Oftentimes, teachers, students, and parents have different opinions about homework. While students and parents sometimes view homework as a chore or an obligation, rest assured that there are plenty of ways to make homework more meaningful and more fun! Read on to learn how.
Before giving a specific homework assignment, assess how useful, relevant, and interesting it is for students. You can do this by asking yourself these questions:
Does it significantly enhance learning and take into account the four pillars of education?
Learning to know
Learning to do
Learning to be
Learning to live together
Does it stimulate students’ interest in the topic and make them want to learn more?
Can it be done in class instead?
If students did not have to do it, would they still choose to?
Is it accessible to all students, especially those from more disadvantaged or less educated families?
Is it unlikely to cause conflict or tension at home?
Do you want to spend time marking this type of assignment?
If the answer to these questions is “no,” chances are the assignment is neither useful nor meaningful. In short, a meaningful homework assignment will fulfill these criteria:
It offers opportunities to learn differently.
It is enjoyable to do.
It requires students to be creative and add their personal touch.
It draws connections between schoolwork and home or community life.
It accounts for differentiated instruction.
To boost student interest and motivation, it is important to offer a variety of homework assignments and to account for students’ learning preferences and their particular situations, including unequal access (or shared access among siblings) to household resources such as the following:
Parental support and tutoring
High-speed Internet
Technology
Quiet workspaces
Free time, between extracurricular and family activities
Etc.
Here are some creative homework assignment ideas:
Explore a single question instead of answering a list of mini-questions: This allows students to dig deeper into a single topic.
Draw a concept: Drawing a simple picture on a sheet of paper helps students visualize ideas, rather than just imagining them.
Record a video or podcast: This activity can be done in the time it would take to complete a worksheet (or faster!). Plus, students will be more motivated to be creative if they know that their peers will watch the finished project.
Watch an interactive video or complete interactive exercises: For high school students, you can choose from the dozens of videos on the Alloprof website. For elementary school students, you can add interactivity to educational videos by integrating them into quiz-building platforms such as Edpuzzle. Interactive exercises, for their part, encourage student engagement and autonomy.
Play an educational game: Games are a fun way of learning that should not be overlooked. On the Alloprof website, you will find a wide range of games for all major subjects. These include online games and printable games (puzzles, bingo cards, hidden multiplications, etc.).
Write questions: Students can practice formulating questions by writing riddles, brain-teasers, or quizzes to stump their classmates.
Develop their love of reading: To enhance their reading comprehension, have students keep a reading journal or fill out the Alloprof reading passport.
Choose their own adventure: Give students a grid of nine activities each week and have them complete their four favourites as homework.
Do a brain dump: Have students write down (or express in some other format) what they remember from the day’s lessons or share what they want to understand better or learn about in the future.
Students will eventually enter a workforce where problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and creativity are rewarded. Homework that consists of mechanical repetition or tasks that are disconnected from daily life does not adequately prepare them for this future.
Is it any surprise, then, that some students try to get out of homework, procrastinate, rush through assignments, or cheat? By favouring a project-based approach to learning, you enable students to become fully involved in the construction of their knowledge by creating a concrete product. Here are a few ideas to inspire you:
Incorporate one of the four Cs (creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication) into your homework assignment.
Interdisciplinarity plays an essential role in the application of these skills. Think about ways to bridge the gap between arts and sciences and mathematics and French, for instance.
Ask students to choose a topic that interests them, then thoroughly research it using reliable online sources and create a multimedia presentation, scientific talk, infographic, etc.
Encourage your students to develop their entrepreneurial skills by coming up with business ideas or inventions that could be innovative solutions to common problems, etc.
Ask students to do community service. They can take action to support a humanitarian or environmental cause at home or through an organization and talk about their experience.
To help your students develop their journalistic and creative writing skills, ask them to conduct interviews or create blogs, photo stories, vlogs, columns, magazines, etc.
To help students learn more about different careers, ask them to choose a relative or family friend who has a job they are interested in. Then, have them make a form with questions to ask this person.
Alloprof Teachers has a collection of articles on smart homework strategies, broken down by subject. Here are a few of our favourites to add to your toolbox:
Fun Ways to Liven Up Elementary School English Homework and Lessons
5 Ways to Jazz Up High School French Lessons and Homework Assignments
Top 5 Alloprof Tools to Help Elementary Students with Homework Time
Top 5 Alloprof Tools to Help Your High School Student With Homework
Using Alloprof Tools to Help Elementary Schoolers Become More Autonomous