If you follow my Instagram, you’ll see a recent post about how I implement a Homework Choice system with my students. I received a lot of questions regarding how I implement this system and gain parent support.
Here is how I successfully use Homework Choice in my classroom.
Parent/Family Education
My district’s Back to School Night is the day before the first day of school. I take this time to educate families about our classroom procedures. One important aspect of my classroom procedures is Homework Choice. I really make it a point to explain my why behind this method. My why is based on research. According to John Hattie’s Visible Learning research synthesis on student achievement, homework only has a .29 effect size. Keep in mind, an effect size of .4 is a year’s growth in a year’s time. Homework hasn’t proven to show a year’s growth in a year’s time. So why should our children spend time on it? Additionally, authors Bennett and Kalish (2006) argued that homework harmed students’ family time and that if homework is assigned it should be centered on getting family involvement. I share these articles with my students’ families so they can understand the reason behind the Homework Choice system.
Student Accountability
The first year I used this system in my classroom, I would ask parents to email me the choice that their child chose for the night’s homework. That took up a lot of time, sifting through emails. The following year, I had students (when they came in at the start of the day) write down their choice on a class check off list that I had created. This past year that I used the Homework Choice system in my classroom I used the honor system. I did not use a formal checking-in system to verify if students completed their homework choice. I found that using the honor system students was the best system. Obviously, it was easier, but I also found that my students would voluntarily share their homework choice with me. Some would even take our “daily choice” option and complete another activity.
Daily Option
As part of the Homework Choice “menu,” I have a daily option. The daily option is almost always a page to practice the math skill we practiced during our math lesson that day. I also send my students’ families a math lesson through Educreations that is about our math skill from that day’s lesson. Sometimes my students use this lesson to help them teach their families the math skill (which is also an option from our Homework Choice “menu).
More to Know
I have had families in the past ask for more homework. I think it is definitely a change from the traditional homework we grew up completing. If families asked for something more, I had no problem giving them other ideas for practice or extra worksheets. This system has also worked for students who may have to be more independent after school. Offering choice helps students hold themselves accountable, which is really what we’re after!
Grab my Homework Choice freebie in my TpT shop.
