Parents' Frequently Asked Questions
How often will my child have science homework?
I only give my students homework when I feel it is a necessary part of students retaining information from class. Most often, this means they will receive homework in science about once a week. In any given week, it will be more or less than that. There is absolutely no reason a student cannot complete their science homework. If they are having trouble answering questions or completing an assignment, they must come in for help. Not doing part of a homework assignment doesn't mean they didn't understand it -- it only means they didn't attempt it.
How long will their science homework take to complete?
Every assignment is different, but usually homework will take NO MORE than 15 minutes to complete.
How can I find out if my child really does have science homework?
Check out the homework link on my website!! Anytime a class has homework, my homework page will be updated, along with the assignment's due date.
How long should my child study for quizzes and tests in science?
I routinely tell my students they should study for quizzes for 15-20 minutes, and for tests they should study 30-45 minutes the night before. But, it is very important that students make every effort to see me for morning help if they need it or if they simply want to review what will be on a quiz or test. Any morning I do not have a meeting to attend, I am free to meet with students in my classroom starting at 8:10.
Parent Resources
ESL students
http://cientec.or.cr/ciencias/experimentos/index.html
(This website gives parents access to a large number of science experiments that can be done at home, with all instructions and explanations in Spanish.)
Gifted and Talented students
http://scienceforfamilies.allinfo-about.com
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/sci-tech/scigs.html
(These sites give parents many ideas about projects and activities that can be done at home with students that need that extra challenge. The Kathy Schrock guide is a comprehensive list of projects and links to many different challenging activities.)
http://www.funderstanding.com/k12/coaster/
http://puzzling.caret.cam.ac.uk/game.php?game=roller
(The two sites above will lead you to an activity the seventh grade classes will be doing in science later in the year. They will work with the first site, manipulating forces to affect the motion of a roller coaster. With that information, we will move on to the second website, where they will work on a second roller coaster track to create a fun, interesting ride that is also safe. They will be graded using a rubric I created on RubiStar, and it can be found at:
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=1454836&
Special Education students
http://specialed.freeyellow.com