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Effective Homework
Motivation+Engagement+Rigor=Student Success
March, 2014
Greetings!

Have you ever been frustrated with students not doing their homework?  That's our topic for the month.  There is not an easy solution, but hopefully you'll find an idea or two here.  

 

Also, my newest book, Rigor in Your Classroom:  A Toolkit for Teachers, is available next month.  It's a storehouse of over 200 tools and strategies to use to increase rigor in your classroom.  It also includes a section on working with substitute teachers, parents, administrators, and other teachers in your building. Check it out!


Finally, if you know someone who is interested in professional development, please feel free to give them my contact information:(609) 474-4677 or [email protected].  I always love working with schools and districts!

Barbara
3 Principles for Effective Homework

 

 

You can make students do homework by increasing rewards or punishment, but that rarely works in the long term. The real solution is to create homework assignments that students are most likely to complete and then provide the support necessary to help them be successful. Effective homework is based on three key principles.

 

Homework should have a clear purpose, and students should understand the purpose of the assignment or activity.  Effective homework assignments extend, reinforce, or preview content.

 

Homework is more effective when the focus is on quality as opposed to quantity. More is not necessarily better, particularly when students are just beginning to understand a concept.

 

Homework should provide students an opportunity to be successful.  Don't waste your time or your students' efforts on work that offers no opportunity for success. 

Principal's Perspective

 
How much homework is enough?  How much is too much?  The National PTA recommendations fall in line with general guidelines suggested by researcher Harris Cooper: 10-20 minutes per night in the first grade, and an additional 10 minutes per grade level thereafter (e.g., 20 minutes for second grade, 120 minutes for twelfth). High school students may sometimes do more, depending on what classes they take. 
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Sample Homework Activities

  

 

Why do you think Mark Twain wanted to use a penname rather than his real name? Come up with a penname for yourself. Explain what it means to you and why you chose it.


Ask her students to bring to class a list or digital picture of ten items found in their kitchen at home. Along with the list, students write the size of the item and whether it was a quart, a gallon, 16 ounces, a pound, etc. Use this as a springboard for a unit on measurement.
 
Take a picture of something students did in school. Then, write 'Ask me what I learned today' at the top of the page. The parents have to write what their son or daughter said.

Recommended Resources     




 
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