Year 3 homework.....Is Ds1 at a disadvantage to his classmates??

[LadyTophamHatt]

Ds1's homework over the holidays was to do a project on our town. It could be about history or things to do or places....whatever he wanted really.

Dh took him to the tourist information shop and we wnetto a few other places to get some info.
He then made a book of all the differnt places, sticking a leaflet in about each place and writing a few sententces about that place.

Now, him writing it is the important factor. He obviously had to read the leaflet (with much bribery I have to say) and then decide what to write, although we did help him here as he tend to waffle (where he gets that from i'll never know )

He said most of the children had done theirs on a computer, printing out information etc.

Now I know for a fact that if I was 7 or 8 yrs old and doing a project on the Pc to print out I wouldn't read it. I'm assuming the parents help so they help choose whatto print.
Ds1 wouldn't read it if its just taken off a website.
But thenthey are getting knowledge of searching and using the internet which I'm sure once they get older will be a massive part of their lives.

So is Ds in a better position or the other children who printed it off.

Erm not sure. Dd1 did a project on the romans last year and she did the final copy on the pc but i make her write the whole thing out in rough first.

She is currently doing one on indian festivals and i want to sream my head off because she has about as much enthusiasm as it as i do about seeing xp on friday, but anyway, she is again using the pc for research but has also got books from the library.

Yes he is. I get fed up of kids (and parent) thinking it is better tio simply download a load of stuff found on google.

To understand stuff you have to
a. read it, not just cut and paste
b. Assimulate the new information
c. Process it in a meaningful way.

If the homework was 'Find X on the internet' it would be a different matter

Hard to say really

The important thing is that he knows about said subject

My ds (9 in yr 4) had to find out info on tudors. So he searced on the net but put it into his own words so he digested the info himself

Nothing wrong with using the internet for research if the kids actually process the information, niot just cut and paste

I'd say your ds is in a better position. However, I know v little about primary school, and am basing my view on the fact that I HATE pupils handing me in 'projects' that have clearly been cut and pasted from various websites. (I'm an English teacher btw)

Searching and information retrieval skills are important, but he used these skills, just from paper sources rather than online.

Having said that, the other pupils' work probably 'looks' better as it's been word processed, so unfortuantely this may be reflected in the mark.

I would prefer something like your dc did than just loads of printed out pages off internet with no evidence of it being read or understood.

I now make a point of finding the 'original' on the internet, downloading it, and marking it for the kids I teach (A level) I make the point of telling them that if they pull this stunt at University they may well be thrown out!

percypig, if you;d seen his handwriting you;d give him and F.

His handwriting ranges from "hmmm not too messy to bloody awful" which is another thing why I think its better for him to do it this way.

Fiunnily enough my handwriting in primary school was awful too, I was about 10 before they let me write in pen!!!

an F not and F

an F not and F

My handwriting is awful. My kids have the same problem. Ds has been dxed with dyspraxia.

I try to ignore handwriting issues but I teach in secondary and realise it is a different situation.

I'm the same martianbishop. I impressed my new HoD last year by finding the essay a piece of GCSE coursework was copied from. Putting a fragment in quotation marks in a google search works a treat.

LTH, I may well give him an F, but as you say, all the more reason for him to have written it out by hand.

I now tend to do it in real time on the projector to make the little beggers squirm!

Google advanced search is your friend!

I like your style martianbishop - didn't have a projector last year, but will definitely do that next time it happens on my lovely new interactive board.

I have always encouraged ds to do writing and word processing - he's dyslexic and writing is an issue for him - making sure he never cuts and pastes. He got the top mark in the class for his last project despite some of his presentation/spelling, but then he does have a fantastic teacher who knows what's going on!

I think your ds is in a much better position than a child who has basically just done cutting and sticking. Well, he would be at our ds' school.
Ds, also Yr 3, has had to write a story along the lines of Katie's Adventures in Art for his Easter homework and was sent home with a workbook (also made by him), the format of which made it clear that the children needed to draw pictures and write the story.
IMO LTH they still need plenty of handwriting practice at this age, much more than they need internet skills. But I am an old codger.
Your ds' project sounds lovely, I hope he gets a good mark. I think unless there is a major problem with lack of effort/deliberate mess, children of this age should be encouraged constructively on the presentation front, NOT marked down for a bit of spideriness

We have always insisted our children use all resources.

They love using the computer, but they still have to use the library, our own books, magazines, brochures etc.

Even when they use the computer, I insist they re-write things in their own words, not just cut and paste. They have more chance of remembering it that way. They usually also list their sources.