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What is the appropriate age for children to start getting homework?
Debbie leekeenan, director of the eliot-pearson children’s school and a lecturer in the department of child development, fills us in.
“In recent times, there seems to be more homework, especially for our youngest students,” says Debbie LeeKeenan. Photo: iStock
Homework is such an established part of education, it’s hard to believe it’s not all beneficial. But recent studies have found almost no correlation between homework and long-term achievement in elementary school, and only a moderate correlation in middle school.
Yet in recent times, there seems to be more homework, especially for our youngest students. That seems to have led to a backlash. Often-cited negative effects include children’s frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities and downtime and a loss of interest in learning. Many parents lament that homework is a constant source of tension at home.
What is the purpose of homework? The best homework assignments are meaningful and authentic and are connected to classroom learning. Homework can be used to teach time management and organization, to broaden experiences and to reinforce classroom skills. Parents are not expected to play the role of the teacher or introduce new skills.
Homework can certainly benefit students. It may encourage:
Practice and review —such as reading 15 minutes each night, studying spelling words or number facts
Pre-learning —a way to introduce a new topic; for example, if the class will be studying ants, having students write questions they have about ants
Processing —if learning about moon phases in class, students would observe the moon for several nights and draw what they see and identify the phases
Checking for understanding —keeping a journal about science experiments done in class, for instance
How much homework is too much? The idea that “less is more” rules here. According to the National Education Association, guidelines are no more than 10 minutes per grade level per night (that’s 10 minutes total for a first-grader, 30 minutes for a third-grader). Some students do their homework on their own, and some parents help their children. Many teachers now give homework once a week that is due the following week to allow more flexibility and accommodate a range of student and family schedules.
Successful homework experiences have strong home-school partnerships, where the purpose of homework is clearly defined by the teacher and communicated with the student and family. When in doubt, ask!
Do you have a question for Ask the Professor? Send it to Tufts Journal editor Taylor McNeil .
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What’s the Right Amount of Homework?
Decades of research show that homework has some benefits, especially for students in middle and high school—but there are risks to assigning too much.
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Many teachers and parents believe that homework helps students build study skills and review concepts learned in class. Others see homework as disruptive and unnecessary, leading to burnout and turning kids off to school. Decades of research show that the issue is more nuanced and complex than most people think: Homework is beneficial, but only to a degree. Students in high school gain the most, while younger kids benefit much less.
The National PTA and the National Education Association support the “ 10-minute homework guideline ”—a nightly 10 minutes of homework per grade level. But many teachers and parents are quick to point out that what matters is the quality of the homework assigned and how well it meets students’ needs, not the amount of time spent on it.
The guideline doesn’t account for students who may need to spend more—or less—time on assignments. In class, teachers can make adjustments to support struggling students, but at home, an assignment that takes one student 30 minutes to complete may take another twice as much time—often for reasons beyond their control. And homework can widen the achievement gap, putting students from low-income households and students with learning disabilities at a disadvantage.
However, the 10-minute guideline is useful in setting a limit: When kids spend too much time on homework, there are real consequences to consider.
Small Benefits for Elementary Students
As young children begin school, the focus should be on cultivating a love of learning, and assigning too much homework can undermine that goal. And young students often don’t have the study skills to benefit fully from homework, so it may be a poor use of time (Cooper, 1989 ; Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). A more effective activity may be nightly reading, especially if parents are involved. The benefits of reading are clear: If students aren’t proficient readers by the end of third grade, they’re less likely to succeed academically and graduate from high school (Fiester, 2013 ).
For second-grade teacher Jacqueline Fiorentino, the minor benefits of homework did not outweigh the potential drawback of turning young children against school at an early age, so she experimented with dropping mandatory homework. “Something surprising happened: They started doing more work at home,” Fiorentino writes . “This inspiring group of 8-year-olds used their newfound free time to explore subjects and topics of interest to them.” She encouraged her students to read at home and offered optional homework to extend classroom lessons and help them review material.
Moderate Benefits for Middle School Students
As students mature and develop the study skills necessary to delve deeply into a topic—and to retain what they learn—they also benefit more from homework. Nightly assignments can help prepare them for scholarly work, and research shows that homework can have moderate benefits for middle school students (Cooper et al., 2006 ). Recent research also shows that online math homework, which can be designed to adapt to students’ levels of understanding, can significantly boost test scores (Roschelle et al., 2016 ).
There are risks to assigning too much, however: A 2015 study found that when middle school students were assigned more than 90 to 100 minutes of daily homework, their math and science test scores began to decline (Fernández-Alonso, Suárez-Álvarez, & Muñiz, 2015 ). Crossing that upper limit can drain student motivation and focus. The researchers recommend that “homework should present a certain level of challenge or difficulty, without being so challenging that it discourages effort.” Teachers should avoid low-effort, repetitive assignments, and assign homework “with the aim of instilling work habits and promoting autonomous, self-directed learning.”
In other words, it’s the quality of homework that matters, not the quantity. Brian Sztabnik, a veteran middle and high school English teacher, suggests that teachers take a step back and ask themselves these five questions :
- How long will it take to complete?
- Have all learners been considered?
- Will an assignment encourage future success?
- Will an assignment place material in a context the classroom cannot?
- Does an assignment offer support when a teacher is not there?
More Benefits for High School Students, but Risks as Well
By the time they reach high school, students should be well on their way to becoming independent learners, so homework does provide a boost to learning at this age, as long as it isn’t overwhelming (Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). When students spend too much time on homework—more than two hours each night—it takes up valuable time to rest and spend time with family and friends. A 2013 study found that high school students can experience serious mental and physical health problems, from higher stress levels to sleep deprivation, when assigned too much homework (Galloway, Conner, & Pope, 2013 ).
Homework in high school should always relate to the lesson and be doable without any assistance, and feedback should be clear and explicit.
Teachers should also keep in mind that not all students have equal opportunities to finish their homework at home, so incomplete homework may not be a true reflection of their learning—it may be more a result of issues they face outside of school. They may be hindered by issues such as lack of a quiet space at home, resources such as a computer or broadband connectivity, or parental support (OECD, 2014 ). In such cases, giving low homework scores may be unfair.
Since the quantities of time discussed here are totals, teachers in middle and high school should be aware of how much homework other teachers are assigning. It may seem reasonable to assign 30 minutes of daily homework, but across six subjects, that’s three hours—far above a reasonable amount even for a high school senior. Psychologist Maurice Elias sees this as a common mistake: Individual teachers create homework policies that in aggregate can overwhelm students. He suggests that teachers work together to develop a school-wide homework policy and make it a key topic of back-to-school night and the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year.
