Home Learning

English

For each week, there is an activity to complete with a set of reading-focused questions linked to the themes students are studying in their English lessons. The aim of the ELT is to continue to develop independent reading and summarising skills of both fiction and non-fiction texts, alongside promoting wider reading around the topics being taught in lessons.

Students need to complete one ELT per week and make sure they bring the ELT booklet with them to their English lessons in order for their English teacher to check their work.

Maths

The purpose of Homework in Mathematics is for students to consolidate previous learning to reinforce the cyclic nature of the Mathematics curriculum

This year we will be using Sparx Maths to complete weekly maths homework. Sparx provides a highly personalised weekly homework to students, tailored to their attainment level and working speed.

What is Sparx Maths Homework?

Sparx provides personalized homework to each child, with questions that are challenging yet achievable, and tailored to their learning needs.
The majority of each week's homework will be based on recently learnt topics, but it will also include some questions from previous topics to help reinforce their learning.
Students access their homework on their online Sparx account, where they’ll get immediate feedback for each question about whether their answer was correct or they need to have another try.
While homework is accessed online, it is predominantly a written homework and students should record their work in the back of their Maths workbooks. Sparx has a” bookwork checks” system to help students form this habit.
Every question in Sparx has a support video attached to that your child can get help independently.

How can you help your child with their homework?

Provide a quiet space for your child to focus on their homework each week.
Encourage them to start their homework early so they can get help from their teacher before the deadline if they get stuck. To ensure no gaps form in your child's maths knowledge, homework is not marked as complete until all of the compulsory questions have been answered correctly.
Check the weekly email you’ll get from Sparx and praise your child for starting or completing their homework. Encourage them to finish it before the deadline if they haven’t already done so.
Try not to help your child with a question until they’ve had a go first. It is essential they try to complete their homework independently so that Sparx can give them questions that are at the right level for them. Remember they can watch the support videos if they need to.

We hope you agree that Sparx will play an exciting and important role in growing your child’s understanding, success and confidence in maths.

Humanities

KS3 History

Throughout their KS3 journey, Aston Academy Historians will be set a range of home learning tasks on a weekly basis. Students will be given paper copies for some tasks, with others being found and completed on Google Classroom. A weekly schedule will also be provided in students’ books and posted on Google classrooms, along with all home learning instructions and resources.

The aim of the home learning is to allow students to ‘Think like a Historian’.

This will include a range of tasks, including and not limited to:

Read like a Historian – Reading news articles, passages and sources and decoding information
Write like a Historian - Practicing written communication through means of answering enquiry questions
Watch like a Historian - Expanding cultural capital and awareness of historical events through documentaries and informative videos
Revise like a Historian - Revising using a variety of different methods in order to understand how to revise effectively
Create like a Historian - Producing and working on projects to develop creativity and apply historical knowledge holistically

GCSE History

As part of the GCSE History course, students will be expected to complete home learning tasks on a weekly basis. These will form a vital part of the course, providing students with an opportunity to expand, develop and retain the knowledge and skills gained in History lessons. Students will be given paper copies for some tasks, with others being found and completed on google classrooms. A weekly schedule will also be provided in students’ books and posted on google classrooms, along with all home learning instructions and resources.

The aim of the home learning is to allow students to ‘Think like a Historian’, achieve their potential in GCSE History and develop as well-rounded individuals.

GCSE History will follow the structure below, on a weekly basis:

Historical Knowledge: Task based on recalling key historical knowledge
Historical Skills: Task based on practising historical skills such as source inferences and interpretations
Historical Context: Tasks based on wider reading and watching, to expand on knowledge gained in lessons
Historical Application: Tasks which will enable students to apply knowledge to a GCSE style questions, to develop their confidence and practice exam structures

Historical Retention and Retrieval: Tasks based on revision and recall of knowledge learnt in lessons, to support retention and develop students’ knowledge of different revision techniques.

