home assignment in education

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Home Assignments

What are home assignments.

• Individually defined activities to do at home in-between sessions
• An opportunity to practice new skills, strategies or knowledge as applicable to an individual’s everyday life
• Practice of new skills or knowledge independently or with natural supports
• A step towards person-centered and identified goals
• A specific and practical plan to practice a skill, achieve a step towards a goal
• An opportunity for the individual to build confidence in their ability to learn new skills.

How are Home Assignments Developed?

• Determined and developed by the individual at the end of each session with the support of the practitioner (and other group members if applicable)
• Ensuring a connection between the home assignment and each client’s identified goals
• Created with a practical and specific plan to help ensure success
• Always developed with the individual’s context and available support system in mind
• Asking the client at the end of the session, “What was helpful to you about we discussed/practiced today?” and “How could you practice that at home?”

Client Scenario 1

Example: You are working with Ed, an individual who has identified a goal of exercising regularly as a strategy to reduce his symptoms of depression, tendency to isolate and increase his sense of physical and mental well-being.

Practitioner: “You have identified exercise as a new strategy to enhance your well-being. Let’s make a plan for how you might take a step towards this goal. What type of exercise have you done over the past month?” (Note that the practitioner is supporting Ed’s self-determined goal and helping him identify a practical strategy by asking him specifically what kind of exercise he engages in.)

Client: “I have gone on a walk around my neighborhood. I liked that, so I could do that again.”

Practitioner: “Great! What day this week will you plan to take a walk around your neighborhood? How long will you walk for?” (Note that the practitioner is again supporting Ed’s goal and now is helping him develop a specific and practical plan and first step to achieve this goal.)

Client: “Next Tuesday for 20 minutes.”

Practitioner: “In the past you have mentioned walking outside feels scary to you. What time of the day are you planning to go for a walk, such as the daytime?” (Note: Practitioner is helping identify possible barriers and encouraging Ed to identify practical strategies to help ensure success.)

Client: “I have an appointment later in the afternoon so I could go on my walk in the morning, maybe around 9am.” (Note: Ed came up with his own solution. Another idea, if he had struggled a bit, would be to suggest involving his support system and have a friend or family member join him on his walk.)

Practitioner: “That’s great. Why don’t we write that down as a reminder you can put on your refrigerator?”

Client Scenario 2

You have been working with Susan on different social supports and resources that are available to her in her community. Last week she determined that her home assignment would be to attend an intake at a Community Support Program (CSP) down the street.

Practitioner: “Were you able to go to the CSP intake like we talked about last week?” (Note: The practitioner is reviewing the home practice at the beginning of the session to see how it went and problem solve, if needed.)

Client: “Yes, but I don’t think I want to go back. I don’t know.”

Practitioner: “Good work! Going to the intake was a big step. It would be helpful for me to understand more about why you don’t want to go back. Could we take a minute for you to show me what happened when you went into the intake?” (Note: Practitioner is praising Sue’s efforts and providing encouragement.)

Client: “I guess. The man asked me a lot of questions and I felt embarrassed.”

Practitioner: “I can see how you might feel that way. I know that we are going to be talking more about starting a conversation today in our session and I wanted to see if you would be willing to show me how the intake person was asking you questions so we can help you feel more comfortable in those situations.” (Note: Practitioner is using role-play to troubleshoot the difficulty Susan encountered.)

Client: “Yes, I guess I could do that.”

Practitioner: “I see you have a calendar of events and groups from the CSP with you today, can we take a look at that together? Is there anything going on next week that you might be interested in?”

Client: “Next Wednesday there is a knitting group. I used to knit and liked it, maybe I could go to that.”

Tips for Troubleshooting

• Praise all efforts, no matter how small the success may seem
• Using a different term to describe home assignments such as home practice, recovery assignment, or just trying something at home
• Practicing the home assignment in session using a role-play might help to troubleshoot and tailor the assignment to increase successful attempts
• Review home assignment attempts at the beginning of each session and spend time discussing and problem solving any difficulties
• Personalizing the home assignment by making it relevant to the client’s goals or current concerns
• If difficulties are encountered, work to shape and break the assignment down into smaller, more achievable steps.

The Center for Practice Transformation is sponsored by funds from the Minnesota Department of Human Services Adult Mental Health Division and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division.

Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today  sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

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Senior Contributing Editor

Sara Rimer A journalist for more than three decades, Sara Rimer worked at the Miami Herald , Washington Post and, for 26 years, the New York Times , where she was the New England bureau chief, and a national reporter covering education, aging, immigration, and other social justice issues. Her stories on the death penalty’s inequities were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Her journalism honors include Columbia University’s Meyer Berger award for in-depth human interest reporting. She holds a BA degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan. Profile

She can be reached at [email protected] .

Comments & Discussion

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There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

Comments are closed.

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 5 best homework help apps you can use.

General Education

We know that homework can be a real drag. It’s time-consuming, and can be difficult to complete all on your own. So, what can you do if you’re struggling?

You might try looking online or in the app store! If you’ve already looked around you probably know that there are tons of homework sites for students and homework apps out there that all say they can help you improve your grades and pass your classes. But, can you trust them? And what are the best apps for homework help?

Below, we answer these questions and more about homework help apps–free and paid . We’ll go over: 

• The basics of homework help apps
• The cost of homework help apps
• The five best apps for homework help
• The pros and cons of using apps that help you with homework 
• The line between “learning” and “cheating” when using apps that help you with homework
• Tips for getting the most out of homework sites for students 

So let’s jump in!

The Basics About Apps that Help You With Homework–Free and Paid

The bottom line is, homework sites and homework apps are intended to help you complete your take-home assignments successfully. They provide assistance that ranges from answering questions you submit through a portal all the way to one-on-one tutoring, depending on the help you need! 

The big plus for both homework help apps and websites is that they usually offer help on-demand. So if you can’t make it to after school tutoring, or if you're studying late into the night (it happens!), you can still access the help you need! 

If you’re specifically looking for an answer to the question: “what is the best homework help website ?,” you can check out our article on those here! [LINK COMING SOON]

What’s the Difference Between a Homework Help Website and an App?

So if they’re both designed to give you a little boost with your take-home assignments, what makes homework apps and websites different from one another? First off, homework help websites are optimized to be used on a desktop, while apps are designed to be run natively on mobile devices. So depending on which devices you have access to, you may decide to use a website instead of an app…or vice versa! 

The other big difference between homework help apps and websites is that they sometimes offer different features. For instance, with the Photomath app, you’ll be able to submit photos of math problems instead of having to type everything out, which is easier to do by using an app on your phone. 

If you’re trying to decide whether to go with a website or app, the good news is that you may not have to. Some homework help websites also have companion apps, so you can have the best of both worlds!

What Makes a Homework Help App Worth Using

Apps that help you with homework should ideally help you actually learn the material you’re struggling with, and/or help you turn in your work on time. Most of the best apps for homework help allow you to ask questions and provide answers and explanations almost immediately. And like we mentioned earlier, many of these apps let you send a picture of a question or problem instead of writing it all out.

But homework help apps offer more than just quick answers and explanations for your assignment questions. They also offer things like educational videos, lectures, tutorials, practice tests and quizzes, math solving tools, proofreading services, and even Q&A with experts.

And the best part is, most offer these services 24/7! 

What You Should Look Out For

When it comes to homework help, there are lots–and we mean lots –of apps willing to prey on desperate students. Before you download any apps (and especially before you pay to sign up for any services), read reviews of the app to ensure you’re working with a legitimate company. 

Keep in mind: the more a company advertises help that seems like cheating, the more likely it is to be a scam. Actual subject matter experts aren’t likely to work with those companies. Remember, the best apps for homework help are going to help you learn the concepts needed to successfully complete your homework on your own. 

If you’re not sure if an app is legitimate, you can also check to see if the app has an honor code about using their services ethically , like this one from Brainly. (We’ll go over the difference between “homework help” and “cheating” in more detail a little later!) 

How Expensive Are Apps That Help You With Homework?

A word to the wise: just because a homework help app costs money doesn’t mean it’s a good service. And, just because a homework help app is free doesn’t mean the help isn’t high quality. To find the best apps, you have to take a close look at the quality and types of information they provide! 

Most of the apps out there allow you to download them for free, and provide at least some free services–such as a couple of free questions and answers. Additional services or subscriptions are then charged as in-app purchases. When it comes to in-app purchases and subscriptions for homework help, the prices vary depending on the amount of services you want to subscribe to. Subscriptions can cost anywhere from $2 to around $60 dollars per month, with the most expensive app subscriptions including some tutoring (which is usually only available through homework help websites.)

The 5 Best Apps for Homework Help

Okay, now that you’re up to speed on what these apps are and how they can help you, we’ll run you through the best five apps you can use. 

