Its September. Back to school for British kids and back to piles* of homework in the evening.

But does homework help you learn or can it be bad for you?

Before you read: How much homework do you have to do every night?

need for successful, independent learning in life, says a government ofcial.

have school all day, then two hours homework every night! Its too much. Were only young! Matt, 14, from Wales isnt happy about homework. But now some teachers arent happy about it either.

I cant cope with all the work at school

*
Matt, 14

Does Homework Work?

Stressed!
Some teachers want less homework for their pupils. Why? They say homework makes kids unhappy. I think most homework is a waste of time*, says Mary Bousted from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers union, Homework also puts stress* on poorer children, who dont have many books and computers at home.

But does homework make students brainier*? A 2007 study says that homework does nothing for test scores*. Students from Finland do less homework than British kids but they score higher in international tests.

No Homework!
At St Johns school in south west England, the pupils dont have any homework. Head teacher Patrick Hazlewood says homework makes work for teachers and causes arguments at home. He wants his pupils to love learning.

How much?
The British Government says that homework helps young people. They suggest* one hour per week for 11 year olds and two and a half hours each day for sixteen year olds. A good homework programme helps young people learn the skills they

What does it mean? It stresses me out! a It makes me worried. b It makes me excited.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2008

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Pages 18 & 20

must / have to

THE BIG STORY

Wednesday hursday T Friday
Read Chapter 3 of Pride and Prejudice. Write essay on Ancient Medicine for History. Revise Flooding for Geography test on Monday.
swer the questions:

Matt Mason Homework Diary

Monday
Learn French vocabulary for uesday. test on T

uesday T

Do geography exercises 1-10 on pages 19 -20.

Prepositions with time

Look at the homework diary. An

1 When does Matt have to read a book?

On Wednesday

3 When does Matt have to write an essay? 4 When does Matt have to do a geography test
?

2 When does Matt have to do a French test?

Is Homework Bad For You? We ask two London teens for their views.
Sina
Homework when you research is useful. But I denitely get too much homework and it causes arguments with my parents.

Tyla

Yes! I have to stay at home until I nish my homework. Homework stops me going out with my friends.

MAKE FRIENDS WITH CROWN READERS!

Go to: www.maryglasgowmagazines.com

must / have to / mustnt

What are the homework rules in your school? Read the following sentences. Are they true (T) or false (F ) in your school?

1 2 3 4 5

We dont have to do homework. We mustnt use the Internet to help with homework. We have to do homework everyday. We mustnt ask our parents for help with our homework. We mustnt copy our homework.

WORDWISE pile pile mucchio Haufen berg sterta to cope sen sortir far fronte etwas schaffen aankunnen radzi sobie waste of time perte de temps perdita di tempo Zeitverschwendung tijdverspilling strata czasu stress stress stress gestresst druk stres to suggest suggrer proporre vorschlagen voorstellen proponowa skill comptences abilit Fhigkeit vaardigheid umiejtno official officiel ufficiale offiziell; amtlich officieel oficjalny, urzdowy brainy intelligent intelligente schlau slim bystry, uzdolniony score score punteggio (Punkte)stand; Ergebnis cijfer wynik
THE ANSWERS ARE ON PAGE 15

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2008