Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 08:01     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
As far as I can see, it's only for AAP at our school. My kid has a packet of language arts HW due on Mondays and mandatory review/studying for quizzes.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 07:57     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Me in elementary school

1. Spelling book with spelling words weekly
2. Math book with math problems weekly
3. Social studies book with reading questions weekly
4. Science book or worksheets or experiments with write ups
5. Writing prompts
6. Sustained silent reading

I’d say 1 and 2 were the consistent items that I had from 4th to 6th grade, probably even 1st to 3rd. Though early grades was phonics and cursive writing practice.

The thing that boggles me is that those things I had to do back in the late 80s/early 90s weren’t that hard. No I didn’t want to do them but I did.

Now it’s like omg my precious baby had to do 12 math problems one time one week out of 9 and it’s too much. And I just don’t understand really I don’t.

And you’re welcome to say I can’t remember what I did back in the day but on this I will call your bluff because I know darn well what was assigned to complete.


+1 to the weekly spelling/vocab lists. I remember having to look up and hand-write definitions for 10-20 words every week. Also daily math homework (select pages or problems from a textbook) and reading a certain # of pages/chapters from an assigned novel and/or social studies textbook. All of these things seem to have gone the way of the dodo.


+1
This is what is needed and why we stopped doing it is beyond me. Also reading for HW is fine but then teachers need to ask for log (book, page #) or book reports of some sort so kids show they are actually doing it.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 07:18     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
The practice of doing homework to learn on your own at a time you schedule is very beneficial for learning to do work on your own throughout your life. Its similar to learning to do chores.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 06:56     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Me in elementary school

1. Spelling book with spelling words weekly
2. Math book with math problems weekly
3. Social studies book with reading questions weekly
4. Science book or worksheets or experiments with write ups
5. Writing prompts
6. Sustained silent reading

I’d say 1 and 2 were the consistent items that I had from 4th to 6th grade, probably even 1st to 3rd. Though early grades was phonics and cursive writing practice.

The thing that boggles me is that those things I had to do back in the late 80s/early 90s weren’t that hard. No I didn’t want to do them but I did.

Now it’s like omg my precious baby had to do 12 math problems one time one week out of 9 and it’s too much. And I just don’t understand really I don’t.

And you’re welcome to say I can’t remember what I did back in the day but on this I will call your bluff because I know darn well what was assigned to complete.


+1 to the weekly spelling/vocab lists. I remember having to look up and hand-write definitions for 10-20 words every week. Also daily math homework (select pages or problems from a textbook) and reading a certain # of pages/chapters from an assigned novel and/or social studies textbook. All of these things seem to have gone the way of the dodo.


+1 Grew up in another country, homework was definitely a thing in elementary, assigned for each main subject after each class. Reading, arithmetics, foreign language - all of it requires repetition and a lot of it. Also, this is child's along time vs a book, a worksheet, etc., when you can move at your own pace.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2025 06:18     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:AAP 6th grader

Average of 1 paragraph writing, some reading, and ~20 math problems per night. It seems like a decently large amount (the math alone takes 45 minutes and he’s strong and quick) so I’m not sure if he’s not using class time appropriately or if this really is intended to all be homework. Several emails to the teachers have gotten no response :/


A kid strong in math is not taking 45 minutes to complete 20 math problems in 6th grade. Is he in Algebra? If that is left over from school he is either goofing off in class or over his head in the class.


Yes, algebra.

Last night was 20 multistep equations (distributive property, variables on both sides) requiring all work shown, then plugging in solutions to verifying them. 1 minute to write down the steps to solve and 1 minute to write down the steps to check doesn't seem too ridiculous to make it 2 minutes per problem IMO.

The night before was 42 (!!) 2-step equations with the same thing.

I agree with you if he isn't using class time wisely that is an issue, but he claims papers are handed out as they leave the rotation to go to language arts, that they aren't given time to do it at school. Teacher has not replied to any emails to validate that story.


