Homework in Yr 3

[EvilTwins]

My DTDs are very happy at school and are doing well. They get Maths homework weekly and read daily. Then they get "project" homework for whichever topic they're doing. Currently they have a sheet with 8 activities, of which they are supposed to choose 4 to do. Of those 8, there are maybe 2 they can do without, essentially, DH or I doing most of it for them. Today both decided to do a writing activity. I asked if they had covered the material at school (it was an "imagine you are... Write a diary entry") thing. They hadn't. I don't see the point - surely homework is to extend or consolidate learning, I'm not sure whether to contact the school or just to leave it. They've done 2 activities so far. I'd rather they were playing outside.

Year 3s should be able to do a piece of writing on their own from a prompt like "imagine you are ... write a diary entry".

Perhaps you are thinking they need to do more than the teacher assumes they will do? I expect my Year 3s to do the homework I set without a parent having to sit there with them esentially doing it for them, but I don't expect the quality to be perfect. I find some parents think the quality has to be really good, but they are only year 3s!

It was "imagine you are a child in Kenya. Write a diary entry about your day at school, include details of what you study, what you eat and what your home is like" They haven't done this at school - the topic is "On Safari" We'd have had to research schools in Kenya.

How long do they have for the project?
I ask because if they still have a couple of weeks, the teacher may be covering education in Kenya (as part of the safari topic) soon so they will have some knowledge base on which to write the diary entry.

diary recounts are a pretty common writing genre so they should have already had a go at diary writing in y3 so the writing style shouldn't be too challenging.

The writing style wasn't the issue - it was knowing what to write.

The homework sheet actually says "Please feel free to help your child with their homework; it doesn't have to be completely independent. They will learn more with your help."

I guess they just chose the wrong activity - some pointers from the school about what is being covered when would help. The whole project was sent home at the beginning of May.

Other activities include writing a newspaper report about the day the Queen found out she was going to be the Queen. That one says "you will have to do some research first"

I find it frustrating. I don't actually think they need homework like this at all in yr 3.

They might not have done that in school yet. We have the same system, chose 4 home works over. 4 weeks, but sometimes it means there Re homeworks that need to be left to the end as they haven't covered that topic just yet.

EvilTwins, Sorry to jump in again. My previous message just disappeared. I think they are expecting the children to write a short imaginative diary entry in which the date and title (Dear diary) are included. It should be mentioned anything different (not British) surroundings or way of life; for example, that on the way to school various animals such as antelopes, zebras or any other particular African animals were seen, then that the weather was very hot, the lunch was avocado soup (or any other African food), and if they played with new friends, to mention their African names? If the diary entry is about going to or coming back from school for example, can the child mention that the roof was made with straws? etc. Did anything funny happened? (During Nursery or Reception years 'Handa's surprise' or something similar, was read at my child's school. Your child can get some inspiration from a similar type of story read at school). It shouldn't be too elaborate. Hope it helps.

I think in Year 2 children were familiarised with 'Diary entry' when taught about the big Fire of London 1666 -Peppy's Diary?

Ooops! Didn't read your first message. Sorry. Yes, the fact that in Kenya they don't have computers in every classroom can be mentioned, the use of chalk on old blackboards. Learning timetables by rota and singing the national anthem at the beginning of the day could be some of the things which can be part of the diary, written in a short and fun way. Have fun.

The library often has good books which are pitched at a Year 3 level with My Day in Kenyan school type info. If you have time.

I have three much older children and Im afraid I have spent years helping them with their homework when it was project based. And yes it made my blood boil. But it seems to be expected of us.

Im still helping my twins in Year 7, and I wish SOMEONE would complain. I've always thought it was because my children were behind that they couldn't research this stuff themselves, anyway thats what the teachers seem to suggest when you query it, and if they are behind, the implication is that your duty is to help them.

OK Evil:

First you clearly have a computer as your on MN - so let me start off with your Kenya school kid complaint.

Did you consider typing in on a search engine:

school life in Kenya

because when I did I found: www.kids-4-kenya.org/learn-about-kenya/schools.cfm & www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/life-in-rural-kenya/4499.html - with a class clip from the BBC showing a Kenyan school.

Now you may have to help your child read this or explain some of the terminology - you will have to vet websites obviously - but there's a lot of information there to explain the similarities and differences between school in Kenya and in England - and that is of benefit to your child:

It's important to understand that not everywhere is like home.

This exercise might show that they are privileged that education is a right & free in England
(actually rather a recent advent historically - and that may be worth discussing)

gets children thinking about different approaches to education - is that fair that some children stop school at 13 because they can't afford to stay in school/ there family need the help financially/ maybe physically.

Genuinely - my approach to something like this is teaching those core research skills that ultimately will help your child achieve in Senior School & beyond.

Do I know anything about this? No - well then go find some facts (the web is brilliant for this - use a search engine, chose reputable sites and see what you find out).

Once you've gathered a list of facts (maybe set the limit at 10 or a dozen) - then consider how you want to present them.

