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Original poster

Struggling to help DS with his homework

29 replies

zazzabeans · 08/01/2021 23:03

Ds has been given a quick 10 minute English task - I can’t fathom it out and help him at all 😢
He has been sat for 3 hours (has mild learning difficulties and is really struggling )
Can anyone please give us any guidance ?
Pics show text and task 😬 I’m not asking for answers- just a nudge in the right direction 🙂

Struggling to help DS with his homework
Struggling to help DS with his homework
OP posts:
TeenPlusTwenties · 09/01/2021 07:23

OK, I'm definitely not an expert, which is why DD2 has an English Tutor. Also I can't read the text on my PC. However as both my DDs have struggled with English I have paid attention.

But anyway

  1. If it is meant to be a 10 minute task, if he can't do it after 30mins he should stop, anything else is a complete waste of time.

  2. They are practicing writing for one of the English Lang papers. They are giving them scaffolding to then 'fill in the blanks' to show how to construct answers. I am assuming they are mean to copy it out and fill in the blanks appropriately.

So without reading the text at all I am expecting it to be something like .... He does this in the home as that is where most people use their electronics most. This links with the themes of dependency and use when bored. The writer shows this when he states his children 'don't know how to use a dictionary' and turn to the 'default' phone for entertainment. here the writer brilliantly shows how the use of tech has stifled the skills of young people, with the metaphor 'mindless drones' showing how little he feels his children can now think and act independently.

TeenPlusTwenties · 09/01/2021 07:29

A couple of things I find help:

  • Ask what the article is about without reference to the set questions
  • Ask whether the tone is for/against, or happy/sad or whatever. How do they know that? What words would be changed to give the opposite tone? The words that would be changed are the ones that you might pick out for 'how the authors use of language shows that...' type of questions.
Crimblecrumble1990 · 09/01/2021 09:11

This makes no sense to me. How old is your DS? At first glance I would assume that you fill in the blanks with the suggested words listed but that doesn't work at all.

If it is meant to take 10 mins and neither of you can fathom it then just take it away. No point letting him get frustrated.

Original poster
zazzabeans · 09/01/2021 11:16

He is 18 and it’s gcse English homework -
This is all he got.
@TeenPlusTwenties I thought home but the theme I think is wrong as needs to have something to do with the text 😞
I was thinking like fun and family sort of thing 🥺i really dont know

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TeenPlusTwenties · 09/01/2021 11:28

As I can't read the text, here are some questions:

  • what doesn't the author like about use of tech
  • where did he try to get rid of using it
  • what happened in the experiment
  • what did he decide, tech good, tech bad, or that there are pros and cons
clary · 09/01/2021 11:40

YH Teen has it. They want him to read the text about how difficult it was to get rid of technology in his home and then write the piece as a summary, filling in the blank spaces creatively. When doing this, try to use some of the adverbs supplied.

So maybe read it through with him and discuss what happens, how well do they get on without tech, maybe pick out a key sentence which illustrates the issue (for example, "It wasn't fine, It was a farce. Yet, I would argue, an instructive farce" - shows that it was impossible to live without tech, it was funny at times ("farce") and yet they all learned something ("instructive") - maybe about over reliance on google for answers, or overuse of netflix for entertainment?

That's just a suggestion tho

Original poster
zazzabeans · 09/01/2021 13:15

@TeenPlusTwenties
Its about the overuse of technology nowadays
And how such things werent around years ago.
It was an experiment to see if they as a family could live without-
Which was quite a struggle and they didnt manage.
The thong we are struggling with is the ‘theme’ as the two have to link- oh gosh im glad i left school years ago !

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Original poster
zazzabeans · 09/01/2021 13:20

Thanks @clary
Any pointers on the theme ? Any help is greatly appreciated and although i cant answer it for him i need to guide as much as i can

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donewithitalltodayandxmas · 09/01/2021 13:25

I always used to tell mine if they were really struggling and we couldn't help , we just filled it in as sorry we need help and don't understand this, for the teacher to help .

TeenPlusTwenties · 09/01/2021 13:27

So why was it a struggle and why didn't they succeed?