This seems realistic, it is a high school level course even though your child is in elementary; and often times homework is passed out as they’re leaving the room.


We’ve been told to limit homework to 30 minutes per class at the high school level, FYI. Kids are also given two days to do it and a 90 minute study hall block to work on it.

45 minutes for 6th grade math (when they see the class every day, so 90 minutes every 2 days?) is three times what I can give my honors math students.

I will admit that it is hard to determine what constitutes 30 minutes as kids vary, but in practice I limit it to around 8 problems. If they can do it right 8 times that’s enough, and if they can’t do it right 8 times I want to intervene.


The timing is going to be different for a 11 or 12 year old in 6th grade doing math homework and a 14 or 15 year old doing math homework. A 6th grader might be able to grasp the concepts but need more time to complete the work because they have not developed those study skills yet, they don’t have the same amount of practice with homework and higher expectations. I would bet that there are 6th graders in Algebra who take 10 minutes to do the same problem set because they have been in enrichment classes that gave homework and have had to show their work. AoPS, RSM, Curie all assign homework. My DS has done AoPS and RSM, both programs say that the homework should take an hour but that was 1 class for the week.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 21:59     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Anonymous wrote:Me in elementary school

1. Spelling book with spelling words weekly
2. Math book with math problems weekly
3. Social studies book with reading questions weekly
4. Science book or worksheets or experiments with write ups
5. Writing prompts
6. Sustained silent reading

I’d say 1 and 2 were the consistent items that I had from 4th to 6th grade, probably even 1st to 3rd. Though early grades was phonics and cursive writing practice.

The thing that boggles me is that those things I had to do back in the late 80s/early 90s weren’t that hard. No I didn’t want to do them but I did.

Now it’s like omg my precious baby had to do 12 math problems one time one week out of 9 and it’s too much. And I just don’t understand really I don’t.

And you’re welcome to say I can’t remember what I did back in the day but on this I will call your bluff because I know darn well what was assigned to complete.


+1 to the weekly spelling/vocab lists. I remember having to look up and hand-write definitions for 10-20 words every week. Also daily math homework (select pages or problems from a textbook) and reading a certain # of pages/chapters from an assigned novel and/or social studies textbook. All of these things seem to have gone the way of the dodo.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 20:38     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Me in elementary school

1. Spelling book with spelling words weekly
2. Math book with math problems weekly
3. Social studies book with reading questions weekly
4. Science book or worksheets or experiments with write ups
5. Writing prompts
6. Sustained silent reading

I’d say 1 and 2 were the consistent items that I had from 4th to 6th grade, probably even 1st to 3rd. Though early grades was phonics and cursive writing practice.

The thing that boggles me is that those things I had to do back in the late 80s/early 90s weren’t that hard. No I didn’t want to do them but I did.

Now it’s like omg my precious baby had to do 12 math problems one time one week out of 9 and it’s too much. And I just don’t understand really I don’t.

And you’re welcome to say I can’t remember what I did back in the day but on this I will call your bluff because I know darn well what was assigned to complete.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 20:13     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
My AAP 3rd grader spends about 30m a day m-thurs on homework. So far has been 1-2 math worksheets and one critical reading passage. He loves it and so do I.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 16:44     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:AAP 4th grader does math homework at school, I've never seen it. He does language arts homework at home, it takes maybe 10 minutes. Grammar, proofreading, and comprehension. Read 30 minutes a night.

1st grader has a packet given Monday due Friday. Skip counting and writing some words a few times. It doesn’t take much time but I'd rather use that time to supplement more challenging items on my own. Then there is the reading log that's supposed to be filled out after reading each book, but she reads a lot and after going through several logs already, I think we're going to skip filling those out.


I thought the whole point was for it to be done at home so the parents actually see what the kids are working on in school.


While the teacher referred to it as homework at the open house, I think it's more of a "homework if not finished at school" type thing.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 16:40     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Anonymous wrote:My 4th grader gets one worksheet a day - usually math, sometimes social studies. It takes her 15-20 minutes. No change from last year.

