Homework Tips and Tricks–Jopy Weiss
Joy Weiss
Joy Weiss is the 2010 Arizona Teacher of the Year. She teaches first grade in the Balsz School District at Balsz Elementary where she has been for 11 years.
Her teaching philosophy lies strongly in the belief that she is there to facilitate learning by guiding, instructing, and releasing responsibility for them to make their own choices and be constructors of their own knowledge.
When she’s not teaching, she’s enjoying working out, reading, and spending time with family, friends and her school community
Homework Tips and Tricks
The start of a school year is in full swing for many of us out there. While the start of the new year brings happiness for parents and students alike, it also creates anxieties about homework.
Homework is a ritual of schools and education in general. Teachers hold many views on homework, but they all agree that building capacity for study skills and time management are the cornerstones of any homework routine.
For the very young child, homework is exciting and thrilling. They enjoy being able to bring school home with them and partake in additional learning with their parents. The typical child in grades Kindergarten through Second grade will have about 20 to 30 minutes of homework each night, including reading time. Setting a special place aside for these children is very important and shows them the importance of completing their homework and begins their journey into time management and study skills. This special place should be in a quiet area of the house, free from distraction, but in view of an adult. Provide support for your child, but encourage them to give the homework their best effort. Don’t ignore the value of the reading portion. Parents sometimes feel that they can make up for the reading another night or don’t worry at all. Research continues to show that the more engaged very young children are in reading, the better readers they become.
For those students who are entering the later primary years, grades 3rd through 6th, their homework is increasing in complexity and length. A typical time for homework should be about 10 minutes for every grade. This means that a 3rd grader might have about 30 minutes of homework, where a 6th grader may have 60 minutes of homework. For these students to be successful they need to learn time management and study techniques. Encourage them to find a quiet place in the house and break their homework into chunks. Our brains need to take rests in between learning too, so don’t forget to have them take quick little breaks in between assignments. These breaks can be as simple as walking around the room once to grabbing a snack. Reading continues to play a critical role for these students too.
Now we move to those students entering middle school and high school. It is extremely important that they realize the significance of study skills and time management during these years. Teachers are building capacity for these students to enter the college arena and work place. Students in these grades need to be critical thinkers, creative, collaborators and committed. These skills are difficult without the already complex nature of those teen years. Continued encouragement and communication with your child can ease the homework blues and provide a strong support system for them to be successful both in the classroom and out.
Yes, homework is important and provides different skills and strategies for children, but do not forget the importance of breaks, play time and down time. Our brains need rest and exercise too. Students who spend too much time on homework without proper rest and exercise lose their advantage. Take time to enjoy this new beginning and fresh start without becoming overwhelmed by the homework curse!
