Bonus Blog: Homework

Do you (or would you) give homework? If so, why and what format would you use.

I have always given homework due to this being an expectation in my school and among my grade level. I usually assign homework in math and reading/language arts. Mostly math to keep practice going but I try to keep it as review of concepts in the past and not something we just learned that day. This way students have had time in class to become proficient and the homework is there to reinforce tools learned previously. I don't like overloading the students with homework because at the end of the day they are kids. They work so hard during the school day that they need some down time when they get home to build social skills and enjoy outdoors when they get home. I don't find it particularly beneficial to give them homework on a new concept learned that day because they might practice it incorrectly when they get home. I do find it beneficial for students to have some sort of reading homework each night to force them to read. I don't always trust that students will read every night when there isn't an assignment attached to it. Whereas this way they are having to read and keep working on their literacy skills. There is research around the importance of reading at home and so this part of "homework" I put a lot of emphasis on for my students. As a teacher, I try to get as much done during the school day as to not to overwhelm my students when they get home. Because of the setting I teach in, my students often times just don't do their homework because they don't want to or their parents aren't home at night to make sure they do it. This is a terrible cycle because they don't care that they have to miss out on a few minutes of recess because they didn't do their homework. I haven't quite figured out the right trick to motivate those that don't take homework seriously. I feel as though if homework is done the right way and presented correctly than it can be beneficial to student learning and instruction.