2005-2006 As you'll notice from reading the changes each year to my homework system, I try to create assignments and schedules that meet the needs of each particular class.  In 2005-2006, I had a terribly difficult time getting kids to turn in HW because they had so many extracurricular activities.  Although I am philosophically opposed to the idea of weekly HW packets (students need short, DAILY reinforcement, not a 3 hour HW marathon the night before the packet is due, which is usually what happens), I decided to try it.  Here's how it worked.  Day Subject Assignment Weekly HW packets are due and new packets assigned on the last day of the week, usually Friday Reading 4 times during the week- Read any book, magazine, etc. for at least 30 minutes.  Write the title of the book, a brief comment, and number of minutes read on the monthly calendar of the agenda book.   Math   4 practice book pages.   Spelling   4 spelling choices from spelling choice list   From October to February, FCAT (state standardized test) practice tests were sent home every Friday and were due the following Friday, so that families could incorporate them into their schedules as they saw fit each week.  While students should be able to complete them independently in 15-30 minutes, I stressed that they would gain the most benefit from having parents participate and required them to sign off on the papers indicating they were completed together. The practice tests included test-taking tips on the page for each question to help the parents guide the children.   The purpose of the practice tests is: *to familiarize parents with the material that will be tested and the testing format *to show parents how to support their children's learning at home *to provide enrichment and extra reading and test-taking practice   After the FCAT, I did away with the homework program above and sent home Fun Folders (see bottom of the the page under Choose-A-Charts for the 2002-2003 school year).  The kids took one math, one language arts, and one writing Fun Folder each week.  They continued to read do their reading calendars and did 2 spelling choices.  This was a heavier workload than before the FCAT, but because the kids enjoyed the Fun Folders so much, they didn't seem to notice.

2004-2005 Because I shared a room with another teacher that year, I adapted the homework program she used.  Personally, I prefer a system that allows for more variety and creativity, but this did maintain consistency for the kids and was quite easy to manage.  Here's what I had on our class website regarding our 3rd grade homework program that year: Homework Procedures Students copy their homework assignments from the board into their home-school journals as soon as they enter the classroom in the morning.   During the first month of school, I check whether assignments were copied correctly and after that point students are expected to do this independently with only occasional checks.  Children who have consistent difficulty with this task are partnered with another child to help them.    Students then turn in their home-school journals.  All papers to be turned in should be placed in the front pocket, and the pocket should be emptied nightly so there are no older papers left in.  If they are missing homework assignments, they fill out a Missing Work Form and put it in their journal.  The form requires them to document what work they are not turning in as well as a reason why.  These forms are kept on file at school for your review during conference time.  Students who are absent have 2 school days to turn in the work they missed- all assignments will be on their desk in an Absence folder and all they need to do is copy the missed homework assignments from a friend's home-school journal.  Occasionally students forget their work at home and ask to call home.  Because we have a phone in the classroom, I do allow this.  It is up to your discretion as a parent whether you to bring the work to school so your child can turn in assignments on time or teach him/her to be responsible for his/her own things.  (It’s a tough call!  You can decide on a case-by-case basis).    While they complete their morning work, I call them up to my desk individually as I check their homework.  If I see any glaring errors, I discuss them briefly with the child and may have him/her make corrections right then or as homework.  I check to see that all work has been completed and ask if there are any notes from home (it is the child’s responsibility to inform me if there are and carry the notes back and forth from school to home).   If I notice that multiple children are making the same mistakes, we go over the assignment as a class after morning work is completed.  (You may see this done in red crayon as your child corrects the work, or sometimes the mistakes are simply erased and the child puts the correct ones in their place).   Students who turn in all of their assignments during the week earn the right to participate in Fun Friday, which is a time to play logic games and work in centers from 1:30-2:00 on the last day of the week.  Students who did not turn in all of their work that week stay at their seats and complete the missing assignments or review work. General Homework Routine Reading Read for 30 minutes.  DO NOT skip this!  The only way to become a better reader is to spend time READING.  :-) Spelling Monday: ABC order Tuesday: 3x each Wednesday: Sentences Thursday: Scramble Math Practice Workbook (PW) page (you have one page, sometimes two, every night) Study for Friday's Tests Spelling (study your words) Reading (re-read the story in your reading book) Math (review your homework pages from the week and be sure you understand everything) Other Work If you did not finish certain classwork assignments, you will need to finish them at home so we can move on to the next skill in class.  You will know which assignments to take home because they will be on the homework board for you to copy.  You may also have Social Studies or Science homework, reading homework (such as vocabulary work), and/or an FCAT practice page.  Plan to spend 30 minutes a night reading and 30 minutes doing written work.  If it is taking you longer than an hour to complete your written homework, please let Ms. Powell know.

