question about grade one homework

[quandrea]

My dd daughter is in grade one. My question is: How much involvement do you think a parent should have in homework? My dd comes home with assignments that require me to take full control of her teaching. For example: spelling work comes home each week that I must supervise, correct and prepare for a test. No teaching is done at school. Secondly, she has a book talk this month. I received an outline, directed at parents, not children, detailing the requirements. It was written in highly technical language. I am a teacher myself, and would have expected an outline that the children could have filled in themselves in preparation for this talk. I have since created my own outline for my daughter so that she has some structure on which to prepare this presentation. I find we are spending a lot of time teaching as well as supervising homework. Anyone else out there with this experience. In regards to the book talk, I would have done one as a class, modelling my expectations, I would then have given a fill in the blank template and finally for a third talk I would have sent them on their own. I feel this allows the children to see what the expectations are. Anyway, I'm rambling. Thoughts?

 

[WDWisTheBest]

My dd daughter is in grade one. My question is: How much involvement do you think a parent should have in homework? My dd comes home with assignments that require me to take full control of her teaching. For example: spelling work comes home each week that I must supervise, correct and prepare for a test. No teaching is done at school. Secondly, she has a book talk this month. I received an outline, directed at parents, not children, detailing the requirements. It was written in highly technical language. I am a teacher myself, and would have expected an outline that the children could have filled in themselves in preparation for this talk. I have since created my own outline for my daughter so that she has some structure on which to prepare this presentation. I find we are spending a lot of time teaching as well as supervising homework. Anyone else out there with this experience. In regards to the book talk, I would have done one as a class, modelling my expectations, I would then have given a fill in the blank template and finally for a third talk I would have sent them on their own. I feel this allows the children to see what the expectations are. Anyway, I'm rambling. Thoughts?

Since you are a teacher, why not just follow your own instincts?

 

[PollyannaMom]

I agree with you. DS comes home with math words problems (practice questions for the state test, of course) that use operations that haven't been taught yet!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

DS is in his second year of preschool and yes, they have homework. It's not required, but encouraged (and we encourage him to do it).

It is mostly half sheets for practicing letters and handwriting. DS has to sit at his table with his paper and work on it. We do not interfere unless he tells us he is having trouble or says he's not sure how to make the letter. When he is done, he brings us the paper to check over. Sometimes he doodles and we have him erase it, but that is less and less frequent as he gets frustrated using the eraser, especially if he tears his page.

HOPEFULLY this sticks.

My parents didn't supervise my brother or I over homework. Early on, we were made aware of the consequences of incomplete or unfinished work. Poor mid- and term grades were the deciding factors (we were NEVER punished for 1-2 blown assignments or tests - everyone has bad days).

It was our decision how we wanted to handle the consequences of our actions. Slumping grades = no TV, reduced/stopped time on the phone, sleep-overs with friends, having people over/going somewhere. There was no arguement about the consequence either. As long as our sentence was served, we would have our privileges back. Bonuses (extra time on TV, phone, staying over when they'd normally say no, etc) were distributed if/when we did well OR corrected a lower grade (even a D to a C was considered a success, as long as we put the effort in).

For the record, my mom was a teacher, dad was a fireman (and son of a cop - hence the no arguing part over consequences).

ETA - we were encouraged to problem solve and figure out how we would learn best. Now that I'm working in education, my students poke fun at how I remember how to spell most words. It's a way I taught myself years ago, and it stuck. I was always high-up in sight-reading for it and asked many times to be the classroom reader in elementary school.

