At Graham School ‘homework’ is referred to as Independent Study.
It is expected that all students complete their Independent Study as part of their learning journey in each subject area. As part of Independent Study, students can be asked to undertake one of the following tasks:
- Research and Read
- Revise and Revisit
- Rehearse and Refine
Independent Study tasks will be linked to the learning that is taking place in lessons. Students will be rewarded for completing Independent Study tasks.
Tasks and resources will be accessible to all students and differentiated to support SEND students where appropriate.
The frequency of Independent Study tasks will depend on the subject area and the amount of curriculum time a student has in that area. Practical subjects and the Arts subjects may set ‘rehearsal and refine’ tasks. Whilst subjects like English and History may require students to ‘research’ topics or to ‘read’ texts in advance of their lessons.
Revise and Revisit
Revise and Revisit tasks will be set as Independent Study for all students in advance of their assessments. This is important to ensure that we build students’ academic resilience and ability to revisit their learning and prepare for examinations. All students will be taught how to revise independently to support them with the preparations for their assessments or examinations.
Our Independent Study tasks are often set on Google Classroom. Below is a video to support students and parents in understanding how to use Google Classroom; however, paper copies can be provided for those students who struggle to access digital work.
Students can access the library during some of their social time and after school, where they have access to a computer, chrome book, fiction texts and non-fiction texts. Please encourage the use of this resource. It may be possible to support students with their Independent Study by lending them a Laptop or Chrome book.
Google Classroom Tutorial for Students & Parents
Sparx Maths & Science
Sparx Maths & Sparx Science are the platforms that we use to support students’ progress in Maths & Science. Sparx Maths and Sparx Science set students Independent Study tasks that are designed to meet the needs of the individual learner, with exactly the right amount of challenge and support. Below is a video to remind students how to log into Sparx Maths as well as a video to support parents/carers in understanding how Sparx Maths works.