A common frustration for teachers is students’ lack of retention of skills and the need to constantly re-teach skills that have been covered in previous years. Not surprisingly, this frustrates students too! The Mathsquad Homework Program is designed to give students regular opportunities to practice the skills they are learning in class, increasing retention and the efficiency in which they can draw upon each skill.

The routine and simple expectations around the Mathsquad Homework Program also makes the standard excuses for not doing homework redundant. Less excuses means greater participation, enabling students to reap the benefits of the program.

Homework booklets are freely available and can be downloaded using the following links. More information about running the program is just below.

Key Skills Training Level 1

These sheets target the primary school maths skills that underpin success in high school. Ideal for supporting transition from Grade 6 to Year 7 and also for numeracy intervention. Click the hyperlinked text to download a sample sheet or click below to download the full student workbook containing 40 worksheets and their solutions.

Download KS1 Booklet and Solutions
 

Key Skills Training Level 2

These sheets help students establish a strong foundation in the key skills from the Year 7 curriculum. Ideal for Year 7 students or numeracy intervention in the later years. Click the hyperlinked text to download a sample or click below to download the full student workbook containing 40 worksheets and their solutions.

Download KS2 Booklet and Solutions
 

Key Skills Training Level 3

These worksheets help students establish a strong foundation in the key skills from the Year 8 curriculum. Ideal for Year 8 students or numeracy intervention in the later years. Click the hyperlinked text to download a sample or click below to download the full student workbook containing 40 worksheets and their solutions.

Download KS3 Booklet and Solutions
 

Why teachers will love the Mathsquad Homework Program…

  • Resources are premade and freely available
  • Homework program is easy to set up and once in place is a routine which is easy to manage
  • Students' retention of skills and efficiency in which skills are recalled will be maximised
  • Students' progress can be tracked informally through the homework sheets or formally using randomly selected homework sheets completed under test conditions enabling teachers to make informed decisions as to how best to challenge and support students' learning.

Why students will love the Mathsquad Homework Program…

  • Homework is achievable and all students can be appropriately challenged
  • Students can access instructional videos and practice questions for all skills allowing them to self-direct their learning
  • Students can see themselves improving over time
  • Students can see what skills they know and what skills they are ready to learn
  • Students are given the time and space to improve their maths skills

Why parents will love the Mathsquad Homework Program…

  • Homework expectations are clear and easy to support
  • Parents can see areas of weakness and provide assistance either

Accessing the Homework Sheets

There are three levels of homework sheets. These can be downloaded using the above links.

FAQ

Q. What are some of the key features of the homework sheets?
A. Some key features of the homework are listed below.

  • Homework sheets are available at 3 different levels.
    • Key Skills 1 target the primary school maths skills that underpin success in high school. Ideal for supporting transition from Grade 6 to Year 7 and also for numeracy intervention
    • Key Skills 2 mostly target skills from the Year 7 Victorian Curriculum. Ideal for Year 7 students and also for numeracy intervention
    • Key Skills 3 mostly target skills from the Year 8 Victorian Curriculum. Ideal for Year 8 students
  • Levels are labelled discreetly to ensure attention isn't unnecessarily drawn to students working at different levels.
  • 40 sheets per level to allow one sheet per week for the entire year.
  • Each sheet assesses the same skills in the same order to give students multiple opportunities to practice key skills.
  • Skills sequenced to ensure prerequisite knowledge is covered in earlier questions.
  • Space for working out.
  • Correct mathematical language used throughout.
  • Technology free and technology active questions.
  • Warm up questions to increase retention of previously covered skills.

Q. Do the skills in the program align with the Victorian Curriculum?
A. Across the three levels, the skills within the homework sheets have been designed to cover the majority of the Year 7 and 8 curriculum and key prerequisite skills from earlier years. Click here for a full list of skills covered and their connections to the 2020 Victorian Curriculum Content Descriptors. Note that not all curriculum outcomes are covered in the homework program due to either suitability of question type and limitations of space.

Q. What is the easiest way to implement the homework program?
A. Print one booklet per student, choose a homework due day and correct sheets as a class for immediate feedback. Click here for a printable implementation guide unpacking the steps in more detail.

Q. Are there solutions available for the homework sheets?
A. Yes. These are part of the download.

Q. How do I work out what level of work to give each child?
A. Have each student complete the Mathsquad Pretest. Once completed correct the work using this solutions page and use the guide below to determine the appropriate level of work to begin from.

  • Start at KS3 if all skills within the pretest have been answered correctly, or if only minor arithmetic errors have occurred.
  • Start at KS2 if all skills within the first two pages have been answered correctly, or if only minor arithmetic errors have occurred.
  • Start at KS1 if there was at least one skill from the first two pages that needs to be learnt/improved.

Q. Are there other resources available to support students' learning of the skills within the homework?
A. There are instructional videos and practice questions for each level of homework. These are found here.

Q. What do I do once students can do all questions within their sheet?
A. Once a student can answer all skills within their current level it is worthwhile them staying on that level for a few more weeks just to ensure all skills can be answered confidently and correctly more than once. If the student is eager for more work direct them to the instructional videos and practice questions for the next level of work KS1, Ks2 or KS3. If they can learn a few skills before levelling up the transition to the new level of work will be much easier. Once they are ready for the next level of work, print out the sheets for the remaining weeks of the term.

Q. What if a student can’t do any of the questions?
A. As with any established program there will be some extreme cases that are not catered for. There are lots of free resources online for example, addition practice sheets found at https://www.math-salamanders.com/free-addition-worksheets.html or mixed questions at https://corbettmaths.com/5-a-day/primary/ looking at the Bronze level.

Q. Do you plan to make the sheets electronic in future so they can be automatically marked?
A. Personally, I think it is really important that students have practice completing mathematics by hand (with their hand being an extension of their brain) and having the opportunity to practice neat and appropriate working out where needed. I worry that making the sheets electronic will lose these benefits that are currently present with the hard copy homework system. Another worry is that using an online approach will result in a lower rate of homework completion as students have an additional excuse for not doing their homework if they have a flat battery or internet issues.

Q: How do we stop students just copying homework from their friends or getting help from a family member or tutor?
A: At the start of the year I email all parents with the following information. It doesn't guarantee no copying, though encourages positive practices.

Dear Parents and Guardians of YY students,

My name is AA, I am your child's mathematics teacher for 20XX. While I have only had a few classes with YY I am already pleased with how they are responding to some initial routines and classroom expectations.

I would like to take this opportunity inform you of the homework requirements in this subject.

  • Students in YY are required to complete one homework sheet per week, with a sheet due each ZZ. The first homework sheet will be due this coming ZZ on the SSth of TT.
  • Students may not be able to complete all questions at this stage of the year. As long as students give their best effort it is appropriate for them to skip the questions that they are unable to access at the moment.
  • If students would like to learn more about a skill they should head to mathsquad.org/kst. From here they can select their level of homework and then access instructional videos and practice questions for each homework skill.
  • Parents are welcome to assist with homework, though of course this is not expected. Remember that learning to do skills independently is the overall goal so please ensure your child is able to follow your strategies. It also helps if you note where assistance has been given.
  • If they lose their homework booklet an electronic copy of the sheets can be accessed… [referring to the online share point].

Kind regards,
AA
email@email.com