Keep in mind that even though we recommend all of these apps, they tend to excel at different things. We’ve broken these apps into categories so that you can pick the best one for your needs! 

Best Free Homework Help App: Khan Academy

• Price: Free!
• Best for: Practicing tough material 

While there are lots of free homework help apps out there, this is our favorite because it actually supports learning, rather than just providing answers. The Khan Academy app works like the website, and offers the same services. It’s full of information and can be personalized to suit your educational needs. 

After you download the app, you choose which courses you need to study, and Khan Academy sets up a personal dashboard of instructional videos, practice exercises, and quizzes –with both correct and incorrect answer explanations–so you can learn at your own pace. 

As an added bonus, it covers more course topics than many other homework help apps, including several AP classes.

Best Paid Homework Help App: Brainly

• Price: $18 for a 6 month subscription, $24 for a year 
• Best for: 24/7 homework assistance 

Brainly is free to download and allows you to type in questions (or snap a pic) and get answers and explanations from both fellow students and teachers. Plus, subject matter experts and moderators verify answers daily, so you know you’re getting quality solutions! The downside is that you’re limited to two free answers per question and have to watch ads for more if you don’t pay for a subscription. 

That said, their subscription fees average around only $2 per month, making this a particularly affordable option if you’re looking for homework help on a budget. Brainly subscriptions not only cover unlimited answers and explanations on a wide variety of school subjects (including Art and World Languages which aren’t always included in other apps), they also provide tutoring in Math and Physics!

Best App for Math Homework Help: Photomath

• Price: Free (or up to $59.99 per year for premium services) 
• Best for: Explaining solutions to math problems

This app allows you to take a picture of a math problem, and instantly pulls up a step-by-step solution, as well as a detailed explanation of the concept. Photomath subscription services also include animated videos that break down mathematical concepts–all the way up to advanced Calculus!--to help you better understand and remember them. 

The basic textbook solution service is free, but for an additional fee you can get extra study tools, access to one-on-one tutoring, and additional strategies for solving common math problems.

Best App for STEM and English Homework Help: Studypool

• Price: Varies; you’ll pay for each question you submit
• Best for: Science and English homework help in one app

When it comes to apps for science and English homework help, there aren’t lots of great resources out there, much less out there all in one place. While Grammarly is a good service for proofreading, SparkNotes has some decent summaries, and Khan Academy covers science, the best of the bunch if you need help with both subjects Studypool. Instead of using lots of different apps for STEM and English help, they’re combined together here! But while Studypool has great reviews, there are some downsides as well. 

The Studypool Q&A model is a little different than other homework help apps. After you create a free account, you ask questions, and tutors submit bids to answer them. You’ll be able to select the tutor–and price point–that works for you, then you’ll pay to have your homework question answered. You can also pay a small fee to access thousands of notes, lectures, and other documents that top tutors have uploaded.  

The downside to Studypool is that the pricing is not transparent . There’s no way to plan for how much your homework help will cost, especially if you have lots of questions! It’s also not clear how they choose their tutors, so you’ll need to be careful when you decide who you’d like to answer your homework questions. That said, if you only need a few questions answered per month, this could be cheaper than other monthly subscription services.

Best Homework Scheduling App: MyStudyLife

• Best for: Keeping track of your schedule and deadlines

If the reason you’re looking for homework help is less about finding answers to questions and more about needing assistance with organization and time-management , MyStudyLife is a great option. This is a cross-platform planner that allows you to store your class schedule, upcoming tests, and homework assignments in the cloud so you can access it all wherever you are, and on any device. 

One of the unique things about it is that it easily works for daily or weekly rotating class schedules that can get confusing, helping you keep track of when you need to finish your homework based on your changing schedule. You can get reminders for upcoming classes and assignments as well as past-due homework and any revisions you may need to do. It can even let you know when you need to start studying for a big test!

Best of all, you can actually schedule assignments and study sessions for multiple nights, and specify how much of the task you got done each night. That way you’ll know how much additional time you’ll need to spend! 

While homework apps might seem like magic, it's important to weigh the pros and cons before you commit to one. 

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Homework Help Apps?

Homework help apps can be useful tools if you’re struggling in any of your classes. But there are a few problems you might run into if you don’t use them ethically and responsibly. 

Below we’ll cover some of the good and the not-so-good parts of using homework help apps to complete your take-home assignments.

