Two years ago I decided to do a couple of things a little different when it came to homework. I had spent the previous 3 years trying to work out my homework style and find something that works for families and for our incredibly fast paced classroom. It was AMAZING, the personal connection to students that I felt was well worth the extra work for me.
The following are the reasons why I am getting away from a more “traditional” homework model:
1. I really believe that kids have so much to learn. They play sports, participate in drama or art activities, learn technology, spend time with friends, build forts, do chores, write letters to their grandparents, and of course the hours and hours spent with imaginary light sabers. Bottom line is there are so many things to do and so few hours to do them in. And also there is very little research to support assigning homework before high school. This article from Penn State University has some really important points about homework, what could be effective, and the damage that is possible. There is also a pretty boring brief from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics that did several studies on homework and it’s effectiveness and found “The average correlation between time spent on homework and achievement was substantial for secondary school students, but for elementary school students it hovered around no relationship at all.” There is also a great article on the NEA website with a whole bunch of really great links to look into it more if you are interested.
2. Life is about balance. We are a nation who values hard work but 89% of Americans feel they have a work life balance problem. Teaching students that it is important to work hard while they are at their “job” and then use their off time to pursue their own interests and spend time with their families is integral to their adult happiness.
3. In my classroom I have found the homework that I was assigning to be unconnected, unfulfilling and always lacking a place in our day. No matter what I tried to assign by the time the homework was assigned, done and returned our class had moved far beyond what ever question was posed in the homework.
So with that said I do think that homework in the 3rd grade does have some value. 3rd grade is a transitional year for students. They need to be responsible for their own stuff. Taking home, completing and bringing back homework helps them manage their time, create organizational systems and feel accomplished when they compete their tasks.
Here is what I am going to do as an alternative to the “traditional” homework assignments.
1. Each student is required to read at least 2 hours per week. I think this should be no problem as we are a community of readers. This portion of the homework is about time management. If they have soccer practice on Tuesday’s they can plan to read on Monday and Wednesday or if their cousins are coming into town on the weekend they can plan and get their work done during the week. They will use a reading log to keep track of their hours and that is what they will hand in weekly in order to get credit for their work.
2. The second thing they will do is they will write an entry in a journal each week. They will hand in their journal each week to me and I will write back to them. They can write about what they have been reading that week, what interests them, story ideas or whatever comes up. I will ask them questions or give them an assignment for the week. I did this when I taught middle school and it gave me an opportunity to get to know them a little bit better and give them one on one attention. It also made homework feel a little more relavant to our lives.
I will also try and post the math home connections in my newsletters so that if your family is interested you guys can check those out together. It is not a requirement and it will probably be more for you to connect with us than for them.
If you have any thoughts or questions about homework please feel free to ask me. Homework should never be a source of stress or fighting in your home. If you are having this issue please let me know ASAP so that we can find a solution. I want your home to be harmonious, not a war zone. The goal is for them to be 100% independent. This will be immediate for some students and it will take months for others. But by the end of the year you will not have to remind your student to get their own business done.
CSS 3rd Grade 