2004-2005 Here was my HW plan for my second graders, written in August 2004 (I transferred to another district mid-year to teach 3rd grade, as outlined above). This was a great system for younger students who had difficult copying assignments correctly, and it also fit the needs of the urban population I was working with. I’m going to use a new homework assignment sheet, which I will fill out for my kids rather than have them fill out, since they are just coming from first grade.  The paper will list the homework instructions, and examples if needed, for the entire week.  After I complete this (which will only need to be done once per month because that’s how often the homework assignments change, and can be cut and pasted directly from this website), I will make about 10 copies.  Each week of the month, I’ll fill out two of the photocopied assignment sheets, one with the words of the lower-level spelling group and one sheet with the words for the higher-level group.  I’ll make enough copies for the whole class, and be done for the week!  I optimistically estimate this will take about 20 minutes the first week of the month and about ten all the rest of the weeks. So, here’s my new plan:  Every Night:      Reading                Reading Calendar Mondays:          Writing                  Ms. Powell’s Mailbag Tuesdays:         Spelling/Math        Basic math facts practice using spelling words Wednesdays:    Math                      Workbook page or textbook assignment for current unit Thursdays:       Spelling                 Basic spelling practice activity     All assignments should take about 20 minutes, plus 20 minutes of reading, for a total of 40 minutes a night.  I hope this is not too much for second graders!  I think it will be okay, since half of that time is spend just reading.   The students will also get bi-monthly Home Learning Projects (I gave them monthly this past year).    I think this program will work well for several reasons:   Students will have essentially the same homework each week.  Parents know exactly what to expect, and kids understand the assignment and can do it independently. Homework will be differentiated twice a week because there will be two spelling groups.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students will be working with words on their reading level. It requires no photocopies other than the assignment sheet, saving time and paper. It requires an absolute minimum of preparation on the teacher’s part. Assignments will be graded only on whether they are completed (just like last year), so I will not have to score homework assignments.   Detailed Explanation of Assignments   Mondays: Writing (Ms. Powell’s Mailbag)   Many Monday mornings, I have had kids come to school crying because their daddies got locked up, mommy’s boyfriend hit her, someone in the neighborhood got shot, and so on.  Weekends can be a very traumatic time for some children because they do not have the safe haven of school for what must feel like a long time.  On Monday nights, students will write me a letter about something that happened to them over the weekend (good or bad), something interesting happening in their lives, or any other thoughts on their minds.  Letters will be kept in special Mailbag folders, which I will empty and have kids file in portfolios once a month to make sure none of the papers get lost.  One side of the folder will be for older letters, and the other for the most recent letter (“Old Letters” and “Tonight’s Letter”).  As often as I have time, I will write back.  This is an exercise in writing for a purpose with real-world applications, grammar practice, and much more.  Below are the expectations, which increase each month and are cumulative (students are responsible for meeting all the criteria of all the previous months):   Aug.    Free write (no expectations)   Sept.   Correct capitalization required   Oct.     Correct punctuation required   Nov.     Complete sentences required (no fragments)   Dec.     No run-on sentences allowed   Jan.     Correct paragraph form required   Feb.     Correct letter-writing format required   Feb.     5 or more sentences required Mar.     Details, descriptive words emphasized   Apr.      Rough draft, proofreading, editing, final draft required   May      8 or more sentences required (two paragraphs recommended)     Tuesdays:  Spelling/Math   When planning this out, I couldn’t decide which was important enough to do twice a week, spelling or math.  Then I thought, why couldn’t they do an activity that allows them to practice their spelling words and their math facts?   Every Tuesday for a month, they will have the same assignment.   I will write the instructions on their assignment sheets and model in class for clarification.  Assignments will change monthly for variation as follows (tentative assignments- I'm not sure about some of them):   Aug./Sept. Write each spelling word on a different line.  Now go back and write each spelling word again right next to the others.   Try to spell the words the second time without peeking at how you spelled them the first time.  Then add up the total number of letters on each line.                                 Example:  grass, grass        5  +  5 =  10                                               school, school    6   +  6  =  12    Oct.        Solve math problems 1-10 on page ___ in your math book [or workbook].  Then write the answers in number word form.                               Example:  22+13=35                                                Twenty-two plus thirteen equals thirty-five    Nov.       Write your spelling words one time.  Put two words on each line.  Be sure to leave a space between the words.  Use the symbols <, >, and =  to compare the number of letters in the two words on each line.  Then write how you know your answer is correct.                                 