4 Homework Tools to Keep Children on Track

4 Homework Tools to Keep Children on Track

Homework is a great way to reinforce what children learn in the classroom and provide opportunities to practice skills independently. Unfortunately, it can be a source of stress for many children—especially those who are naturally disorganized and tend to “spin their wheels” at homework time. Luckily, there are lots of aids that will help keep children on task and focused on what they need to accomplish. Here are some of Huntington’s tried-and-true homework tools for students:

Homework completion chart – Perfect for younger children who do not get a lot of homework but still need a simple way to mark off when they are complete with it, a homework completion chart teaches children good habits like writing down assignments and managing their tasks. Your child can keep this chart on hand during homework and check off subjects as finished. Here’s an example of what this chart might look like:

Week of: February 12

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Math	X
Spelling	X
Reading	X

Subject homework checklist – For children who struggle to keep track of multiple subjects, a weekly “by subject” homework checklist is a good way to keep tabs on what they need to do each night and what is coming up. One week’s sheet should list out each subject (math, reading, science, etc.) and have five boxes underneath for the days of the week. One subject would look like this:

Subject: Math

Day	Homework
Monday	Workbook p. 12-13 Read Math text p. 25-27 Review today’s notes	X
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

Daily assignments sheet – For those who like having the “big picture,” the daily assignment sheet is an invaluable tool. You can make copies for each day of the week. The idea is to get your child into the habit of recording to-dos at the end of each class and using that as his or her guide at homework time that night. Here’s an example:

Date: Monday, March 10

Subject	Assignment		Anything coming up?
English	Read text Chapter 2 Worksheet		Test Friday Report due March 22
Math	Text p. 14-17
Science	Read text Chapter 3 Review notes from today		Quiz Thursday on Chapter 3
History	No homework, but study flash cards		Test Thursday
Spanish	Worksheet		Paper due March 25

Project plan – For times when children have bigger projects to work on over the course of a few weeks, it’s a smart idea to break up the assignment into manageable tasks with deadlines. Encourage your child to create such a project plan as soon as the project is assigned. There are many ways to create a project plan, but here’s one possible structure:

Class: Social studies

Assignment or project: Research paper

Task	Start date	Deadline	Done
Select topic		October 1
Create outline	October 2	October 4
Research sources	October 5	October 6
Narrow down to best materials	October 7	October 7
Revise outline	October 8	October 8
Rough draft	October 10	October 12
Brainstorm visual aids	October 13	October 13
Draft #2	October 14	October 15
Choose visual aid and start collecting materials	October 14	October 16
Draft #3	October 16	October 17
Finalize visual aid	October 17	October 18
Finalize report	October 18	October 19
Proofread final report	October 20	October 20
Turn in paper		October 21

One of the keys to homework success is to stay organized, and charts and checklists help children do just that. In combination with use of the day planner, have your child try a few different methods and tools to discover what helps him or her be the most successful. Embracing such methods will give your child a sense of responsibility and ownership, help him or her stay focused on what he or she must do and when, and put those goals front and center.