Common Questions about the First Grade
by Vito Perrone Q: How much time should my child spend on homework each night? Q: Should my child use a computer? What's the right size for my child's class? Optimally, first-grade classrooms should have no more than 16 to 20 children. These early years are fluid; children's levels of learning vary widely. The more individual attention teachers can provide, and the more experiences they can facilitate for each child, the better. But as class size goes beyond 20, the potential for individual interaction decreases. My experience is that as class size reaches 24, 28, or 30 children -- which is, unfortunately, the norm -- the classroom becomes a less rich environment for each child. Teachers and parents need to become more vocal about the importance of class size in these early, most formative years. How much time should my child spend on homework each night? Most teachers do not assign much formal homework during these early years, but some homework could be useful, especially if it's interesting, goes beyond the daily school activities, and can be done with a parent. A first-grader might receive these homework assignments: First-graders should not have homework that takes more than 20 to 30 minutes. Longer assignments--or none at all--are worth asking the teacher about. Should my child use a computer? While many children are using computers at home at age 5 or 6 and some schools have computers in the classrooms, I do not view them as essential at this level. There is so much language to hear and use, so much to observe in the natural world, and so much concrete experience to gain that waiting until second or third grade for active computer use seems reasonable. Reprinted from 101 Educational Conversations with Your Kindergartner -- 1st Grader by Vito Perrone, published by Chelsea House Publishers. More on: Your First Grader
Here are the answers to parents' most frequently asked questions about first grade. Q: What's the right size for my child's class?
Copyright 1994 by Chelsea House Publishers, a division of Main Line Book Co. All rights reserved.
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