How much homework ?

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Rinette
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2010 6:29 pm
Location: Chelmsford

How much homework ?

Post by Rinette »

I realise it depends very much of the child, its academic level as well as its background, and other factors.
but I am wondering, on an average, how much homework is expected for a child starting to prepare the 11 + examen in year 5 (child attending a state school, with no other 11+ preparation except at home).
Probably the tutors here have a good idea of, in general, how much homework/work is to be set. Even if that may varied obsviously.
Thanks !
Rinette
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2010 6:29 pm
Location: Chelmsford

Re: How much homework ?

Post by Rinette »

Oh... Not a lot of reactions to my question :lol: . Maybe it is the typical silent that we all meet around the 11+ :? ?
Joking apart, I am asking the question because my child has been set 2h of homework per day, every day. He is in year 5, with quite a decent academic level, starting to work on the 11+ preparation now in view of the exam in Nov 2011.
I do not know if it is me, naive, who think it is a crazy target to make children works 2 hours per day solely for the 11+ or if it is standard and I am just completly out of touch of what is expected. :?:
Ed's mum
Posts: 3310
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:47 am
Location: Warwickshire.

Re: How much homework ?

Post by Ed's mum »

Two hours per day sounds excessive to me. Who is setting the work?
Rinette
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2010 6:29 pm
Location: Chelmsford

Re: How much homework ?

Post by Rinette »

His tutor. The homework is strictly set, every day, going through the different Bond papers and other reference books' exercices.
To be honest, my son is motivated and very keen to put an effort toward the 11+ preparation but I cannot see how a child of this age can have the stamina, and the physical time to comply with such an expectation. Except if he becomes a '11+ robot' with nothing else in his mind and life. And this is, in my opinion, not something to be wished for.
pheasantchick
Posts: 2439
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:28 pm

Re: How much homework ?

Post by pheasantchick »

Two hours per day sounds excessive, especially a year before the exam. My son had probably an hour per week for for most of the year, and then something most days during the final month or two. It wasn't two hours per day - probably an hour at the most.

Also, he didn't do papers until much nearer the exam but did relevant work to the 11+.
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: How much homework ?

Post by yoyo123 »

2 hours is definitely too much if you ask me especially on top of school work and with a year to go

I usually set a paper or some practice questions each week, whole papers nearer the time and e-mailed link for a game or two for vocab and maths practice.
2Girlsmum
Posts: 1034
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:41 pm

Re: How much homework ?

Post by 2Girlsmum »

I think that there is a danger he will come to resent the work if it is taking up so much time. It obviously depends which exams will be taken, when and current scores, but with at least 10 months to go I think that most would consider it excessive.

Everyone has their own approach but we worked on the areas which needed the most work first. Her Maths tests were tough ones - beyond Y6, so we gave our daughter a 2hr Maths lesson mid-week from Christmas in Y5. We also worked on her weakest subject, English, on Saturdays for a few hours each week. I worked through the 'how to do' books on VR and NVR, then did Bond 10-minute tests age 9-10 for an hour or two combined weekly. Later we introduced IPS. Walsh, Nfer, Letts, Susan Daughtrey, Athey, AE Publications, Smiths KS2 and Schofield and Sims books as Bond isn't the level required to do well in the tests, and the style/types covered were partially wrong for our area which is Nfer/GL assessment based.

I think that what you concentrate on first/most depends on your son. We knew our dd was naturally good at NVR, so we didn't do more than 1 hr weekly/fortnightly on it until a couple of months before her first test. We then spent several hours weekly on it as the first test was Latymer NVR, sat by 1700 children but only passed by approx. 500 and a score of well over 70/80 was required.

I would avoid the test papers until a couple of months before the test as they can be daunting, and if you are like us you will be hunting the internet for new ones as the IPS/Daughtrey/Bond/Nfer/Letts/Habs/NLCS ones have all been done!
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: How much homework ?

Post by yoyo123 »

I set a paper to begin with, just to find out what the weak areas are. Also do a weekly mental maths test but stress that it is to show up places where I can help. Each lesson is planned to address any problems from previous lessons and I try to make it as much fun as possible. Nearer to the test we do full papers , but start by working through some together.
Jules7
Posts: 248
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:55 pm

Re: How much homework ?

Post by Jules7 »

2 hrs per day :shock:
Obviously it depends on the child but I think our DD would have come to resent that level of work every day for such a sustained period. It's a balance between giving them the techniques and practice that will help them get 90%+ in 50 mins and avoiding burn out.
What we did was enrol her on a 12 pupil class taught course that focused on the 21 types of Q in the Bucks test from the Jan and which was 1.5 h per week + once a week homework that took less than 1h. We went down this route to keep home separate and also because my DH and I have busy jobs. DD liked the class environment as I think it was less intense. We only started to do timed papers in the summer but found it essential to do these extra at home in the last few weeks in the run up. Each child will have their own strenghths and weaknesses - DDs was most definitely to gallop too quickly have 20 mins to spare but have made a number of silly mistakes. So I think it's important to focus on what your actual child needs.

Good luck in resolving your dilemma.
Rinette
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2010 6:29 pm
Location: Chelmsford

Re: How much homework ?

Post by Rinette »

Many thanks for these informations.
It is always interesting todo a bit of benchmarking, to have an idea of what can be considered as standard...
It is my number 1 priority to keep my children happy and well-balanced, 11+ or not, and I will carry on listening to my mum's heart :wink: ...
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