 

[quandrea]

I think that is how homework should be handled. I think it is something for the child to take ownership over. With this teacher, the parent is expected to do all this work. Most of the assignments that come home are even addressed to us (ie dear parents) and they are not written at a grade one student's level. My daughter couldn't even do this book talk without me because she is unable to read the assignment sheet. I wonder what parents whose first language is not english are doing. The whole thing makes me mad, but I figure I just have to go along with it for my daughter's sake. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I think that is how homework should be handled. I think it is something for the child to take ownership over. With this teacher, the parent is expected to do all this work. Most of the assignments that come home are even addressed to us (ie dear parents) and they are not written at a grade one student's level. My daughter couldn't even do this book talk without me because she is unable to read the assignment sheet. I wonder what parents whose first language is not english are doing. The whole thing makes me mad, but I figure I just have to go along with it for my daughter's sake. Thanks for your thoughts.

Have you guys had any parent/teacher conferences yet this year?? I'd be alarmed if my kid's teacher addressed homework to me, not my kid.

Have you checked with the local department of education that the teacher is within their licensed area???

 

[quandrea]

Have you guys had any parent/teacher conferences yet this year?? I'd be alarmed if my kid's teacher addressed homework to me, not my kid.

Have you checked with the local department of education that the teacher is within their licensed area???

No parent teacher conferences yet. They just received progress reports and she is doing well. What do you mean by "within their licensed area?" I am alarmed that homework is addressed to parents. As a teacher it seems ridiculous to me. Last night I spent half an hour teaching my daughter how to do a book talk, much like I used to when I was a classroom teacher. I've been home for seven years. The curriculum has not changed in that time (province has not handed down reform), but perhaps methods are vastly different. I just know that when I taught, I would have modeled a good book talk for the class, we would have done one in class with prompts and then I may have sent one home for them to do on their own. Not with their parents.

 

[Rachie0507]

I help my kids if they have questions. I make sure they understand the directions. Doing the actual work is up to them! Sometimes the work isn't right, but how else will the teacher know if they can do it?!? My son is a weak writer, so I remind him to use capitalization and punctuation. I ask him to read it over and make sure it makes sense. I remind my daughter to double-check her math assignments since that is her weakest subject. If there is a lot of confusion about an assignment, I tell them to do their best and speak with their teacher about it. When they were younger, though, I would send a note that there was difficulty. Now, they are in 3rd and 5th grade and they can speak for themselves.

I have been upfront with my kids' teachers about my homework philosophy for years. Most have seemed thankful that I'm not just doing their homework for them, which seems to be a trend right now.

 

[Tinkerbell3014]

Most of DS (1st grade) homework has been in math or reading. The math usually requires parent participation and the reading usually consists of him reading a book to us.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

(province has not handed down reform)

I'll start here... I don't suppose you're in Canada?

What do you mean by "within their licensed area?" I am alarmed that homework is addressed to parents.

That first questioned being asked, I can answer this question.

Here in the states (at least in Indiana), teachers don't just get a teaching license that covers ALL grades. They have to decide if they will train in primary/elementary-middle (now K-6) or secondary/high school education (7-12) because the mentality and abilities of all grade levels can't be covered in one program. The secondary education teachers then usually specialize in specific areas like history/social studies, English/language arts/composition, math, science, music, arts, etc.

There are cases where school systems will place teachers teaching classes that they are not qualified to teach. For example, there is a local school that had a social studies teacher attempting to instruct pre-algebra. The students were having such problems and parents intervened. They brought in a permanent substitute who has a math background to cover the class until a proper teacher could be found.

ETA: My mother, who's classification was grades 8-12 was told to teach 6 and 7th grades one year. She refused to do it as she was not certified to teach that level. She wasn't the only one. Upon retirement, she has been elected to the school board and has fought tooth and nail to make sure our kids are been taught by qualified individuals.

Teachers have to keep their licenses current and reported to our state Department of Education. All of that information is considered public record and available online.

 

[quandrea]

All these posts seem totally reasonable to me. In my situation the work coming home is clearly for parents and child to do. As I said, it is addressed to us, in adult language. Perhaps I should broach the subject of my homework philosophy as the pp has done with teachers.

