Regular setting of homework is an essential element of the department’s work as pupils expect to be issued with homework and parents expect it to be issued. Homework can take a variety of forms and should be a meaningful exercise.
As part of the S1/2 Personal Reading programme, all students are set targets each week and we ask for a parental signature on their Reading Record to confirm that they have met their target. In addition, all S1/2 classes are issued with a homework task once a fortnight that is based on current class work or is a stand-alone task. These tasks are completed in dedicated homework jotters. As well as this, classes may be asked to complete re-drafts, research or preparation for a talk at home too.
In S3, homework can include preparation for Close Reading Assessments, re-drafts of Critical Essays, preparation for timed Critical Essays or completing work begun in class. As a general rule, S3 can expect some homework once every fortnight.
In S4 and S5/6, we encourage students to actively read ‘Comment’ or ‘Opinion’ sections of quality newspapers and complete questions on these. Sometimes students will be issued articles and sometimes they will be required to find them for themselves. Learning quotations as part of revision is fundamental to success at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher and students are also encouraged to undertake their own writing of Critical Essays under timed conditions as part of their own revision.