Parents Play a Key Role
Homework can be a powerful tool to help parents become more involved in their child’s learning (Walker et al., 2004 ). It can provide insights into a child’s strengths and interests, and can also encourage conversations about a child’s life at school. If a parent has positive attitudes toward homework, their children are more likely to share those same values, promoting academic success.
But it’s also possible for parents to be overbearing, putting too much emphasis on test scores or grades, which can be disruptive for children (Madjar, Shklar, & Moshe, 2015 ). Parents should avoid being overly intrusive or controlling—students report feeling less motivated to learn when they don’t have enough space and autonomy to do their homework (Orkin, May, & Wolf, 2017 ; Patall, Cooper, & Robinson, 2008 ; Silinskas & Kikas, 2017 ). So while homework can encourage parents to be more involved with their kids, it’s important to not make it a source of conflict.
How Much Homework Is Enough? Depends Who You Ask
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Editor’s note: This is an adapted excerpt from You, Your Child, and School: Navigate Your Way to the Best Education ( Viking)—the latest book by author and speaker Sir Ken Robinson (co-authored with Lou Aronica), published in March. For years, Robinson has been known for his radical work on rekindling creativity and passion in schools, including three bestselling books (also with Aronica) on the topic. His TED Talk “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” holds the record for the most-viewed TED talk of all time, with more than 50 million views. While Robinson’s latest book is geared toward parents, it also offers educators a window into the kinds of education concerns parents have for their children, including on the quality and quantity of homework.
The amount of homework young people are given varies a lot from school to school and from grade to grade. In some schools and grades, children have no homework at all. In others, they may have 18 hours or more of homework every week. In the United States, the accepted guideline, which is supported by both the National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association, is the 10-minute rule: Children should have no more than 10 minutes of homework each day for each grade reached. In 1st grade, children should have 10 minutes of daily homework; in 2nd grade, 20 minutes; and so on to the 12th grade, when on average they should have 120 minutes of homework each day, which is about 10 hours a week. It doesn’t always work out that way.
In 2013, the University of Phoenix College of Education commissioned a survey of how much homework teachers typically give their students. From kindergarten to 5th grade, it was just under three hours per week; from 6th to 8th grade, it was 3.2 hours; and from 9th to 12th grade, it was 3.5 hours.
There are two points to note. First, these are the amounts given by individual teachers. To estimate the total time children are expected to spend on homework, you need to multiply these hours by the number of teachers they work with. High school students who work with five teachers in different curriculum areas may find themselves with 17.5 hours or more of homework a week, which is the equivalent of a part-time job. The other factor is that these are teachers’ estimates of the time that homework should take. The time that individual children spend on it will be more or less than that, according to their abilities and interests. One child may casually dash off a piece of homework in half the time that another will spend laboring through in a cold sweat.
Do students have more homework these days than previous generations? Given all the variables, it’s difficult to say. Some studies suggest they do. In 2007, a study from the National Center for Education Statistics found that, on average, high school students spent around seven hours a week on homework. A similar study in 1994 put the average at less than five hours a week. Mind you, I [Robinson] was in high school in England in the 1960s and spent a lot more time than that—though maybe that was to do with my own ability. One way of judging this is to look at how much homework your own children are given and compare it to what you had at the same age.
Many parents find it difficult to help their children with subjects they’ve not studied themselves for a long time, if at all.
There’s also much debate about the value of homework. Supporters argue that it benefits children, teachers, and parents in several ways:
- Children learn to deepen their understanding of specific content, to cover content at their own pace, to become more independent learners, to develop problem-solving and time-management skills, and to relate what they learn in school to outside activities.
- Teachers can see how well their students understand the lessons; evaluate students’ individual progress, strengths, and weaknesses; and cover more content in class.
- Parents can engage practically in their children’s education, see firsthand what their children are being taught in school, and understand more clearly how they’re getting on—what they find easy and what they struggle with in school.
Want to know more about Sir Ken Robinson? Check out our Q&A with him.
Q&A With Sir Ken Robinson
Ashley Norris is assistant dean at the University of Phoenix College of Education. Commenting on her university’s survey, she says, “Homework helps build confidence, responsibility, and problem-solving skills that can set students up for success in high school, college, and in the workplace.”
That may be so, but many parents find it difficult to help their children with subjects they’ve not studied themselves for a long time, if at all. Families have busy lives, and it can be hard for parents to find time to help with homework alongside everything else they have to cope with. Norris is convinced it’s worth the effort, especially, she says, because in many schools, the nature of homework is changing. One influence is the growing popularity of the so-called flipped classroom.
In the stereotypical classroom, the teacher spends time in class presenting material to the students. Their homework consists of assignments based on that material. In the flipped classroom, the teacher provides the students with presentational materials—videos, slides, lecture notes—which the students review at home and then bring questions and ideas to school where they work on them collaboratively with the teacher and other students. As Norris notes, in this approach, homework extends the boundaries of the classroom and reframes how time in school can be used more productively, allowing students to “collaborate on learning, learn from each other, maybe critique [each other’s work], and share those experiences.”
Even so, many parents and educators are increasingly concerned that homework, in whatever form it takes, is a bridge too far in the pressured lives of children and their families. It takes away from essential time for their children to relax and unwind after school, to play, to be young, and to be together as a family. On top of that, the benefits of homework are often asserted, but they’re not consistent, and they’re certainly not guaranteed.
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Is Homework Good for Kids?
Research suggests that homework may be most beneficial when it is minimal..
Updated October 3, 2023 | Reviewed by Devon Frye
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- Research finds that homework can academically benefit middle and high schoolers, but not elementary students.
- There are non-academic benefits to homework, but too much work may interfere with other areas of development.
- Research suggests students should be given about 10 minutes of homework per grade level.
- Parents can help with homework by encouraging a growth mindset and supporting their child's autonomy.
In recent years, homework has become a very hot topic. Many parents and educators have raised concerns about homework and questioned how effective it is in enhancing students’ learning. There are also concerns that students may simply be getting too much homework, which ultimately interferes with quality family time and opportunities for physical activity and play.
Research suggests that these concerns may be valid. For example, one study reported that elementary school students, on average, are assigned three times the recommended amount of homework.
What does the research say? What are the potential risks and benefits of homework, and how much is “too much”?
Academic vs. Non-Academic Benefits
First, research finds that homework is associated with higher scores on academic standardized tests for middle and high school students, but not elementary school students . A recent experimental study in Romania found some benefits for a small amount of writing homework in elementary students but not math homework. Yet, interestingly, this positive impact only occurred when students were given a moderate amount of homework (about 20 minutes on average).
Yet the goal of homework is not simply to improve academic skills. Research finds that homework may have some non-academic benefits, such as building responsibility , time management skills, and task persistence . Homework may also increase parents’ involvement in their children’s schooling.
