Classroom Activities: Discussion Text

The following is classroom activities for reading skills in the classroom.

TASK 1

Answer the questions based on your own experience!

1. Have you ever got homework?

2. Do you like it? Why?

TASK 2

Match the following words with the closest meaning!

1. children 2. homework 3. parents 4. teacher 5. school

a. a place for studying b. little boys and girls c. someone giving a lesson d. an assignment from our teacher e. our father and mother

TASK 3

Read the following discussion text and underline the verb. After that use your dictionary to check the meaning!

Giving Children Homework

There are a lot of discussions whether children should be given homework or not. Is it enough for children having time to study at school or needing additional time in home for study after school time?

Some people claim that children do enough work in school already. They also argue that children have their hobbies which they want to do after school, such as sport or music. A further point they make is that a lot of homework are pointless and does not help the children learn at all.

However, there are also strong arguments against this point of view. Parents and teachers argue that it is important to find out whether children can work on their own without the support from the teacher. They say that the evening is a good time for children to sit down and think about what they have learned in school.

Furthermore, they claim that the school day is too short to get anything done. It makes sense to send home tasks like independent reading or further writing task which do not need the teacher support.

I think, on balance, that some homework are good ideas, but that should only given at the weekend when children have more time.

TASK 4

Answer the following questions based on the text!

1. What is the topic of the text above?

2. Why is for some people homework pointless

3. Give the reason for some people who support the homework!

4. "Is it enough for children ... (paragraph 1). What does the word "it" refer to?

5. In your opinion, is homework important for children or students? Give your reasons!