Scotch College

HOMEWORK

What is Homework?  

Homework is an important part of the educational process as it provides students with opportunities to deepen their understanding and skills relative to content that has been initially presented to them in the classroom setting. Learning, consolidating and establishing good homework practices at Year 7 will assist achievement, both throughout this year and beyond.

Homework can be assigned for different purposes. Some common purposes for homework are:

• To practise or review a skill introduced in class (eg. solve 10 equations for Mathematics, punctuate a passage of writing)

• To elaborate on, or extend content that has been introduced in class (e.g. to apply knowledge and facts about Ancient Greece to another civilisation)

• To prepare students for new content that is to be introduced in a forthcoming class

• To integrate many separately learned skills and concepts to produce a single product. (eg. produce a book report, a science project, a piece of creative writing or a Power Point presentation)

• To revise for a test

Depending on the purpose of the homework that is set, the time frame for completion of the work may be different. For instance, a piece of homework that requires a routine skill to be consolidated may need to be completed by the next lesson. However, a piece of work that requires elaboration or integration may have a required completion date some time after being set.

In addition to the having a variety of purposes, homework can call for the use of different skills. Students may be asked to read, to submit written products, or to perform drills to enhance memory or retention of material.

How much time should be devoted to homework?

Although the amount of homework will vary from night to night, on average about 70 minutes (using the rule of thumb; time spent on homework = 10 x Year level) of homework will be assigned each night. This time will be made up of homework from a number of different subjects. As such, no subject’s homework should take more than 25 minutes to complete on a particular night.

In addition to the homework that is set by teachers, and if time permits, the following activities could also be undertaken as part of an evening’s work:

• Wide Reading

• Academic vocabulary learning

• Revision of work covered earlier in the year

• Preparation for upcoming tests

• Organising materials. etc for coming activities such as Music Lessons, Physical Education classes 

(packing gear), project work due soon etc.

Although homework is an important aspect of a student’s academic development, many students lead extremely busy lives. Boys are encouraged to involve themselves in a variety of activities at school, many boys have a commitment to an activity run by an outside agency, boys have family commitments and they need ‘down time’. 

All these activities take time. It is important that each boy maintains a balance between spending time doing homework and all the other areas of his life. Teachers are aware of the hectic schedules that many of our students have. For this reason, there may be variation in the amount of homework set each night. The important thing is that each boy is developing good work habits and in particular, is learning to organise his time as well as keeping up to date in each subject.

Use of Record Book

All homework should be recorded by the student in his Record Book, as should the required date of completion for any task that is set over an extended period of time. In addition, homework tasks should be checked-off as they are completed. Boys are encouraged to record any extra work they do in their Record Book.

Parental Involvement

Parents have an important role in their son’s homework. There will be occasions when the homework task is designed to establish communication between parent and child. However, for the majority of the time, the importance of the parent is in the facilitation of the homework, not its completion. The following dot points give some ideas as to how parents can be involved in homework whilst avoiding the temptation to solve content problems.

• Help set up a consistent, organised and quiet place for homework to be done.

• Help your son establish a consistent schedule for completing homework. This might include some time each weekend that allows him to reflect on that particular week’s activities and the activities in the upcoming week.

• Assist your son in organising any resources that may be required in order to complete a particular piece of homework.

• Check your son’s Record Book on a regular basis to see that the work that is actually being done matches the entries in his Record Book. Looking at his diary is also a way of seeing what work is being covered, when it is due, what activities are coming up and how busy he is going to be each night and in the days ahead.

• Encourage, motivate, and prompt your son, but do not do the homework with him. The purpose of the homework is for your son to practice and use what he has learned. If he is consistently not able to do the homework by himself, please contact his subject Teacher or Form Teacher.

• Observe the order in which your son undertakes his homework. He should not begin each night’s homework with the same subject, nor should he always leave a particular subject’s homework till last. If he is avoiding a particular subject’s homework, please contact his subject Teacher or Form Teacher.

• If your son is practicing a routine skill, ask him to tell you which steps are easy for him, which are difficult, or how he is going to improve. If he is doing a task that requires elaboration or integration, ask him what knowledge he is applying. If he is consistently unable to talk about the knowledge he is practicing or using, please contact his subject Teacher or Form Teacher.

• If your son has been given a piece of work to complete over an extended period, ask him to indicate at what stage of the process he is up to and ask him to articulate what else needs to be done, how long it will take him to do it, and when might he be able to do it.

• When bedtime comes, please stop your child, even if is homework has not been completed. When this occurs, please write a note in the Record Book indicating that he was unable to complete the homework having spent a legitimate amount of time on it.