPoint'.

As Edward Tufte so eloquently put it:

Particularly disturbing is the adoption of the PowerPoint cognitive style in our schools. Rather than learning to write a report using sentences, children are being taught how to formulate client pitches and infomercials. Elementary school PowerPoint exercises (as seen in teacher guides and in student work posted on the Internet) typically consist of 10 to 20 words and a piece of clip art on each slide in a presentation of three to six slides -a total of perhaps 80 words (15 seconds of silent reading) for a week of work. Students would be better off if the schools simply closed down on those days and everyone went to the Exploratorium or wrote an illustrated essay explaining something.

tabulahrasa · 05/12/2013 11:22

DD used to make up a powerpoint of about 6 slides, with pictures and a couple of bullet points - take that in and waffle a bit around the bullet points and always got marked well on it.

It's not a real presentation, not at that age...it's make some pretty slides, know a few facts and talk well.

If the actual talking in front of the class is going to be harder for her then yes a prepared speech would be better, but otherwise it's not needed.

Ubik1 · 05/12/2013 11:23

Get a book - don't print out reams of info, it's impossible for her to edit, she needs a book.

Let her copy out 5 facts that interest her, one on each slide. Look up some pictures. You could even get some sound effects

She can read out slides to the rest of class.

It will take 2 minutes

That's all you need to do

It ain't Dragon's Den

OrlandoWoolf · 05/12/2013 11:23

DS's school is thinking of a new way of doing homework. There's about 20 "challenges" on offer through a half term - from Powerpoints, research, making and learning stuff. No pressure and you get points for doing it. And points mean prizes.

It does not mean you all do the same stuff. It gives you the opportunity to find something that motivates you. DS would do the Powerpoint but avoid art stuff - but it's all topic related.

SilverApples · 05/12/2013 11:23

Sorry, OP.
It's you that is the problem here. Let her be and help if she asks you.
You're going to send her into a tailspin.

OrlandoWoolf · 05/12/2013 11:24

I was taught 6 words per line. 6 lines per slide.

But I've seen too many Powerpoints with loads of stuff and fancy whizzing in and out stuff happening.

SashaOfSiberia · 05/12/2013 11:24

Think you need to take a step back.

Let her get on with it. Maybe offer to hear her presentation but I think otherwise leave it alone. You have over complicated it by making her do it like an adult presentation. If she doesn't do it right she will get help on how to improve.

OrlandoWoolf · 05/12/2013 11:25

Mindmaps - it's what she will have done in school. A few key areas - a few points about the area, some pictures, job done.

KISS - as they say.

nicename · 05/12/2013 11:27

It doesn't sound too bad. DS had similar last year (when he was y4).

Id just give her some basic questions to answer - what's it called, where is it, where does it start/finish, who uses it/for what, what lives in/on/near it, are there any myths/stories about it (monsters etc)...

Powerpoint is easily manageable for kids (if they don't go mad with clipart and fonts).

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 05/12/2013 11:30

Ubik's approach to this seems sensible. I agree that the homework is OK but you're over complicating it. She's not doing her GCSEs :)

mrssprout · 05/12/2013 11:53

Not sure about ages for school years in UK but my 10 year old recently had to do a powerpoint presentation. They were given time during their school computer lesson to work on it but she got next to nothing done at school & then forgot to save it so had to do it at home. I couldn't do a powerpoint presentation to save myself so had to let her go for it. My only input was to tell her to find all the pictures & information she needed before she started to put it together. I was very impressed with what she put together. I'm sure the teacher isn't expecting miracles so I would have given basic guidance & then let her do her own thing.

sashh · 05/12/2013 11:56

isn't, I meant isn't, yo are making it into a work project not a primary school one.

curlew · 05/12/2013 11:57

"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..."

Not in year 4 it isn't. It involves finding out some interesting facts, putting 3 on each of 6 slides, adding some pictures, then reading them out to the class. My ds is just starting to do the sort of thing you're talking about and he's in year 8.

OrlandoWoolf · 05/12/2013 11:59

This is the Nile. It's very long and it starts in the middle of Africa.

Look at the delta and how it spreads out.

The Ancient Egyptians used to farm by it and the floods were very important to make the soil fertile.

This is a nileometer used to measure the depth of the floods.

There is the Upper and Lower Nile.

Ok - so probably a bit more detail but that's the idea. Google a few pictures and job's done.

Beachcomber · 05/12/2013 12:24

I would be thankful the topic is a river! My 10 year old came home the other day with a presentation to do on sustainable development. She has to explain what it is, talk about the history of the concept, explain what the greenhouse effect is and what greenhouse gases are AND mention things people can do to reduce levels of methane and co2 produced by human activity. And all this in 6 minutes.

I helped her. It was far too much for a 10 year old to get together in an organised way.

I shall be having words with her newly qualified teacher, kindly hinting that it was a bit ambitious. Especially as they have done no class work on sustainable development so we are starting from nothing.

Let your DD fiddle about with power point and then come up with some simple slides and a few pictures. She'll enjoy it.

Original poster

BraveMerida · 05/12/2013 12:40

beachcomber

OP posts:

Beachcomber · 05/12/2013 12:49

I know. We streamlined it as much as possible. DH came in after DD and I had spent nearly an entire day on it, and said it was "a bit concentrated" and I nearly whacked him with the feckin laptop.

I don't understand why the topic was chosen in the first place - they have done nothing in class on it so I doubt many of them will understand much of what DD presents even if we did crib from children's websites simplify it.

OrlandoWoolf · 05/12/2013 12:50

beachcomber

I was doing guided reading with a year 4 class. It was on green issues. I asked if anyone knew what a greenhouse gas was. I got a GCSE explanation about B grade from one girl. I asked her how she knew all that - her Dad's a science teacher

Made a change from what I normally got.

NoComet · 05/12/2013 12:51

Yeiks that sounds more like DD2s Y8 geography than Y5/Y6.
She might like this sustainable school

HSMMaCM · 05/12/2013 12:52

DD did mountains in approx yr4. Picture of a mountain she liked the look of, then a few random (not necessarily accurate) facts and the same again on all the other slides.

NoComet · 05/12/2013 12:54

DD2 confused her teacher by putting A level cell structures in her jelly. Yes we did make a jelly cell.

Scientist parents are a problem.

Beachcomber · 05/12/2013 12:58

Orlando, I reckon DD and I could hold our own in GCSE level discussion on the subject until next week by which time we will have forgotten it all

Thanks for the link starballbunny.

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