Homework Support

The New Zealand Curriculum is a wonderful, enriching curriculum which covers English, Maths, Science, Arts, Learning Languages, Health & PE, Social Sciences and Technology.  The Ministry of Education asks schools to report on reading, writing and mathematics; however, it is important to note that we aim to cover all areas of the curriculum each year.  To support your child, the following ideas may help.

Reading

Phase 1 (years 1 to 3) learners are learning to read

Phase 2 and 3 (years 4 to 8) learners are reading to learn.

As a school, we encourage whanau to check out the classroom site, which covers the learning that your child is doing in class.  Senior students (phase 2 and 3), which are years 4 to 8, have classroom sites that cover all curriculum areas, and you are able to see what they are doing in class. 

Below, we also have a range of online sites that you can access, which may support your child. 

We ask that your child do their reading each day.  This can be a book provided by the teacher (phase 1), which is for years 1-3.  There are books that can be accessed via a password with the LLLL site.  Books have been allocated to each child. 

You are also encouraged to enrich their literacy experience by talking to them about books and experiences.  You can read to them and discuss the author's purpose, what they think might happen next, etc. 

Literature is a range of text types, eg,  poetry, recipe, newspaper item, novel, non-fiction, research, etc. 

As your child moves through the school, they will be accessing a wider range of text types.  It has been scientifically researched that novels are important to build comprehension, fluency, understanding of the deeper meaning of text and the author's purpose for phase 2 and 3 learners (year 4 to 8).

Writing 

You are able to support writing in a number of ways:

• In the junior school - 

• correct pencil grip and 

• practicing correct formation of letters

• practicing writing correctly on the lines and appropriate sizes

• drawing ideas to then write simple sentences

• have fun and be creative!

• In the senior school

• look at a range of text that you can write - recount, narrative, report, diary, letter, recipe, novel, experiment etc

• aim to have good structure with an introduction, middle and end

• use the model of text in reading to then create your own writing 

• building on a range of deeper vocabulary, using a range of punctuation

• build up stamina to get ideas down and then write about them

• check spelling and letter formation is correct

•  have fun and be creative!

Helpful sites below

Math 

Support that you can provide in the way of increasing fluency of essential facts is helpful.  Students work through the curriculum to enable them to read, write and identify, notice and be inquisitive problem solvers.  Maths is a fun way to engage your child. 

Card games

Boardgames

Competitions of speed, fluency and solving number problems

Giving change from money transactions and banking for financial literacy

Estimating, guessing, thinking about "I wonder if..." problems

Below are some helpful sites.