Yet too much homework may also have some negative impacts on non-academic skills by reducing opportunities for free play , which is essential for the development of language, cognitive, self-regulation , and social-emotional skills. Homework may also interfere with physical activity ; indeed, too much homework is associated with an increased risk of being overweight . As with the research on academic benefits, this research also suggests that homework may be beneficial when it is minimal.
What is the “Right” Amount of Homework?
Research suggests that homework should not exceed 1.5 to 2.5 hours per night for high school students and no more than 1 hour per night for middle school students. Homework for elementary school students should be minimal and assigned with the aim of building self-regulation and independent work skills. Any more than this and homework may no longer have a positive impact.
The National Education Association recommends 10 minutes of homework per grade and there is also some experimental evidence that backs this up.
What Can Parents Do?
Research finds that parental help with homework is beneficial but that it matters more how the parent is helping rather than how often the parent is helping.
So how should parents help with homework (according to the research)?
- Focus on providing general monitoring, guidance, and encouragement, but allow children to complete their homework as independently as possible. Research shows that allowing children more autonomy in completing homework may benefit their academic skills.
- Only provide help when your child asks for it and step away whenever possible. Research finds that too much parental involvement or intrusive and controlling involvement with homework is associated with worse academic performance .
- Help your children to create structure and develop some routines that help your child to independently complete their homework. Research finds that providing this type of structure and responsiveness is related to improved academic skills.
- Set specific rules around homework. Research finds an association between parents setting rules around homework and academic performance.
- Help your child to view homework as an opportunity to learn and improve skills. Parents who view homework as a learning opportunity (that is, a “mastery orientation”) rather than something that they must get “right” or complete successfully to obtain a higher grade (that is, a “performance orientation”) are more likely to have children with the same attitudes.
- Encourage your child to persist in challenging assignments and emphasize difficult assignments as opportunities to grow. Research finds that this attitude is associated with student success. Research also indicates that more challenging homework is associated with enhanced academic performance.
- Stay calm and positive during homework. Research shows that mothers’ showing positive emotions while helping with homework may improve children’s motivation in homework.
- Praise your child’s hard work and effort during homework. This type of praise is likely to increase motivation. In addition, research finds that putting more effort into homework may be associated with enhanced development of conscientiousness in children.
- Communicate with your child and the teacher about any problems your child has with homework and the teacher’s learning goals. Research finds that open communication about homework is associated with increased academic performance.
Cara Goodwin, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in translating scientific research into information that is useful, accurate, and relevant for parents.
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How much time should a child spend doing homework?
Table of Contents
- 1 How much time should a child spend doing homework?
- 2 Should 1st graders have homework?
- 3 What a first grader should know by the end of the year?
- 4 How much homework do elementary students get?
- 5 How many hours should an 8 year old study?
- 6 How long should a first grader read each day?
The most widely accepted “rule of thumb” for homework is simple: A total of 10 minutes of homework per night per grade. That means, for example, that 3rd-grade students should not have more than 30 minutes of homework per night.
Should 1st graders have homework?
Homework guidelines Cooper points to “The 10-Minute Rule” formulated by the National PTA and the National Education Association, which suggests that kids should be doing about 10 minutes of homework per night per grade level. In other words, 10 minutes for first-graders, 20 for second-graders and so on.
How Long Should homework take in 9th grade?
Homework guidelines are 15 minutes for first grade and an additional 10 minutes for each grade after that, which would mean the recommended amount of homework for a ninth-grader is 95 minutes. Talking with her teachers also will let you know if she is having trouble with time management.
How many hours should a 7 year old study?
How many hours should a 7-year-old study?
What a first grader should know by the end of the year?
By the end of 1st grade, kids should be able to:
- Work independently for short periods of time.
- Have a conversation about what a situation is like from another person’s point of view.
- Distinguish left from right.
- Attempt to write and spell new words phonetically.
- Read and write common words such as where and every.
How much homework do elementary students get?
Usually, Grade 1 – 3 students receive one to three homework assignments per week. They suggest that your child spend at least 20 – 30 minutes per night on homework. Grade 4 – 5 students who receive two to four assignments per week, should focus between 40 – 50 minutes on completing each assignment.
What is the 10 minute homework rule?
For decades, the National PTA and the National Education Association have supported the ten minute homework rule which states a daily recommended maximum of ten minutes of homework per grade level. So, using those guidelines, high school seniors should complete about two hours of homework each night.
How long should a 9 year old study?
How much should a kid study? We recommend that your child spend between 45 – 75 minutes per night. Once your child is in highschool, Grade 9 – 12 students usually receive four to five sets of homework per week. According to Figure 2, high school students should focus about 25-30 minutes on each subject.
How many hours should an 8 year old study?
How long should a first grader read each day.
A first grader should read about 10 minutes a day Monday-Friday. This is a reasonable amount of time. 20-minutes may be too much for a struggling reader. Since reading can be a source of conflict, it’s easy to put off long reading sessions day after day…and ultimately never get to them.
What level of reading should a 1st grader be at?
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Home » Tools for Your 9-Year-Old » Homework for Your 9-Year-Old
Homework for Your 9-Year-Old
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Now Is the Right Time!
As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your 9-year-old child’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child relationship, and setting up a daily homework routine provides a perfect opportunity.
Children ages 5-10 are in the process of establishing critical learning habits, including how they approach homework, that will extend throughout their school years. For most children, homework is a nightly reality. Children who have a parent or someone in a parenting role involved in supporting learning at home and are engaged in their school community have more consistent attendance, better social skills, and higher grade point averages and test scores than those children without such support. 1 Indeed, the best predictor of students’ academic achievement is parental involvement.
Yet, there are challenges. “I don’t want to do homework. I haven’t had any time to play,” might be a frequent complaint you hear from your seven-year-old. Your child may engage you in power struggles when they have other goals in mind. Their goal – “How can I play longer?” – is typical.
A study by the National Center on Families Learning found that 60% of American families struggle to help children with their homework. 2 More than 25% admit that the reason they struggle is that they are too busy; this is up from just over 20% in 2013. Other reasons parents identified for having trouble with helping with homework were not understanding the subject matter (34%) and pushback from their kids (41%). 3
While getting a regular homework routine going might be a challenge, it can be a joyful experience that promotes valuable skills for school and life success. The steps below include specific, practical strategies along with effective conversation starters to support a homework routine in cooperative ways that avoid a daily struggle.
Why Homework?
