Homework Expectations - Update October 2024

Maths - IXL

Now that children have had plenty of exposure to IXL in the class, there will be a weekly expectation for maths homework. 

Children in Year 3 should complete at least 20 minutes weekly on IXL outside of class time.

Children in Year 4 should complete at least 30 minutes weekly on IXL outside of class time.

IXL is an online learning platform that can be found here: IXL | Maths and English Practice.

It does not require an App and works on the majority of web browsers. I have used it with children for several years.

At first, children should work on their 'Recommendations' (the third tab, the one to the right). If these Recommendations are not well matched (if they seem especially hard or easy - or come from much older year groups), children should work on the 'Diagnostic Arena' until their recommendations are better suited to them. 

There are three ways children can work on IXL.

Reading

Children should read daily and plenty to give them the best chance of enjoying reading and progressing well. I don't check that children read every single day, but I do check that they are reading regularly, with sufficient quantity and understanding. We give more assistance to children who find this harder to achieve.

Children will have reading record books in the near future. These are designed to help them track their own reading, recording where they are, their thoughts about the book and any time spent reading with an adult out of school. Reading with and to and adult can be very powerful. Taking it in turns to read can help share a book while modelling how to read.

For children who are reading longer books, I would usually expect them to be able to finish the book within two weeks (shorter books will take less time). If a book takes much longer than this, it is probably too long or complex. There is no set number of pages to be read; rather, children should make good progress with the book they have.

Books can come from the class or from home. What matters is that they are accessible to a child while providing something new, a few words that are challenging, some ideas that might take occasional re-reading, without affecting the flow too much. Ideally, the book should be enjoyable - this is what we are aiming for - but it can also be worth persevering with a book that doesn't grab you at first.

Spellings

Miss White sends home spellings weekly, by the end of the week, to be practised and learned for the following week. These are based on the National Curriculum.

Archived for reference at children's request

IXL Gold Awards

Week 5 - Thursday 23rd May

Evie, Ella, Josh, Dylan, Sophia

Logan

Week 4 - Thursday 16th May

Evie 179, Dylan 97, Ella 96, Sophie 94, Alfie 80, Scarlett 59, Josh 47, Sophia 42

Archie 177, Violet 98, Quinn 77, Martha 68, Grace 62

Week 3 - Thursday 9th May

Ella 128, Sophie 117, Scarlett 91, Flora 53, Evie 51, Alfie 46, Josh 43, Zack 41

Carter 129, Arabella 72, Martha 71, Paisley 68

MTC - Multiplication Tables Check - Year 4s

Week beginning Monday 10th June

The Year 4s will take a short test during this week, while Mr Oliver-Dean is with the class. This is the MTC or 'Multiplication Tables Check'. It is done nationally and is a way of checking how primary school pupils are doing with recalling times tables facts.

The test itself will be done on a tablet and lasts less than five minutes. Children have been practising with a similar format test for a couple of months now. This format can be found on the 'Multiplication Tables Check' page on the class website. 

When doing the test, the children will not see their score, and they should not worry about the test. Doing the test itself does not help with learning tables, it just checks where they currently are. The main way we practise our recall of multiplication table facts is through the use of flash cards in the class.

After the MTC, we will focus support and use of flash cards for learning more on the children who find it harder to remember these facts. This is practice that will continue after the tests as it has before. 

If anyone wants to practise at home in a similar way to at school, flash cards can be borrowed. There is an effective way to use these which I am happy to explain. Thank you.

Homework Information - Autumn Term 2024-2025

Welcome back to school. Information about homework will be updated here once children have settled in, by October. At this point there will be weekly Maths work via IXL - an online maths resources - once a routine has been established within class.

Additionally, children should read daily. We will regularly check the progress children make with their books. Children reading longer books should have books they can finish within a couple of weeks so that they are exposed to a good range of texts over a year. Books may come from home or from school; what matters is that a child can read with fluency but also with some exposure to new words and ideas. If a child is not following what is happening in a book, it is too complex. If a child comes across a few words that they do not know, this is ideal, provided there is still some flow to their reading. Reading with and too an adult is one of the most powerful tools in helping reading develop.

Miss White will send spellings home weekly. She is in the class on Thursdays and Fridays. There will be a list that comes home by the end of the week to learn and practise for the following week.

Homework Expectations for Maths - Mr Oliver-Dean

Please note that Mrs Horsley sets spelling and reading work independently of this. This refers only to maths expectations, starting from Thursday 18th April.

IXL Maths - Link to Login Pages

Each week, children should work on IXL outside of lesson time. This will help address areas that children would benefit from practising (recommendations) and/or class work (either as 'pre-learning' or reviewing and practising current or recent work).

What work should I do?

Unless told otherwise, please work on your 'recommendations'. Sometimes, to get recommendations, you will need to step into the 'diagnostic arena'. Sometimes I might ask you to do other work than recommendations. I will make this clear. You can also suggest to me work that might be useful to you. Please DO NOT have any help when you are working in the 'diagnostic arena'. This is so that IXL can find work that is useful for you. If you have help in the arena, IXL will set you work that is too difficult at the moment.

Year 3 - 20 minutes per week

This is equivalent to about 3 minutes per day. It is measured from one Thursday to the next Thursday.

Year 4 - 30 minutes per week

This is equivalent to less than 5 minutes per day. It is measured from one Thursday to the next Thursday.

What if I don't do this amount of work?

You will be expected to catch up any missed time at school. I can help you with this.

What if I do more than this amount of work?

If you do more work, it might help you with your maths, but please don't feel pressure to do this. We have kept a leaderboard in class for the last four weeks. If you do double the expected time in a week, you will reach the 'Champion' section and this is automatic 'Gold'. However, doing the expected time is plenty, will be useful to you and will also be rewarded. If you are a competitive person, you might use this to help push yourself but don't let it cause you stress. 

IXL Maths Homework - Thursday 25^th April 

Gold – Weekly Champions

Congratulations to the following children for being Champions this week, by doubling the expectation for their year group. These children have received Gold!

Year 4:

Martha 105 minutes

Arabella 94 minutes

Grace 74 minutes

Year 3:

Evie 106 minutes

Josh 86 minutes

Dylan 66 minutes

Alfie 52 minutes

Ella 49 minutes

Zack 48 minutes

Four other Year 4 students reached the expected work for the week, with two reaching 56 minutes, only 4 minutes away from Gold. Well done.

There is no expectation that ‘Gold’ is reached during the week, but the extra effort is rewarded.

All Time Champions

Congratulations to the following children for being champions on the all time leader-board (averaging twice the weekly expectation over the five weeks we have been using IXL).

Year 4:

Martha 87 minutes per week

Year 3:

Ella 85 minutes per week

Evie 47 minutes per week

There is no expectation that a ‘Gold’ standard is averaged. This is much harder to do than to reach gold in a single week so there should be no pressure to maintain it.

Time Owed

Six Year 3s and nine Year 4s didn’t work on IXL as part of their homework this week. Five of those children had absences and their expectations will therefore be adjusted. Because we only discussed this in class on Monday (halfway through the homework week), the time owed has been halved. Children in Year 4 who didn’t do any homework therefore owe an additional 15 minutes this week (a total of 45 minutes). Children in Year 3 who didn’t do any homework therefore owe an additional 10 minutes this week (a total of 30 minutes). Please stay on top of your homework so that this time doesn’t mount up. You may complete the time at home or at break/lunch time at school with me.