Homework

At Dartford Primary we give out homework that will develop children’s key skills in English and maths as well as promoting further inquiry into their central idea for PYP.

Inquiry Homework

Please see your child’s ‘What I’m Learning Now’ sheet that is sent home at the beginning of each term.

Maths Homework

Homework focuses on times tables. To help develop speed and accuracy please use Times Tables Rockstars.

Purple Mash

Purple Mash is our Computing software that the children use in school but can also log into at home on any device that has a web browser. Purple Mash has activities for all subjects, it is a great resource for cross curricular activities. Your child may find a ‘to do’ task alert which will help consolidate your child’s learning. Purple Mash tasks are given out on a weekly or fortnightly basis depending on the topic. Please check the alert notification on Purple Mash to be notified of any upcoming tasks.

Reading

Your child will bring home a book every night that is matched to their current reading ability (read more about this here). Please spend time reading this with them focusing on decoding unknown words, reading at speed and using appropriate expression. Every child needs to be reading aloud as often as possible. Don’t forget to log your reading minutes for Buster’s Book Club!

Spelling

Update first sentence under Spellings: Every Monday your child will come home with a spelling book (KS1) or spellings will be posted on ClassDojo or written in home journals (KS2). Please work with them to use different strategies to learn them such as:

  • Trace, Copy, Recall: Fold three columns on a piece of paper, and label one column ‘trace’, the next ‘copy’ and the last ‘recall’. Write the word in the first column, and have your child trace the letters. Next have them copy the word by looking at what they’ve just written. Finally, have them fold (and hide) the first two columns and recall the spelling on their own as they write the word independently.
  • Stairsteps: Write the words as if they are stairs, adding one letter at a time.

s

sp

spe

spel

spell

  • Video Record: Using a smartphone or tablet, take a video of your child spelling the words. Have them put on a funny hat, dress-up, or use a silly prop to add to the fun.
  • You’re the teacher: Let your child pretend to be the teacher and teach you how to spell the words.

Your child may not get all the words right and may really struggle with them so please focus on any successes they have. For example, if they get all the first letters correct; or they remember the tricky part but make errors in the rest of the word; or they get one out of the five correct. We do not want any child to be worried about spellings or develop an anxiety around them therefore it is essential to celebrate any success, no matter how small, rather than focus on the inaccuracy. The more confident a child is; the more progress they will make in the long term.