Homework

Horizons Homework Policy
The goal of teachers at Horizons is to enable each student to reach a high level of academic achievement. This goal is supported through homework assignments.

The work that students are expected to complete at home is designed to be developmentally appropriate and to extend current classroom curriculum. Homework is given to develop study habits, personal responsibility, and organization, and to foster the home-school connection. Reading is an essential component of homework at all grade levels. The use of planners begins in 2nd grade and continues through 8th grade. When reading through the homework guidelines, you will notice increasing homework time requirements as your student moves through the grades. As students become more self-directed in their learning, we expect increased independence in the completion of homework.

Parents can indicate their commitment to their child’s education by seeing that they bring their homework folders, planners, materials, and/or books back to school. This allows teachers to receive and evaluate student work, to monitor progress, and to provide feedback and support.

Please contact your student’s teacher with any questions or concerns.

Homework Guidelines

K/1
Homework in K/1 serves two purposes: to promote daily reading at home, and to provide authentic learning opportunities connecting school to home.

Daily reading (15 minutes or more) may look different for individual children. For some it is letter recognition, matching sounds to letters or sounding out words. For others it will be reading books chosen to provide practice at their appropriate level. Some children may even be reading independently. Daily reading may also include family read alouds.

Other homework opportunities, occurring with less regularity, may integrate math, science or social studies. Family Math, Science Backpacks, and classroom journals are examples that support classroom learning in a way that involves the child with his or her world through discovery, play and community.

2/3
Homework serves as a connection between school and home. In the 2/3 program, homework offers students the opportunity to work independently while practicing skills learned at school. It is our goal that, through the use of planners, students will learn to organize their time and keep track of their responsibilities. Planners will also serve as a communication tool between teachers and families. We request that planners be signed by parents and brought to school daily.

Types of homework typically given in 2/3 include reading for a minimum of 15 minutes per day and writing and/or math. Homework is typically given on Monday and due on Friday. Various other projects will be assigned periodically. Homework should not take more than 30 minutes per day and will be individualized when appropriate. Of course, this will be communicated with parents.

4/5
Homework is an extension of in-class learning. It is a mixture of practice, review, and creative projects. Students will continue to use planners to organize assignments. Homework is sent home on Friday and is usually due the following Friday. Parents are asked to look at planners over the weekend and help students organize their week. We expect that once the habit is formed, the students will work independently, unless otherwise specified.

Types of homework may include: spelling, reading, math, writing, science, social studies, research and other fun stuff. Homework will take approximately five hours per week. This includes 2 or more hours of reading per week.

Middle School
At the middle school level, daily homework provides an opportunity for students to practice new skills independently, to gain new information or time to work on projects, and to prepare for the following day’s lesson or lab. The middle school team works diligently to ensure that our students are completing no more than 1.5 hours (including reading) of schoolwork at home each day. We regularly provide between 30-60 minutes in homeroom daily to work on assignments in an effort to assist students with questions and their development in literacy while they are at school. In our middle school intensive classes (math, science, history, and Spanish), we also do our best to provide students 15 minutes to begin the night’s daily practice and/or preparation. Our hope is that students will use this time to begin their work in class with assistance from middle school teachers. We also offer an in-school study hall class option. The following general outline of homework is subject to adjustment in the case of shortened weeks, individual needs, and unique circumstances.

Types of middle school homework typically given (Monday through Thursday):

Times below reflect student time working at home and at school.

Homeroom
Independent reading (might include reading for history, science, or homeroom) 30 min.

Writing (ongoing projects, word study, poems, current events, reading notebooks) 30 min.

Math
Daily independent practice 20-30 min.

Science or History
Background reading to prepare for in-class activities and/or projects 20-30 min.

Spanish
Daily language practice 15 minutes

In preparation for exams, homework time for students will increase. On test days, there often is no new homework assigned for that subject on that evening. Also, on weekends, students are expected to complete some homework in order to finish the previous weeks’ work or to get started on the following week’s activities.

Parents are encouraged to spend a few minutes each day or week (as developmentally appropriate) to review their child’s student planner. We encourage you to do this with your student present as it provides an opportune time to learn about your child’s educational day/week. Our hope is that over the course of a student’s academic career, they will learn to manage their time and schedules effectively with this tool.

If you find your student is regularly spending more than 2 hours each night on homework, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher.