Homework Help

Supporting Learning at Home

At Marus Bridge Primary School, we believe that learning doesn't stop when the school day ends. Working together with parents and carers helps children develop confidence, independence and a lifelong love of learning.

Our approach to homework is designed to be purposeful, manageable and enjoyable. We want children to practise important skills, reinforce their learning from school and share their achievements with their families. Homework should support learning, not create unnecessary pressure, and activities will be appropriate to your child's age and stage of development.

Reading

Reading is one of the most important things children can do at home to support their learning.

We encourage all children to read regularly, whether that is independently, sharing a book with an adult or listening to stories. Talking about books, characters, new vocabulary and favourite parts of a story helps children develop their understanding and enjoyment of reading.

Our aim is not only to develop strong readers, but also to foster a genuine love of books and storytelling.

Phonics and Spelling

For younger children, home learning activities will support the phonics sounds and words being taught in school. As children progress through school, the focus will gradually move towards spelling patterns, key vocabulary and applying spelling skills in their writing.

Short, regular practice at home can make a significant difference to children's confidence and progress.

Maths Fluency

Children will have opportunities to practise key mathematical skills at home, including number facts, mental arithmetic and times tables.

Developing fluency in these areas helps children become more accurate, confident and efficient mathematicians.

To support this learning, children may use Times Tables Rock Stars, which provides a fun and engaging way to practise multiplication and division facts through games and challenges.

Times Tables Rock Stars
https://ttrockstars.com

Learning Beyond the Classroom

Children may occasionally be given activities linked to their current class topics. These opportunities encourage them to explore their learning further, carry out simple research, share ideas with their families and make links between school and the wider world.

One of the best ways to support learning at home is simply by talking with your child. Asking questions, discussing new vocabulary and encouraging them to explain what they have learned can have a powerful impact on their understanding and confidence.

Purple Mash

Children have access to Purple Mash, an online learning platform containing a wide range of activities and resources across the curriculum. Teachers may set tasks to complete at home, and children can also use the platform to practise and extend their learning independently.

Purple Mash
https://www.2simple.com/login

How Can Parents and Carers Help?

You do not need to be a teacher to make a positive difference to your child's learning. Some of the most valuable support you can provide includes:

Reading regularly with your child and talking about books together.
Practising phonics, spelling, number facts or times tables where appropriate.
Asking your child about what they have been learning in school.
Encouraging them to explain their learning and share their achievements.
Establishing a regular routine for reading and homework.
Promoting independence while being available to offer support and encouragement.
Celebrating effort, progress and achievements.
Showing an interest in your child's hobbies, interests and curiosities.
Making learning a positive and enjoyable part of everyday family life.

Keeping Home Learning Positive

We want children to see home learning as an opportunity to build confidence, practise new skills and celebrate their success.

Regular, short periods of purposeful practice are often far more effective than lengthy homework sessions. Encouragement, praise and a positive attitude towards learning can have a lasting impact on children's progress and wellbeing.

If you have any questions about homework or would like advice on supporting your child's learning at home, please speak to your child's class teacher or contact the school. We are always happy to help.

By working together, we can ensure every child at Marus Bridge Primary School develops the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to thrive both in school and beyond.

Homework Sites

Life Processes and Living Things

TheGreatPlantEscape - Help Detective LePlant and his partners Bud and Sprout unlock the amazing mysteries of plant life! They will need your help to find clues, do experiments, and solve problems as you journey into the world of plants.

Life Processes and Living Things: Ourselves

TheHumanBodyCyberhunt A series of questions about the human body. Click on the links below each question to find the answers.
HealthyKids Pages about keeping healthy, with materials written for especially for each age group.

Physical Processes: Forces

ForcesCyberhunt A series of questions about Forces. Click on the links below each question to find the answers.

Physical Processes: The Earth in Space

SolarSystemon-linegame - How much do you really know about the solar system?
SpaceKids Visit our solar system, watch the night sky, homework help, games, ask an expert and lots more at this site especially for children.

Materials

MaterialsCyberhunt A series of questions about Materials. Click on the links below each question to find the answers.

Maths Sites for Children (ages 7 to 11)

