How can I help my (struggling) child with homework? (Part 1) by Sylvia Hannah
Sylvia Hannah
Sometimes homework can seem like a chore to families.
Let’s think about how to make homework a learning experience, for you and for your child.
Questions about Homework
Why Do Teachers Assign Homework?
- To develop students’ skills.
- To extend learning time.
We’ll spend some time thinking about how to help your child develop the skills he/she needs to become a successful student, in the classroom, and beyond.
How Much Homework?
I’m not the boss of your particular situation, but here are some guidelines for you.
Suggestion: 10 minutes per day per grade
| e.g. | Grade 1 | 10 minutes daily |
| Grade 3 | 30 minutes daily | |
| Grade 6 | 60 minutes daily | |
| Grade 9 | 90 minutes daily | |
| Grade 12 | 120 minutes daily |
Homework isn’t usually assigned in grades one and two, but home reading is encouraged. Many parents have nightly bedtime reading with their children. Although this might not seem like homework, this daily activity establishes a pattern for your child, which will help when a more formal homework routine is required.
Some parents and children spend much more time than I’m suggesting on daily homework. This is when homework time can become burden time. Here are some thoughts:
- Is your child too tired for extra nightly work?
- Is your child’s work too hard?
- Can the homework be spread out during the week?
- Is your child working hard at school?
- Could your child finish the homework during the school day?
- What is your school’s philosophy about homework?
- What is your child’s teacher’s philosophy?
- Do you need to have a meeting with school personnel, so that everyone works together?
Note: The amount of time spent on homework isn’t the only factor to consider. We must also think about the complexity and challenge of the work.
Where to Do Homework
Suggestions:
- Have a consistent homework place(s).
- Find a quiet place, but not too quiet.
(A personal note: My mother tried very hard to have the house completely quiet when I was doing homework as a child. The result was that I found it very difficult to study in classrooms and libraries, where there’s always some noise. When my own children were doing homework, I wasn’t as rigorous about quietness. Sometimes music was playing. Sometimes the television was on. They’ve never mentioned to me that they can’t work if there’s some noise around them. You’ll need to be the judge for your own child.)
When to Do Homework
Suggestions:
- Right after school. Some families like to use this time, so that homework and meals/evening activities don’t conflict.
- During after-school care. Your child may attend after-school care in his/her home school. Perhaps homework can be done there, as well as play activities.
- During study blocks. Some high school students use in-school time very effectively. Study periods help if students are heavily involved in after-school, out-of-school and work activities.
- In the morning. Your child may be a morning person and this may fit in with your family routine. Perhaps there’s a long commute to school and this time will work out best for everyone.
- While waiting for….In my own school and work career, I’ve always taken advantage of waiting times, and have encouraged this with my own children. All of us spend moments each day between activities and can learn to become efficient with our time. Also, if children have short time intervals in which to complete work, it’s a good way for them to learn about work-and-time connections.
- On the weekends. This might be a controversial suggestion. Some families like their weekends to be purely family-time. Some families like to keep a homework routine, even on weekends. It’s up to you, and depends on the needs and grade level of your child.
How to Prioritize What to Do For Homework
Many children are not aware of what to do for homework each day, particularly if they don’t have specific assignments from teachers.
Help establish a daily homework routine.
Here are some suggestions for your child:
1. Read – to yourself, to a younger child, with an adult, aloud, silently.
2. Daily review – page through your binder to remind yourself of what you learned in each subject (class). Put information on sticky notes/cards/outlines.
Homework Resource: Today’s Topic Chart
3. Update agenda – fill in any extra information about assignments/deadlines that you didn’t have time to do in class.
4. Long-term assignments – break long-term assignments and projects into smaller chunks and work on them a little bit each day.
5. Calendars – use daily, weekly, monthly calendars. Transfer information from daily, to weekly, to monthly calendars, to keep track of what’s ahead.
Homework Resource: Goal Chart
6. Binders – clean and organize binders so that there are no loose pages. Date all pages and put in chronological order (unless stated otherwise).
7. New material – read ahead to familiarize yourself with the next unit/chapter to be studied.
8. Study for tests – review material learned each day. Use two column study notes.
9. Basic skills – work on printing, handwriting, keyboarding, basic math facts, spelling.
10. Prepare for next day’s classes – look at your timetable and decide what you need to bring to school the next day, e.g. clean Phys.Ed. gear, signed permission slip, next day’s texts. Pack all materials/texts/supplies in your backpack.
Note to Student: Store all your textbooks, binders, and materials at home and bring Day A materials on Day A and Day B materials on Day B.
Note to Parents: It is now recommended that children carry backpacks weighing no more than 10% of their body weight, at all grade levels.
HOMEWORK (PART 2) will deal with how to help your child:
- stay organized,
- with time management,
- take breaks/reward himself/herself,
- with attention/motivation,
- with studying/study habits.
Sylvia Hannah is a “retired” teacher/reading specialist. With an MEd, she has spent forty years thinking about, and learning, how to make reading, spelling, and writing easier for her students. Sylvia taught in classrooms, small groups, and one-on-one, and was also a Language Arts consultant in a large urban school district. She established two private educational clinics in Canada, that work intensively with students, of all ages, who experience academic challenges. Sylvia will never really retire as her passion for helping students isn’t diminishing! Visit her website at dynamicreadingandwriting.com
© Sylvia Hannah and LDExperience.ca. If citing this article, please do so as follows: Sylvia Hannah, “How can I help my (struggling) child with homework? (Part 1)” www.LDExperience.ca, December 7, 2011.
