As Hill and Flynn state (2006), the purpose of homework is to “provide students with opportunities to practice, review, and apply knowledge” (p. 77). Homework should cover only what has already been learned in the classroom, such as vocabulary concepts, or written language activities. Students need a lot of practice to solidify learning, and therefore, focusing that practice on a specific skill or process is going to be most beneficial when assigning homework, as it will help build automaticity. Homework assignments should have a clear focus and the expectations should be reviewed. Before a student takes any work home, the teacher should check for understanding and clarify any questions students may have. Some students may need modifications to the assignment, including extended time, shortened assignments, the use of graphic organizers or notes, etc. Remember the purpose of homework is to provide students with the opportunity to practice a skill and solidify learned concepts.
What Constitutes Meaningful Homework?
Meaningful homework has a clear objective and purpose. It is important that students understand the purpose of the assignment, and therefore it needs to be identified and articulated to both parents and students. Homework should also be grade appropriate and should be differentiated to meet the needs of individual learners. This may mean making modifications to the assignment or giving a student something completely different from the rest of the class. Hill and Flynn (2006) state that ELL students do not need to have the same homework as English-speaking students because that might mean they are practicing unfamiliar skills or incorrectly practicing them. Therefore, “students should be given homework that requires them to use what they already know or what they are learning” (p.79). This will help ensure that the work they do take home can be done independently with minimal help or support.
What Are the Intended Objectives?
Again, the primary objective for homework is for students to practice what has already been learned in class. The objective is to help students gain mastery and automaticity of a particular skill. Homework should primarily be independent, and therefore students need to have a clear understanding of the objectives, the purpose, and the directions. The National Clearing House for English Language Acquisition (NCELA) recommends that teachers use nonlinguistic examples, such as pictures, notes, or graphic organizers, to help ELL students understand what is to be accomplished. In addition, giving students the opportunity to ask questions, providing directions or materials in their native language, modified or additional instructions, tips, and peer support can all help a student understand the intended objectives of the assignment (Hill & Flynn, p. 77).
Providing Specific Feedback:
Students need to be given positive and timely feedback on their homework. Prompt feedback allows students to gauge how well they are doing, provides an immediate opportunity for clarification, and teaches students the importance of the amount of effort they put into their work. Hill and Flynn state that “students can learn that the effort that they put into a task has a direct effect on their success” (p.88). Hill and Flynn also suggest that feedback be varied and that ELL students will benefit from discussing homework with other students, as well as seeing examples of other students’ work.
Using Technology in the Communication Process:
The expectations and requirements for homework need to be communicated to both students and parents. I believe it is important to have a conference at the beginning of the year with parents to explain the purpose of homework, to go over the expectations and requirements, and to provide them with tips on how they can help support their student. The communication does not stop there, however, and it is an ongoing continuous process. Throughout the year students and parents can utilize the class webpage to gain access to each week’s assignments. In addition to the assignments, there will be explanations, tutorials, and examples whenever possible to assist students with homework when they are at home.
Homework Structure that Follows this Philosophy
The homework structure students will use in my classroom is a Readers’ and Writers’ Notebook. There will be one for reading and one for writing. Each serves a different purpose, and therefore has different expectations and guidelines.
Reading: The purpose of the readers’ notebook is for students to record their feelings, responses, and reactions to text read. It encourages students to think deeply about the materials they read and relate this information to their prior knowledge. Students are required to respond to their independent reading (in letter format) at least once a week (could be more if students choose). Students are assigned a specific day that they need to turn it in. There are times when I designate the topic they should write about. For example, if we are learning about making inferences, I might ask them to write about a specific inference they made while reading. Other times they may choose to respond to the text in any way that is meaningful to them; however, it is expected that their responses are varied and insightful. A list providing topics and ideas of how to respond has been provided for students and glued to the first page of their notebooks. They have also been given several examples of proficient responses and those are glued into their notebooks along with examples that were modeled and written together. A section in the back has been designated for students to take notes and write down important vocabulary.
Writing: The purpose of the writer’s notebook is for students to engage in the craft of writing and to practice specific writing skills. At times they will be asked to practice a skill we have learned in class, for example writing lead sentences. In this case, students spend a few minutes practicing that specific skill or craft in their notebook. The remainder of the time, students spend creating stories and compositions of their choice. It is required that students date each entry and that daily writing and effort is evident in their notebooks. The expectations have been clearly explained and modeled. A section in the back has been designated for students to take notes and list ideas for future writing. Students write in this notebook daily in class, and are required to take it home everyday and spend an additional fifteen minutes writing.
GRADING AND FEEDBACK
Students are required to turn their journals in once a week on a designated day. There is a rubric, which was created collaboratively, for each journal. Before students turn in their journal, they complete the rubric as a self-assessment and then I will also fill out the rubric when I review their journals. Immediate feedback is given to students in two different ways. For the readers’ notebook, I will primarily provide feedback by responding to their entries and writing a letter back. For the writers’ notebook, students are given feedback once a week through a writing conference. This gives me the opportunity to check for understandings, to monitor effort, and to teach on the spot. Students are also given feedback from their peers. Once a week, a peer will respond to their readers’ notebook through a letter. For the writers’ notebook, students share a piece of their writing with another student and have a peer conference. This takes place every one to two weeks.
MODIFICATIONS
Modifications to these assignments will be made as needed per an individual basis. Some students, specifically ELL students, will be provided with graphic organizers that they can use to assist them with both journals. Some students may be given additional time to complete the assignment and the skill or task may be modified when necessary.
COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS
The expectations and requirements for the notebooks will be communicated to both students and parents. A conference will be held at the beginning of the year with parents to explain the purpose, to go over the expectations and requirements, and to provide them with tips on how they can help support their student. Students and parents will also be able to access the webpage to find the expectations and requirements for the assignment, as well as examples of proficient journal responses and rubrics. Parents will be notified immediately if there is any concern of their child’s academic progress. As always, parents are encouraged to contact the teacher if they have any questions either about the assignment or their student’s grade through email or phone call.
References:
Hill, Jane D., & Flynn, Kathleen M. (2006). Classroom Instruction that works with English Language Learners. Alexandria, VA. ACSD.
No comments:
Post a Comment