With the exception of Friday's, students will routinely have approximately 30 - 60 minutes of homework a day. Often, students are given time in class to begin assignments. If your child is working longer than this at night, it might possibly be because they are choosing not to use their class time appropriately. If you feel their time spent on homework is becoming too much, please feel free to contact me to discuss the situation. Please refer to the homework page for a more detailed explanation of my homework policy.

Yes - I expect each student to read every night for at least 10 - 20 minutes. Part of this time should be spent reading aloud. Reading aloud helps a students' reading fluency improve greatly, which in turns helps build reading comprehension skills. Have your child read to you or take turns reading together. Students can read to a younger brother or sister. I expect fourth graders to be reading a minimum of 2 books each trimester. Each student will be given an individual reading goal at the beginning of the year. This goal is set by the teacher and will be adjusted either higher or lower as needed. After each book is completed, students will be expected to completed an Accelerated Reader quiz to show that the material was comprehended.

I believe that if a student completes something too easily, then they aren't being challenged quite enough - however, I don't want any child spending hours working on something that is causing them difficulty. I believe that if after 30 minutes of diligently working of something, if they still don't understand the material, then send a parent note into school the next day stating that the student tried to complete the assignment but was unable to because they didn't understand it. I will make sure I work with the student on that assignment or concept to help them to learn it.

You can find copies of letters and informational packets that I sent home with students available to download on my Important Documents page.