Designing Meaningful Homework

What is the purpose of homework? Homework is important, however, how much is too much?  Also, is the homework that teachers assign actually meaningful and worthwhile?  I’ve struggled with the concept myself, and have taught at schools where homework is not assigned in any subject, to schools where it is assigned every single night for every subject.  Which balance is the appropriate one?  Is homework always necessary, and if so, when and what should be assigned? 

I have spoken with colleagues that teach various levels and subjects, and have made a decision; homework should only be given if it will provide added value to the student.  This, therefore, can take many different forms – is the “homework” used to support struggling learners or to enhance and enrich the learning of advanced ones?  If teachers view homework as either a way to support struggling students or enrich the learning of advanced students, homework can greatly affect students’ performance in school.  This therefore means that teachers should not only be differentiating their lessons to suite their students’ needs, but also the students’ homework.   Homework can be divided into three distinct sections: review of prior content, review of current content and enrichment.  

Let’s begin with homework for the lowest group of students, the ones who need prior content reviewed.  Their homework can be a collection of review from the past few days of classwork along with a small “preview” of what is to come.  This way, the students are consistently reviewing the material they learned, while also being briefly exposed to future content.

The second group of students have a basic understanding of the content, however, might need certain aspects reviewed.  Their homework should consist of a simple review of the material learned that day, while also providing the students with a basic understanding of what they will learn the following day.  By creating homework that gives students review of the current day and insight to the following day, they will be consistently studying what they had learned, while also being prepared for upcoming lessons. 

Finally, the most advanced students should receive homework that will push them to further develop their skills and understanding of the content.  Since the students in this group demonstrate that they can easily understand the material when it is taught, their homework should help them to go “above and beyond” what is needed and to create connections to real world and past knowledge.

By differentiating the homework given to students, they will receive additional assistance that will either help them better understand the material or to push their learning further.  Although it might be difficult for the teacher to create multiple homework assignments, by differentiating the material they are ensuring that all of the students are receiving appropriate instruction and therefore will not fall behind, while also being intellectually challenged.

Six quick assessments to check for understanding

Educator Help

            

When teaching it is imperative that teachers are consistently checking students’ understanding of the content before, during and after class.  While we are all familiar with the typical Do Now, Warm Up and Exit Ticket checks for understanding, how can we as teachers ensure that our students grasp the content, while still making the activity fun and engaging?  Below is a list of six “quick assessments” that teachers can incorporate into their routine in order to check their students’ understanding and while also identifying difficulties that students might have.  The timeframe for the assessments ranges from 1 minute to 20+ minutes depending on how long the teacher wants to spend on the activity.

#1 -  How well do you understand? Show with fingers 1-5

          This assessment is very quick and provides teachers with an immediate age of how well the students understand the material.  After a concept is taught, the teacher can simply ask the students “how well do you understand?”  Students will then hold up their fingers 1 (not at all) to 5 (perfect) in order to let the teacher know which students are still struggling.  If students are shy and do not want to hold up their fingers, the teacher can place cards on the students’ desk, so the student can simply turn to the card with the appropriate number, out of sight of the other students.

            

#2 Question Envelope

           This activity is good to use during class when the teacher does not want to dedicate time during the period to answer questions.  During class, the teacher will pass around an envelope, and if a student has a question, they can put the question in the envelope.  At the end of the period, the teacher will read and answer the questions in order to clarify   any confusion or misconceptions that the students might have. 

#3 – Have students question each other

           This is an engaging assessment that can either range from 5 minutes to 20+ minutes depending on how in depth you would like to go.  For this activity, students will have a list of questions (that were created by either themselves or the teacher) that they will ask their partner.  For this activity to be completed successfully, all students should have a graphic organizer   where hey are writing the question and answers provided to them by their partner.  By having the students write the answers, they are not only having the material reinforced, but they are also being held accountable for their work.

#4 – One-Minute Response

One-minute Response provides quick feedback and a check for understanding about a certain topic to the teacher.  The teacher will pose a question to the class, and the class will have a certain amount of time (1-5 minutes) in order to write their response.  This activity can be completed at the end of a lesson for a longer period of time (5 minutes), or can be given throughout the lesson in shorter increments (1-2 minutes) to check for understanding.

#5 -  White Board

            This activity is very fun and engaging, and usually receives a positive response from the students.  The activity can be completed independently or in pairs; group work is not recommended for this activity because it is important that all students’ voices are heard.  The teacher will pose a question to the students, and they will have to write their response on a white board.  The teacher can either then call on students to explain their answer, or if the students have different answers, they can engage in a discussion on who is correct.  If you do not have white boards available, an easy way to make them is by laminating sheets of paper.  

#6 – Parking Lot

            Similar to the Question Envelope, this strategy allows teachers to gather students’ questions in a single location.  The teacher should designate a certain part of the room or poster paper to become the “parking lot,” where questions are written.  Students can either write their questions on post it notes or can write them directly onto the piece of paper.  Parking Lot questions do not have to relate specifically to the content of the day, but can address the essential question or theme of the unit.   

Why Educator Help

"Literacy" is the new buzzword in education.  Although we are all expected to teach literacy skills and develop students reading and writing, not all educators have been trained to do so.  This, therefore, creates an increase of pressure on teachers who are required to teach content, while simultaneously developing students’ literacy skills.  For some, this might be an easy task, however, for others it is a daunting undertaking.  Not only are educators being asked to teach literacy skills, even though they have never being trained to do so, their students are taking exams that do not only test their content knowledge, but also their ability to read and write about the specific content.  Some students are able to memorize and learn content easily, and if you have a discussion about it with them they can effortlessly explain to you how the absolute rulers Louis XIV and Peter the Great are different than William and Mary of England or the elements of the Periodic Table.  However, the moment you ask them to read a complex text about the subject, they hit a mental roadblock and are unable to absorb the information or explain their understand in writing.  This is not OK.  Students should be able to learn information in a variety of ways, and teachers should be able to tailor and scaffold the ways by which they learn the information so that students can access and understand a complex text.

This is the reason the site, www.educatorhelp.com was created, to provide educators with free resources for teaching literacy.  Each of us are required to teach literacy alongside our content, and unless you have been trained to do so, chances are you learned like me; by gathering resources throughout the internet, reading books, talking with other educators and attending professional developments.  We are teachers, but we are also perpetual students; we will always be learning and figuring out new ways to assist our students in order to help them succeed.          

Educator Help will assist teachers in identifying and developing literacy activities that are aligned to the Common Core and that also focus on certain skills that all students should master.  As the website grows, we encourage educators to upload their own resources or lessons that they have developed in order improve the practice of all teachers.