Primary One Homework – clarification.

Hi all,

I hope you and your families have had a wonderful October break and are rested and ready for another term at Loanhead!

One of the most common pieces of feedback that came up at parents evening was that there was some confusion regarding homework and what should be done and when. I apologise for any confusion but here is a list of everything you should have.

READING BOOK

Every child has a reading book. Some may have words and some may not. This  depends on how quickly your child has picked up their sounds and tricky words.  Reading is done every day in school so it is essential that your child’s book bag is in school every day. Book bags are also where all letters and school correspondence is placed. If a book bag is not there you may miss some information. If you find your child has maybe missed a new book on a Monday due to having forgotten their book bag or something please let me know ASAP. I do keep a list but it does get difficult to keep track of 25 books amongst everything else and I want your children to be excited to get their new book each week.

KEY WORDS

Stage 1 Key words- Picture and early reader books.

Stage 2

Every child should have a set of key words that look like this. These were handed out last term. If you find that you don’t have a copy please contact me. Once your child has been able to confidently and independently identify a key word 3 times they can colour that word in on their sheet. This lets me know when they are ready to be assessed for the next reading stage. I am going to send home small flash cards of these words this week. Feel free to use these as you please. I will send them home in sandwich bags however these aren’t ideal and are easily damaged. If you have any small Tupperware containers such as these below can you please transfer the laminated cards over.

You may find you also get home a small list like the one below. These are the same words as the lists above but they just tell you what the focus key words of this weeks book are so you can focus on them at home. If you do not receive one of these every week don’t worry just continue to revise the words on the Key stage 2 sheet/flash cards.

READING JOURNAL

This is in your child’s book bag as a way for us to communicate with regards to your child’s reading. For example if there is a key word I think should be the main focus at home this week that they have been struggling with in class I will leave a short note. Similarly, feel free to write any notes or questions you have in the journal. However, I do ask if it is something urgent or of great importance please catch me at drop off and pick up times or send me an email at k.ramsay@mgfl.net.

HELP SHEET

The extended stories and questions are sent home as a list of suggestions to help you to encourage a variety of reading skills at home. They may not be available for every book but where they are they are sent home.

TRICKY WORDS

A copy of this was given to most parents at parents evening. If you don’t have them let me know and I can get you a copy. Tricky words are words that can’t be sounded out and just has to be learnt as a whole word. They are used an incredible amount in reading and writing and if your child doesn’t learn them it can really impact upon their progress. We learn two new tricky words a week. We are currently working on the red list and we will be starting back this week on the word ‘be’. Similarly to sounds, these are taught one on a Monday and one on a Wednesday. These can be written on flash cards, used in pairs, snap or pong or written in sand, foam, play dough. The possibilities are endless. If you feel you are out of ideas look at Pinterest; it is a brilliant resource.

SOUND SHEETS

Each week in class we learn two new sounds. This week our focus is going to be on ‘o’ and ‘u’. Ideally one sheet should be completed on a Monday and one on a Wednesday as these are the days we learn our new sounds and these sheets will help to consolidate learning from in school. However that is not to say they MUST be done then, please make it work for your family life. Every child should have a booklet with the jolly phonics sounds order on the front and flashcards for each sound that you can cut up.

 

THIS WEEK

Our Sounds: ‘o’ and ‘u’

Our Tricky words: ‘be’ and ‘was’

Reading books.

Chips: The Water Fight

Biffs: Kipper’s Birthday

 

Kippers: The Swing Ball

Floppys: The Swing Ball

 

FINALLY…

I know this is an incredibly long post but I really wanted to clarify for all who were a bit confused what each item is for as I know it is a lot. Please don’t feel that you have to do everything every night. Maybe on a night with a phonics sheet forgo a reading book and hunt for key words in a story your child has selected or play a game with key/tricky words. Input at home is so crucial and all of your help at home is appreciated and makes a world of difference to your little ones learning.

Book bags are collected in on a Friday and must stay in school so I can look through homework jotters and change over books.

Thank you to everyone who came along to parents evening it was lovely to share our learning with you and everyone will receive their written strengths, areas for development and targets by the end of this week.

Looking forward to seeing your little ones  back and ready to learn on Wednesday!

All the Best,

Miss Ramsay

Print Friendly, PDF & Email