Home Learning and Homework Guidance for Students and Parents/Carers

From Monday 20th April, weekly homework tasks will be set by subjects that will link closely to the lessons that you will access via Teams (assignments). The homework that you submit will be marked and you will receive feedback from your designated teacher (this may not be the same teacher that you had before the school closure). The homework timetable attached gives detail of what subject will be setting homework each week. You should have 7 pieces to work on each week.

Year 7 and Year 8

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Period 1 English English English English English homework Period 2 Maths Maths Maths Maths Maths homework Period 3 Science Science Science Science Science homework Period 4 DT Art PE History Week 1: DT and Art

homework Week 2: PE and History homework

Period 5 Geography Drama Music RE Week 1: Music and Drama homework Week 2: Geography and RE homework

Year 9 and Year 10

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Period 1 English English English English English homework Period 2 Maths Maths Maths Maths Maths homework Period 3 Science Science Science Science Science homework Period 4 Option A Option B PE Option C Week 1: Option A

homework Week 2: Option B homework

Period 5 Option A Option B PE Option C Week 1: Option C homework Week 2: PE homework

*It is important that, as a parent, you ensure that any online support for your child is from a reputable organisation/individual who can provide evidence that they are safe and can be trusted to have access to children.

Homework will be set every Monday and will be due every Friday.

You are given a full home study day (Friday) in order to complete the tasks. You will see that for smaller subjects, you will submit one piece every two weeks. For larger subjects (like English) you will submit one piece every week. This work will then be marked by the following Wednesday and feedback will be provided.

All homework tasks (along with the lessons) can be found on Teams (assignments) and will be submitted back to assignments.

Work can be uploaded as a photo (for written work) or as a word document. There should be no need to print any work.

If you have any questions, please email me at abigail.price@e-act.org.uk

Monday Teacher sets homework tasks to assess the home learning that has been completed.

Friday Students submit homework via Teams (assignments) Sat/Sunday Teacher checks homework produced and updates register, informing

Subject Lead of those not completing. Wednesday Teacher sends out announcement on what went well and

improvements on previous week’s homework. Teacher sets new homework tasks for the following week.

How to Use Microsoft Teams Via Laptop/ PC

1. Open Google Chrome (not internet explorer) and open Office365. https://www.office.com/

2. Log in using your Heartlands Academy email. This will be your year of intake

followed by your full first name followed by the initial of your first name and year intake. E.g. 15abigailp – (15abigailp@heartlands-academy.org.uk).

3. The password will be the same as your computer logon.

4. Once you have logged on, click on Teams located alongside all the other applications

(Outlook, OneDrive, etc.) If it does not show, click on the small windows button (nine small squares) on the left-hand side of the screen, and then click Teams.

5. When you are in Teams, click on your subject group and locate the ‘assignments’

tab. Here you will find all of your lessons, for that subject, for that week and your homework task. Here is how it should look:

6. Once you have completed the homework task, it can be ‘turned in’ and then ‘graded’ (marked) by your designated teacher.

Four Week Subject Home Learning Plans

Here is an example of how the subject Home Learning four-week plan will look. This is a year 10 example for English (for week 1). All of the four-week subject Home Learning plan will be available on the website and your teachers will add them to your Teams groups. You will need to follow these plans carefully as they tell you exactly what you need to do and how much time you should spend doing it.

Week 1

What knowledge will be learned?

This week, you will learn how to spell some commonly misspelt tricky words, develop your dictionary and thesaurus skills whilst learning two new complex words, develop your vocabulary to ensure you are using ambitious words and how to infer and deduce using a set extract.

What vocabulary will be learned? Connective – Synonym – Antonym

How will this knowledge be developed and applied?

This week, you will be able to identify your strengths and weaknesses regarding commonly misspelt words, use at least two new words correctly, use your recall and comprehension skills as well as inference and deduction skills to dissect an extract ‘The Pet’. Finally, identify less imaginative words and replace them with ambitious words.

How long will each component take?

30 minutes – reading and learning how to spell the commonly misspelt words using the guidance. 10 minutes – reviewing the dictionary entry and how to use a dictionary and thesaurus. 20 minutes – finding two new words (low frequency words beginning with A and B), completing the dictionary entry for them and writing your own sentences. 30 minutes - using your skills from the dictionary and thesaurus pages to fill in the blanks in the table (finding interesting and ambitious words). 30 minutes – learning about root words and finding as many words as you can from the root word given. 10 minutes – reading the extract taken from ‘The Pet’. 40 minutes – completing the activities based on the extract. 10 minutes – highlighting and replacing any ambitious words you can find in the text. Homework: Complete the grid explaining why it is important to consider the items in the list. You will submit this completed sheet to your teacher.

How do this week’s home learning tasks build on prior knowledge and prepare for new knowledge?

This week’s home learning tasks are an introduction to transactional writing and reading (GCSE Language) and the need for extensive vocabulary in written pieces. This will help you as you will be asked to read texts with low frequency words which are complex and advanced; you will need to expand your vocabulary.

What is the timeframe for completion of home learning tasks and submission of homework? Follow the set timetable for you year group. You should spend 1 hour on each of your lessons. You should complete the homework task and submit it via Teams (assignments) to your designated teacher.

Where can I go if I need help with the home learning task or homework? If you have any questions or need further support or guidance, your designation teacher will be available to answer any queries via email daily at 9am and 2pm.