We don’t know who invented the concept, but the word “homework” goes all the way back to ancient Rome. Pliny the Younger made his followers practise their speeches at home. Homework, in the form of memorisation exercises for monks and other scholars, was taking place in the early Middle Ages. Homework has been around forever, and it’s been a controversial subject – for students and educators – for about that long.
Supporters of homework point to it helping student achievement but argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. These include good study habits, prepping students for future learning. It can also help students see that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework, they say, can foster independent learning and responsibility. It can also give parents an opportunity to see what's going on at school for their child and foster positive attitudes toward their achievements.
Opponents of homework, on the other hand, counter that it can also have negative effects. They argue it can lead to boredom with schoolwork and can deny students access to leisure activities that teach important life skills. Parents can get too involved in homework as well, leading to pressure and even confusion if they insist on doing things differently than the teacher.
It seems unlikely there’ll ever be agreement on how useful homework is, but one thing is certain – if we are going to assign homework, it should be as engaging as possible, while always being directly relevant to what is being taught in class. That is, it should complement instruction rather than merely acting as “busy work”.
Fortunately, CARS & STARS Online fits this idea perfectly because the work students undertake at home with CARS & STARS Online is the same as the work they complete with CARS & STARS Online at school.
CARS & STARS Online is the reading comprehension program for the 2020s, rather than the 1990s. Students can login to CARS & STARS Online on one device and begin exercises, then login later from another and resume from exactly where they left off. They work through the program entirely online, meaning that “homework” is not extra work or activities laden on top of core instruction to reinforce learning or give them extra opportunities to see it in action – it is the continuation of the core instruction they’re doing at school, in the same form, just as they left it.
And a CARS & STARS Online parent account means parents can keep on top of their child’s reading progress instantly, from any device. It’s just like having full access to their classroom teacher at any time because parents can look directly at what their child is doing and see constant updates on their results and progress.
Homework still exists in the 21st century, but with CARS & STARS Online it is homework that is targeted, informed, relevant and directly contributing to core instruction – rather than just extra work to keep ideas fresh in students’ minds.
If you are interested in learning more about the CARS & STARS Online subscriptions and how they can help children to achieve better results, then sign up for a free trial to be an integral part of your child’s reading success.
This blog discusses the CARS & STARS program’s alignment with ACARA’s reading comprehension standards. It highlights how the program uses diagnostic assessments and targeted instruction to map 12 core reading strategies to specific ACARA outcomes. The approach allows educators to effectively pinpoint and nurture students’ reading strengths and weaknesses, ensuring tailored and data-driven instruction that aligns with national educational standards. Click the link below to learn how CARS & STARS program’s alignment with ACARA’s reading comprehension standards.
Explore the transformative journey of literacy education with our latest blog. Uncover how reading comprehension strategies reshaped teaching and empowered students globally. From Reader-Response Theory to modern educational practices, discover the pivotal role of these strategies in classrooms. Interested in how these techniques enhance learning and foster engagement? Click the link below and discover the impact of these innovative strategies in education today.
Discover the secret to unlocking your students' reading potential! Dive into our latest blog post to explore how explicit instruction with the CARS & STARS program can transform reading comprehension in your classroom. Learn about the systematic approach that demystifies learning and provides tailored strategies for every reader. Ready to foster a culture of reading success? Click the link below about this game-changing framework for educators.
Technology in education can serve as a catalyst for innovation, personalisation and accessibility. To find out how CARS & STARS Online, as an advanced online reading comprehension program, aligns with these goals, click the link below.
Effective classroom management aims to create a supportive and structured learning environment where both you and your students can thrive. Click the link below for 24 great and easy strategies to help you establish a positive and productive classroom atmosphere that benefits everyone.
With the right strategies and a bit of practice, students can significantly improve their comprehension and appreciation of poetry. To find out more, and how CARS & STARS Online can help students to better understand the kind of figurative language used in poetry, click the link below.
Reading a variety of text types is essential for developing better reading comprehension for several reasons. To find out more, and how CARS & STARS Online exposes students to different types of texts from its earliest levels, click the link below.
Maintaining an organised workspace is a simple yet effective way to create a conducive environment for teaching, learning and personal development. To find out more, and how CARS & STARS Online can help, click the link below.
One way that you can counter distractions is by using strategies that enable students to process information better, even under adverse conditions, because they have a proven method in place to do so. To find out more, and how CARS and STARS Online employs this approach, click the link below.
Encouraging students to explore a diverse range of genres can be a powerful tool in fostering a love for learning and literature. To explore some of its benefits, and to see how CARS & STARS Online can help, click the link below.
Students learning critical thinking can develop the ability to distinguish between what's logical and illogical through a combination of practice, understanding logical fallacies and employing specific strategies. For some ways they can improve their skills, click the link below.
The way we talk, including our speech patterns, accents and word choices, can create and deepen social biases, starting from the point of view of children. For some examples of how speech can contribute to the development of biases in children, and how these can hopefully be mitigated, click the link below.
In a classroom setting, stimuli refer to the various sensory inputs and learning materials that students encounter every day. To find out more about how classroom stimuli can relate to cognitive development, click the link below.
Cognitive flexibility (or cognitive shifting) refers to the ability to adapt and switch between different cognitive tasks in response to changing situations or demands. To find out how thinking games can be valuable tools for improving cognitive flexibility, click the link below.
Concentration is the ability to direct our attention and focus to a specific task or stimulus while ignoring distractions. To find out some reasons why people might find it hard to focus or maintain concentration, and some helpful strategies to improve concentration, click the link below.
A flow state, also known as being “in the zone”, refers to a mental state of optimal performance and engagement in an activity. It typically occurs when the challenges of a task align with an individual's skill level. To find out more about flow states, and some tips for reaching them, click the link below.
We all know how important sleep is, and most of us know that because we aren’t getting as much of it as we would like – or at least in the quality we would prefer. Lack of sleep, especially on a chronic basis, can have significant negative effects on both the body and the academic performance of students. For some key impacts of sleep deprivation, click the link below.
The role of the natural environment in learning in general and study spaces in particular is something we are only just beginning to investigate seriously. But we know that sunlight especially can play an important role in a classroom or study setting for several reasons. To find out what they are, click the link below!
It might some like a no-brainer, but there are advantages to both quiet and loud study environments while learning. Whether you like one or the other can depend on nothing more than your personal preference or learning style, but there are advantages and disadvantages to both. The choice between studying in quiet spaces or noisy places depends on individual preferences and the nature of the task at hand. To find out some considerations for both options, click the link below.
Everyone knows how important diet and exercise are to every aspect of our lives – even if we like to pretend we don’t sometimes. It turns out food is just as vital to our brain’s well-being too. When it comes to supporting cognitive function and promoting optimal brain health, several foods have been associated with positive effects. Click the link below for some examples!
Parent-teacher interviews are valuable opportunities for teachers to communicate with parents about their child's progress, strengths and areas for improvement. For some tips for teachers to prepare effectively for parent-teacher interviews, and to see how CARS & STARS Online can help parents become more involved in their child’s learning.
CARS & STARS Online is a comprehensive reading comprehension program that offers flexibility, interactivity, customisation, and cost-effectiveness for educators. It also provides premier support and professional development at no extra cost. For existing customers, specialised training programs are available to ensure a seamless transition to the online platform. With CARS & STARS Online, educators can provide their students with a high-quality reading comprehension program that prepares them for success in school and beyond.
Both written and verbal speech are essential components of language across different languages, and each plays a crucial role in communication and human interaction. For some reasons both forms are important, and how CARS & STARS Online can help with both, click the link below.
A person’s personal history of language, which includes their linguistic experiences, exposure to different languages and language learning background, can significantly impact their present language abilities, including how they speak and comprehend reading. Click the link below to find some ways personal language history can influence the present.
The CARS & STARS Online program uses technology to open doors for parents that let them better understand the context of their child’s learning and have a more engaged role within it. CARS & STARS Online gives parents an instant overview of their child’s progress that they can access at any time and from anywhere.
Being a highly skilled, competent reader is a skill that improves every learner’s life. And with CARS & STARS Online, achieving that is within every student’s grasp – even those with special needs – and more easily achievable for their teacher than ever before.
A tongue twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game. Tongue twisters can be a fun and engaging tool to support the development of foundational reading skills and promote a positive attitude towards reading.
Riddles are questions or statements that offer a puzzle to be solved. They encourage children to think critically, analyse clues and apply logical reasoning to arrive at the answer. This problem-solving aspect of riddles stimulates the brain and helps children develop creative problem-solving skills.
Supporting struggling readers often requires a multifaceted approach, including tailored instruction, accommodations, explicit teaching of reading strategies, scaffolding of comprehension skills and addressing underlying difficulties through targeted interventions.
By engaging in cooking and following recipes, individuals practise critical thinking and problem-solving skills within a practical and enjoyable context. These skills, developed through cooking, can transfer to other reading materials and real-life situations, supporting improved reading comprehension and the ability to analyse, evaluate and solve problems effectively.