Example:  Street < jumping because street has 5 letters and jumping has                                                 7 letters.  7 is greater than 5.   Dec.        Copy each spelling word one time.  Draw a slash (/) between each syllable.  Count and write how many syllables are in each word.                                Example:  e/ra/ser  3 syllables      Jan.         Write each spelling word one time.  Then use the key to find out the value of each word.  You may use a calculator to help you.                               Example:   Key:  A=1,  B=2,  C=3,  D=4,  E=5, etc.                                               Able=  1 + 2 + 12 + 5 =  20   Feb.         Write a story using at least 10 of your spelling words.  Then write a math problem about your story. Solve.                              Example:  [If words are fairy, happy, and lately).    The tooth fairy visited me                                             last  month and brought a quarter.  She hasn’t come to my house                                             lately.  But I’ll be happy when she does come because she’s going to                                             bring me another quarter.  How much money will I get from the tooth                                             fairy?                                              $0.25 + $0.25=  $0.50   Mar.        Label the ‘x’ axis on the graph with each of your spelling words.  Graph the number of syllables in your spelling words.  Each word should have it’s own bar in the bar graph.  Don’t forget a graph title and a key!                             Example:  [Graphs will be pre-made for students the first two weeks; the last two                                            they will have to label the x and y axis themselves].   Apr.        Write each spelling word one time.  Then use the key to find out the value of each word.  Notice that the key is different from the one in January!   Use a calculator to help you.                               Example:   Key:  A=2,  B=4,  C=6,  D=8,  E=10, etc.                                               Able=   2 + 4 + 24 + 10 =  40   May         Write each spelling word on a different line.  Now go back and write each spelling word two more times right next to the others.   Try to spell the words the second and third time without peeking at how you spelled them the first time.  Then underline all the vowels.  Add up the number of vowels on each line and write a number sentence for each line.                              Example:  garage    garage     garage                                 3      +      3       +      3       =    9  [or 3x3=9]        Wednesdays:  Math   On Tuesdays, students generally practice their basic math facts.  On Wednesdays, they practice skills they are learning in the current unit of study (making change, place value, geometry, etc.).  They’ll get a simple workbook or textbook assignment to complete- no worksheets to save on photocopies.   This gives parents a chance to see what we’re doing in math class, as well.   Thursdays:  Spelling   Thursday night is for basic spelling practice for Friday’s test.   Again, students will have the same assignment every Thursday for a month, with assignments changing monthly for variation.   Aug/Sept.  Write each spelling word in a sentence.  Your sentences should show that you understand the meaning of the word.  Examples of a good sentence for the word ‘apple’: ‘ I ate a big, red apple for lunch today’ and ‘The apple and orange were part of the fruit basket’.  Examples of a bad sentence:  ‘Apple is my spelling word’ and ‘She has an apple’.    Oct.           Write your spelling words in ABC order.   Nov.          Sort your spelling words [by beginning sounds, vowel sounds, syllables, or whatever skill we are working on.  A simple three- or four-column chart will be modeled for students to copy].   Dec.          Write each spelling word in a story or poem.  Then read it out loud to yoursself.  Fix anything that does not make sense.  Be sure to proofread for punctuation and capitalization!   Jan.           Complete a Looks Like/ Sounds Like for each spelling word.  Example: Spelling Word Looks Like Sounds Like Shirt  Skirt, shop, sit Skirt, Hurt Huge Hug Boo, lose House How, use How, ouch, mouse Feb.          Sort your spelling words by the parts of speech.  Make a chart with three columns.  Label each column with one of the parts of speech we've learned: noun, verb, and pronoun.  Write each of your spelling words in the correct column.  Use a dictionary or www.wordcentral.com if you are not sure.  Mar.          Write what you think is the definition (meaning) of each of your spelling words.  Then put a star by five or more words that you don’t know the meanings for.  If you know all of the words’ meanings, put a star by words that look interesting to you.  Then use a dictionary (or www.wordcentral.com) to look up the meanings of the words you starred.  Copy the definitions.   Apr.          Draw an illustration for at least 10 of your spelling words.  Then write a caption for each one.   May          Put a star by five or more words that you don’t know the meanings for or that look interesting to you.  Then use a dictionary (or www.wordcentral.com) to look up the words you starred.  Copy the example sentences for those words (not the definitions!).  Write your own example sentences for the rest of your spelling words.     Every Night Monday-Thursday:  Reading Calendar   This is described in detail in last year’s homework plan.  Essentially, students read any material they like for 20 minutes, then write the title, author, and a detailed and interesting comment about what they read.  We participate in the Pizza Hut Book-It program, and all students who do not lose their calendars and complete them for the month get a free personal pan pizza.   The purpose of the comment is to inspire children to reflect on what they are reading.    Homework is considered incomplete if the reading calendar is not filled out.