Five and six-year-olds will be brand new to the homework experience, and you will have an opportunity to establish positive habits that will stay with them for years to come. Seven, eight, nine, and ten-year-olds will be bringing brand new academic challenges home like reading with competence and learning fractions. Additionally, they may be expected to complete long-term projects. This will take a whole new level of planning and organization. These homework assignments can become a challenge if regular routines are not established. Today, in the short term, establishing effective homework habits will create
- greater cooperation and motivation;
- greater opportunities for connection and enjoyment as you implement your respective roles and feel set up for success;
- trust in each other that you have the competence to complete your responsibilities with practice and care;
- reduced frustrations from a lack of organization, space, or resources; and
- learning about your child’s school curriculum.
Tomorrow, in the long term, homework helps your child
- build skills in collaboration and cooperative goal setting;
- build skills in responsible decision making, hard work, and persistence;
- gains independence, life skills competence, and self-sufficiency; and
- develops positive learning habits that contribute directly to school success.
Five Steps for Creating a Homework Routine
This five-step process helps your family establish a routine for homework. It also builds important skills in your child. The same process can be used to address other parenting issues as well ( learn more about the process ).
These steps are done best when you and your child are not tired or in a rush.
Intentional communication and a healthy parenting relationship support these steps.
Step 1. Get Your Child Thinking by Getting Their Input
You can get your child thinking about establishing a homework routine by asking them open-ended questions. You’ll help prompt your child’s thinking. You’ll also begin to better understand their thoughts, feelings, and challenges related to homework so that you can address them. In gaining input, your child
- has the opportunity to think through the routine and problem solve through any challenges they may encounter ahead of time;
- has a greater stake in anything they’ve designed themselves (and with that sense of ownership, comes a greater responsibility for implementing the routine);
- will have more motivation to work together and cooperate because of their sense of ownership; and
- will be working with you on making informed decisions (understanding the reasons behind those decisions) about a critical aspect of their learning — their homework.
- “How do you want to spend your time after school?”
- “Would you like a snack first?”
- “Do you want to change into play clothes first?”
- “Do you want time to rest or run outside and play?”
- “Considering all of the activities that typically take place after school, when is the best time for you to do homework?”
- Experiment to figure out a plan for homework. Since the homework experience for younger children is new, you’ll want to take a week and try out different times to see what works best with your child’s energy. Your child, for example, may say that they want to get homework done right after school only to find that they’re mentally worn and need a break. So, ask key questions and assign a first trial week. If one way doesn’t work, try out an after-dinner time and ask again: “Does this time work better?” Everyone has different energy cycles and times when they feel better able to focus, so work on discovering that rhythm with your child and you’ll go a long way toward setting them up for success!
- Once you agree upon a time that makes sense for all, your attempts to keep that time sacred and consistent for homework will be important to ensure it becomes a habit and routine. If you are consistent, it can serve as a predictable, non-negotiable process. Your child knows what to expect and when to expect it.
- Take note of the time when your child has said is the best time to do homework. Set a timer to go off at that time. Instead of you calling out, “Time for homework!” which may incite a battle, an inanimate, dispassionate object is alerting them. You can use a kitchen timer outside or inside.
- If your child has decided to do homework right after school, be certain to provide a healthy high protein snack first (peanut butter crackers, cheese stick and apples). You may even consider having this snack ready for the car ride home.
- If you cannot offer a choice in the time of day homework is completed, then find another choice your child can make. For example, you could allow your child to decide what space they use, or what snack they will have to accompany homework completion. Adding some level of choice to the process will prevent power struggles and help your child take ownership.
- a well-lit location (or get a task lamp to light up a preferred spot);
- close proximity to your family’s living space or kitchen (wherever you’ll typically be so that you are never far to offer support); and
- a hard work surface that can get dirty. (Your child may need to color with markers, use glue sticks, cut, and more. Make sure your surface is durable.)
- School supplies: loose leaf paper, crayons, glue sticks, scissors, pencils, pencil sharpener, a children’s dictionary, and any other items you anticipate they might need.
- No clutter. In fact, a disorganized environment can distract from a child’s focus. So eliminate clutter, organize tools, and only have the essentials at hand. Invest in a few supply holders to keep tools neat and ready.
- A binder, bin, or other receptacle designated for school papers that are brought home and stay at home.
- The goal of a homework space is to provide a well-equipped, consistent place for your child to fully focus on the work at hand. In this way, they’ll know what to expect. You won’t have to struggle over frustrations when they can’t find a school tool. And, they’ll learn to take greater responsibility for their learning as they work with you to organize this space.
- Make it fun! Designing a homework spot together can be an enjoyable experience. Allow your child to pick out their own organization bins and school tools. Perhaps they could make a sign with their name on it to designate the space. Or, create a poster with an inspirational saying like, “Good things come from hard work!” Take a little time to label your new supply holders not only with names but also with stickers or drawings to allow your child to personalize them. All this can be motivating to a child.
- Create a family homework rule. Be sure to discuss (at a family dinner, for example) how the family can respect homework time. Consider if you want all siblings to do homework at the same time or not. If you want everyone to do homework at the same time, consider what would need to be in place to make that happen. Either way, agree upon a homework rule that everyone will respect the person who is focused on their work and will be quiet in that area of the house.
Step 2. Teach New Skills by Interactive Modeling
As a parent or someone in a parenting role, learning on which developmental milestones a child is working can help a parent know which tasks might be more difficult. Here are some examples as they relate to homework: 4
- Five-year-olds like to help and follow rules. They typically see only one way of doing things (so if you suggest another, it might be difficult for them to understand and follow). They also may fear making mistakes, so it’s important to send the message that “Everyone makes mistakes, and mistakes are essential to learning.”
- Six-year-olds may be more apt to question your rules and refuse to proceed with the routine. But, they are ambitious and eager to do well, so recognize small steps toward competence.
- Seven-year-olds crave routine and structure, so they may not be able to deal well with a chaotic household distracting from their focus.
- Eight-year-olds are highly social and thrive in cooperative learning groups. This could be a great time to introduce a study partner/friend where buddies complete homework together discussing the issues and supporting one another. (This may not work for every child, so it is important to know your child and their ways of learning and focusing.) Eight-year-olds also may simply enjoy talking about what they are working on with you more than in past years.
- Nine-year-olds are highly competent with fine motor skills but can become easily frustrated. They may need directions that contain one instruction. They require patience and can be hard on themselves.
- Ten-year-olds are growing rapidly so they require more movement. They have a strong sense of right and wrong and awareness of fairness issues. They can feel more competent with homework, though challenging work may trigger anger and/or frustration.
Teaching is different than just telling. Teaching builds basic skills, grows problem-solving abilities, and sets your child up for success. Teaching also involves modeling and practicing the positive behaviors you want to see, promoting skills, and preventing problems.
As a parent or someone in a parenting role, it is easy to be confused about how best to support your child’s homework. Here are some specific ways you can define your role while ensuring your child has full ownership over their learning process.
- “Where in your book did you find this lesson?”