I should have noted, this is AAP math.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 16:33     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:AAP 6th grader

Average of 1 paragraph writing, some reading, and ~20 math problems per night. It seems like a decently large amount (the math alone takes 45 minutes and he’s strong and quick) so I’m not sure if he’s not using class time appropriately or if this really is intended to all be homework. Several emails to the teachers have gotten no response :/


A kid strong in math is not taking 45 minutes to complete 20 math problems in 6th grade. Is he in Algebra? If that is left over from school he is either goofing off in class or over his head in the class.


Yes, algebra.

Last night was 20 multistep equations (distributive property, variables on both sides) requiring all work shown, then plugging in solutions to verifying them. 1 minute to write down the steps to solve and 1 minute to write down the steps to check doesn't seem too ridiculous to make it 2 minutes per problem IMO.

The night before was 42 (!!) 2-step equations with the same thing.

I agree with you if he isn't using class time wisely that is an issue, but he claims papers are handed out as they leave the rotation to go to language arts, that they aren't given time to do it at school. Teacher has not replied to any emails to validate that story.


This seems realistic, it is a high school level course even though your child is in elementary; and often times homework is passed out as they’re leaving the room.


We’ve been told to limit homework to 30 minutes per class at the high school level, FYI. Kids are also given two days to do it and a 90 minute study hall block to work on it.

45 minutes for 6th grade math (when they see the class every day, so 90 minutes every 2 days?) is three times what I can give my honors math students.

I will admit that it is hard to determine what constitutes 30 minutes as kids vary, but in practice I limit it to around 8 problems. If they can do it right 8 times that’s enough, and if they can’t do it right 8 times I want to intervene.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 15:42     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Anonymous wrote:The return of some homework is to be applauded. Homework is how diligent economically challenged kids get enough practice.


Exactly. Homework is actually good for hard working kids regardless of socioeconomic background. Bring it on.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 15:39     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:AAP 6th grader

Average of 1 paragraph writing, some reading, and ~20 math problems per night. It seems like a decently large amount (the math alone takes 45 minutes and he’s strong and quick) so I’m not sure if he’s not using class time appropriately or if this really is intended to all be homework. Several emails to the teachers have gotten no response :/


A kid strong in math is not taking 45 minutes to complete 20 math problems in 6th grade. Is he in Algebra? If that is left over from school he is either goofing off in class or over his head in the class.


Yes, algebra.

Last night was 20 multistep equations (distributive property, variables on both sides) requiring all work shown, then plugging in solutions to verifying them. 1 minute to write down the steps to solve and 1 minute to write down the steps to check doesn't seem too ridiculous to make it 2 minutes per problem IMO.

The night before was 42 (!!) 2-step equations with the same thing.

I agree with you if he isn't using class time wisely that is an issue, but he claims papers are handed out as they leave the rotation to go to language arts, that they aren't given time to do it at school. Teacher has not replied to any emails to validate that story.


This seems realistic, it is a high school level course even though your child is in elementary; and often times homework is passed out as they’re leaving the room.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 15:23     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
Anonymous wrote:AAP 4th grader does math homework at school, I've never seen it. He does language arts homework at home, it takes maybe 10 minutes. Grammar, proofreading, and comprehension. Read 30 minutes a night.

1st grader has a packet given Monday due Friday. Skip counting and writing some words a few times. It doesn’t take much time but I'd rather use that time to supplement more challenging items on my own. Then there is the reading log that's supposed to be filled out after reading each book, but she reads a lot and after going through several logs already, I think we're going to skip filling those out.


I thought the whole point was for it to be done at home so the parents actually see what the kids are working on in school.
Anonymous
Post 10/09/2025 14:33     Subject: FCPS hw in elementary
AAP 4th grader, just started getting 1-2 math worksheets per week (handed out Monday, due the following Monday) + expectation of at least 20 minutes of independent reading every night (not required to log at this point). No other LA homework. Math takes child ~10-15 minutes total and seems to be mostly review vice new concepts.