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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Y7 homework

22 replies

bigTillyMint · 15/11/2010 21:15

Are your DC all able to complete every piece of homework they are given without any support of any sort from an adult at home / the internet?

Does the homework they are given link directly with what they have been taught in that lesson, so that they just apply their learning to the task?

What do they do if they get stuck?

TIA

OP posts:

cat64 · 15/11/2010 23:12

This reply has been deleted

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GrimmaTheNome · 15/11/2010 23:29

My DD uses the internet a lot for homework. They can do homework at school though, after hours or in lunchtime, so presumably that's what kids without home internet do.

She needed adult support to get the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) working from home.

If they get stuck they are meant to find the teacher and ask for help before the work is due in, I think.

Some homework would be hard without a supportive adult - I had to get her some watercolours for Art homework this weekend. Don't know if there was an alternative for kids without any.

cory · 16/11/2010 08:16

"Are your DC all able to complete every piece of homework they are given without any support of any sort from an adult at home / the internet?"

What we found in Yr 7 was that they were supposed to use the internet a lot and that homework was often in shape of projects, finding things out over a period of weeks. My involvement was not very close, but I imagine that it did make a difference having an interested adult to discuss the battle of Hastings and the threats to the Antarctic with. If we had not had access to the internet, the school did have all the equipment needed, and so does the local library, so there wouldn't have been a major problem.

"Does the homework they are given link directly with what they have been taught in that lesson, so that they just apply their learning to the task?"

No, a lot of it was longterm and involved fact finding and drawing their own conclusions. At this age they need to learn to think longterm.

"What do they do if they get stuck?"

Sometimes she did discuss it with me- there are ways you can suggest to somebody a new way of looking at things without actually doing the work for them. Sometimes she went and saw the teacher. Sometimes she talked to friends. Sometimes she just muddled through and I tried to get her to accept accepted that being marked down is part of the learning curve.

Original poster

bigTillyMint · 16/11/2010 08:43

Thanks for all the replies!

Most of the homework is straightforward and she can do it without any support. It isn't that she can't do a whole piece, it's usually that she gets stuck on a question. She is good at researching information and writing for an essay-type homework, but I just feel that the simple question and answer type (maths is not a problem, it's stuff like drama and R.E.) should be on stuff that has been covered in class.

However, I think another part of the problem is that she gets alot of homework (maybe due to being top set?) and she wants to do a top job on everything. She is pretty competitive (as well as being friends with the high-achiever!) and doesn't want to appear to anyone at school that she has any difficulties with the homework. So asking the teachers for help would probably be a no-no for her.

Do your children bring home text books / the exercise books they are writing in at school to refer to when they are doing homework?

OP posts:

Ooopsadaisy · 16/11/2010 08:50

I think the quantity of homework is a bit inconsistent and therefore it is quite a lot of responsibility for an 11 year old to manage. One weekend it can take 15 minutes, other weekends she is pouring over a project for hours.

I don't think I've seen any text books. I think in the age of internet, it is assumed that all children have access to online texts at home. (Rightly or wrongly).

Original poster

bigTillyMint · 16/11/2010 09:25

oops Weekend! I would love for it to be doable on a weekend! She gets 1-2hours a night

I agree about the internet, but when they are writing an essay in French (after one lesson a week for half a term), it would be helpful to her to have a book to refer to to check with.

It probably doesn't help that she does load of sport which takes up alot of time. But I don't want her to have to give that up.

OP posts:

Ooopsadaisy · 16/11/2010 09:33

Sounds like you have a lot more homework than us!

I agree she should keep up the sport. Speak to the school if it is becoming a problem. The last thing you want is a stressed out child. If it happening to you then other families are probably having the same issues.

Original poster

bigTillyMint · 16/11/2010 09:53

Right, have started an email to her form tutor.

She will kill me if she finds out!

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mattellie · 16/11/2010 13:19

bigTillyMint are you sure our girls aren?t twins? DD doesn?t get quite as much homework as that in the evenings but probably has to spend 6-7 hours every weekend on a mixture of short tasks and longer project work.

