How to Motivate Students to Complete Homework
Ideas That Will Help Students Be Motivated to Do Their Homework
Sep 20, 2009
While the debate rages as to how much homework is just the right amount, the fact remains that teachers assign homework and students need to complete it. While some students will do their homework simply because it is assigned, many will avoid it or even forget to do their work. Here are some simple tips for helping students get their homework completed and turned in.
Get Homework Organized
Some students may not complete their homework because they are simply too disorganized to know what they are supposed to do, complete it and turn it in the next day at school. A simple organizational tool will help these students be more successful with homework. A homework folder is the easiest way to organize a student’s homework assignments.
Each student who needs a homework folder should obtain a colored pocket folder. On the outside the teacher or student should label it as a homework folder. Inside, the left pocket is work that is assigned to be completed and the right pocket is work that is completed and needs to be turned in. This makes it easy for students to find their homework at home and find it again at school to turn it in.
For more organization tips, read about Thinking Organized.
Motivating Students to Complete Homework Assignments
Many students do not complete homework simply because they do not want to. A lack of motivation is often difficult for teachers to deal with as parents may not follow through with their children to ensure that the work gets completed. Here are a few ideas for teachers to try to increase student motivation for completing homework.
Hold a Completed Homework Drawing – The teacher can enter the student’s name into a drawing for each homework assignment that a student turns in. The teacher can draw a name at the end of each day if necessary, or wait until the end of the week to reward students with a simple reward.
Assign More Creative Homework - If students find the homework more interesting, they may be more likely to complete it. For example, instead of simply asking student to complete a math worksheet, have them be the teacher and send home completed worksheets for students to correct.
Opt-Out Homework Assignments – Allow students the option to complete extra work in class instead of doing homework. This works best for students who are advanced in a particular subject. Students who find the work boring may not complete their homework but with an opt-out option for an extra credit assignment completed in class, they may become more involved.
Homework Options – Provide students two options for each homework assignment. Students can choose the assignment that seems the easiest or most fun and allows the some control over what work they must complete. Teachers can easily adapt this idea for inclusion classrooms by discretely directing the students with special needs to a particular homework option that may be more geared towards their particular needs.
When addressing the issue of incomplete homework, a teacher must identify the cause for the lack of student motivation. Helping disorganized students become organized and motivating those who do not care will help make homework time less of a problem.
Read more about homework guidelines including tips on how much homework to assign to students with special needs.
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