 

[Ceila]

There is a difference between homework (i.e., spelling, math) and a project (the book talk). Homework should be able to be completed by the child mostly independently, but I do think that help from a parent with studying is reasonable. For example, testing my child on her spelling words is absolutely my responsibility as a parent. Also, here they use a math program called Everyday Math which has unit letters directed at parents as well as info for us on many of the homework sheets. I have no problem providing guidance for my child - that's my job. I also check over their work so I can help them locate any mistakes and so they can correct them. That's part of the learning process. But I do think that the bulk on homework should be something the students can complete on their own.

As for the project, most projects are larger in scope than homework, and I've often seen explanations come home for parents written in language meant for parents. It just helps us know what the kids are expected to do and what, if any, support they will need from us. Projects can get out of hand, though, on both the teacher's side as well as the parents' side (those who take over their kid's project - you can always tell which child did the work him- or herself and who had a parent take it over!) I always did, however, appreciate communication from the teacher when the kids were younger about their projects.

 

[scrapquitler]

I would expect a first grade child to do most homework (like spelling, worksheets, etc) with parental supervision and feedback, but I would NOT be correcting the work. I would say "Double check to see if you wrote the third word correctly" or something like that. I would NOT be correcting it, nor would I make the child change it if she thought it was right...if the teacher doesn't see the errors, she can't reteach. For spelling, I would practice words, maybe with flashcards, I would ask leading questions, etc. I wouldn't do the 'teaching'.

Now for something like a book talk, yes, at first grade, I would expect to be involved. I would expect the teacher to discuss the project and model it with the children in school, and I would hope that she would send instructions home with my child so that I could assist. SHe probably sent home a more technical instructions to the parents because her experience is probably that she got lots of questions from parents about how she expected the project to be done.

In summary: regular daily homework, I coach, I give feedback, I clarify, I help review when my child asks. For larger projects, I will help if my child wants help. Some projects are meant to involve parents more (our darn invention convention in 3rd/4th grade is a huge project that requires parent particiaption, for example).

And in the end, if my child gets frustrated with the work or it takes too long, I send a note to the teacher explaining that, and I have my child put it away.
Homework is not our entire life.

 

[quandrea]

I would expect a first grade child to do most homework (like spelling, worksheets, etc) with parental supervision and feedback, but I would NOT be correcting the work. I would say "Double check to see if you wrote the third word correctly" or something like that. I would NOT be correcting it, nor would I make the child change it if she thought it was right...if the teacher doesn't see the errors, she can't reteach. For spelling, I would practice words, maybe with flashcards, I would ask leading questions, etc. I wouldn't do the 'teaching'.

Now for something like a book talk, yes, at first grade, I would expect to be involved. I would expect the teacher to discuss the project and model it with the children in school, and I would hope that she would send instructions home with my child so that I could assist. SHe probably sent home a more technical instructions to the parents because her experience is probably that she got lots of questions from parents about how she expected the project to be done.

In summary: regular daily homework, I coach, I give feedback, I clarify, I help review when my child asks. For larger projects, I will help if my child wants help. Some projects are meant to involve parents more (our darn invention convention in 3rd/4th grade is a huge project that requires parent particiaption, for example).

And in the end, if my child gets frustrated with the work or it takes too long, I send a note to the teacher explaining that, and I have my child put it away.
Homework is not our entire life.

This is great. Thanks.

 

[Ceila]

I would expect a first grade child to do most homework (like spelling, worksheets, etc) with parental supervision and feedback, but I would NOT be correcting the work. I would say "Double check to see if you wrote the third word correctly" or something like that. I would NOT be correcting it, nor would I make the child change it if she thought it was right...if the teacher doesn't see the errors, she can't reteach. For spelling, I would practice words, maybe with flashcards, I would ask leading questions, etc. I wouldn't do the 'teaching'.

I do the same thing as far as simply saying "number 4 is incorrect" and having my child re-work the problem. I never give the answer - they need to work it out for themselves. But if they are still not "getting it," I have no problem helping them figure out what steps they're doing wrong. Teaching a child isn't just the responsibility of the teacher - it's parents' responsibility, too. Thankfully my parents were the same with my sister and me.

