HOMEWORK DEBATE

Every year around this time I hear horror stories about primary grade children having several hours of homework each evening. The child ends up crying - the parents end up yelling – what’s the point?

First of all, if a young child goes to school and sits and listens and works and learns for six hours, they deserve to do what they want when they get home. The need to play, move, laugh, yell, imagine, and be KIDS!

Homework should teach children responsibility. Homework should be a tool to help parents see what their child is doing at school. Homework should extend learning from the classroom to the home. Homework should be MEANINGFUL!

If I were in charge of the world, primary grade children would NOT be allowed to spend more than 30 minutes on homework each night. They might be asked to read 20+ minutes and then have ONE other assignment. I would try to make the assignment engage with the parent and connect the real world with what’s going on in the classroom. For example, the assignment might be to ask their parents what a veteran is and to find out who the veterans in their family are. The assignment might be to ask their parents how they use math in their jobs. The assignment might be to cut out a picture from the newspaper and write one or two sentences about it. Drill and kill worksheets should be banned!

My daughter brought up the point that many parents WANT homework and are impressed with lengthy assignments because they think it will make their children smarter. In the book Battle Over Homework: Common Ground for Administrators,Teachers, and Parents, Harris Cooper put together a variety of research studies on homework. He found that in elementary school, homework has almost no impact on academic achievement. In middle school, the results are mixed. In high school, moderate levels of homework can help the learning process.

Here are some ideas that might encourage children to develop responsibility and positive attitudes about homework.

Tic Tac Toe Homework
Make a tic-tac-toe grid and put a different assignment in each section. Children can do as many activities as they choose, but they must do at least 3 to get tic-tac-toe by the end of the week.
Hint! This is perfect for the parents and children who actually “like” homework because they can do all nine.



Homework Folders
You will need a pocket folder, crayons, and markers to make a homework folder. First, let children decorate the outside of their folders. Trace around their “left” hand on the left pocket. At the end of each day children put completed work in that pocket and it is “left” at home. Trace around their “right” hand on the right pocket. Use a homework sheet similar to the one below. Fill out assignments for the whole week and place it in the “right” hand side of the child’s folder on Monday. On Friday save homework sheets in children’s folders. Review with parents at conferences.

Weekly Homework Sheet

Monday ________________ Tuesday ______________

_______________________ ______________________

_______________________ ______________________

Parent Signature/Comments Parent Signature/Comments

_______________________ ______________________

Wednesday_____________ Thursday_______________

_______________________ ______________________

_______________________ ______________________

Parent Signature/Comments Parent Signature/Comments

_______________________ ______________________

Clipboard Homework
Each child will need a clipboard that she can decorate with her name, stickers, etc. Each night clip the homework assignment to children’s clipboards. (Think outside the box with interactive activities, rather than worksheets!) Make sure parents know that their job is to look at the clipboard each night, help their child with the assignment, and send it back to school the next day.



Monthly Calendar
Send a calendar home at the beginning of each month and ask parents to complete at least ten activities and return by the end of the month.
Note! You can download these free on my website drjean.org.

ASSESSMENT BUSTERS

This time of year ASSESSMENT is probably on your mind. Over the next few days I'll share some games and strategies you can use to review and reinforce skills. These activities can be adapted from preschool to primary grades by changing the content from colors and shapes to letters and words and math facts. 

REMEMBER! The more senses you activate, the more likely the message will get to the brain, and that’s why you’ll find at least two senses (eyes, ears, or motor) in each one. These ideas are simple, quick, and FREE!


Funky Feet
Each day write some information you want to reinforce on a sheet of heavy paper and tape it to the floor with "funky" tape by the classroom door. Children repeat the information each time as they go in and out the door. For example:
Letters - children say the letter and something that starts with the sound
Math facts - children say the answer
Sight words - children read the word
*Hint! You could also make letters, numbers, or shapes on the floor with the duct tape.

 

"Super" Visor

Each day choose a key skill you want the children to master. This could be a letter, shape, animal, vocabulary word, math fact, etc. Adapt to your curriculum and the level of your students. Write the skill on the index card and tape it to the visor. One child is selected to be the “supervisor” for the day. That child stands at the door whenever you leave the classroom with their arm stretched out. Classmates must say the information on the visor before exiting.

High Five

Cut two hands out of construction paper and write key skills on them. Tape to the classroom door. Each time children enter or exit the classroom they “high five” the hands and say the information.


Name Badges
Write letters, words, numbers, etc. on paper cut to fit in a name badge. Children wear the name badges and walk around the room and greet friends referring to them as the information on the badge. For example: “Hello T.” “Hello M.”

Bracelet
Cut construction paper 1 ½” x 7”. Write skills on the paper and then tape to children’s wrists like a bracelet. During the day frequently call attention to the bracelet by saying, “Show me___.” “Shout out what’s on your bracelet?” “Tell your parents 3 times tonight what is on your bracelet.”




Mirror
Children love to look at themselves in the mirror, so tape a different flash card each day with letters, numbers, words, vocabulary, math facts, or other skills you want the children to master.  Remind them to say what is on the flash card and smile at themselves because they are so smart!

Tiptoe and Touch
The teacher calls out a letter, number, shape, etc. The children must tiptoe around the room and touch something that matches what the teacher calls out.