Homework

Crockerne Church of England Primary School we believe the most important aspect of home learning focuses on reading.  We ask you to read with your child at least four times each week and always sign your child's reading record with each reading session.  In the early years, children will fundamentally need support in deoding (sounding out) new words as children become more fluent discussing the book - the plot, the characters and key themes is extremely important.  Also, all children benefit from being read to and we encourage you to do this as often as possible. 

We have recently changed our approach to traditional homework. We believe that all learning should be fun, engaging and child centered. With this is mind, Crockerne have started using knowledge organisers. Each knowledge organiser will link with your child's topic for that term and should be used to support their own research, therefore each piece of homework will differ in format, as this approach is much less prescriptive.  Some examples of homework created using a knowledge organisers are:

• Recording research using the websites provided on the knowledge organiser
• Art work to help children remember key facts or dates
• Poster with key information
• Idea for a story created with given language

Knowledge Organisers need to be referred to regularly at home and the information learnt.

Children are welcome to bring their books in weekly to show their teachers or they can bring in their work at the end of each term to be celebrated. We hope that this will encourage children to develop revision and independent learning skills from a younger age. Additionally, we ask that children access Times Table Rock Stars which has proven success in supporting maths fluency  - a key area to allow success in all areas of mathematics - children love the competitive element. Also, the Spelling Shed which follows on from teaching in class.  

Both websites and our knowledge organisers will be followed up with low stakes quizzes to support the children gaining and using the knowledge in their long-term memory.