Suggested possible themes:

  • children too wedded to tech these days
  • actually despite the drawbacks we really missed the benefits
clary · 09/01/2021 13:45

I guess themes could be
overuse of technology
parental control over teenagers
relationships within the family
conflict between parents and children
struggles for older generation to feel abreast of the modern world
struggles for younger people to deal with real world outside of social media

Any good? I don't know if it needs to be specific or much wider. If it needs to be general, family relationships and the changing world would work

Original poster
zazzabeans · 09/01/2021 13:53

@clary the themes need to link
Eg nurse/hospital
Army/war
Sort of thing 🙁 I feel so helpless!

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MrsHamlet · 09/01/2021 15:59

@zazzabeans I teach GCSE English. It looks like an AQA paper 1 q4.
Does that sound right?

Original poster
zazzabeans · 09/01/2021 16:09

I’m not sure what it is as he just gets sent then via online working-
Can you shed any light on the situation please?

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Original poster
zazzabeans · 09/01/2021 16:10

Going to go through it tonight again with him and see what we come up with 🙂

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MrsHamlet · 09/01/2021 16:15

The light I would honestly shed is that without context I have no idea what he's meant to do.
If it's meant to take ten minutes, and he's been staring at it for 3 hours, he needs to stop. I would be appalled if any of my students had to fight that long with a task.
Where's the teaching that goes with it???

LanguageAsAFlower · 09/01/2021 16:46

I think the words in the boxes are a red herring. They look like words connected to a mark scheme. I'm going to go back and read it again and see if I can answer it for you!

MrsHamlet · 09/01/2021 16:51

They're not. It's the evaluate question, I'm sure. They're supposed to be used to get the marks.
But without the context of the question which needs to be answering, or any clear direction, it's too hard for ten minutes!

LanguageAsAFlower · 09/01/2021 16:51

I think the plenary is misleading and a bad example.

I think the question he's supposed to answer is "How does the writer use language to show that it is difficult to live without technology?"

I would suggest- picking four examples of language that show this and structuring it like so:

The writer uses language to show it's difficult to live without technology when he writes "quote" this suggests to the reader that (what does it suggest" X 4

Sorry I can't be more specific as on my phone and can't switch between the screens.

I'm an English teacher though and it's not clear at all, I would email the teacher and say whilst you appreciate the work set that your son needs more guidance and instruction to be able to complete it.

LanguageAsAFlower · 09/01/2021 16:53

Oh @MrsHamlet maybe! I thought it was the language question but I think you're right.
Probably ignore my advice OP and just ask for more info from the teacher.

It's been a crazy week, they might just have forgotten to upload some extra instruction with it!

MrsHamlet · 09/01/2021 16:55

I'm glad it's not just me thinking that Language

BasiliskStare · 09/01/2021 16:55

If this is a 10 minute exercise then ( and for emphasis I am not an English teacher - I was an english Graduate many many years ago ) - so I cannot give you an answer - but if it were my DC I would say of the 10 mins - read and make a note of what you take from it - but they have given you a steer there - so if it were me it would be the balance between too much tech and being able to do without it as others have said so ( & I can't read the 2nd bit very well - but yes use the words suggested or similar so you could for e.g. say Most people "thoroughly or comprehensively embrace technology ) & then may be "the setting" is in the home / bedroom & themes of joint family life vs private life in bedrooms and then I think just paraphrase the article using some of the words given.

But what do I know ? please an English teacher say better. It isn't that easy actually Grin - But I can't read the 2nd sheet properly - - I would say - just put down something he thinks is common sense from reading the passage and clearly they somewhere they want him to explain using some similar words to the ones given

All best

MrsHamlet · 09/01/2021 17:10

If it's the question I think, in real life it's nearer 25 minutes to answer.

BasiliskStare · 09/01/2021 17:23

I agree @MrsHamlet I think that is quite a hard 10 min question if you haven't even read the passage before.

Original poster
zazzabeans · 09/01/2021 17:32

Thanks for taking the time to reply everyone.
He was just told to copy the sentence and fill in the blanks- that’s it - it needs handed in tomorrow for teacher to look at prior to Monday

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