I’ve been teaching in the elementary classroom for 18+ years. Over that course of time, I have assigned homework in many different ways. I have given homework that is due the next day, due at the end of the week, or the following week. I have given short-term projects, choice boards, you name it. I’ve had the same students complete the homework and the same students not complete homework. I’ve had some parents want (actually demand) homework, while other parents would rather not have homework added to their already full plate. As a result, I have been considering the idea of not assigning homework at all.
One thing I have learned about my students and their families is that not every home looks the same. Not all family members have the same schedule. Some students don’t have families at home to support them. Some students are watching other siblings. Some students are hungry and tired when they get home. And before you know it, the afternoon turns into evening, and then into the night, and it’s time for bed.
To be quite honest, I don’t find much value in homework, and neither do many of my students. Hear me out. I find the school day to be long and tiresome for many students. Some students work long and hard during the day. The ones that don’t will not go home and complete homework. Many kids receive support in school and need the same support at home in order to complete the homework. Some parents work late and are tired themselves. They may not be able to offer the support that their child(ren) needs.
As a busy mom of two boys, I know when I leave work, I have many personal responsibilities I need to tend to. I need to pick up my own boys from aftercare, get them home, fed, and bathed. They want to unwind and play. They don’t want to do homework. I don’t want to do homework with them. It can be a battle. They’re tired. I’m tired. It gets ugly. I try to teach my children that there needs to be a balance between home and school, work and play. Some nights homework just doesn’t fit into our busy schedule.
To Give or Not To Give Homework: That is the Question
I reached out to teachers on Instagram and put out a story poll asking if elementary teachers give homework. 34% of teachers responded yes to giving homework, while 66% responded no. Then I received a ton of DMs from teachers sharing some great options for homework.
- Unfinished classwork
- Do something nice for someone else and don’t tell them it was you, and ask an adult in your life what their favorite song is and ask them to either play it or sing it to you.
- Life skills (good for special education)
- Non-academic choice boards (go for a walk with your family, play a board game, help with 2 chores, etc)
- Optional academic or practice choice boards
So, I made the decision to at least start the year off with an optional homework choice board. It’s nothing fancy. It does reinforce learned concepts and skills from our daily lessons and curriculum, like a math practice page and or activities to practice word study (spelling and vocabulary), reading, and some extensions in science and social studies. I like the idea of optional homework because it gives families flexibility. It gives the parents and students who want or need homework an opportunity to complete homework while allowing families who would rather not have homework to forgo it or pick and choose which nights work best to complete homework.
I do offer an incentive, some kind of positive reinforcement, to those students who complete homework. In my school, we reward students with “buzz bucks” for students to cash in to receive rewards/prizes. I write a little note to go along with the bucks too.
“Leo, I noticed you crushed the math homework this week. That must have taken time and effort but it shows in your work. Keep it up!” ~Mrs. Weis
My students love this acknowledgment and praise. They save my little notes, too. Now that’s meaningful! I have seen at least half my class hand in homework so far each week, which I think is a win. There’s no moaning and groaning about it and the parents seem happy, too.
In my years of experience, I find that participative leadership, instead of authoritarian leadership, works. Participative leadership empowers and involves students and parents in some decision-making processes, like homework. This has proven to increase engagement and participation. Homework shouldn’t cause stress for students and parents, especially elementary students who may not be independent at home. Homework should reinforce skills and provide meaningful practice.
So, if you’d like to try something different this year with homework, you can grab a copy of my homework choice boards that you can edit to the grade and subjects you teach. You can make multiple choice boards to differentiate and meet the needs of your students.
Since using these optional homework choice boards, I have customized the choices on the board. I’ve added more specific tasks that relate to our daily work and curriculum, such as response prompts to the novel we are reading, links to practice sites for math (Prodigy, Dreambox, etc), videos for additional support, specific science and social studies concepts to extend learning about what we are learning in class, etc.
Not down for optional homework? You can choose Homework Bingo. Students must complete a box each night, 4 boxes horizontally, vertically, or diagonally for the week. Working on a long-term project? You can assign one small part of the project each night. Smaller tasks are more manageable and help students with time management and accountability for meeting project deadlines.
Grab the FREE editable Homework Choice Boards here.
What are your thoughts on giving homework in the elementary classroom? I’d love to hear them.
Thanks for reading!
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Christine Weis is a passionate educator, classroom management coach, wife, and mom of two busy boys. She enjoys teaching, writing, and creating resources for teachers.
Brittany says
You can’t give a prize to students for doing something that they must do.
Gladys Nava says
What a great blog to read. Such an important topic you’ve shared with us. Thanks for the share!
Thena Franssen says
I think that I’m against homework because kids being in school all day and then having homework is hard. I think it needs to stop!
Cinny says
A good balance is so important. Quality family time I think allows for kids to do their best in all aspects of their lives.
Kelly Bolen says
I love this idea! When my kids were younger they always had a ton of homework. And both were competitive athletes at a young age. So this would have been very welcome!
Renata - www.byemyself.com says
In elementary school, my daughter had homework for a week as far as I remember. This way, the kids learned to organize themselves and spread their chores over a couple of days – or do it panic-stricken the day before the deadline 😀 It really prepared them for high school and all the following institutions.
jen schreiner says
I love your perspective. My kids are now in middle school and some teachers say they will never give homework while others do. But it seems no matter what, they always have schoolwork to do at home. They are exhausted when they come home.. and the thought of doing more for school on some nights is so rough. I would love to see more teachers join in on your approach.
Talya Stone says
It’s really interesting to hear your take on this. I am really pleased that my daughter doesn’t really get homework – just her timetables, spelling and reading book which takes minimal time after school. I feel like they already do so much at school already and it’s a long day – they need time to just be after school.
Abida says
I enjoyed the article from top to bottom. Thanks for sharing such amazing ways of doing homework
Beth Pierce says
I loved the homework choice boards. thanks for the free download!
Kat says
Homework… The word alone is enough to bring on a huge yawn for kids. But hey! they need to do it. Doing homework teaches them a lot of things and one of it is being responsible.
Rose Ann Sales says
This is such a really great and informative post. I’ve got a lot of things that I learned from this. Thank you so much, I’m gonna share this to my friend who has a son who is elementary. I really enjoy reading this!
Marina says
I enjoyed this reading. Never thought about the subject really. Just took it all for granted.
My older started school this year and even though she does all her homework, there are days that we have a battle at home. It would be great to have a choice… And I belive she would rather do it if she didnt have to…