Reading
In Middle School, the ease with which children make academic progress is closely linked to their ability to decode and understand text. In addition to being able to access the curriculum, reading is a vital activity for expanding their vocabulary (one of the greatest predictors of success) and helping them to understand and internalise the devices and structures which authors use in their writing. We ask children to read for 15-20 minutes every day to support their reading development and this is by far the most vital part of their homework.
Doodle Maths
All children should be aiming to complete their daily stars on Doodle Maths each day, to keep themselves consistently in the 'Green Zone'. This usually equates to approximately 5-10 minutes each day.
Creative Curriculum Challenges
Children will receive a grid of different challenges linked to the broader curriculum they are studying in school. They should select one challenge each fortnight to complete, ensuring that they pick a different colour each time. The colours relate to the types of task, so for example written tasks may be yellow, while art and model based tasks might be blue.
Spelling
There are national lists for each year group of the words children are expected to spell correctly. Teachers will periodically check these through the year and let children know which ones they need to work on next. Children should work independently to learn to spell these words, practicing several times a week, but their teachers will be able to provide guidance and advice on different effective strategies for doing so.