- “Where else could you look to find the answer?”
- “What other ways can you think about your answer?”
- Share your curiosity and interest in the subject, but do not provide an answer.
- Focus on keywords so that they too can learn to spot key words.
- Attempt to read together. Young children who are learning to read may require help reading and understanding directions.
- Use your finger to underscore the text you are reading.
- Ask your child which words are most important when you are talking about a problem.
- Have your child underline or highlight those words in the instructions or in the specific question they are trying to answer so that you have a focusing point. Children need support in figuring out what is most important in making sense out of text of any kind.
- Research together. If you cannot find the source of the problem in your child’s books, then do some online research together. But be certain that you allow your child to drive the process. You might ask, “What should we look up or search for together?” These are the first seeds of strong research skills.
- Teach the essential “brain break.” Breaks do not represent weakness or a lack of persistence. In fact, people’s brains work better if they take frequent breaks.
- Show proactively what a brain break might look like. Pretend play through it. Parent: sit with your pencil and paper and say aloud, “I am really starting to feel frustrated.” Then, move away from your seat and breathe deeply and loudly. Get a drink of water. Walk outside and breathe in the fresh air. Take your child with you to do this alongside you.
- You might ask, “What else makes you feel better and comforted when you are frustrated?” Brainstorm a brief list of spaces, places, things, and actions that offer comfort when frustrated. Leave that list in your school tool homework space. It will serve as an ongoing resource when brain breaks are required.
- It’s a common challenge of homework time for a child to fear making mistakes. Homework is practice, it is intended as a time to try out an answer, get it wrong, and try again. Hang up a sign near your homework spot to remind your child, “Mistakes are part of learning.”
- You do not need to be a subject matter expert EVER! If you find that you are struggling to get the right answer for yourself, take a step back. Realize that you are stealing a learning opportunity away from your child. Ask yourself how you can provide the guidance and support for them to answer the question or solve the problem (even if they get it wrong).
Step 3. Practice to Grow Skills and Develop Habits
Homework practice can take the form of cooperatively completing the task together or trying out a task with you as a coach and ready support. Practice grows vital new brain connections that strengthen (and eventually form habits) each time your child practices.
- Use “Show me…” statements. When a child learns a new ability, they are eager to show it off! Give them that chance. Say: “Show me you know what’s next when our timer goes off.” This can be used when you are in the after school routine and need an alert to move on to homework.
- Do a “brain break” dry run. In the midst of homework one night, maybe at a natural breaking point, play “brain break.” Practice moving away from homework. Get a drink of water. Walk outside and sniff the fresh air. Then, go back and ask, “Do you feel refreshed and ready or do you need a little more time?” If your child responds they need more time, then what would make them feel better? Perhaps a hug on a teddy bear or a couple of runs around the house might do the trick. This practice is super important if you plan to use it as a tool when your child is really upset.
- Recognize effort by using “I notice…” statements. For example, “I noticed how you got to work this afternoon when the timer sounded without me asking. That’s taking responsibility!”
- Proactively remind your child to help them be successful. Often the challenges in a homework routine seem to recur day after day and may be predictable. You might know exactly what they are and when they are going to happen. So, just before they do, remind in a gentle, non-public way. You may whisper in your child’s ear, “Remember what we can do next to figure out the problem? What is it?”
Resist the temptation to nag. Children often need more time to perform tasks that challenge them even if you believe they are simple and don’t require much time. Be sure to wait long enough for your child to show you they are competent. Your waiting could make all the difference in whether they are able to do what you need them to do.
Step 4. Support Your Child’s Development and Success
At this point, you’ve taught your child several new positive learning habits so that they understand how to perform them. You’ve practiced together. Now, you can offer support when it’s needed. Parents naturally offer support as they see their child fumble with a situation in which they need help. This is no different.
- Promote a learning attitude. Show confidence that your child can learn anything with time and practice (because they truly can!). Your comments and reflections will matter greatly in how competent they feel to meet any learning challenge.
- Ask key questions when your child struggles. You could say, “It looks like you feel stuck. Is there another way you could approach the problem?” or “How are you feeling about homework tonight?”
- Coach on communications. You might notice your child struggling and getting stuck even with your support. You might then say, “Seems like you are having trouble figuring this problem out and cannot find the answer in your resources. This would be a good time to ask your teacher about this problem. You might say, ‘Mrs. Johnson, I struggled with this one. Can you help me?’”
- Stay engaged. It can be motivating for a child when a parent does their own paperwork alongside them keeping them company. Working together, after all, is much more enjoyable than working alone.
- Allow for and reflect on real world consequences. If you see a mistake on your child’s worksheet, don’t correct it. You’ll be taking away a valuable learning opportunity. You could leave it alone altogether or ask once, “Do you feel like this is right or are you struggling with it?” If your child confirms it’s the answer they want to give, then allow them the experience of their teacher correcting it. It’s an important learning opportunity. It may open a door to extra support from their teacher.
- Apply logical consequences when needed. Logical consequences should come soon after the negative behavior and need to be provided in a way that maintains a healthy relationship. Rather than punishment, a consequence is about supporting the learning process. First, get your own feelings in check. Not only is this good modeling, when your feelings are in check you are able to provide logical consequences that fit the behavior. Second, invite your child into a discussion about the expectations established in Step 2. Third, if you feel that your child is not holding up their end of the bargain (unless it is a matter of them not knowing how), then apply a logical consequence as a teachable moment.
If you groan that it’s homework time, surely your child will groan too. Become aware of your own reactions to homework. Be sure that the tone and attitude you bring to homework is one of digging in, being curious, and learning.
A research study noted whether mothers’ comments during homework completion were controlling or supporting autonomy and competence. 5 The researchers concluded that those children who brought worries about their ability to perform had a heightened sensitivity to their mothers’ comments. Moms who supported their autonomy – “I know you can do it!” – and demonstrated that they believed in their child’s ability to do the work predicted increased achievement over time. However, those mothers who were more controlling in their comments – “I need to check your work. That’s not right.” – predicted less engagement and lower achievement in their children.
Step 5. Recognize Effort and Quality to Foster Motivation
No matter how old your child is, your praise and encouragement are their sweetest reward.
If your child is working to grow their skills – even in small ways – it will be worth your while to recognize it. Your recognition can go a long way to promoting positive behaviors and helping your child manage their feelings. Your recognition also promotes safe, secure, and nurturing relationships — a foundation for strong communication and a healthy relationship with you as they grow.
You can recognize your child’s efforts with praise, high fives, and hugs. Praise is most effective when you name the specific behavior of which you want to see more. For example, “You put your game away when the timer went off and got out your work. Love seeing that!”
