Question:
I'm a kindergarten teacher and I would like some opinions on using
worksheets. I send out a weekly homework packet with letter writing
practice, a phonics sheet that focuses on a particular letter sound,
something fun the kids can color, counting objects, writing numbers in
sequence, etc. All of these pages are worksheets. I have been told by two
teachers that worksheets are horrible and I shouldn't ever use them at all.
The school principal said he agreed with them.
My personal experience with doing homework with the worksheets I use is that
the quality of penmanship with my students has improved dramatically. I
noticed their fine motor skills are better. I noticed my kids can write and
distinguish individual letters in the context of words and paragraphs. I
could go on and on. What is the evil that is supposedly happening? I
apparently must be missing something even if my children seem to be
achieving by leaps and bounds.
By the way, I don't use worksheets in class. Everything I do in class is
centered around avoiding any worksheets. I only use worksheets for homework
because I think students need to do actual pencil and paper work. However, I
have been informed that using worksheets in any way is a bad way of doing
things. I stopped using worksheets for homework. I assign homework that
doesn't require very much writing or no writing on the part of the students.
I was told it's better to have homework where parents do activities with
their children. So, I went with the flow and do just that.
Answer:
This is an example of what happens when people try to make absolute
judgments about educational issues. It is true that some teachers have
abused worksheets, but the idea that ALL worksheets are bad in EVERY
situation is just silly. That's like those people who say that ONLY
phonics instruction works, or ONLY whole language instruction works.
It sounds to me like you are using a balanced approach with your
worksheets.
Since the principal has said not to use them, don't use them. It is not
a battle worth fighting. You might ask those senior teachers how they
reinforce writing skills at home. They may have some neat ideas you can
use.
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