Setting homework “for homework’s sake” creates more effort and aggravation for everyone involved.
When setting homework for a class, be sure to consider:
- How is it relevant to your students’ learning??
- Is it consolidation?
- Is it to practise a skill?
- Is it preparation for another lesson?
- Is it to assess their knowledge and/or understanding of something in the lesson?
- Does it extend or support learning?
Next, consider if / how you are going to assess it:
- Does it need to be marked – and if so, how soon? When do students need their marks or exercise books back?
- Can you take it up in class to reduce your marking load?
- Or is it preparation for a future lesson?
- Remember – teachers don’t have to mark everything! Quick answers that are clearly right or wrong can be marked by a peer or the student themselves.
- If you’re offering homework that does not meet the criteria above, consider setting it as optional or extension homework – students will be rewarded if they complete it, but not punished if they do not.
- Just like the tasks in your classroom, make sure homework is achievable for the class and relevant to what they’ve been learning!
Teacher in a Van 