 

[dismom2]

We have (and have had) teachers assign homework assignments for the parents. I thought it was strange at first, but I don't mind doing it--even though I am busy with my own work and responsibilities. For me, I like to be involved, but that's just because I want to make sure my child gets her work done and understands how to do her assignments. From experience, I know that all kids have a different learning style, and teachers have their own style, and sometimes a student needs things explained a different way before they 'get it'.

Anyway, I was wondering why they do this, and I came to the conclusion that perhaps they are trying to get parents more involved in their child's education. I even wondered if this was a way for the teacher to determine which parents are involved, and which aren't (?) I don't know. I know my parents were never given any assignments.

The assignments I have had to do are not difficult at all, but can be time consuming---that's the only things that bothers me at times because usually the assignment is due the next morning, and my child might not tell me until after dinner, or when I'm busy. The instructions are not written so that the child would not understand, either. These assignments are in addition to the work my child would have to do on their own. Maybe it's a fairly new idea? I don't know. I wonder how this concept goes over with all the parents.

 

[Pigeon]

It's ridiculous on so many levels. There is no body of evidence demonstrating that homework has a positive effect on academic achievement in early grades. You have to help because they shouldn't be assigning homework in the first place.

Sadly, our experience is exactly the same, and it extends to later years. Teachers assign massive amounts of homework and in many cases haven't presented the material in class.

It's insane and benefits no one.

 

[quandrea]

It's ridiculous on so many levels. There is no body of evidence demonstrating that homework has a positive effect on academic achievement in early grades. You have to help because they shouldn't be assigning homework in the first place.

Sadly, our experience is exactly the same, and it extends to later years. Teachers assign massive amounts of homework and in many cases haven't presented the material in class.

It's insane and benefits no one.

This is bang on. I have no trouble supervising homework (make sure it gets done, going over spelling words, etc), but I have a real problem with work that comes home where no prior teaching has been done. We just spent another 45 min on this book talk and it is obvious that my daughter has never done anything like this in class before. She is doing fine, with my help, but without it she would be lost. Sorry to hear it extends to later years; I keep hoping it will get better this year and it just keeps getting worse. Another poster commented that it is to get parents involved. You are probably right, but I resent having a teacher police me like that. I am very involved--taught dd to read at three. I don't need assignments coming home to prove it. Anyway, thanks for all your comments, they are much appreciated.

 

[maps]

We're having this problem in my children's school. It is a private Catholic school so the teachers do not need certification.

This year, the English and Science teachers are both college professors with no primary school education degrees. The amount of work they send home for homework is ridiculous.

My 11 yr old is expected to memorize the periodic table. They were given a test on metric conversions but they were never taught it beforehand so all the kids failed and they have had to take 3 retests in order to get passing grades. Homework consists of reading chapters, having us explain them the material in the chapters and then doing worksheets.

My daughter missed one day of school when she was sick and there was no material that she needed to make up from class, only homework. Seriously, no notes, no worksheets, nothing.

In English class, one student was given a punishment of having to teach a class. He did a much better job than the teacher so now the teacher has the students take turns teaching!

My 10 year old can spend up to 3-4 hours a night doing homework.

Obviously we are not happy and will have lots to discuss at the parent/teacher conference on Monday!

 

[DeluxePrincess]

The amount and type of homework kids get these days is ridiculous. I remember going through all of my school years barely needing any assistance from my mom with the assignments. It was usually an extension of concepts that were already covered in class. If we had presentations to make, we were usually given time to work on them during class. I guess with the incredible value placed on standardized testing these days, parents are expected to step in more than they used to. Not only am I called upon to help whip up creative presentations/assignments, but I also have to drill on concepts covered on "the test". In first grade, I believe that the majority of homework should revolve around become fluent readers. All the rest is fluff.