3 Pros of Using Homework Help Apps

Let’s start with the pros of using apps for homework help.

Pro 1: All-Around Better Grades

This is undeniably the main pro and the reason apps that help you with homework are so popular with students. Not only can you potentially get better grades on individual assignments, because they help you learn tricky concepts, you can also earn better grades overall .

Just keep in mind that if you want better grades you have to actually learn the material you’re studying, not just find easy answers. So be sure to use apps that provide good explanations . That way you’ll have the mental tools you need to succeed on your class exams and on standardized tests for college. 

Pro 2: Flexibility

It’s hard to beat homework help that you can access anywhere you are from your mobile device. You can also get assistance whenever you need it since the best apps offer their services 24/7. This is especially useful for students who need to study during hours when their free school resources aren’t available because of extracurriculars, jobs, or family obligations. 

If you need convenient and flexible homework help or tutoring services to fit your schedule, apps can be your go-to resource. 

Pro 3: Individualized Learning

Sometimes the kind of learner you are doesn’t match your teacher’s style of teaching. Or maybe the pace of a class is a little too fast or too slow for your tastes. Homework apps can help by allowing you to learn at your own speed and in ways that support your own learning style. 

You can use their features, such as educational videos, 24/7 conversations with experts and peers, and tutorials to review concepts you may have forgotten. These apps can also let you dive deeper into topics or subjects you enjoy! With homework help apps, you get to choose what you need to learn and how you learn it.

3 Cons of Using Homework Help Apps

Next, let’s look at the cons of homework help apps. 

Con 1: Questionable Info 

Unfortunately there are lots of less-than-reliable homework help apps out there. They might not hire actual experts in their fields to provide answers and create study tools, or they rely on user-submitted answers that they don’t verify. In those cases, you might not be getting the accurate, thorough, and up-to-date answers you need to really learn.

In addition to the possibility of running into plain-old wrong answers, even the best apps sometimes just won’t have a specific answer you need. This could be because you’re enrolled in an advanced class the app doesn’t really cover or because of the algorithm or chatbot a particular app uses. 

If that’s the case , your best bet will likely be to talk to your teacher or a free tutor (if your school provides them) to get help answering your question.

Con 2: Information Overload

While having tons of information at your fingertips can be helpful, the sheer amount and variety of videos, tutorials, expert answers, and resources a homework app provides can be overwhelming . It’s also easy to get sucked into a research rabbit-hole where you learn new things but don’t actually get your work done. This is especially true for students who tend to be easily distracted.

Additionally, you may be learning to do things differently than you’ve learned them in class , which could cause problems. For example, if your math teacher asks you to solve a problem one way, but you learned to do it differently through an app, you could get confused come test time! 

Con 3: Cutting Corners

There are a lot of apps out there that bill themselves as “the best app for cheating.” They allow users to type in a question or take a picture, then instantly provide an answer without any explanation of the material. Many of these are scams or provide unreliable answers, but not all. Some apps are legitimate and provide quick and easy answers that could allow you to do your whole homework assignment in minutes. 

The problem is that even though taking shortcuts on homework to save time is tempting, it can keep you from really learning. The point of practicing concepts and skills is so you develop them and can access them whenever you need to. This is especially true if skills build on one another, like in a math or English class. 

Sometimes s truggling with an assignment or question, trying, failing, then trying again until you succeed can help you learn difficult material. If you don’t let yourself really try, and instead take too many shortcuts, you may end up behind.

When Does “Help” Become “Cheating”?

When it comes to using homework help apps, sometimes the difference between “help” and “cheating” is really clear. For example, if you’re using an app to get answers while you’re taking a test, that’s definitely cheating . But what if you’re struggling with a math problem and need to know the correct answer so you can work backwards to learn the process? Is that “cheating” or is it “help?” 

The truth is, not everyone agrees on when “help” crosses the line into “cheating .” If you’re not sure, you can always check with your teacher to see what they think about a particular type of help you want to get. That said, a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is to make sure that the assignment you turn in for credit is authentically yours . It needs to demonstrate your own thoughts and your own current abilities. Remember: the point of every homework assignment is to 1) help you learn something, and 2) show what you’ve learned. 

So if you’re relying on an app to do all of the work for you, there’s a good chance using it might constitute cheating. 

Think of it this way: say you’re studying for an upcoming math test, and are stumped by a few of the questions on the study guide. Even though you’ve tried and tried, you can’t seem to get the right answer because you can’t remember the steps to take. Using an app to explain the steps as you’re studying is “help.” Using the app to get answers so you can make a good homework grade is “cheating.” 

