Homework Help
Lesson 2: Help for Teachers
Incentives
I always found that focusing on the positive yielded many more rewards that emphasis on the negative. So, while I did have consequences for not completing homework assignments, I found that I got much better results with providing some rewards and incentives for my students.
More about the consequences later on. Here are some great homework incentives that I've used over the years. Please note, the following two ideas are copyrighted, but I give permission to students taking this course to adapt these ideas for your won classroom use.
Homework Lottery
Does your state have a lottery? Often the slogan of lottery games is "You need to be in it to win it!" Use that slogan to encourage your students to do their homework.
At random, chose a homework assignment to be a part of the Homework Lottery. Each student who has handed the assignment in on time gets one entry in the weekly lottery. Students who have not done the assignment do not get entered that day. At the end of the week, select one or two names from the Homework Lottery to be the winners.
"Prizes" may include things like an extra five minutes of recess, a new box of crayons, a class story chosen by the winner, or other "prizes" chosen by the class.
Keep them guessing. Don't select a homework assignment each day, or select two on other days. Never knowing when you'll choose an assignment for the lottery will keep students on their toes and doing their homework.
Copyright 2003, Irene Taylor, all rights reserved.
Homework Cards
Use this homework card system to encourage and reward responsibility in the area of homework.
At the beginning of the year, or the marking period, give each student a 5"x8" index card. Have students write their names on the top line of the card, and begin numbering the lines along the edge of the card. Choose a target number of days students will need to complete all assignments in order to receive a reward (10 is a good one to start with).
For each day that a student completes and hands in all homework assignments given, she receives a stamp on her card. Using a simple date stamp works well, as it gives you a record of the dates homework was completed, and it fits nicely on the index card lines. When a student has earned ten (or your target number) stamps, allow the student to choose a sticker or other classroom reward. Students continue to use the same card to accumulate stamps until it is full (make several columns of stamps).
Students will feel a sense of accomplishment as they see the columns of stamps add up, and as their responsibility for their homework pays off!
Copyright 2003, Irene Taylor, all rights reserved.
Homework Passes
Another incentive that I liked to use was the Homework Pass. Depending upon my mood I'd sometimes hold a Homework Pass drawing, or I'd use passes as a reward for completion of a certain number of assignments. A Homework Pass is easy to make and you can adapt one to your own needs. In general, the pass allows a student to skip one homework assignment by turning in the pass. Below is a simple example which I downloaded from the Teacher Tools: http://www.teachertools.org/index.html site. There are many more great forms that can be downloaded at this site.
Homework Coupon
http://www.suite101.com/files/topics/179...
I also found the homework excuse note to be a useful tool and helped me keep track of missing assignments and work that students still owed me. Here is a good example of one, also from Teacher Tools:
Homework excuse note http://www.suite101.com/files/topics/179...
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