10 Tips for Homework

Is Homework important? Should teachers give homework after every lesson? 10 Tips

• Give clear requirements in advance 

At the beginning of the course explain to your children your methods, discuss them together;

• Make homework east and do-able 

Homework assignments should be slightly easier than ongoing classwork. Make sure that the exercises you give for homework are provided with clear instructions. At the lesson, give explanations and ask whether your students have understood what they are expected to do. The instructions given in the course book usually are not enough for students that is why it is highly advisable to give explanations at the lesson;

• Tell students why you're giving it

Students should have a reason for doing the homework. So, tell them, that this exercise is for revising the vocabulary for a test or this grammar activity is because you found they are making a lot of mistakes on this point and need more practice. It takes a few seconds to do but motivates students, as they feel involved;

• Give homework in the middle of the lesson, not at the end

If you give homework at the end of the lesson, it often implies that it is not very important. Moreover, teachers do not have enough time to explain the tasks. So, give it sometime in the middle of the lesson, write it up on the board and remind the class about it at the end of the lesson;

• Define by time rather than quantity

Tell students how much time they are expected to spend on their homework, rather than saying how much they need to complete.

For instance, say "Do as much as you can of exercise 5 in 20 minutes". or, "Write a composition: it can be as long as you like, but take between 30 and 45 minutes to do it".

This will make the assignment easier and will enable to solve problems created by different ability levels within the class. All students will have a reasonable goal to aim for in terms of their ability;

• Vary assignments and give opportunities for initiative

Give occasionally more creative tasks. 

‘Write three sentences of your own (about a given topic / using a particular item of language)’; 

‘Find out a new word or expression and bring it to the class to explain to the others’; 

‘Find out all you can from the Internet about a particular person / place / invention / word / expression’; 

or 

‘Use your dictionary to find out what idioms or collocations are associated with the word ….’. 

Even the most mechanical exercises can be varied. For example: 

‘Add another item to the exercise; one that you invented yourself’; 

‘Think up a new ending to one of the sentences’;

• Check assignments promptly

If you provide feedback this conveys a clear message to your students that homework is important and worth investing work in;

• Provide regular individual writtten feedback 

At least some of the students' homework assignments should be commented on and assessed in writing. Make time do so regularly. This is important for their progress and general morale;

• Don't use "ping-pong" interaction to check assignments in class 

Written exercises are often checked in the next lesson by eliciting the answers from students one by one round the class - this is time consuming and not very learning-rich. If the assignment is success-oriented, what it should be, most of the answers should be correct. So, write the answers on the board, dictate them, or ask students to check each other in pair or groups, calling on you as necessary to deal with difficulties;

• Keep a record

Make sure you keep a record of who did the homework, who didn't and how well they did it. Moreover, make sure that your students know about this, as this will enable them to understand that homework is important and it encourages them to keep doing it;

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Article by UrPenny "Ten Tips for Homework"