A STATEMENT ON HOMEWORK
Grades Three – Six

Homework can be defined as any work planned or approved by the teacher to be completed by the student outside of the regular classroom without the immediate and direct supervision of the teacher. Ideally, it is an exercise in independent study that will assist the student in comprehending new material and in building profitable work habits. These skills will be needed for success in life including future education and career achievements. Homework is not in any way busy work. It should be consistent with the age of the child and enhance the educational goals of the school for each student.
The teacher is responsible to know and understand what can be expected of a student at each grade level and age. Because students vary in maturity and ability, a time frame for student work can only be estimated by the average. The time given to homework, therefore, is a variable that will not be the same from student to student. The school can adjust work only for those students who have documented challenges to learning.
While we believe in the necessity and importance of homework, we also believe in the importance of time in a child’s day for relaxation, family time and extra-curricular activities. We strongly encourage parents to plan for positive alternatives to television and computer games for their children’s relaxation and free time.
Bible Center School defines four different types of homework activities:
1) Practice and Mastery Activities: This can be considered as normal homework. Practice and mastery activities would involve assignments given by the teacher for review of classroom instruction. Some assignments would involve drill and memorization such as weekly Bible verses and spelling words.
2) Preparation Activities: Activities in which the student is preparing for an examination or quiz would fall into this category. Students would not be expected to take more than two examinations in a given day. Quizzes are not examinations and primarily check students on their listening and participation in classroom teaching times. Quizzes also do not carry the same grading weight as exams and should not require lengthy preparation time.
3) Extended Activities: Extended activities would include projects, application of learned skills, research, and reading assignments that would take place over an extended time period (i.e. one week, six weeks, semester, etc.). Examples might include science and social studies projects, research papers, and longer reading assignments such as novels. The classroom teachers would monitor these activities periodically by setting reasonable time goals for levels of completion. Teachers would be responsible for complete instructions and time lines at the outset of the assignment. The student would need to learn to budget and plan their time wisely to meet these goals according to their home and activity schedule.
4) Missed Seat work: Class work that was not completed at school must be taken home to finish. Sufficient time would be given in class for most students to complete these assignments. However, if a student works slowly, or if a student is participating in an extra-curricular activity such as Drama or Piano, the student is responsible for the completed work. Students should work to keep this type of activity at a minimum (diligence!). Missed seat work should not be a regular part of the student’s homework assignment. Please contact the teacher if this is the case for your student.
Assignments and schedules will be kept in the student’s assignment book. Teachers may require a parent to review this book on a regular basis.