With the start of any new year comes the hope of many students that they will do better academically this time around. Hope without some new ideas on what constitutes quality "homework" and what doesn't generally leads to repeated failure.
What about tying student interest to the types of assignments teachers assign? This might lead to students actually not only completing the homework, but also enjoying the experience. An even more exciting approach on the teacher's part might be to allow students to devise their own ideas of homework with the understanding that it must demonstrate to the teacher that they understood the classwork.
How might this approach actually appear in a classroom? EFFECTIVE HOMEWORK PRACTICES offers some very practical and easy to implement ideas on boosting self-confidence of academically struggling students (especially English language learners) in doing homework.
For example, using differentiation in assignments would motivate more students to actually do homework. The theme of the assignment would be the same (aka grade level content), but the ways the students can demonstrate their understanding of it will vary. Take for example a biology class with long term English language learners. Though students are free to answer questions from the text, all students would be encouraged to think of other ways to show that they grasp the content.
If studying plant cells, students could draw and label all key parts and then write a paragraph on how all the parts work together. For others, what about a comic strip that takes the reader through the life of a plant cell? For ELLs, they would only need to add key content vocabulary to explain how the plant survives.
Another option? How about students videotaping an "interview" with a scientist (a student) lecturing on plant cells? A group of 4 or so students would create the set, dialogue, questions, slides/charts, and closed captioning using the language of the ELL.
What about having students create test questions on the subject with answers? The questions could be used in a jeopardy game where small groups (4) compete for prizes.
In each of the above scenarios, students are taking the knowledge acquired in class and demonstrating their understanding of it ways that work for them. Students may even have ideas of their own to show teachers that they grasp the concepts and teachers should allow them to follow through on their ideas as homework. Students with poor track records in grades might actually re-evaluate their chances for passing the class since they will be able to produce their own idea of homework which clearly shows understanding.
Involve students in designing homework assignments and teachers should see a big increase in the number of students who complete them:)
Denise
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Showing posts with label creative homework assignments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creative homework assignments. Show all posts
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Friday, December 28, 2012
Teacher Advice On How To Devise Quality Homework Assignments
Here is a follow up on the last post on creating relevant homework assignments. With another week or two of vacation time to go, there is time to reflect on ways to motivate students to want to do homework with the start of the new year:)
If teachers find practical applications of their lessons outside the classroom, they demonstrate to students that what they are learning does serve a purpose in their lives. Further, such assignments need only take no more than 15 or so minutes. If they go beyond that time frame, they will be overwhelming. Imagine 6 separate homework assignments for 6 classes. Now imagine 1 hour more or less for each. This will cause students to "prioritize" in selecting those 1 or 2 assignments that they think they can manage in that time frame and not attempt any of the remaining ones.
So after more realistic time frames, what else should be implemented to excite (not a typo here) students to truly want to complete their assigned tasks? Tie homework to their lives. As a personal example with my own two children when they were young, I would tie percentages to shopping. They had their allowance and wanted to stretch it so they tied percentages to discounts. Twenty-five percent discount on the dollar meant more money in their pockets. In such a simple activity, they became more consumer savvy shoppers and honed their math skills. As a classroom English/ELD teacher, I made every effort to tie all classwork from the day's lessons to areas of interest for them (a huge motivator). When we were studying To Kill a Mockingbird, we looked at how discrimination is still an issue in their lives and how to fight it. When studying Brave New World, they wanted to explore cloning so we looked at how human cloning might be received by different segments of society (religions, military, scientists, clones themselves, and people who couldn't have children on their own). This lead to student-generated research based presentations on their chosen group's viewpoints on cloning. The list goes on and on when teachers involve students in the assignments. This is the buy-in for them and inspires them to do the assignments that they generated. Time frames were determined by both the students and myself with ongoing monitoring by me (regular checks for progress).
TEACHER RESOURCES ON QUALITY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS --supplies more information on how to tweak assignments to generate student buy-in. Tie homework to their interests and it will be completed. Just assign more questions from the text and the work will most likely not be done by the majority (especially if they are ELLs).
MORE SAMPLES OF QUALITY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS---offers more examples of original homework ideas for students.
Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS
Boardwalk Butcher Paper, 36 x 900', White (Google Affiliate Ad)
Crayola Original Markers - Broad Line, Classic Colors, 10 ct. (Google Affiliate Ad)
Acer A200 Iconia Tablet, 16 GB, Titanium Gray XE.H8QPN.001 (Google Affiliate Ad)
If teachers find practical applications of their lessons outside the classroom, they demonstrate to students that what they are learning does serve a purpose in their lives. Further, such assignments need only take no more than 15 or so minutes. If they go beyond that time frame, they will be overwhelming. Imagine 6 separate homework assignments for 6 classes. Now imagine 1 hour more or less for each. This will cause students to "prioritize" in selecting those 1 or 2 assignments that they think they can manage in that time frame and not attempt any of the remaining ones.
So after more realistic time frames, what else should be implemented to excite (not a typo here) students to truly want to complete their assigned tasks? Tie homework to their lives. As a personal example with my own two children when they were young, I would tie percentages to shopping. They had their allowance and wanted to stretch it so they tied percentages to discounts. Twenty-five percent discount on the dollar meant more money in their pockets. In such a simple activity, they became more consumer savvy shoppers and honed their math skills. As a classroom English/ELD teacher, I made every effort to tie all classwork from the day's lessons to areas of interest for them (a huge motivator). When we were studying To Kill a Mockingbird, we looked at how discrimination is still an issue in their lives and how to fight it. When studying Brave New World, they wanted to explore cloning so we looked at how human cloning might be received by different segments of society (religions, military, scientists, clones themselves, and people who couldn't have children on their own). This lead to student-generated research based presentations on their chosen group's viewpoints on cloning. The list goes on and on when teachers involve students in the assignments. This is the buy-in for them and inspires them to do the assignments that they generated. Time frames were determined by both the students and myself with ongoing monitoring by me (regular checks for progress).
TEACHER RESOURCES ON QUALITY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS --supplies more information on how to tweak assignments to generate student buy-in. Tie homework to their interests and it will be completed. Just assign more questions from the text and the work will most likely not be done by the majority (especially if they are ELLs).
MORE SAMPLES OF QUALITY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS---offers more examples of original homework ideas for students.
Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS
Boardwalk Butcher Paper, 36 x 900', White (Google Affiliate Ad)
Crayola Original Markers - Broad Line, Classic Colors, 10 ct. (Google Affiliate Ad)
Acer A200 Iconia Tablet, 16 GB, Titanium Gray XE.H8QPN.001 (Google Affiliate Ad)
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
How To Make Homework Relevant AND Why It Is Important To Do So!
With the start of the second semester coming in a few days, mainstream teachers may wish to reflect on ways to make homework assignments more accessible for those English language learners in their classes. Though it may be easier to assign the same work for all, often times this is not the most effective approach to take with them. It is true that they sound fluent, but typically their reading and writing skills are 1-3 years behind their English speaking peers so if teachers give out homework without any scaffolding or adjustments, ELLs will either do poorly or not do anything at all.
How can a teacher attach meaning to class homework assignments? This site lays out some very thoughtful approaches to create academically meaningful work for students to do at home.
KEY TO ADDING MEANING TO HOMEWORK
(recap of article below)
1. Purpose--Why are students doing the work? Whose work is it--the student's or the teacher's? By involving students in creating the assignment, they experience a sense of ownership. Further, they will accomplish the task based on their strengths since they designed it.
For myself, after finishing a lesson, I offer options for students to demonstrate their grasp of the concepts. They are also allowed to complete the tasks with partners. I never take assignments from textbooks, but instead, tweak the assignments so that they are relevant and in a more student friendly layout. I also have students start assignments in class to make sure that every students starts off on the right foot. After all, many of the ELLs are not living in homes where parents speak English at the level of a native speaker of English.
2. Efficiency--Creating dioramas may be fun, but where is language skill being developed? How is mastery of lesson content being handled? Teachers want to design activities that involve genuine interaction with the content. If students are studying historical events, why not have them keep journals as one of the historical figures being studied? If studying biology, why not have students label all the parts of a plant cell and note the function of each part in keeping the plant alive and healthy? The list of meaningful activities is endless.
3. Ownership--How about offering students options on what to read on a given topic? This approach taps student interests since s/he has the opportunity to select reading material that s/he feels will help her/him relate to the material being studied. What reading options might the student have? Graphic novels, blogs, websites, wiki posts, e-books, skype, iPad apps, pod casts, illustrated books, free online courses, translated materials, email correspondence, etc. are all options. If students have the power to navigate towards sources they feel comfortable with, they will be more likely to tap them in completing assignments.
