How to Make English Homework Easy to Learn

A focused topic helps makes English homework easy to learn.

English homework is an opportunity for students to practice the concepts they have learned in the classroom in an independent setting. English teachers can use homework assignments to further instill English concepts into the minds of their students, but also as a way of testing the students' progress. Since students do not have the benefit of their teacher's help when working at home, it is important to make the homework assignments clear and easy to follow.

Instructions

1. Assign homework that covers a specific, focused topic. Choose a topic that you have covered very recently. Topics that are more than a week old may confuse the students who are looking to apply more recently learned concepts.

2. Provide clear, brief directions using actionable verbs. Avoid language that the students are not familiar with. For example, avoid directions such as, "Rhyming is a common technique found in poetry. Showcase examples of the technique in the following piece of poetry." A better direction could read, "Circle the rhyming words in the poem below."

3. Use learning exercises that the students are familiar with. For example, use "fill-in-the-blank," "true or false," "multiple choice" and "matching" exercises that the students have used before. If you introduce a new exercise, explain it and allow the students to practice it before assigning it for homework.

4. Adjust the length and difficulty of the homework assignments according to the students' ages and skill level. Scholastic suggests following the "10-minute rule" for assigning elementary school homework. Under this rule, teachers should multiply the grade number by 10 to get the time limit for their homework assignments. For example, a third-grade teacher should never assign a homework assignment that takes longer than 30 minutes to complete.

5. Go through the homework assignment with the students and make sure they understand what is being asked. Don't wait to hand out homework until the end of the day when you're rushed or when students' attention spans are fading. Leave yourself enough time to discuss the assignment with the students before the final bell rings.

References

• Scholastic: Clip and Save Checklist, Assigning Homework
• English Language Garden: How Can We Make Homework an Effective Tool for Language Learning