Home learning - April 2020
In preparation for the summer term, which begins on Monday 20th April, I wanted to contact you all about the approach we have chosen to take for home-learning and the reasons behind this. I know that we won't be able to please everyone in the work we provide, so I wanted to be as transparent as possible about the choices we have made.
Over the past few weeks, we have been talking to colleagues, friends, family and reflecting on our own experiences of trying to teach our children from home. The following are the main issues we feel are barriers to effective home-learning:
We have reflected on these issues and have tried to create a program of work that is both meaningful and manageable for you at home. We will aim to have all work and the timetable for the following week uploaded on a Friday, so that you have time to have a look before starting work on Monday.
English
At Monkston, our usual approach is to focus on one text type over the course of a week or two, so that pupils become skilled at writing in this style. We plan to carry this approach on. We also felt this was one area that all siblings could work on the same task, albeit at differing levels according to their ability. Therefore each week a whole school writing task will be set i.e story writing or writing a report, that pupils will work on throughout the week. Every year group will be working on the same task, which we hope will make life easier for you at home. Full details of the tasks and how each group is expected to approach the task will be posted on the class pages. Although sheets that can be printed are available on the website, all work can simply be completed on paper at home.
Maths
This is an area that siblings will not be able to collaborate on due to the nature of the subject, although older siblings should be able to help younger ones! We felt that posting endless worksheets online is not practical for many families, who may not have a printer or a laptop to work on. Therefore we are currently in the process of sending home a workbook for each pupil. On the weekly timetable [found on the class pages] you will be directed to certain activities for your child to complete in the workbook. Alternatively, teachers may also ask pupils to complete a practical task, which will be explained on the weekly timetable.
Workbooks are currently being sent home. Please bear with us and the postal service whilst these are being delivered! They may not arrive by Monday 20th, but should be with you soon. Please note that the Year 1 books will arrive later than the other year groups and so practical tasks have been provided for you on the weekly timetable.
We understand that these workbook tasks may be more or less challenging for some pupils, so please feel free to complete additional tasks from websites such as twinkl and education city if you would like to. Please do not complete additional tasks from the workbooks unless directed to by your child's class teacher.
Phonics / Spellings
Other subjects
On the weekly timetable, teachers will be adding an extra activity linked to another subject such as art, history, geography or science. They may add a few extra tasks for those of you wanting to do extra tasks, but you are only asked to complete one of these tasks per week.
I'm sure that this will be plenty to keep you all occupied this half term! Teachers will also continue with weekly class challenges and videos to keep in touch, so keep an eye on your class page as well.
Kind regards
Mrs Williams