homework is alot more difficult

MCMitten

DS has just started P6. He has brought his homework back today and I have to say the leap from P5 to P6 work has shocked me.

His book for reading is called 'The Silver Sword' and is about a group of kids having to survive alone when their mother is taken captive by the Nazis- we were still reading the likes of 'The killer cat':eek: The problem is he says the book is boring and from what we've read so far i'm finding it difficult to get into myself.

He has difficulty with writing (esspecially imaginative) and he's got a worksheet to acompany the book. On flicking through the booklet i've noticed some of the questions are alot more detailed than what hes been doing previously e.g. What was 'The Resistance'? What purpose did they have and how important a part did they play during the war? Use reference texts including I.T., if possible. I mean I dont even know what the I.T. bit is is that using the computer to get information? His first task is to write a first person account of the fathers escape from the Nazis- this will be a challenge for him.

Has anyone else suffered such a leap from one primary to the next and how do I keep him interested in a book that he is not enjoying?

jenhug

try reading it with him, a chapter at a time, and take the time to discuss what things mean, how he might have felt to live in the situation etc.

For what its worth my daughter and I have read the book and we both enjoyed it. I thought it was moving at times and thought provoking.

Spendless

Hi,my son has just got into yr6 (England) and this term's topic is WW2. It sounds like your son's is the same, so they'll be asking more questions cos it will form part of the whole course. If he's struggling with the book, I'd speak to teacher about it. IT stands for Information Technology, so yes it means use the computer

MCMitten

jenhug- It's nice to know that the book gets more interesting. I've just found it such a big leap from the kind of material he was doing last year. He can cope with the reading part but the workbook is going to be a little more difficult for him esspecially as writing is not his strongest point and he requires some support as he becomes quite frustrated when he's not able to do something (he has ADHD).

Spendless- He's not struggling with the reading of the book, I just think it's not the type of story he's used to reading and he cant quite get into it (lots of 'but it's BORING') They've not been told what their project for this year is as yet but if it is WW2 then it looks like i'm going to have to brush up on my history.

clairehi

Yes we've got WWII as well this year (Year 6) but they are reading Goodnight Mr Tom.

I would suggest you get on Wikipedia, its my first port of call for any homework research. You could also ask the teacher if they have any recommended websites for research that are suitable for this age group. In particular you might want to be careful about what sites he looks at in terms of details about the Holocaust.

You could also go to the library and look at kids' reference books. I'm sure there will be a Horrible Histories about WWII for a start. Boys seem to like those for some reason! That might help get him interested.

Spendless

My son is off to see Carrie's war at the theatre with his year as part of the course. I read the book around the same age. I've also told DS I will get When Hitler stole Pink rabbit out of the attic for him, as I also enjoyed that.
Check it is his topic though, before we have you off looking up all these things. Just in case this book is a one-off and really they are doing the life-cycle of a butterfly.:D :rotfl:

hitatotatus

To ease the boredom, try reading together and put on voices for each part. We have hilarious reads sometimes doing this - especially with the Yorkshire (Grandparents from near York, so I like the kids to remember them by using their accent!!) and my Scottish always ends up sounding Indian, but we do get through the books with a smile, even if it is serious material - in any discussion later you can put things into the proper perspective.

LondonDiva

Homework Help Web Sites

clairehi wrote: »

Yes we've got WWII as well this year (Year 6) but they are reading Goodnight Mr Tom.

I would suggest you get on Wikipedia, its my first port of call for any homework research. You could also ask the teacher if they have any recommended websites for research that are suitable for this age group. In particular you might want to be careful about what sites he looks at in terms of details about the Holocaust.

You could also go to the library and look at kids' reference books. I'm sure there will be a Horrible Histories about WWII for a start. Boys seem to like those for some reason! That might help get him interested.

Please don't encourage children to use wiki - it's fine as adults when you know the limits and potential inaccuracies. However, if they are trying to get him used to using online resources, it won't do him much good later down the line if he relies primarily on wiki.

There are good reference sites from Britannica; the BBC (some age appropriate like bitesize http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/bitesize;);and even the OU - try and have a look at some sites like the history channel and below:

Try Encarta (American bias) or buying one of their cds which are quite reasonable – an encyclopaedia on tap or even take him down to the library and get him to chat to the children’s librarian. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/homework
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/homework (American bias) http://www.topmarks.co.uk/ ; http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/authority.htm;
http://www.channel4learning.com/apps/homeworkhigh; history.
http://www.thehistorynet.com (American bias)

WolfSong2000

I don't reckon homework is that much more difficult than it used to be...when I was in year 6 (over 10 years ago now) our teacher was reading us Jeffrey Archer (12 Red Herrings - a book of short stories, if anyone's interested...God knows why I still remember that), and in year 7 it was a book wallked "Walkabout". I re-read it recently and only then did it hit me how downright *disturbing* that book is.

Anyhow, getting back to the point, in order to get your son engaged, why not encourage him to make a little WW2 project? You could do some research...maybe get a big piece of paper, write a basic timeline, and then encourage him to draw/write short passages about specific points of the war on the paper as well. That way he'll have something physical to show for his input, and it may help him get a better overall piture of what's going on, which could potentially help him understand the book more. It would also give him more to draw from to aid his imaginative writing.

My imagination is actually not all that great naturally, but because I read so much as a child, it opened a whole new world for me and gave me a basic grounding from which I could expand ideas and learn to create my own interpretation of things/improve my imagination.

Check out an author called Michael Morpurgo. I'm sure he's written some books about the war, and he writes absolutely beautifully. To this day he remains one of my all-time favorite authors, and even as an adult (24 in a few days!) I still love reading his books.

LilacPixie

Go I read that book at primary school. pushing 20 years ago now, god i'm old!!!

ANyway I found it facinating and them moved on to reading goodnight Mr Tom and the diary of anne frank. That year seemed to revlve around rationing and DDay landing plus the battle of britain.

Keep going with your son, I understand its not the style of writing he is used to but it is a style he will be familiar with over the next 5-6 years so best to keep it in a positive light

OP if you are struggling with the course content/change could you be projecting negitivity onto your son? If so maybe brushing up on your WWII history together will help. Realy it is a very interesting time in history and there is so much detail and indeed many people have reletives with living memories of that time.

coolcait

LilacPixie wrote: »

Go I read that book at primary school. pushing 20 years ago now, god i'm old!!!

ANyway I found it facinating and them moved on to reading goodnight Mr Tom and the diary of anne frank. That year seemed to revlve around rationing and DDay landing plus the battle of britain.

Keep going with your son, I understand its not the style of writing he is used to but it is a style he will be familiar with over the next 5-6 years so best to keep it in a positive light

OP if you are struggling with the course content/change could you be projecting negitivity onto your son? If so maybe brushing up on your WWII history together will help. Realy it is a very interesting time in history and there is so much detail and indeed many people have reletives with living memories of that time.

Alas, Pixie, the 'Silver Sword' was being read by Primary schoolchildren long before you, a mere 20 years ago .

But, like you and other posters, I found that it moved me (well, I still remember it after all these years!) and it inspired me to read other books about/from the Second World War period.

OP, I understand that you're not finding this homework easy going. But there are some good suggestions on this thread, and I hope that you'll find some support/inspiration in there.