MathBaseball – FUNBRAIN will give you a maths problem. Enter the answer to the problem and hit the “Swing” button. If your answer is correct, you will get a hit. FUNBRAIN will decide if the hit is a single, double, triple, or home run based on the difficulty of the problem. If your answer is wrong, you will get an out. The game is over after three outs. Choose from Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, or all four operations and four levels of difficulty.
What’sthePoint? – Using co-ordinates.
SoccerShoot-out – Score and Save by correctly answering math problems. First you shoot, then try to save the shot by FunBrain. Remember to reduce your answers (fractions only).
FreshBakedFractions – You are shown four fractions. Three of the fractions are equivalent. They can all be simplified to to the same fraction. Click on the fraction that is not equal to the others. Choose from four levels of difficulty.
ShapeSurveyor – Choose what you would like to play – perimeters and/or areas – and hit “Start Digging” to begin the game.
PrimaryGames – Maths games for 1 or 2 players, mostly for number bonds practice and mental maths including fractions and decimals.
BBC-Starship-Maths-Calamity’s Quest – Help Captain Calamity free Princess Amber from the Evil Ruler’s castle.
A+Maths – A whole room full of interactive maths games, plus homework help.
www.multiplication.com – Interactive Internet Games
LearningPlanet – A fun collection of free games and learning activities just for you! Choose your grade level, and then choose from fun games like Mr. Elephant’s Matching Game and Math Mayhem!
TheFrogPuzzle – Click on the lily pads to make the frogs move across the pond by hopping or sliding. Can you work out how many moves you would need to shift any number of frogs?
AmazingAgeCards – How does the computer know which number you’ve picked?
MathMagician – Practice the basic skills of +, -, x and ÷

Literacy Sites for Children (ages 7 to 11)

Squigly’sWritingCorner Have fun making your own stories using Squigly’s story builder. Squigly and his friends have written some stories that you can personalize with your own words.
Children’sStorybooksOnline Original stories with colour illustrations for young children as well as older children and young adults. Children’s Storybooks Online combines education and entertainment to amuse and engage children’s imaginations. There are riddles, mazes, coloring book pages and a page with children’s links that have won Children’s Storybooks Online Award for excellence.
AmazingAdventureSeries The Amazing Adventure Series features fun read along stories, movies, and activities for children of all ages.
Arthur|PBSKids Developed with the help and advice of Arthur creator Marc Brown, the ARTHUR site is organized into pages hosted by the series’ characters, each with features that encourage kids to read and write.
GrammarGorillas Our friends, the Grammar Gorillas, need help identifying parts of speech. If you click on the right word in the sentence, our friends get a banana.
Peter Rabbit: Discover the magical world of Peter Rabbit and his friends, with stories, film shows, puzzles and everything you need to know about your favourite Beatrix Potter characters.
Fun with Spot: Visit the Spot website for lots of online fun with the world’s most loveable puppy – there’s games to play, competitions, books, videos and much, much more.
Flower Fairies: Full of fairy fun and facts, including the Fairy Finder, Fairy Scope and Fairy Letters, as well as an online gift shop and lots of information about the creator, Cicely Mary Barker.
PuffinBooks - Fun stuff, free stuff, cool links, how a book is made, book of the month and parents’ and education zones.

History Sites for Children (ages 7 to 11)

Sites about Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt Cyberhunt
Ancient Egypt Website gives you the opportunity to x-ray a mummy, explore the underworld and read about Egyptian life through simple stories.
MysteriesinStone A website with lots of information, aimed at children and beginners in Egyptology. The site also features a downloadable program to enable the web pages to be spoken.
The Ancient Greeks from AngliaCampus

Sites about Ancient Rome

The Romans Cyberhunt

Sites about the Anglo-Saxons

Saxon and Viking Cyberhunt

Sites about the Normans

The Bayeux Tapestry – Here you can read the tale told by the Bayeux Tapestry – The story of William the Conqueror and Harold, Earl of Wessex, the men who led the Norman and Saxon armies in 1066. William’s defeat of Harold at the Battle of Hastings ensured the success of the Norman invasion of England.

Sites about Tudors and Stuarts

The Victorians

Snaith Primary School - Victorians Snaith Primary School site with section on Victorian music.

General History Sites

The Indus Valley
WalkThroughTime
The History Channel
Ancient Greeks, Ancient Romans, Ancient Egyptians, The Home Front and more at Snaith Primary School – an excellent site.
The Tower of London Virtual Tour
From the Normans to Cromwell
Children’s Games
Britain since the 1930s Cyberhunt
WW1 Document Archive
Children of WW2 Find out what it was like to be a child during World War 2.
Canterbury Miracles And Pilgrims

Sites about Famous People

Anne Frank
Edward Jenner
The Story of Louis Braille - Blind from the age of three, young Louis desperately wanted to read. He realised the vast world of thought and ideas that was locked out to him because of his disability. He was determined to find the key to this door for himself, and for all other blind persons.
Diana, Princess of Wales - The British Monarchy Website

Geography Sites for Children (ages 7 to 11)

Maps

StreetMaps - Find a map of your neighbourhood (or someone else’s!)
WorldTimeZoneMap - Find out what time it is before telephoning new or long lost frineds or relatives!
Map Symbols Quiz

Rivers, Coasts and the Water Cycle

Rivers Cyberhunt

Miscellaneous Sites

Rainforests Cyberhunt
A Tour of Canterbury
Planetpals Earthzone - Join the Planetpals gang to learn all about our planet, weather, and ways you can recycle and conserve the earth’s resources.