KS3 Geography

Throughout their KS3 journey, Aston Academy Geographers will be set a range of home learning tasks on a weekly basis. Students will be given paper copies for some tasks, with others being found and completed on google classrooms. A weekly schedule will also be provided in student’s books and posted on google classrooms, along with all home learning instructions and resources.

The aim of the home learning is to allow students to ‘Think like a Geographer’.

This will include a range of tasks, including and not limited to:

Read like a Geographer – Reading news articles, passages and sources, and decoding information
Write like a Geographer- Practicing written communication through means of answering enquiry questions
Watch like a Geographer- Expanding cultural capital and awareness of Geography in the real world through documentaries and informative videos
Revise like a Geographer- Revising using a variety of different methods in order to understand how to revise effectively
Create like a Geographer- Producing and working on projects to develop creativity and apply geographical knowledge holistically

GCSE Geography

As part of the GCSE Geography course, students will be expected to complete home learning tasks on a weekly basis. These will form a vital part of the course, providing students with an opportunity to expand, develop and retain the knowledge and skills gained in Geography lessons. Students will be given paper copies for some tasks, with others being found and completed on google classrooms. A weekly schedule will also be provided in student’s books and posted on google classrooms, along with all home learning instructions and resources.

The aim of the home learning is to allow students to ‘Think like a Geographer’, achieve their potential in GCSE Geography and become well rounded global citizens.

GCSE Geography will follow the structure below, on a weekly basis:

Geographical Knowledge: Tasks based on recalling key geographical knowledge and case studies
Geographical Skills: Tasks based on practicing geographical skills such as maps, maths and graphs
Geographical Context: Tasks based on wider reading and watching, to expand on knowledge gained in lessons
Geographical Application: Tasks which will enable students to apply knowledge to a GCSE style questions, to develop their written communication and practice exam structures
Geographical Retention and Retrieval: Tasks based on revision and recall of knowledge learnt in lessons, to support retention and develop students’ knowledge of different revision techniques

Religion, Philosophy and Ethics

KS3 Religion, Philosophy and Ethics

In Religion, Philosophy and Ethics students will be expected to complete home learning tasks on a fortnightly basis. Home learning tasks will focus upon reinforcing, recapping (revising) and extending learning.

GCSE Religious Studies

As part of the GCSE Religious Studies course, students will be expected to complete home learning tasks on a weekly basis. Home learning tasks will focus upon reinforcing, recapping (revising) and extending learning that week.

GCSE Sociology

Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)

KS3

Because learning, embedding and then using key vocabulary independently is such an essential part of language-learning, we set a "learning" homework each week. This could be a short list of 10-20 words in Year 7, gradually building up to key phrases or even verb paradigms in Year 9. Students then receive a mini-test in lesson time, to assess their learning and are awarded a score. Teachers track the scores over time - not only to ascertain how the learning homeworks are being approached by students, but also to track overall progress.

Students in KS3 will also receive other styles of homework tasks weekly. These could be brief written pieces (consolidation of classwork), a research task or an online Google Quiz.

KS4

Students in the Triple Pathway or those who have opted to continue with a Modern Foreign Language will have high but realistic expectations upon them regarding their commitment to home-learning! Learning a foreign language successfully cannot solely be undertaken in the classroom: it does call for some additional and independent revision and on-going practice.

The vocabulary tests introduced already in Key Stage 3 continue therefore, but are enhanced by longer, GCSE-style written tasks alongside (often gone through first in class and then students are asked to draft their own written response independently outside of the classroom), past paper practice and general revision for the Speaking Test.*

* MFL teachers will provide a booklet of key questions based on the 3 GCSE Themes of: Family and Friends, Local, National and International Issues, Education and Future Career along with suggested answers in either French or Spanish. Gradually, students are required to revise these answers; building up their confidence, fluency, accuracy and understanding of how to answer potential key examination questions well before April-May of Year 11.

Drama

For KS3 students complete a quiz weekly based on the learning in class.

For KS4, students again complete a weekly quiz, based on section A of their written exam. This is to prepare them for the style and type of question they might get in the exam.