Transitional Kindergarten

No homework is assigned.  

Kindergarten

Parents are encouraged to read to their child daily.  

First Grade

Homework will begin after the fall holiday in October. First graders have a book-shopping day once a week during Reading Centers, during which they will choose their "just right" books for the week. Each day, the child will select a book to take home to read aloud to a family member. Our goal is for fluency and comprehension; students may choose books they have already decoded and are reading again or they may choose an unfamiliar book they will read for the first time at home and then read again at school until they read it at an appropriate pace with intonation. Suggestions for comprehension questions and book talk conversations will be added later in the year and math homework will be sent home occasionally. Some at-home projects include designing homemade Valentine's Day cards and leprechaun traps for St. Patrick's Day.  

Second Grade

Second graders are expected to read at least 15 minutes aloud to an adult each day. Every week or so students may be expected to work on one or two pages of math homework tied to our Investigations Math Program curriculum. The spelling homework provides practice to prepare children for weekly, or later in the year, bi-monthly spelling tests.  

Third Grade

Third graders are expected to read out loud to a family member or to themselves for 20-25 minutes per night. Additionally, third graders average 30 minutes per night working on math, spelling, and a weekly project, such as an interview, survey or some other activity related to the thematic unit they are studying in class.  

Fourth Grade

More independence is expected of fourth graders. An average of 45 minutes to one hour, or one class period, is expected nightly. 20-30 minutes of independent or partner reading and 15 minutes of touch-typing occur regularly. In the fall, short-term, one-day assignments are given. More extended projects like PIP take the most time later in the year. At times, students are asked to create their own homework.  

Fifth Grade

Homework in fifth grade will be approximately 25 to 45 minutes each night, on average, Mondays through Thursdays. It will normally consist of math Investigations work related to what we’ve looked at in class that day, as well as a combination of social studies, writing, or specified reading material. There will be times when fifth graders will be asked to do some internet research as part of their homework, or will need to type up their writing. Peer editing, partner work, and group projects will also play an integral role in the fifth grade curriculum, and students will be asked to complete portions of their projects from home.  In addition to homework assignments, students in fifth grade are asked to read 20 to 30 minutes per night.  

Sixth Grade

In sixth grade students should expect an average of an hour of homework per night. This work will be designed to check for understanding, inform curriculum and prepare students for activities and discussions during the class period. Sixth grade teachers will be in communication about due dates for larger projects to ensure students are not overwhelmed. Teachers will also work closely with students to help them budget their time and break down larger projects into manageable pieces.          

Seventh Grade

By the time students reach seventh grade, we aim to provide an average of 70 minutes a night between all middle school subjects. Because this figure is variable, teachers coordinate due dates for larger assignments so that no one has too much due at the same time. Homework will always be meaningful, and meant to reinforce concepts covered in class, prepare for discussions, provide adequate practice where necessary, and complete long term projects or assignments that range over a few class periods  

Eighth Grade

Eighth graders at PHS can expect to do between 75 and 90 minutes of homework per night. Homework includes everything from short daily assignments, which stress practice of skills learned in class, to research and completion of components for long term projects.  Students are expected to keep and maintain their short term and long term homework assignments in their homework planners. Additionally, students can access assignments and due dates on the 8th Grade Class Homework page, located on the PHS main site.    

Special Subjects

Occasional homework in music, art, performance or PE may also be given.