2002-2003 I used a homework system based on Mr. Moore's Choose-A-Chart program.  This was a really fun, motivating homework system that's perfect for anyone ready to think outside the box and approach homework from an entirely new perspective.   What are Choose-A-Charts? They are simply activities written on chart paper, like Mr. Moore's, or on file folders, like mine, or any other materials you have access to.  Students pick out a different chart to take home each night.  They complete the activity on a sheet of notebook paper and fill out the tracking form on the front of the chart (see instructions below).  This replaces worksheets and textbook assignments that are traditionally given for homework.   9 Reasons To Convince Parents and Principals That Choose-A-Chart is the Best! 1.  The program allows families to see the wide variety of skills in the curriculum and become more familiar with state expectations.   2.  It ensures that each child practices one or more state content standards nightly (state curricular goals are always written on the back of the charts).   3.  There is no busywork assigned just for the sake of having homework.   4. It allows for children to work on their individual levels. Charts are leveled, with a thirty-minute timeframe for completion so that students who work at a slower pace do not have to spend an unreasonable amount of time on homework, and all charts have challenge activities to make the activity more rigorous as needed.   5.  There is an easy-to-remember routine: homework is in the same general format each week and takes about the same amount of time to complete each night, providing the child has no incomplete class work to take home.   6.  It eliminates photocopies, saving the school money in a very tight fiscal year.   7.  It does not penalize students for not understanding concepts or not having someone at home to help, because chart work is not given letter grades (charts are shared with the class, credit is awarded for completed tracking forms and attempts to complete the activities, and actual chart work is collected for portfolios).   8.  It allows for distributed practice, meaning that students must retain their knowledge of skills and concepts all year to complete the charts (rather than completing homework only the current chapter, testing, and forgetting!) 9.  It's FUN FOR KIDS!   Click here for a Microsoft Word version of these reasons to print or modify for use as a hand-out for parents.  This document also has a follow-up letter to send home after the first night of Choose-A-Chart.   Keeping Charts Organized/ Tracking Forms My charts are kept in a file box, which is almost empty most of the time because the children have the charts in their binders to be taken home.  I use a tracking form similar to Mr. Moore's.  I use a brad to fasten the tracking forms to the front of each chart with a brad.   The brad allows the forms to be slid around for the kids to write their comments; I photocopied the forms back to back to save paper, and was able to fit a large space for every child to sign and it only took two pages, front and back.  (In 2006, when I had a smaller class, I was able to use only 1 page and just glued it onto the chart). As a result, the photocopies needed to make tracking forms for each chart, one for each child in the class, were no more than the amount needed for ONE night's traditional homework.  But this way, instead of making the same amount of copies again for each night's homework, these copies will last over a month as the children trade charts. Leveling Charts This is a chart I designed with my higher-achieving and TAG (Talented and Gifted) students in mind.  I level my charts with a little check mark next to the title on the side of the file folder.  Green charts are easy charts with very basic fact practice or below-grade-level work, blue charts are for everybody and comprise 90% of the charts I make, and red charts require more time and higher-level thinking questions than are usually required of third graders.  Students may choose any charts they like.  They can stop working on a chart if it takes longer than 30 minutes to complete, as charts are designed to take between 10-20 minutes.  Parents are to indicate mext to their signature on the homework assignment sheet that thirty minutes had passed and the student had been working diligently but was unable to finish.  There is no penalty for this. MORE CHOOSE-A-CHART PICTURES How this method is different from the original Choose-A-Chart program There are many, many more great examples of Choose-A-Charts on the website of Mr. Michael Moore, the program creator.  There are a few differences  between his charts and mine:   -Mr. Moore's are done on chart paper and mine are done on file folders, which I chose because it takes me too long to write in large print on charts and I thought they might be a bit cumbersome compared to the folders.  (In 2006, I changed the name of my program to Fun Folders to reflect this difference).  Mr. Moore says his kids love taking the big charts home- it sounds like fun! -Mr. Moore starts fresh each school year, making brand new charts customized for his particular group of students, and uses their names often in the charts.  While this was my original intention, I put so much work into my charts that I thought it would be a shame to re-make them all each year and do re-use most of them.  -Because I re-use my charts and I use a lot of stickers and papers glued onto them, I laminate my charts.  Mr. Moore does not do this because his are made for only one year, and laminating is expensive. I chose to do it anyway so that I can be more creative with the materials I use to enhance the charts, knowing the laminate will protect them. -All of my charts include optional challenge activities for those families who want extension ideas for homework assignments.  When I started using the charts, I was teaching the TAG (talented and gifted) inclusion class and wanted to differentiate the assignments. Mr. Moore's ideas for Language Arts Charts Mr. Moore's ideas for Math Charts    A