Homework: The Great Debate

As I'm sure you've all seen, homework has been in the news. The teacher from Texas sent a letter home to her parents, someone posted it, and it went viral.  There has been more publicity with homework because of this, but I have struggled with it for a while. As the RtI coordinator in our building, had a teacher refer a student for academic difficulties, but blamed the issue entirely on incomplete homework. Really? Should homework hold that much power?

Parents are in a time crunch, like never before. Most homes have two parents who are working.  They pick up the kids from day care, run to a sporting practice (that is a much needed outlet for kids), get dinner, get them in the bath, and get them in bed...and sometimes homework just doesn't get done.  I'm not making excuses, just talking reality.  Here's another reality, sometimes parents can't help with homework, because they don't know how to help.

The Catch 22 of Homework

• Homework shouldn't take too much time...they need practice, but they need to breathe after a long day at school.


• Homework should be independent practice.  Parents aren't in the classroom, so can't expect them to know our routines or classroom procedures.


• Homework shouldn't be punishment.


• Homework should reflect the weekly lessons.


• Homework shouldn't take more time to plan than it takes to complete.


• Homework should have some student choice.

Students need to use word wall words...every day, every night, every lesson, every book.  These words should be seen in their leveled books, in their writing, and in their homework.  Research shows word wall words or high frequency words are key to creating fluent, emergent readers.  We introduced 2 new words a week.  Students can choose which additional words they would like to practice.  Using one of the two open-ended options for homework each week, helps the students practice their words in a variety of ways.  The word wall word homework is divided by learning styles:  verbal/linguistic, verbal/spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, and musical.  Students are asked to complete 2 word wall word activities each week.

One option has the choice board posted on-line or filed in a clear sleeve in the homework folder. Students follow the directions and choose the number of required homework assignments.  They use a separate sheet of paper or a homework notebook to create their homework.  If they choose an activity with no required written response, a parent must initial the choice.  There are options for each semester.

The second option is a copied paper sent home each week.  Homework options can be completed on the back of the paper and parents can initial choices on the front.  If you'd like this Free Download, CLICK HERE or click the picture below.

In kindergarten, we use a poem of the week for daily activities.  This poem is practiced daily in a whole group setting.  We pay attention to one-to-one pointing, rhyming words, word wall words, beginning or ending sounds, and the list goes on.  In addition to the poem being read daily for a week, the same poem is sent home the next week for homework.  The poem is copied on a half sheet of paper.  The student can use paper for their choices.  Once again their are two options.

One option is left in the homework folder and used as a guide.  The activities are done on the poem paper. Another option is copied each week and the parents sign the choice on the paper and the use the poem paper for the activities.

Our Poem of the Week homework choices were based on (The NEW) Bloom's Taxonomy.  Students can choose homework based on the complexity of the task.  At the beginning of the year, they can choose from any of the assignments.  As the year goes on, they must choose at least one higher level thinking activity.  If you would like this Free Download, CLICK HERE or the picture below.

Sending homework assignments home nightly and getting them back every day, seems to be a lot of work for everyone.  I think weekly homework is so much easier...no debate.  Life is crazy.  I don't have time to check homework each morning and I don't want to punish students when their life is crazy and they can't do homework one night.  I understand holding students responsible for homework, but the bottom line is this:  they are 5 or 6 and their parents tell them what to do.  I keep the choice boards in the homework folder.  We send home the packet (word wall word choices, poem of the week choices, and 1 math worksheet or activity) on Monday.  We ask them to be returned on Friday.  However, if they don't have time during the week, they can take the weekend and turn it in on Monday.  Homework can enhance the learning, but it can't replace it.

What is your plan for homework?  How do you handle it?  I'm sure we won't come up with one standard answer or plan, but the debate is necessary.

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Repurposing OLD Literacy Materials

If you are a new teacher, you might walk into your new classroom and find the closets and cabinets full of literacy curriculum materials from the last twenty years (literally).  And if you are an experienced teacher, you might be the one filling those closets!  Or maybe you just inherited some piles when moving classrooms.  Either way, we all know the sight of the hallway just full of books and workbooks lined up next to the doors waiting to be picked up by the janitorial staff.

Have you ever thought about how you could repurpose SOME (not all!) of these materials?  Here are a few suggestions.  

Partner Reading

Keep two copies of old basal readers or intervention readers (I've seen a lot of these that are basically like paperback basals only the text is easier) and put them in bins for partner reading.  The kids love them not only because it is something different, but because there are so many choices inside to choose from.  Plus they can practice using text features like the table of contents while exploring the texts.

Books for Small Group

Scour the materials for any sets of leveled or decodable books!  I've even kept a set of 6 old basal readers for small group.  Sometimes there are classic stories buried inside that you can use when you find the right occasion.  Granted, if you have a huge library of leveled books in your school you probably don't need to do this.  But if you are lacking in sets of books, take what you can get your hands on!

Give Away the Workbooks

Give away the old workbooks to your students no matter how old or useless they look!  Especially if you work in a lower income area where students don't have as many resources at home.  Even if just one kid pulls out that workbook at home and pretends to play school or does some extra phonics or comprehension work, it will have been worth not sending them straight to the trash.  I typically don't use even the current workbooks provided to me, so this is something I always do at the end of the year anyway.  That way if a parent wants something for their child to practice with over the summer, it's there.

Take Home Readers

I've found bins and bins of little decodable readers or leveled readers that were missing their sets in curriculum closets.  I like to use these to send home with my struggling readers, either for the summer or just to read at night during the school year.  Typically, I never get the books back and this way it doesn't bother me at all because they were just headed for the trash anyway!

Throw the Rest Away

Now what do I do with old teacher manuals and all the rest?  Throw them away.  I am by no means a pack rat, I've just worked in places where you have to be resourceful!

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Let Me Finish!

At about 4 years old, my daughter started to ask me if we were in a book.  What an interesting question.  At almost 8 years old, she continues to get lost in books, is constantly connecting personal experiences to events in books, and must be reminded often to close the book and brush her teeth!  This love for books is something that we wish for all of our students.

At Nerd Camp this year I met Minh Lê, the author of Let Me Finish.  I realized this book was written for my daughter and all of the other children that we want to get "sucked" into books. This is Minh Lê's breakout book and my, oh, my...there is a lot that we (as teachers) can do with it!

In this book, a young boy is so excited to settle into a quiet spot to read but is quickly interrupted by some loud and rude animals.  Then he gets a brand new book in the mail and is determined to not let any animals ruin the book for him this time!  He runs around trying to ensure that the book is not spoiled!

I absolutely love the enthusiasm for reading that this young character has!  He desperately wants to read and needs a quiet place to do so.  I will not SPOIL the ending for you because this is a book that you will want to pick up!

This is a great book to kick off some conversations about quiet places to read at home or in other places around the community.  One image I found on Pinterest this week, illustrates this idea so well!

Original Source

After brainstorming and discussing some of their favorite spots to read, students can illustrate or write about some of these places.

Another conversation to have after this book can start with the question: "What book have you been "sucked" into?" or "What book would you like to jump into?"  This could be a great way to find out what books students are interested in.  Here is a sheet for students to record their thinking.

This sheet could also be used for students to recommend books to each other!  Please click on the image above to use it in your classroom.

Back to school books are a wonderful way to engage, get to know, and enjoy our students!  I hope you have a great start to your year!

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