I know this has been discussed before but just looking for any new ideas! How do you ensure that students do their homework?
Right now we have our 4-6 graders who do not do their homework stay inside during recess for "study hall". However, now our district has adopted a "Healthy Lifestyles" program. Part of it requires that all students get their full recess.
So what do you do? Oh, and giving zeros is not an option.
I teach 4th grade and our school has a system in place to use when a child doesn't do his/her homework. It consists of a homework slip, 3 slips = afterschool detention. That works for some kids, but it doesn't seem to bother others.
However, in my classroom we play a math game every Friday and a winner is chosen (random) from the winning team. The student who wins gets a rubber duck ( I bought them from Oriental Trading). This is a BIG DEAL to the kids.........and, you guessed it, if you didn't do a homework assignment that week you don't get to play on Friday! And there goes your chance at winning the weekly duck!
I know it sounds silly, but my homework is usually at 100%!
I actually got this idea from my nephew's school and have used it for several years successfully. Now grades 3-6 in our school use it....Here is how it works:
At the start of each nine weeks, I have a green sheet for each child in my binder. On each preprogrammed sheet it explains that the child forgot their HW on a particular date, and I write down what it was, send it home for the parents to sign and return. I then return it to my binder for the next time. Missing HW #2-4, the form is filled out the same way, but the student stays in at recess to complete the missing work. The sheet states that this is happening. Missing HW#5 is an afterschool detention with the principal!
Since I have instituted this plan, I very rarely have kids forget homework. In years past, at the end of the nine weeks, those children who have NEVER had a green sheet during that time are invited to "Breakfast of Champions", which is where they come to school about 15 minutes early, and I provide them with donuts and juice. They LOVE it! For those who can't come early...we save a donut for them to eat when they get there. (This also motivates the others when they see the yummy treats!)
I wish I could attach my sheet for you, but it was lost on a disk sometime back, I only have my original hard copy. Sorry!
I find we can get everything done in class. I also don't need the extra grading.
My school can no longer count homework as part of the grade. I think a lot of schools are beginning to do that. If I can't count it as part of the grade, I'm not going to give it. Also--I know EVERYTHING about my kids' literacy by Halloween--EVERYTHING. Since homework is just supposed to be practice, it's unnecessary, in my circumstance.
So that's how I fight the battle--I don't even show up!
Thanks for all the great ideas.
I was thinking about having some kind of parent communication. The problem is that those who do not do their homework are also the same students who do not return papers signed by their parents. I am thinking about giving them one day to return the signed paper and then they will need to call their parents (with me there).
I like the positive twist that CP mentioned. I have often had a "fun" activity at the end of the unit. The students who do not have any make-up/ missing assignments get to do it while other students use the time to finish any work. Maybe I should just make this part of the weekly routine. I like the breakfast idea but I don't know that it will go over with the new health policy. We are not suppossed to use food to motivate- even healthy food.
Maryteach- I really try not to give very much homework. I don't give much in reading/ writing. It's the math that kills me!
I keep forgetting that you teach all the subjects--sorry! I only teach language arts, and I forget. I guess I would give math homework too--I think you just about have to, in math.
When I taught 5th grade, I would give a small ticket, which I quickly made in Microsoft Publisher, to each child that had their homework. They would write their name on the back and place in a container for a drawing I would have every two weeks. I would pick out 5 tickets and those children would get to choose from some snacks (Lil Debbie cakes, etc). They loved it and I rarely had missing homework.
I have used Homeworkopoly for 2 years and love it!! I let them play on Fridays at the end of the day. It only takes about 15 minutes to go through the entire class and hand out prizes. It is great because the prizes are free, the kids love the game, and it gets them to turn in homework.
I use something similar to the green sheet/ binder idea. I have a spiral sitting on my desk with each student's name on a different page. My students have classroom jobs and 2 of the jobs are file managers. They are to put the papers that are turned in, in number (ABC) order. They attach a sticky note telling me which numbers did not turn in their work. At the end of the day if that work has not been turned in, the student must highlight (and show me) on their assignment sheet, the work that was not finished. Parents are required to sign the assignment sheets daily and know if they see highlighted assignments then their child has homework. (We are not allowed to assign "homework", only things they didn't finish in class.) If the work is not turned in the next morning, it is recorded in my spiral under that student's name. At the end of the six weeks those students who do not have anything written on their page will be added to the 100% club and get to eat lunch in the classroom.
Our district has a policy that we must assign homework. The amount is determined by the grade level. I teach sixth grade ILA & SS and have partners who teach ILA & math, science, etc. Our grade level is assigned 60 minutes a night. My team has divided up that hour into minutes for the required subject areas so that we meet the district policy. (We don't agree but are already fighting that battle on the correct level.)
Anyway, the policy includes that after three missed assignments a madatory after-school detention must be assigned. Because I had a problem with such a negative approach when I arrived three years ago in this grade level, my partner and I decided to acknowledge the hard work the children who DID the required homework. We instituted the following:
If a student does all the homework in every subject every night for a marking period, we treat them to lunch and give them a free homework pass to any subject. Sometimes we order Chinese food, Taco Bell, subs, pizza, etc. Parents were notified, kids responded positively, and administration supports it and is even looking to fund us since my partner and I foot the bill. We have four lunches which is one for each marking period. At graduation we give an award to those who did all four lunches. Last year we gave a certificate of recognition and a gift card to the movies.
When I taught Kindergarten I was always picking up little things to add to my centers and theme days. I saved a huge amount of money moving to sixth and feel this expense is well worth it. The children who always do homework always will...we hope to catch the ones on the fringe and push them over to the responsible side...plus we wanted to let all the homework doers know that we appreciate their efforts.
PS: We are in a small district...36 sixth graders! That makes a huge difference! If you are in a bigger situation, this would be way out of line unless you had funding!
I started using Homeworkopoly about a month or so ago. The students seem to like it and it doesn't take too much time on Friday afternoons to go through the process.
Unfortunately, we are required to give our students homework. The majority of our parents also get quite unhappy if the students aren't given homework. I definitely see the need for math homework to provide extra practice--no question at all about that, but we shouldn't feel that we have to provide homework just to keep administration and parents satisfied. We should be able to judge the need for homework as we see fit.
12-27-2006, 11:15 PM
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