4. Competence--If students keep learning logs/journals, they are keeping records of everything they studied. Such tools can be used in any subject. They are instrumental in assisting the student in keeping track of his/her progress in following a teacher's lesson. For example, if teaching a novel, have students keep a journal on key events and their reactions to them. Students might also keep journals as a character in the book. The list goes on. The important thing is that when they have to write a composition, an essay, or take a test, they have pages of handwritten notes/reflections to refer to in accomplishing that task.
5. Aesthetic Appeal--Presentation of the assignment is everything. As the article notes, word searches are not interesting and carry little academic value since all a student does is find a word in a puzzle. Instead, bring in some original graphic organizers that will offer students different ways to organize key information to use in class (FREEOLOGY.COM--lots of free graphic organizers). If studying a character in literature, why not have students design a WANTED POSTER with detailed information on the protagonist (here is where the detailed notes come in)? If in a science class, why not have them write a news article on the ramifications of the great discovery they studied in class that day? Why not ask students what they would like to do for homework?
The article has much more in it than I have here. The new year offers a new start for many students. If some students had a poor academic performance last year, new approaches to homework might improve student grades next semester.
Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS
Google Nexus 7 32GB Tablet NEXUS7ASUS- (Google Affiliate Ad)
HP g6-1d60us Notebook PC (Google Affiliate Ad)
How can a teacher attach meaning to class homework assignments? This site lays out some very thoughtful approaches to create academically meaningful work for students to do at home.
KEY TO ADDING MEANING TO HOMEWORK
(recap of article below)
1. Purpose--Why are students doing the work? Whose work is it--the student's or the teacher's? By involving students in creating the assignment, they experience a sense of ownership. Further, they will accomplish the task based on their strengths since they designed it.
For myself, after finishing a lesson, I offer options for students to demonstrate their grasp of the concepts. They are also allowed to complete the tasks with partners. I never take assignments from textbooks, but instead, tweak the assignments so that they are relevant and in a more student friendly layout. I also have students start assignments in class to make sure that every students starts off on the right foot. After all, many of the ELLs are not living in homes where parents speak English at the level of a native speaker of English.
2. Efficiency--Creating dioramas may be fun, but where is language skill being developed? How is mastery of lesson content being handled? Teachers want to design activities that involve genuine interaction with the content. If students are studying historical events, why not have them keep journals as one of the historical figures being studied? If studying biology, why not have students label all the parts of a plant cell and note the function of each part in keeping the plant alive and healthy? The list of meaningful activities is endless.
3. Ownership--How about offering students options on what to read on a given topic? This approach taps student interests since s/he has the opportunity to select reading material that s/he feels will help her/him relate to the material being studied. What reading options might the student have? Graphic novels, blogs, websites, wiki posts, e-books, skype, iPad apps, pod casts, illustrated books, free online courses, translated materials, email correspondence, etc. are all options. If students have the power to navigate towards sources they feel comfortable with, they will be more likely to tap them in completing assignments.
4. Competence--If students keep learning logs/journals, they are keeping records of everything they studied. Such tools can be used in any subject. They are instrumental in assisting the student in keeping track of his/her progress in following a teacher's lesson. For example, if teaching a novel, have students keep a journal on key events and their reactions to them. Students might also keep journals as a character in the book. The list goes on. The important thing is that when they have to write a composition, an essay, or take a test, they have pages of handwritten notes/reflections to refer to in accomplishing that task.
5. Aesthetic Appeal--Presentation of the assignment is everything. As the article notes, word searches are not interesting and carry little academic value since all a student does is find a word in a puzzle. Instead, bring in some original graphic organizers that will offer students different ways to organize key information to use in class (FREEOLOGY.COM--lots of free graphic organizers). If studying a character in literature, why not have students design a WANTED POSTER with detailed information on the protagonist (here is where the detailed notes come in)? If in a science class, why not have them write a news article on the ramifications of the great discovery they studied in class that day? Why not ask students what they would like to do for homework?
The article has much more in it than I have here. The new year offers a new start for many students. If some students had a poor academic performance last year, new approaches to homework might improve student grades next semester.
Denise
ELL TEACHER PROS
Google Nexus 7 32GB Tablet NEXUS7ASUS- (Google Affiliate Ad)
HP g6-1d60us Notebook PC (Google Affiliate Ad)
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