At Lees Brook Academy we feel it is important to set about making excellent progress in your child’s learning by reinforcing crucial information beyond the classroom. Research indicates that the most effective homework for younger students is carefully organised and monitored. To help structure this important aspect of their learning they are issued with a knowledge organiser. Most of the homework set by staff will be primarily based around the use of knowledge organisers.
Students from Years 7 to 10 will normally be expected to complete homework for two subjects per evening from Monday to Friday. This is 30 minutes per subject. This will be checked by classroom teachers each work. Positive points will be rewarded for completing your homework, with another positive for exceptional work. Where students might not complete the homework, they will receive a 30 minute detention per subject.
What is learning?
A big part of learning is about moving knowledge into your long term memory and then retrieving/using this knowledge. Just reading, or highlighting, information does not make our brains work hard enough. We must practise remembering things. Knowledge organisers can be used for retrieval practice (practising remembering things). Regular retrieval of knowledge helps us remember more effectively with our long term memory.
What is a knowledge organiser?
A knowledge organiser is a document that contains powerful knowledge and information you will need to have a basic knowledge and understanding of a topic. A knowledge organiser will not include every piece of knowledge on a topic; it will include knowledge needed to understand the main points. Your knowledge organisers will include the most powerful knowledge about the topic that provides a springboard to developing deeper knowledge within lessons.
How will I use knowledge organisers?
You will complete, on average, one hour of knowledge organiser homework per evening. You will use your knowledge organisers for most of the homework that is set by your subject teachers. You will also be tested in your lessons on knowledge from your organisers through retrieval.
What homework tasks might I be asked to complete?
Below are some possible tasks you could complete using your knowledge organisers, no matter which task you do you should always check and correct your work/answers in a different coloured pen.
- Ask someone to write questions for you
- Write your own challenging questions and the following day, answer them
- Create mindmaps
- Create flashcards
- Put keys words and vocabulary into new sentences
- Look, cover, write and check key words/ spellings
- Create mnemonics
- Draw a comic strip/story board of a timeline
- Use the ‘clock’ template to divide the information into smaller sections. Then test yourself on the different sections
- Give yourself spelling tests
- Definition tests
- Draw diagrams to make connections to key information
- Draw images and annotate/label with extra information
- Create fact files