The same is true for other subjects: brainstorming essay ideas with others or looking online for inspiration is “help” as long as you write the essay yourself. Having someone read it and give you feedback about what you need to change is also “help,” provided you’re the one that makes the changes later. 

But copying all or part of an essay you find online or having someone write (or rewrite) the whole thing for you would be “cheating.” Ultimately, if you’re not generating your own work or learning to produce your own answers, it’s probably cheating. 

5 Tips for Finding the Best Homework Help App for You

If you’re serious about using a homework help app, our expert tips can help you pick one that’s right for you and your budget!

#1: Decide What Tools You Need to Succeed 

While most apps offer Q&A services, the best apps provide study tools to help you learn the material you need to learn . 

For instance, if you’re a visual learner, you might need an app that provides lots of videos. If you learn best by reading, an app that provides lots of in-depth written resources might be better for you. Or, if you learn best by actually doing things, look for an app that provides practice tests and quizzes, along with explanations for correct and incorrect answers.

Before committing to an app, take a quick survey of the tools they offer users to make sure they meet your unique learning needs. 

#2: Decide Which Subjects You Need to Study

Not all homework apps are created equal. One might provide tutoring in math and science, but no proofreading services to help you with writing. Another might be perfect for American History, but what you really need help with is your Spanish class. So, before you can decide which app is best for you, make sure to create a list of the subjects you need the most help in.

#3: Do Your Research

As we’ve said before, there are tons of homework apps in the app store to choose from, and the most important thing you can do is research what they offer students. Services, prices for those services, and subjects that the apps cover all vary, so it’s important that you look into your options. We’ve compiled our all-around favorite (and reliable) apps here, but it’s still a good idea to do your own research to find out what might meet your individual needs best.

#4: Learn Why People Like and Dislike the App

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “buyer beware?” It means that the person buying something should check for quality before actually handing over their money. This applies to both free and paid homework apps, but especially those that actually cost money.

Before you download anything, be sure to read the user reviews . While all apps will have both positive and negative reviews, you want to look for one that has more positive than negative. And if you’re considering paying for a service, be sure that users think it’s worth the price overall!

#5: Budget Yourself

If you find a paid app that provides the learning tools you need, covers the subjects you need to study, and that has good reviews overall, set a budget to pay for it before you hit that “install” button. The costs for paid homework apps vary, and especially if you’re using one that requires you to pay for individual questions or services, the prices can add up quickly. So make sure there’s money for it in your budget before you commit!

What’s Next?

If you’re not quite sure why you’re struggling with homework, or want to know how you can do your homework as quickly as possible , check out this list of 15 expert homework tips and tricks to make your life a little bit easier!

Effective studying requires the right balance of concentration, understanding, retention and rest. So if you need help striking that balance, read these 16 tips for better study habits in both the short and long-term.

Getting good grades is about more than just answering questions correctly on your assignments. It also requires planning ahead and participation. In this article we cover the academic survival strategies that can help you throughout high school .

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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• What Happens When You Don’t Know Your Students
• How Diverse Are We?
• Culturally Responsive Curriculum Ideas
• What Families Want
• Reflecting on your goals
• Strategies to Improve Communication with Families
• How to Overcome Language Barriers
• Ways to familiarize families with the school system
• Transitioning From Elementary to Middle School
• Transitioning from Middle School to High School
• Developing Cultural Sensitivity
• Families Experiencing Poverty
• Homeless Families
• Native Hawaiian Families
• Immigrant Families
• Filipino Families
• Micronesian Families
• Military Families
• LGBTQIA2S+ Students and Families
• Families with Students in Special Education
• What You Don’t Know About Family Engagement

Ways to Engage Families at Home

• Ways to Engage Families at School
• Welcoming Parent into Schools
• Student-Led Conferences
• Family Engagement Strategy Impact Levels
• Greeting and Welcoming
• Getting to Know Your Families – General Strategies
• Getting to Know Your Families – Connecting with Diverse Families in Your Classroom
• Communication with Families – General
• Communication with Families- Conferences
• Creating Opportunities for Family Engagement
• Ways to Help Parents Support Academics at Home
• Partnering with Diverse Populations
• Partnering with the Community

