Homework Focus Day

1. Homework Focus Day Questions and Answers

2. Will students be getting homework in your class? YES. How often? Perhaps 2 or 3 times a week.

3. Why do you give homework? There are three main purposes • Practice • This is practicing a skill or new piece of content. • For example – finding prepositional phrases or identifying antecedents or finding dependent clauses • Process/check for understanding • This is to apply a skill or new piece of knowledge to a new situation • For example – reading a passage and finding the literary elements or writing a paragraph using the text structure of cause and effect. • Preparation • This is reading a passage for the next day, or writing an extended piece to hand in, or studying for a test, or completing a project

4. How will it be collected, corrected or graded? Practice Homework: • not collected, • graded in class (self or trade and grade) • completion grade given Process or Check for understanding Homework: • collected • graded by Mrs. B for accuracy and thought given • points earned for accuracy and content

5. ….continued…. Preparation homework: • If it is a writing piece, it will be collected and graded according to the scoring guide • If it is a project, it will be collected and graded according to the project’s rubric • If it is reading part of a novel or story, an “admit card” will indicate if you read or understood the reading – or the way you discuss the reading in class will indicate if you understand • If it is studying for a test, your test grade will indicate that you have learned, reviewed, and prepared.

6. How long should students expect to work on your assignments? This varies depending upon the type of assignment. Practice: • This should not take more than 10 minutes or so (if you concentrate, focus, not fool around…..) Process/Check for understanding: • This may take some more thinking time – maybe 15 minutes or so. You need to take your time and do the work accurately and completely. Preparation: • Read/write/study until you are finished. Mrs. B does not assign readings or writing pieces that would take longer than an hour. Your focus and time management will make the difference in the amount of time you spend.

7. What do students do if they don’t understand some part while at home? • Phone a friend • Ask an adult • Come in early before school to ask Mrs. B

8. How do students get the assignment or worksheet if they have been absent? • Check the teacher website to see what was assigned. You could print a worksheet from the website. • When you return, ask Mrs. B for missed work or arrange to make up a quiz or test. • Ask a classmate for any notes that were taken in class

9. How shall it be turned in after an absence? • Hand it to Mrs. B. • Do not put it on her desk. If absent, school policy says that you have two days to make up work. For an extended absence, talk with Mrs. B to make arrangements. Do not just sit and do nothing. You are responsible for coming to Mrs. B “Be an active participant in your own rescue….”

10. What happens if homework is late? Practice Homework • a demerit for not being prepared • a 0 for not completing it. (all or nothing) Process/Check for understanding • a demerit for not being prepared • Lose 50% of the value of the assignment • Must be turned in within 2 weeks to get partial credit Preparation: • writing piece, project – demerit and late policy • reading prep or study – your grade will reflect that you did not prepare

11. If late homework is a consistent issue, then we will meet with Mr. Faust to create a plan. Lunch detention, afterschool detention, and Saturday School are all options for repeated patterns of not doing homework.

12. You will be given one late pass to use each quarter for a late assignment. If you use a late pass, staple it to the assignment when you hand it in. You will not get the demerit and the late policy would not apply.