Homework Done Right: Powerful Learning in Real-Life Situations

What is the rationale for homework? How can you design meaningful homework, and how can changing homework influence your practice? Homework Done Right: Powerful Learning in Real Life Situations provides answers to these questions and other issues surrounding the hot topic of homework and the impact it can have on both students and teachers. Written in an accessible, practical style, this resource provides a general overview of homework and a brief look at traditional approaches, along with concrete examples of how homework can be made meaningful. The authors take an in-depth look at authentic homework-assignments that are engaging, motivational, and promote real-life applications of knowledge leading to deeper levels of learning. The book is filled with concrete examples across grade levels that demonstrate the process of matching assignments to the goals and major understandings associated with specific course content. The authors invite classroom teachers and building leaders to rethink out-of-school time and reclaim at least part of it as learning time in order to regain spirit and passion for teaching and learning. Readers will find: guidance for designing out-of-school assignments that are authentic, meaningful, and tied to real-life experience; sample homework assignments for various grade levels and subject areas, examples of student work, reflection questions, discussion prompts, protocols, and reproducible forms; and, richly-detailed vignettes describing teachers’ evolving beliefs and practices around homework.