Brain BuildersBrain BuildersBrain BuildersBrain BuildersAn new approach to An new approach to providing effective providing effective

homework at homework at

Wessex Primary SchoolWessex Primary School

Our aim• To improve the quality and

effectiveness of homework tasks• To extend learning by linking

homework to activities completed in the classroom

• To make homework something that children can take control of, actively engage with and take pride in

Scan 1, act of memorising (visual images).

Scan 2, act of recall

Scans 3 and 4, Processing information, comparison, decision making.

The results of the experiment were reported in November 2000

The benefit of thinking skills

What’s so great about Brainbuilders….?

• They encourage individualism and independence• They enable you to see the world from the child’s

perspective• They’re fun • They are driven by the child and not the teacher• They challenge the children and bring them

together • They develop and extend children’s

independence of learning• Children take control of, actively engage with and

take pride in their own learning

How will we achieve this?

• Children will receive their Brain Builder and then have a week and a half to work through the task(s)

• Brainbuilder tasks will still be supplemented by regular reading, word and number work

• There will be opportunities during school time to review, share and discuss Brain Builder tasks

• Brain Builders will be high profile and high status in school

So, what does a ‘Brainbuilder’ look like?

This system is used in many schools up and down the country with huge

success and positive comments from children, parents and

teachers….they are as good as the children want them to be….

Year R

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 4

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

NAME: ________________ DATE:

BRAIN BUILDERPARENTS:

•Familiarise yourself with your child’s ‘Brain Builder’.•Attend a meeting that explains about the Brain builder and what it means: •14th September at 3.30pm and 6pm.

CHILDREN:•Cover your ‘Brain Builder Book’ in a way that tells us the important things about you. Make it your own and make your name clear!

THINK ABOUT:•Photos, words, pictures, memories, clippings, what you do / don’t like, family, pets, etc…but make sure it will last!

This Week’s Words:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Predicted Actual

This Week’s Reading:

Session Signed?

10 mins

10 mins

10 mins

10 mins

10 mins

10 mins

This Week’s Number Work:

Parent Comment:

What will it involve?• Brain Builders will come home on a

Wednesday, to be returned to school a week and a half later (on a Monday), when they will be shared in class and seen by teachers

• The Learning Objective(s) will be clearly stated and linked to the learning happening in the classroom

• Some suggested activities and ways to approach the task will be offered – this will be at a level that reflects the age and needs of the individual child

The rest is down to you and your child!

Brain BuilderLO: Learning to tell the time

Make something that someone else could use to learn to tell the time. It could be a clock, a game, a poster, a leaflet, a set of instructions or anything else you can think of.

Bring your work to school by Monday of next week

How can you support your child?

• Give children time to talk about what they have to do – just the process of explaining and discussing the task will help your child to understand.

• Offer ideas on how to present the work.

• Give children a space to work which is away from other distractions.

How can you support your child? (continued)

• Give homework a high status in your house and make it a priority.

• Try to set aside specific homework times/evenings – and make time to work with your child.

• Ensure that some days are homework free.• Reward excellent work.• Remind your child that there may not be a

‘finished point’

What can we include?

• We will be encouraging the children to be as creative with their homework as possible.

• They can complete these tasks in any way they want to as long as it is broadly based on the theme of the Brain Builder.

• The children can do as many or as few of these suggestions as they wish, or they can make up their own.

They could…

• Draw pictures• Label them• Take photographs• Write lists• Stick in food labels• Research from books or

the internet• Write a poem or story

• Interview a family member

• Make a collage• Cut pictures out from

magazines• Make a model• Draw a diagram• Draw a graph /

pictogram• Conduct a survey…or anything

else they can think of!

• They can display their work in their book however they wish – painted, coloured, in different types of writing implement (e.g. gel pens, biros), in collage, …

• They can include any work they would like to – poems, stories, information, plays, facts, instructions, interviews with family members, lift the flaps, pockets with letters in, pictures cut out from newspapers and magazines, ...

How much homework should my child get?

RECEPTION•Children in the Foundation Stage are not included in the DCSF guidelines for homework and therefore formal homework is not given.

•The main focus is on the enjoyment and thrill of developing reading techniques and the learning of phonics (sounds) of the letters and words.

•This work is judged on an individual basis and is normally most successful when the teacher and parents liaise closely as to the next step.

• To develop this further, some Brainbuilder tasks will be set as the year progresses.

YEARS 1 and 2: 90 minutes

• Children in these year groups will get a suggested range of homework to include reading, phonics activities and Brainbuilder tasks.

• The suggested amount of time for this should equate to about an hour a week.

YEARS 3 and 4: 2 Hours

• The range of homework will include regular reading and Brainbuilder tasks.

• The suggested time for these year groups is about an hour and a half per week.

• Little and often is best practice – reading and spelling will still be a constant feature.

YEARS 5 and 6: 3 Hours

• The range of homework should still include regular reading and comprehension questions to extend understanding of the text and the purpose of the author, as well as Brainbuilder tasks.

• Working on these throughout the week is good practice and preparation for secondary school.

What about spellings?• A list of age expected spellings is in the front

of the book• Encourage children to check the list for words

they need to spell or look in a dictionary• Specific spelling patterns or topic words will

be added to the brainbuilder sheets• Encourage your children to practise their

spellings using the Look, Cover, Write, Check method, and writing sentences to include the words or drawing a picture also helps to check understanding

What if we are stuck for ideas?

• Borrow books from the local library• Use the Internet if you have it (or

your child could ask to use it at school)

• Look at the world around you• Ask another parent from your class• Ask your child’s class teacher!

• The aim of this work is to encourage our children to become more independent learners, be motivated in their own learning and also to enable them to make links in their learning.

• Adult input is encouraged but please don’t do the work for them! Rather; prompt, guide, suggest and help the children to research.

What do teachers say?

''Definitely one of the best things I've done in 20 years. There they all were, these little Y2s,  on the playground at 8.45 yesterday comparing work they'd done over the weekend!''

What do children say….?

• “Hello. my name is Mason. I like doing my learning log at home and I persevere with it when the going gets tough. I'm really proud of the work that I did on plants. I Made a bee that moves from flower to flower carrying pollen.”

• “Hi. My name is Reneece. I like doing my homework in my learning log because it's fun. I can stick lots of things in and use lots of colour. I'm really proud when my teacher tells me that it's good.”

• “You can make them bright and colourful. It makes it more exciting and you want to do it.”

What Now?• Brain Builders are a partnership between

school and home. For them to be effective everybody needs to be working towards a common aim. Good quality homework will help us to achieve ‘success for all’

• Pupils will be given a Brainbuilder book and their first task will be to make a cover for it……a unique book for their unique learning journey

Working together• There will be an opportunity for parents to feedback

their thoughts about Brain Builders later in the year so that we can measure the impact on learning

• For some children, it will take a while to adjust – please encourage them during this time

• If staff feel that there are additional tasks that your child needs or if there are any concerns, we will discuss this with you

• If there is a demand for it, we may offer a ‘Brainbuilder Club’ for pupils to be able to do some of their work after school

• If you have any questions in the meantime please ask!!!

SKILLS FOR LIFE

Children will:•Be proud of their learning•Be eager to share•Develop learning life skills