Supporting learning
Talking with your student about their learning will help them to understand and remember it.
You can help your student learn by:
- asking questions to stimulate their thinking
- reviewing their work, using the answer guides to mark booklet work, and discussing their work with them each day
- giving plenty of immediate feedback and praise
- contacting the learning advisor or teacher if you have any questions and encouraging your student to do the same
- discussing teachers’ comments and suggestions with your student
- regularly discussing what they have learned with them
- helping your student with science/technology experiments
- encouraging them to take a break, do some exercise or have a drink of water when they finish a task
- encouraging them to access online study tools like Studyit.
We send practice exams to students who are entered for NCEA qualifications in term 3. Practice exams are important because they help your student and their teacher to identify which topics need revision or further explanation before external exams in November and December.
Suggested timetables
Primary (Years 1–6) students
We recommend that each day Years 1–6 students spend:
- 60–90 minutes on literacy, i.e. reading, written language, oral language, handwriting and spelling
- 45–60 minutes on mathematics
- 20–30 minutes on physical education activity.
We also recommend that they spend about four to six hours each week on topic work/inquiry learning.
Students learning te reo Māori will need to allow time for this also.
Te Ara Hou (Years 7–10) students
Te Kura recommends that students spend an average of four hours each school day on their learning programme. This will includes English reading, English writing, and mathematics. There will be other areas of current investigation related to integrated studies of sciences, social sciences, arts, technology and health/PE. Together, these form the core of a student’s programme.
Additional option subjects may also be studied for up to five hours each school week. Your student’s learning advisor will support them to plan a suitable, personalised schedule.
NCEA Level 1–3 (Years 11–13) students
We recommend:
- five hours a week in each course (25 to 30 hours a week altogether for full-time students) for NCEA Level 1 students
- six to seven hours a week in each course (30 to 35 hours for full-time students) for NCEA Level 2 and 3 students.