Parent+Corner

Welcome families!

Great Websites for Kids from the American Library Association Homework Center by Infoplease
 * U.S. Department of Education **
 * Want your child to love books? Read On...**
 * Reading Can Make You Smarter **
 * Good Books for Grades 6 and 7** please go to my Reading link for more book suggestions

HOMEWORK/CLASSWORK

The most important homework a child can have is reading on a continuous, routine basis. If this is not a part of your child's daily routine, please contact me so we can devise a plan. Reading can range from the cereal box to shampoo ingredients to novels, comic books, magazines, online articles and more. Reading a wide variety of genres is a wonderful way for children to broaden their knowledge base, discern and compare information, and inspire students to learn more about different subjects. At the sixth grade level, the California State Department of Education states that students should be exposed to stories, drama, poetry, and literary nonfiction; 50% fiction and 50% nonfiction. My goal for every student is a minimum of a half hour (one TV show episode length if you counted the commercials, otherwise it's about 22 minutes) per day at least Monday through Friday.

 I am not going to compel all students to fill in a weekly reading log unless you feel it is necessary for your child.

I told the story to my students how I as a child was a voracious reader. I would go to the library on a weekly basis and would use my chin as a prop to steady the mountainous stack of books I took home. True fact- I won the "Most Books Read" contest at the Westchester Public Library my 5th grade year and won 4 free tickets to Marineland in Palos Verdes! (Okay I didn't tell the students that fact...) Back to the story. In 7th grade, my teacher Ms. Beauregard expected us to turn in a weekly log. This weekly log required us to have our parents initial that we read a minimum of 20 minutes per night and then a signature below confirming that indeed we had read. We received the log on Mondays and it was expected to be turned in the following Monday. My father was a maitre'd and often worked nights, so I would often have him fill out the log on Sunday evening after I had with gusto read hours and hours per week. One Sunday evening I was HORRIFIED to discover taht I had not had my father sign the log, and that (gasp) I would miss out on those 40 points! Well, I certainly didn't think that was fair, so I, ahem, proceeded to attempt my father's initials and made a very shaky yet resembling signature. I felt terrible about doing so, but didn't want to disappoint Ms. Beauregard, and didn't want my grade to be affected.

I think that there are better ways of encouraging a child to read than a reading log, and that those who dislike reading aren't going to enjoy it because they have a reading log to complete in middle school (my opinions on elementary school reading logs differ). Yet, again, if this will be a way for you and I to communicate and it holds some cachet with your child, please let me know.

Students will have homework every night of the week (daily reading at a minimum) and will have class time to write down all of their assignments in their agenda. I emphasize that as secondary students, it is the //student's responsibility// to complete all homework assignments. Homework is an opportunity for students to extend their learning outside of the classroom with structured assignments. If there is an instance in which a student is not able to complete the homework within the allotted time, students can always make up the work. They will be rewarded and given class credit for not giving excuses, but simply getting another copy of the assignment and completing it. If there are specific concerns or reasons for missing assignments or necessary modifications to be made, we as a team can come up with a solution. Please contact me via email with any particular circumstances.