What you can expect for Homework at each grade-level

In accordance with our district policy, students can expect approximately 10 minutes of homework per grade level per night. Homework is not assigned over the weekends and students are not expected to work on ongoing projects over the weekends. In the primary grades, reading with your child is very important to building for success in school. We encourage and recommend parents read with their child nightly.

Homework is any assigned activity which is primarily accomplished outside of regular classroom time, has a definite relationship to the student's educational growth, is designed to reinforce classroom work, and is grade level appropriate. Homework shall not serve as a replacement for in-depth classroom lessons or teacher-directed instruction.

Purposes:

Homework is planned to serve one or more of the following purposes:

1. Development of independent study habits, organization, and disciplined use of time.

2. Completion of unfinished classroom work.

3. Make-up of schoolwork assigned during the student's absence.

4. Practice or review of content previously studied.

5. Application or extension of concepts taught in a preceding class.

6. Research related to classroom activities.

7. Reading on varied subjects.

8. Use of resources such as the library, museums, and electronic media.

9. Provision of optional or self-selected assignments based on student learning styles, interests and/or talents.

10. Increase parent awareness of the teacher's expectations and curriculum.

Homework will include, but is not limited to, the topics listed below:

Kindergarten: Occasional Short Homework

In kindergarten, you are recommended to read with your child every night. Engage them in conversations around the story such as funny moments, main characters, or major plot lines.

During the last trimester of school, your child will bring home a book bag that includes a picture book and a journal. They will have a week to listen/read this book and draw a picture in their journal about it before returning it back to school.

1st Grade: 10-20 Minutes

In first grade, parents are still encouraged to read with their child and engage them in conversations around the story.  However, students will also begin to have required independent nightly reading. Starting in November, books will be brought home from class each night.

Students are also encouraged to spend time exploring personal interests. 

2nd Grade: 20-30 Minutes

Second grade students have daily homework. Students should expect to see one math page per night that connects to the topic of the day.  (At times, this may be a review page covering multiple topics). In addition to daily math, students are required to read “just right” books for a minimum of 10-15 minutes daily.  Additional reading is encouraged! While there is no reading log required, students should reflect on the plot, characters, and main ideas of their stories. Students should practice the skills from their daily readers workshop lesson in their nightly reading.  Occasionally, students will have a specialty project that will need to be completed and returned by the given due date. 

Families are encouraged to discuss the weekly dinner table discussion questions that highlight all content across curriculum (can be found in weekly classroom newsletters).   

3rd  Grade: 30- 40 Minutes

By third grade, students are really building their independence and time management. Daily homework will vary, depending on what students are able to finish in class. (Students may be required to complete unfinished classwork at home as homework.)  They should read for a minimum or 20 minutes and discuss what they read. Students are expected to practice the skills from their daily readers workshop lesson in their nightly reading. Students will also have daily math homework (approximately 10 minutes). This may be finishing classwork, a practice page focused on the day's lesson, practicing math facts, or doing enrichment/review on Khan Academy.

Students and families are encouraged to discuss and reflect on current lessons and activities, including reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and other key activities from the day.

4th Grade: 40- 50 Minutes

Students have daily homework to continue strengthening  key learning, independence, and time management skills. Students will bring their red homework folder between home and school daily.

• Daily math page that correlates with the days work
• Daily Reading and journaling
  • Students are expected to read a minimum of 20-30 minutes every night
  • Student reading journals will travel between home and school
  • HW folders will include a note-taking ideas page. Please keep this page in either your child’s folder or near their home workspace.
• Periodic science/social studies assignments
• Additional optional work can be accessed through:
  • 4th Grade May Do Slides on Google Classroom
  • Apps through Clever

5th Grade: 50-65 Minutes

In fifth grade, students are assigned nightly homework on Mon-Thur with occasional long-term projects. These long-term projects are key opportunities for students to dive deeper into learning topics while simultaneously providing opportunities for collaboration, and developing pacing/organization skills. 

Nightly homework consists of a SF Math Homework page. Additional math practice is available on Khan Academy. By 5th grade, students should have a solid math-fact foundation. Any students still developing their math-fact fluency should also have daily math fact fluency practice.  In addition to daily math, 5th graders have daily Reading and Writing Workshop curriculum-based assignments. Furthermore, students should expect to read for a minimum of 30 minutes daily as part of their ELA curriculum and practice the skills from their daily readers workshop lesson in their nightly reading.

6th Grade: 60- 80 Minutes

In many districts, 6^th grade is a part of junior high, where students experience varying expectations for homework that depend on schedule, teacher, and project. Students must be flexible as they navigate balancing their schedules and completing assignments throughout the year. The goals of homework in sixth grade are to help students build responsibility, refine organizational skills, and improve accountability while reinforcing classroom learning, all while preparing for the rigors of the upper grades. 

Students can expect between 60 and 80 minutes of homework per day. Time during the school days is often provided for students to begin their independent practice with access to a teacher. In addition, students are encouraged to read a minimum of 30 minutes each night.

 Here is a generalized breakdown of a typical weekday’s homework:

• 20-30 minutes of Reading or Writing
• 15-25 minutes of Math
• 20 minutes of History or Science
• Music, Computer Science, Projects as needed