Homework in Ms. Luria's classroom

The research is actually pretty clear. Students gain very little when they do homework. Actually, according to a meta study by Hattie (1992) that reviewed 110 experiments on homework, it only raised achievement by 1%. 

What does raise achievement? 

• Taking notes raises achievement by about 35%. 
• Teaching students summarizing strategies and having them write summaries also raises achievement by 35%. 
• Reinforcing effort raises achievement by 20%. 
• (All of the statistics were taken from Classroom Instruction that Works.)

If for some reason you are involved in something else on a particular night and would like your child excused from homework, feel free to write me a quick note.  Family time always comes first, and your child probably learns more on an outing to the zoo, or a play than doing HW. Just let me know!

Thanks,

Welcome to 2nd/3rd grade

Dear Families,

    Welcome to 2nd and 3rd grade at Sabin. I am very excited to have your child in my classroom this year! My name is Sacha Luria and I have been teaching in PPS for the past 5 years.

Math
Because of the blended classroom, students will have walk to math 4 days a week. If your child is in 3rd grade s/he will receive math with other 3rd graders. Second graders will, at the same time, walk to other classrooms to receive math with other 2nd graders. I will be teaching the 3rd grader students math and will be supplementing the 2nd graders as needed during 3rd grade specials time.

Reading
Students will be grouped according to their needs and reading levels for reading on 4 days a week. Most students in the blend will stay with me during the reading time.

Specials
On Mondays all students have library.
On Thursdays all students have music.
All students will have PE on Fridays at 8:30. Please make sure students are ready to start their day with PE and are wearing gym shoes.

2nd graders also have:
Music on Wednesday and Art on Thursday.

3rd graders also have:
Art on Tuesday and Technology on Thursday.

Health and Wellness Break
Students will have a health and wellness break in the afternoons. If they want, they can eat a small snack during the break. They will also get a chance to move around outside. The break will be around 12:40 most days.

Homework
Students will have homework 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday. This will not start till the second full week of school. The homework should not take more than 20 minutes for 2nd graders and 30 minutes for 3rd graders. If your child has been working for the full amount of time and has not finished the homework, please just make a line and sign what they were able to do.

If your child finishes early, they should read for the remaining time. While we do not do a reading log in 2nd/3rd grade, the expectation is that students read every night.

Communication
I look forward to meeting each one of you! Feel free to email me at sluria@pps.net. You can also call the school and leave a message for me. Finally, I have a website you can check out. That website is www.kid-writers.blogspot.com.

I am looking forward to having a great year with your child!

Sincerely,


Sacha Luria