Avoid bribes. A bribe is a promise for a behavior, while praise is special attention after the behavior. While bribes may work in the short term, praise grows lasting motivation for good behavior and effort. For example, instead of saying, “If you get your homework done right after school, I will let you choose the game we play after dinner” (which is a bribe), try recognizing the behavior after. “You got to work on your homework like we practiced. Love seeing that!”
- Recognize and call out when it is going well. It may seem obvious, but it’s easy not to notice when all is moving along smoothly. When children are completing their homework tasks on time, for example, a short, specific call out is all that’s needed. “I noticed you completed your homework today on your own in the time we agreed upon. Yes! Excellent.”
- Recognize small steps along the way. Don’t wait for the big accomplishments – like the entire homework routine to go smoothly – in order to recognize. Remember that your recognition can work as a tool to promote more positive behaviors. Find small ways your child is making an effort and let them know you see them.
- Build celebrations into your routine. For example, “We’ll get our business taken care of first with our homework, and then we’ll run around outside or take a bike ride.” Include hugs as a way to appreciate one another.
Engaging in these five steps is an investment that builds your skills as an effective parent to use on many other issues and builds important skills that will last a lifetime for your child. Throughout this tool, there are opportunities for children to become more self-aware, to deepen their social awareness, to exercise their self-management skills, to work on their relationship skills, and to demonstrate and practice responsible decision making.
[ 1 ] Henderson, A.T., Mapp, K.L., Johnson, V.R., & Davies, D. (2007). Beyond the bake sale: The essential guide to family-school partnerships. NY: The New York Press.
[ 2 ] reid, k. s. (2014). survey finds more parents troubled by their children’s homework . education week, september 19. retrieved on september 25, 2104., [ 3 ] national center for families learning. (2014). annual survey on parents and homework . google consumer surveys, august 12, 2014, to august 22, 2014, based on 1,039 online responses., [ 4 ] wood, c. (2017). yardsticks; child and adolescent development ages 4-14. turners falls, ma: center for responsive schools., [ 5 ] fei-yin ng, f., kenney-benson, g.a., & pomerantz, e.m. (2004). children’s achievement moderates the effects of mothers’ use of control and autonomy support. child development. vol. 75, 3, 764-780., recommended citation: center for health and safety culture. (2020). homework. ages 5-10. retrieved from https://parentingmontana.org..
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Your Age-by-Age Guide to Homework
Are you scared to look in your child’s book bag at the end of the day?
And I’m not talking about the forgotten sandwiches that migrate to the bottom of a full backpack.
I mean the dreaded homework assignments that loom within folders and binders, just waiting to be ignored and fought over for the rest of the evening.
Typically when parents think of the word “homework”, they quickly associate it with the term “fight”.
But homework doesn’t have to be a fight – a struggle at times, yes, but now a full out war.
Understanding what homework looks like at each grade level is a great start to helping support your child in completing their school work.
Also, the earlier you focus on creating an environment of learning and studying, the easier time your child will have as they progress through school.
Here’s your guide on setting up your child for academic success as well as what kind of homework to expect for each grade:
Setting Up For Success
From day one, homework is important in developing good study skills.
In order to encourage your child to complete their homework and take it seriously, you need to establish a proper homework environment .
Here are some tips for setting your child up for homework success:
- Set a regular homework time. Homework should be done at the same time each evening to establish a routine. Just make sure you’re allowing your little one some time to decompress when they get home before jumping into more schoolwork.
- Create a study area. Give your child a place to with proper lighting, materials and few to now distractions.
- Keep an eye on their work. Involve yourself in the process not only by helping them with homework, but monitoring their progress as well.
- Be a role model. While you may not have homework at this stage in your life, you can model good study habits by reading and pursuing your own learning opportunities.
You may think your child is a little Einstein when they start school, but the learning material will progressively get more difficult as they age.
Encouraging good study habits will give them the skills they need to continue their success through school.
Grade-by-Grade Homework Guide
Kindergarten.
When your little one is in kindergarten, it’s likely they won’t have much for homework.
However, you may find the teacher sending home easy tasks such as practicing sight words, letters, numbers and working on patterns.
Since there shouldn’t be a lot of academic expectation from children this young, it’s easy to navigate the homework by making it fun and play-based.
Children learn best through tactile activities, so materials such as PlayDoh can be used to create numbers and letters as well as designing patterns using different colors.
A whiteboard is a great tool to practice what they are learning, especially sight words. Write out the word, have your child read it and let them erase it before moving on to the next one.
Kindergarten homework tends to be pretty repetitive, meaning that your child is likely going to practice the same material each night on a week-to-week basis.
Even if your little one is catching on quick to the material, it’s important to keep up with the homework habit. This is going to help them develop healthy studying habits as they move from grade to grade.
Elementary School: Grades 1 to 2
Once your child moves from kindergarten into grade 1, the learning environment becomes less play-based and more academic.
This doesn’t mean you can’t continue making homework fun! At this age, their focus is still on playing, so you can keep using novel materials when doing homework.
The workload is likely not going to increase during these grades, but the material may become more challenging.
In order to keep homework from becoming too time consuming, you may have to mix straight-up review with play.
Use unique activities when it comes to concepts your child is struggling with and quick reviews for the learning objectives they have easily grasped.
By these grades, teachers typically encourage your child to be reading. This aspect of homework can be delayed until bedtime – which makes reading seem less like “work” and more like a leisurely activity.
Elementary School: Grades 3 to 5
By the time your little one enters grade 3, and until they finish elementary school, they should begin to complete their homework independently.
While it’s important that you remain on standby to help them with difficult concepts, you should be able to set up each homework activity and allow them to complete them on their own.
During this time, students begin to progress from simply practicing basic skills and mastering them onto more complex skills.
This means that homework is going to become more challenging, which is why focusing on a good homework routine during these grades is very important.
If you find your child resisting their homework at this age, there’s nothing wrong with offering an incentive for completing it. Try to stay away from monetary rewards and focus more on fun activities they can engage in once homework is completed.
Remember to not make homework seem like a cumbersome chore – instead, cheer your child on as they work through it. Praise them for doing a good job.
Middle School: Grades 6 to 8
Once your child hits middle school, they should be able to complete their homework assignments on their own.
Homework at this grade level is going to shift more heavily from practicing concepts to completing assignments such as essays and projects.
This is the beginning stages of the foundation of study skills they will need to succeed in high school as well as college or university.
During this time, students are beginning to rely more on technology to complete their assignments. Make sure your child has access to a tablet or computer they can use to conduct research as well as seek help for their homework.
However, it’s important for you to stay involved in their progress. Regular check-ins with their homework will not only help your child stay on track but it will also show them that you want to be involved in their education.
High School: Grades 9 to 12
It’s in high school where a student’s homework load balloons and becomes more time consuming than it was before.
