Do you have kids in your classroom who seem to have trouble doing their homework? It’s a problem all over the world and especially in schools where kids come from homes where parents may not be available to help them study or may not be capable of helping them study. Rather than go crazy trying to assign homework that kids can’t or won’t do, here are some great strategies for getting the kids to actually do their homework, even when they may not have the support they need at home:
- Give the kids two choices of what to do – sometimes it really is as simple as using a salesman’s technique – when kids feel they have a choice and they feel in control, they’re more likely to do the homework because they’re given that freedom.
- Set up small groups of kids to check each other’s work in the classroom. Let them decide for themselves what they think the right answer is then they can explain to you, “we think the right answer is. . .because. . .”
- Make sure to check that they did their homework. For those who didn’t, I like to send them to a separate group where they’ll work together to do the homework in class.
- Make homework fun! There’s no reason that homework has to be a boring worksheet. You could have kids come up with more creative homework that would actually speak to them and their world. Maybe a song which tells how to do a math problem or a cartoon strip which explains some piece of history. Just use your imagination and you’ll be amazed at the change in attitude you’ll find from your kids.