Study shows kids are doing more homework than ever
by Melissa Checker
Today, kids find that the amount of homework they get keeps
them from playing sports, taking music lessons or just having fun after
school. A recent study by the University of Michigan reports that over
the past 16 years, the amount of time the average 3 to 1 1-year-old kid
spends on homework has increased by 50 percent. More and more parents
are protesting against an overabundance of at-home assignments.
"The question is whether schools are holding our children
captives with homework," said Ken Kiewra, professor of educational psychology.
He realized one day last year that his sixth-grade son had given up music
lessons, the soccer team and his favorite hobby because he was loaded
down with homework." I'm home reading the paper and relaxing and this
kid who left in the morning before I did ... is doing two to three hours
of work," remembered Kiewra.
In response, Kiewra wrote an article for the Lincoln newspaper.
Although parents responded favorably to his article, the school refused
to change their homework policies. Kiewra explained that, from the school's
point of view, "Research confirms that doing homework is better than not
doing homework." He added that pressure for students to perform well on
standardized tests has led schools to pile on at-home assignments. Ail
work and no play can make dull kids. "Kids need to play outside and exercise
or take art or music classes if they want to," said. Ken Kiewra "At the
very least, they need fresh air.
React Magazine (April 2000)
Vocabulary :
amount : quantîty
average : moyen
at-home assignments : homework
whether : si
give up : stop
be loaded with : être surchargé de
dull : passif, peu éveillé
pile on at-home assignments : augmenter sans cesse la quantité de travail
à faire à la maison
TRAVAIL A FAIRE PAR LE CANDIDAT
LISEZ ATTENTIVEMENT TOUT LE DOCUMENT
I - COMPREHENSION 1- Cochez la bonne réponse et justifiez, en anglais, à l'aide du texte.
(BEP : 1 pt / CAP : 3 pts)
a- This document is :
an advertisement
an article
an interview
a short story
2- Lisez attentivement les énoncés ci-dessous. Soulignez
l'erreur dans chaque énoncé, donnez la correction et justifiez en citant
le texte.(BEP : 8 pts / CAP : 8 pts)
a- A study made by the University of Michigan reveals that the
amount of time spent by children on their homework is less important than
in the past, so parents are protesting.
3- Répondez en français à la question suivante. (BEP : 2 pts
/ CAP : 2 pts)
Pourquoi Ken Kiewra pense-t-il que le travail à la maison doit être réduit
? (donnez deux raisons)
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
II- COMPÉTENCE LINGUISTIQUE
4- Lisez les phrases suivantes et mettez le verbe entre parenthèses
à la forme qui convient.(BEP : 3 pts / CAP : 3 pts)
a- If kids had more homework they .....................................................
better on standardized tests. (perform)
b- He ..................................................... football last
year because he had too much homework. (give up)
c- Everyday after school he .....................................................two
to three hours of work. (do)
5- Reconstituez chacune des phrases en mettant les éléments proposés
dans l'ordre. (BEP : 2 pts / CAP : 2 pts)
a- the amount / important / more / is / of / homework / today / in the
past / than
6- Rédiger en ang1ais un paragraphe de soixante mots environ dans lequel
vous répondrez aux questions suivantes :
How much free time do you have after school or work ?
What do you do during your free time ?
What would you do if you had more free time ?
STUDY SHOWS KIDS ARE DOING MORE HOMEWORK THAN EVER
I - COMPREHENSION
1 - Cochez la bonne réponse et justifiez, en anglais, à l'aide du texte.
BEP 1 pt / CAP : 3 pts
a - This document is : an article
Justification : React Magazine
b - The theme is : homework
Justification : homework in the title “Study shows kids are doing more
homework than ever”. (accepter aussi les répétitions du texte)
2 - Lisez attentivement les énoncés ci-dessous. Soulignez les erreurs
dans chaque énoncé, donnez la correction et justifiez en citant le texte.
a - A study made by the University of Michigan reveals that the amount
of time spent by children on their homework is less important than in
the past, so parents are protesting. (0.5 pt)
Correction : more important than (0.5 pt)
Justification : has increased by 50% / overabundance of at-home assignments
(1 pt)
b - Ken Kiewra realized one day that his son had more time to relax than
himself. (0.5 pt)
Correction : less time (0.5 pt)
Justification : I’m home relaxing… this kid is doing 2 or 3 hours of work
(1 pt)
c - Ken Kiewra wrote an article for the Lincoln newspaper but he didn't
get any support from the other parents. (0.5 pt)
Correction : he got some support from the other parents (0.5 pt)
Justification : parents responded favourably to his article (1 pt)
d - The school followed the parents' point of view on homework. (0.5 pt)
Correction : didn’t follow (0.5 pt)
Justification : the school refused to change their homework policies (1
pt)
3 - Répondez en français à la question suivante. (BEP 2pts / CAP : 2
pts)
Pourquoi Ken Kiewra pense-t-il que le travail à la maison doit être réduit
? (donnez deux raisons)
Parce que les enfants ont besoin de jouer dehors ou de prendre des leçons
de musique ou de dessin s’ils le souhaitent. Ils ont besoin de prendre
l’air.
II - COMPETENCE LINGUISTIQUE
4 - Lisez les phrases suivantes et mettez le verbe entre parenthèses
à la forme qui convient. BEP / CAP : 3 pts.
a - If Kids had more homework they would perform better on standardized
tests.
b - He gave up football last year because he had too much homework.
c - Every day after school he does two to three hours of work.
5 - Reconstituez chacune des phrases en mettant les éléments proposés
dans l'ordre. BEP / CAP : 2 pts
a - the amount / important / more / is / of / homework / today / in the
past / than
Today, the amount of homework is more important than in the past.
b - do / homework / on / of / spending / time / lot / like / a / not /
children.
Children do not like spending a lot of time on homework.
A lot of children do not like spending time on homework.
III - EXPRESSION ECRITE
6 - Rédigez en anglais un paragraphe de soixante mots environ dans lequel
vous répondrez aux questions suivantes :
How much free time do you have after school or work?
What do you do during your free time?
What would you do if you had more free time?
Respect de la consigne, adéquation question-réponse, intelligibilité
: CAP : 1,5 pts / BEP : 2,5 pts
Correction, richesse de la langue, prise de risque : CAP : 0,5 pt / BEP
: 1,5 pts
Comme