Luckily, kids at these grade levels are able to choose a portion of their courses, so they have a vested interest in what they are learning.
However, with all the changes they are experiencing emotionally and physically, this period of their lives can be extremely stressful.
Maintaining that homework routine is more important now than ever. Stressed-out teens may become overwhelmed with the workload and feel compelled on throwing in the towel on completing homework assignments.
Continue to be supportive by helping them plan and prepare for homework assignments as well as tests and exams .
While you may not be able to help them with the homework material (what is “new” math, anyway?), you can certainly lend a hand when it comes to time management and getting the homework done.
You Can Make the Difference
When left to their own devices, children can’t be expected to take their schoolwork 100% seriously.
It’s your job as the parent to support and guide them through their homework and assignments.
Building good habits now is going to make all the differences as your child progresses through school.
How do you deal with homework hurdles? Share your tips in the comments!
My name is Chelsy and I am a single mother, blogger, and freelance writer. I blog about parenting at Motherhood+Mayhem (motherhoodandmayhem.online) and about working from home at Mama Needs Coffee (mamaneedscoffee.online). When I'm not writing or blogging, you can find me building blanket forts in my living room.
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7 Easy Ways to Help Your Kids To Finish Their Homework…
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How Much Homework Does your year 9 Get? Too Much Or To Little?
inashizzle · 13/10/2011 21:24
Directgovguidelines are between 1-2 hrs a day for homework for year 9. My daughter gets about 1 hr a week- if that!
Which is the recommended amount of time for year 1/2!
I dont want her to be bogged down with academic studies but as a fairly high achiever i wonder if i should be concerned or contact the school (which i try to avoid for fear of getting known as naggy, interfering with the school), or find her revision books to do? No doubt with her protesting all options.At least if the school distribute homework, she would do it a bit more willingly.
Please give me lots of ideas as i am pro homework but always reluctant to dictate to the school but as s has started g.c.s.es a year earlier than the norm but with what behind her?
Ours have about an hour a night. I would be concerned and contacting her form tutor.
This reply has been deleted
Message withdrawn
Yes i think i will book an appointment with her tutor. Last year when i mentioned it regarding maths i was told year 8 is about social interaction! I,m not good talking to teachers as i think most are armed with sayings that i swear they have cooked up in the staff room eg.if you question why do you think her grades gone down the reply from three different year teachers " i wish all students had the same learning curve!" with a wistful smile.Statements you can never argue with!hmm
Got to be honest my Y11 doent appear to have had HW since Y8, and he's grammar. I think he bangs it all out at lunch time/after school library.
As his grades arent affected and his teachers dont complain - I have no issue.
my year 9 dc goes to a selective school in n london and gets ... nothing. Spends all evening on fb. I get the impression that most of the homework is finishing the exercise they started in class which dc does in class. I would be interested in whether teachers think that this homework is sufficient? My concern is that it isnt.
What is the school homework policy? If the policy is an hour a night then you can contact the school because it should be being set and it isn't.
The form tutor isn't really the right person to contact, I would go for Head of Year.
Teachers would then be reminded to set homework per the policy and to check your DS is recording it.
Ds got hardly anything in years 7 and 8 but I notice now that he's in year 9 that it's coming thick and fast.
I think (and twas ever thus) that it does depend on the subject teacher. Teachers who don't like marking tend to set stuff that can be dashed off in three minutes, such as finishing class work. Ds had two years of maths teachers nearing retirement - the first one never set any homework at all. This year he's got a young gun out to prove herself and she is really pushing the class.
Just as an aside - was I stoopid or what when I was at school - we all thought that Mr X or Mrs Y were so nice because they didn't set any homework, and Miss Z such a tyrant because of all the extra work she gave us. Now, looking back, I realise that they weren't nice at all, but lazy. One of my English A Level teachers never set one essay in two years! He spent his whole time saying how had he landed up as a teacher and he had been destined for better things... (Bet he's still there)
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Good to hear comments, many thanks.Keep them coming as i,m getting lots of tips and confidence before i approach the school. They have a log book that they are supposed to log homework in but most weeks i think what am i signing for?
Even if the subject teacher was to send a letter suggesting text books. I have brought a couple for her, she has a token skim through for my benefit !
The school seems to be good but with a lot of emphasis on year 9 btechs, in many subjects, i wonder with such a lot of practicals going on in school, the academic written etc is left aside, teahers having to deal with all that, no time to set/mark homework?
i thought my ds had none, but in fact he was doing it at school - is your dd doing any there? if she's bright and the teacher has said "finish this for homework" she may be without you knowing. but even so, i think checking out a good idea.
hi all i accidently spoke to dd's "pastoral care" lady today.(Youngest 5 year old nearly bashed into her with her bike at shops and we chatted bit!).she implied that as year 9s have some coursework in school, teachers probably thought it was enough. Whilst she was lovely i think they are not pushing dd enough and on the whole teachers talk the talk and she obviously can't say yeah teachers can't be bothered or have loads of bloody btech paperwork to plough through. I think teachers stick together and in an ideal world could look at the individual student
Might have to set up a small timetable of revision and start her off gradually, with variety as the terms fly by and i guess the gov guidelines are there for a reason.little and often.
Thanks again all for your wisely imput xx. CAn i be cheeky and ask if anyone has tips also for interesting, teenage friendly revision books or websites?
It doesn't seem right to me.
In our school the form tutor would be the right person to contact.
Just seen your thread, OP, having started one of my own about how to help my twins manage 2 hrs HW/ night next yr - yr 7. They're currently in Yr 6 and get 1 hr a night every night. By yr 9, I'm expecting it to be about 3 hr a night every night and most of the w/e, although this is a v academic school.
One of the reasons my twins' school gives HW is to help children to realise that oneday they'll need to do work independently of sitting in front of a teacher and so they start them young, to get them into the habit.
I worry that they already get too much, at aged 10 - one hr every night - but I'd also be concerned if they weren't getting at least some each day by that age. By Yr 9, I think they'd need to expect a lot more in preparation for exams etc. So I think you're right to be concerned and take matters into your own hands.
ds1 is in year 10. Over yr9 he probably did an average of 10 hours a week. He was very meticulous though and would spend a long time over essay homeworks. Some subjects set very few tasks at all.
I'm quite pleased actually, as it gives them freedom to do lots of other things.
ds2 (currently yr8) spends a lot of his free time doing musical activities and practising. He wants to take up a 3rd instrument and I'm considering allowing him to do so. If he were getting 2 hours homework every night, that just wouldn't be possible.
"Just seen your thread, OP, having started one of my own about how to help my twins manage 2 hrs HW/ night next yr - yr 7. They're currently in Yr 6 and get 1 hr a night every night. By yr 9, I'm expecting it to be about 3 hr a night every night and most of the w/e, although this is a v academic school."