If it?s of any consolation this is because a) she?s quietly competitive, b) we believe it?s her homework not ours so don?t give much help beyond suggesting resources and c) as she?s in top sets she gets given extension work in several subjects to help her push on (not at our request, I hasten to add).

Like your DD she?s very sporty and plays netball and basketball for the Year 8 team as well as Year 7. I say this not in a boastful way but just to make the point that it takes up a lot of what free time she does have.

FWIW I agree with every word Cory wrote, particularly the idea that it?s not a disaster to get something wrong, even if DD thinks it is at the time

GrimmaTheNome · 16/11/2010 13:29

My DD gets about 1 hr per night (it rarely has to be in the very next day so she can do more or less to fit with other activities).

I believe this is in line with national guidelines for this age and seems appropriate to meIf its taking your DD longer than that on average either they're giving too much or she's maybe being a bit too perfectionist.

My DD does have textbooks for some subjects, and exercise books or folders which usually come home (unless being marked).

writing an essay in French (after one lesson a week for half a term)

That sounds unrealistic TBH! Mine hasn't had to write anything like an 'essay' in French, and this is a high-performing grammar school so I trust her teachers know whats appropriate at this stage.

Original poster

bigTillyMint · 16/11/2010 13:32

mattellie you have just described DD to a T, except that she does gym/swimming/football!

Does your DD mind when she gets things wrong? (I am more than happy for her to get things wrong, or even not do the occasional piece if it's just too much!) DD doesn't "mind", but as every piece of homework is graded, she compares with her friends, especially her home-work genius friend. I keep telling her that it doesn't matter if she gets it wrong and she says she knows, but that she wants to get the best possible marks

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Original poster

bigTillyMint · 16/11/2010 13:37

Grima I think it's a mixture of both.

To be fair, the essay is meant to be about half a page about herself, using phrases they have practiced in class. She got a 3A in the assessment before half-term, so she's doing well, but she couldn't remember much last night and was confusing stuff with Spanish which she is also doing. ANd she was rather tired.

I think part of the problem is that she is at a comp for which the intake has drastically changed, and in upping the ante for all the bright children who are now choosing to go there, they've over-shot the mark a bit!

OP posts:

GrimmaTheNome · 16/11/2010 13:50

that French sounds ok then, but when DDs had similar she has had her exercise book - that's what they usually do homework in, but can refer to earlier work.

mattellie · 16/11/2010 14:09

Does she ?mind? if she gets something wrong? Hmm, good question! She says not, but I have on occasion caught her going over a piece of work with a fine-tooth comb when she has got a lower mark than she expected/hoped to get. And she?ll say she can?t be bothered or is too tired, but actually hates not doing something to the best of her abilities. She?s at a not very academic secondary modern so it?s just as well she is self-motivated?

DD had exactly the same exercise in French last week ? half a page about herself, her family and her likes and dislikes. I think a 3A in the first half of her first term at a new school is excellent, particularly if, like mine, she didn?t do much (any?) at primary school.

grimma, they can?t afford exercise books at out local school

Hullygully · 16/11/2010 14:12

I have always got most of hte textbooks they use at school for them to use at home if they can't bring them home, it makes life a lot easier and when revising for exams you don't have to hunt down all the scrappy bits of paper which ds has lost

Original poster

bigTillyMint · 16/11/2010 17:59

Hully how did you find out which text books they use?

mattellie, yes she did virtually no French at primary, particularly not in Y6 as it wasn't her teacher's "thing".

OP posts:

Hullygully · 16/11/2010 18:10

Ask the teachers!

Original poster

bigTillyMint · 16/11/2010 19:59

But how do you see them - DD travels to and from school on the bus with her friends, and she certainly would not welcome me turning up for a chat with them

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mrsbigw · 16/11/2010 20:08

My DS hs text books from school & some things he has to look up on internet. He has upto 1 hour per night.
Does she have a homework diary with space for comments? I think most teachers wouldn't mind if you called them & would understand the need to be discreet.

Hullygully · 16/11/2010 22:40

Email -the parents' friend.

Original poster

bigTillyMint · 17/11/2010 10:59

hully

I have just sent off an email!

OP posts:

Hullygully · 17/11/2010 11:19

Good luck!

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