England vs. Kenya?

So you could have each paragraph be about a fact and then discussing difference in England/ Kenya - i.e. school day length/ cost/ ages in school/ uniforms/ singing/ etc...

You may not particularly value learning about other countries - but it may be of interest to your child, it may spark an interest in your child and some of the unfairness in the world may just get your child interested in growing up and making the world a better place where every child can stay in school until 18 if they want to and girls aren't getting married at ages 12-14.

I agree fresh air and outdoor play is a wonderful thing - but I suspect this written homework you're complaining about (4 options out of 8) was over the term and not just for one night. So over a few days - perhaps 15 minutes on one website - reading it & making notes / 30 minutes on the BBC class clip web site & making notes/ 30 minutes planning the writing task and 30 minutes writing with possibly a last stage of you looking over the work and correcting some errors with your child (our classic is no punctuation/ lack of capitalisation) - all can be a really good thing and part of a very balanced childhood where learning more about things is also seen as a pleasurable activity.

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I agree that this is ambitious old stuff the Year 3 teacher is setting - but rather than seeing this as an unfair imposition on you - why not think of yourself as lucky. This teacher is instilling some really good research skills through very straightforward activities into your child.

DD1 has had no writing tasks in 7 years of primary school and now post SATs all homework has stopped. Getting her to write a letter of thanks to her grandparents for a present is literally World War III. She doesn't know how to set out the letter/ how to address the envelope. She doesn't know how to write out a date. She doesn't know how to spell sincerely. She doesn't know it should be capitalized - she argues that how can you have just one word for the sentence.... She gets angry that I suggest different punctuation or improving the wording. And we write thank you letters each Christmas/ Birthday - it was only by Year 5 that this settled down and she really knew what the task entailed and could do it swiftly - the point being that the practice was essential to mastering this skill/ task.

Trust me - on the cusps of DD1 going of the senior school I would have given my right arm for a Y3 teacher (Y4/ Y5 even Y6) who was interested in getting some writing/ research skills instilled in children early.

DD2 is in a new school (Y4) - and this style of homework (coupled with in class work as well - so maybe research at home/ write in school or visa versa ) is very common. The difference in my two DDs language skills at this age/ ability to work independently at their present ages (9 & 11) is night and day.

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I know homework can be annoying - but just as you might watch a tv programme because you enjoy history/ science/ nature - think of selecting homeworks (or your way of dealing with them) in terms of how they touch on your child's interests. Your child may have selected the Kenya option - because they're interested - and trust me part of the job description is grinning and bearing it and supporting their interests (I say this having stood in the rain for hours during football matches).

I suspect the teacher did not intend for you to cloister your DC indoors for hours finishing the 4 assignments in one go. I tend to approach these things in small defined bite-size pieces. So maybe research a few websites (2-3 separate events). Plan how you'll organise the facts you've gathered - preparing a writing outline. Write the essay. Check through the essay - maybe correcting glaring errors (missing punctuation/ capitals - but trying to leave it your child's own work). In this way - there should be more than enough time for your child to play outdoors and we find that by asking them to do homework whilst we're preparing dinner is a nice way of getting our DDs to see homework as part of the process of being a student, nothing to be upset or freaked out about, and sometimes very enjoyable. It is nice to learn new things.

HTH

I agree with Past. Don't do their homework for them - give them the computer and start looking for useful websites with them. Then leave them to carry on with the research and writing themselves.

I have a DS in year 3 btw.

My DC get this sort of homework too. I tend to do something along the lines of what Past suggests- get them to type a search term into google (or sometimes they are aware of good websites to looks at through work done at school), do a quick vet by eye and suggest ones they look at in more detail. Depending on what they are researching and the volume of text they have to look at, I may help by suggesting (say) that they only need look at info in the first couple of paragraphs. Then I will leave them to it. I do think just expecting a Y3 child to find everything they need just via Google is quite hard - especially as their reading skills may not be strong yet.

Past - if I do that, I will pretty much have done their homework for them, which was the thing I was trying to avoid in the first place. I am not unable to research Kenyan schools. My point was that homework is, IMO, supposed to consolidate learning. Me teaching my kids about something they have not covered in school is not that.

Oh, and I was not attempting 4 in one go - they've done two. This was the third. We still have one to go.

Evil:

Genuinely - finding a few websites - and showing them during that process how you've gone about it (using search engine/ determining which sites are 'safe'/ appropriate) is teaching them how to do it for themselves in future (pennies in that bank of just saying 'go do your homework' and leaving them to it).

I think the reality is that you can't expect KS1/ lower KS2 (Y3/ Y4) pupils to be able to tackle something like the homework you describe entirely on their own.

If you totally object to the homework - than don't do it. don't support it. Write to the school and object.

If however you can see the merits in doing something like this/ learning these skills - then support it.

personally - having had to hunt out means of supporting maths curriculum on my own - I genuinely think schools providing quality homework are doing you a favour - but it is entirely up to you that's the point.

If you don't value this - don't do it.