Bloody he'll, my dd is at a very academic school too and is in year 11, bright but not super bright, and predicted A* and As and doesn't do anything like that amount of homework even now and never has! I would be questioning what they are doing in lesson time if a very academic school needs their year 9s to be doing homework for 3 hours a night and most of the weekend!
I agree that three hours is excessive.
Actually, the more I think about it, the more unreasonable I'm finding it. 3 hours a night means home from school at 4.30' half an hour debrief then homework from 5 to 8. Then dinner, half an hour TV and bed at 9. What sort of a life is that? Apart from anything else, when do they practise instruments, look after pets, go to Scouts, see their friends, read books, watch Glee, all the other important stuff teenagers have to do?
The Yr 9 - 3 hrs - is only my prediction based on what I know of current Yr ^ and then Yr 7 (2 hrs a night). Maybe by Yr 9 a lot can be spread into the w/e and is project based? Don't yet know. It may also be the case that some can be done at school in breaktimes and there might even be occasional free periods for homework. Not sure yet.
Why should they spread their homework into the weekend. I bet a fair few teachers don't work 3 hours after school and some won't do weekends. Why on earth should the students?
Sorry- there is something extremely wrong with a school that sets 2 hours homework a night for year 7s. It's completely insane. Really. Don't send your children to this school!
It is not unusual for teachers to work 3 hours a night and into the weekend. That's one of the big reasons why teaching has such a high drop-out rate.
2 hours a night for a Y7 is completely insane and they will just end up resenting it. And a school that needs to set 3 hours a night below A-level and not in the immediate run-up to a big exam is putting your children at a disadvantage by denying them the opportunity of extra-curricular activities, family time and vital relaxation.
I work far more than 3 hours a night, I know that some of my colleagues do but I also know that many don't.
But I agree setting that much homework suggests they are not getting it right in the day and they are not considering the whole child.
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How much homework is too much for your child?
Homework helps your child reinforce what they learned in school but at a certain point, too much homework can be detrimental. A general rule of thumb is “ The 10-minute rule ,” which suggests that your child should have 10 minutes of homework for each grade they are in. Under this National PTA and National Education Association supported guideline, a first-grader would have 10 minutes of homework whereas a fifth-grader would have 50 minutes of homework.
Research shows that doing additional homework beyond the 10-minute rule didn’t result in better grades in the classroom. A study of middle schoolers showed that kids who did more than 2 hours of homework per night weren’t doing any better in school than ones who were doing 1-2 hours of homework per night, which is more in line with the 10-minute rule.
Assigning too much homework can lead to various risks such as increased stress, sleep deprivation, and overall burnout in your child. It’s important to be mindful of the amount of work your child does outside of school and avoid pressuring your child to do too much homework.
Instead of focusing on the amount of homework your child has, you should work to make the most of their homework time.
Here are five ways to make the most of your child’s homework time:
1. Establish a dedicated homework space. When your child has a dedicated homework space, they will be able to focus without distractions. Keep this area free from distractions like phones, TV, and loud music.
2. Set a time to do homework . Making homework part of your child’s routine will help them get into the habit of working on assignments daily. Work with your child to find out which time works best for them.
3. Make sure they do their own work. You can make suggestions and help out when your child gets stuck but ultimately, your child needs to learn to work independently .
4. Help them break up their work. Ask your child about their assignments and help them break up bigger assignments into smaller pieces.
5. Check-in with your child’s teacher. Maintaining good communication with teachers will help you understand your child’s progress and help you identify areas where your child may need more help.
You may be wondering how do I optimize my child’s learning if I can’t just have them practice more? The most important thing is to optimize the time they have. You should also make sure they clearly understand the materials. Use videos, tools, or supplementary lessons to support what they are working on.
Another way to help maximize your child's homework time is through Math Genie online classes. We cover all the standards and have a tried and true course that has helped hundreds of students. Click the button below to sign up for a free online class.
If you enjoyed this, you may be interested in the following posts.
-The Math Genie Team
Topics: Better Grades , Better Parenting , Study Habits for Children , Homework Habits , Better Study Habits , Academic Excellence , Academic Success , Better Education , Digital Learning , Parenting Tips , Parenting Skills , Homework Tips , Homework Help
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December 09, 2024
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How much homework is too much? The idea that "less is more" rules here. According to the National Education Association, guidelines are no more than 10 minutes per grade level per night (that's 10 minutes total for a first-grader, 30 minutes for a third-grader). Some students do their homework on their own, and some parents help their ...
As young children begin school, the focus should be on cultivating a love of learning, and assigning too much homework can undermine that goal. And young students often don't have the study skills to benefit fully from homework, so it may be a poor use of time (Cooper, 1989; Cooper et al., 2006; Marzano & Pickering, 2007). A more effective ...
In 1st grade, children should have 10 minutes of daily homework; in 2nd grade, 20 minutes; and so on to the 12th grade, when on average they should have 120 minutes of homework each day, which is ...
There are non-academic benefits to homework, but too much work may interfere with other areas of development. Research suggests students should be given about 10 minutes of homework per grade level.
Should 1st graders have homework? ... How long should a 9 year old study? How much should a kid study? We recommend that your child spend between 45 - 75 minutes per night. Once your child is in highschool, Grade 9 - 12 students usually receive four to five sets of homework per week. According to Figure 2, high school students should focus ...
Five and six-year-olds will be brand new to the homework experience, and you will have an opportunity to establish positive habits that will stay with them for years to come. Seven, eight, nine, and ten-year-olds will be bringing brand new academic challenges home like reading with competence and learning fractions.
Regular check-ins with their homework will not only help your child stay on track but it will also show them that you want to be involved in their education. High School: Grades 9 to 12. It's in high school where a student's homework load balloons and becomes more time consuming than it was before.
Directgovguidelines are between 1-2 hrs a day for homework for year 9. My daughter gets about 1 hr a week- if that! ... (Youngest 5 year old nearly bashed into her with her bike at shops and we chatted bit!).she implied that as year 9s have some coursework in school, teachers probably thought it was enough. ...
In 2012, students in three different age groups — 9, 13 and 17 — were asked, "How much time did you spend on homework yesterday?" The vast majority of 9-year-olds (79 percent) and 13-year-olds (65 percent) and still a majority of 17-year-olds (53 percent) all reported doing an hour or less of homework the day before.
Homework helps your child reinforce what they learned in school but at a certain point, too much homework can be detrimental. A general rule of thumb is "The 10-minute rule," which suggests that your child should have 10 minutes of homework for each grade they are in.Under this National PTA and National Education Association supported guideline, a first-grader would have 10 minutes of ...