• Family Engagement /
• 3.2 Ways to Engage Families at Home

Creating an environment for learning at home

Setting goals

Communication folders

Carefully consider your homework practices

Homework planner

More homework support

Homework hotline

Lending library

Mini-books for fluency

Decodeable and phonic readers

High frequency words

Timed readings

Audio books

Reading tips

Promoting writing at home (traveling Flat Stanley)

Promoting Math at home

Dual language books

Examining and learning from family engagement initiatives in Hawai‘i

Home visits

Neighborhood Inventory

One of the barriers to family engagement in the schooling of their children is that often families do not know how to be involved 1 . Teachers and schools with a commitment to parent involvement take an active role in helping parents learn a variety of ways to be involved. Student achievement is related to families help with homework. Families can provide assistance with subjects such as reading, writing, and math, and support the development of students’ first language at home.

1. Delgado-Gaitan, 1991

2. For example, see Van Voorhis, 2003 for homework; Sheldon & Epstein, 2005

Suggested procedures :

1. Help the families of your students create homework routines at home. There are at least four important factors to consider: location, space, time, and schedule. Some activities you can do assist families in this area are:

• Provide information about your homework policy and expectations during your Open House presentation. If possible, have samples of the homework you tend to give to your students in the different subject areas.
• Periodically and in small increments, inform families about how they can help their children with schoolwork. For example, you can have a “homework tips” section in your weekly newsletter.
• Survey students and families about their homework routines. Recognize what is going well and collaborate with students and families to work towards improving these routines.
• Visit your students’ homes. You can gather relevant information about the opportunities to learn that are available to your students and their families.

InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards

Standard #1: Learner Development

1(c) The teacher collaborates with families, communities, colleagues, and other professionals to promote learner growth and development.

Standard #3: Learning Environments

3(n) The teacher is committed to working with learners, colleagues, families, and communities to establish positive and supportive learning environments.

1. Homework tips for parents (kids age 5-13): https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/homework-help/homework-project-tips/10-homework-help-tips.html

2. Strategies to establish a homework routine at home, as well as a daily assignment planner and incentive planning sheet: https://childmind.org/article/strategies-to-make-homework-go-more-smoothly/

3. Faber, A., & Mazlish, E. (1995). How to talk so kids can learn: At home and in school. New York, NY: Scribner.

4. Christenson, S. (2004). Parent-teacher partnerships: Creating essential connections for children’s reading and learning. Harvard Family Research Project, Harvard, University, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved from https://archive.globalfrp.org/var/hfrp/storage/fckeditor/File/parent-teacher_module.pdf

5. Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Bassler, O. C., & Burow, R. (1995). Parents’ reported involvement in students’ homework: Strategies and practices. In The Elementary School Journal, 95(5),pp. 435-450.

6. “How to Create an At-Home Learning Space for Your Child” at  https://www.waterford.org/resources/how-to-create-an-at-home-learning-space/

7. Hull, G., & Schultz, K. (2001). Literacy and learning out of school: A review of theory and research. Review of Educational Research, (71)4, pp. 575-611.

1. Identifying needs and resources. Help students and families gain ownership of the learning process working with them to identify personalized goals.

2. Work with students to create a list of goals they will be working on. Send a folder home that includes the following docs:

• An explanation of the activity
• Tips for families to help children identify goals.
• A goal-setting template.
• A documentation form.

3. Share with students and families the progress made and redefine goals or create new ones as the goals are met.

Standard #6: Assessment

6(m) The teacher knows when and how to engage learners in analyzing their own assessment results and in helping to set goals for their own learning.

6(q) The teacher is committed to engaging learners actively in assessment processes and to developing each learner’s capacity to review and communicate about their own progress and learning.

6(r) The teacher takes responsibility for aligning instruction and assessment with learning goals.

6(s) The teacher is committed to providing timely and effective descriptive feedback to learners on their progress.

Standard #7: Planning for Instruction

7(b) The teacher plans how to achieve each student’s learning goals, choosing appropriate strategies and accommodations, resources, and materials to differentiate instruction for individuals and groups of learners.

Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration 

10(q) The teacher respects families’ beliefs, norms, and expectations and seeks to work collaboratively with learners and families in setting and meeting challenging goals.

1. List of children’s story books on goal setting can be found at http://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/goal-setting-examples.html

2. “Goal Setting for Students, Kids, & Teens” at https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting-students-kids/

3. “Homework: A Guide for Parents” at  https://apps.nasponline.org/search-results.aspx?q=Homework%3A+A+Guide+for+Parents

4. Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Bassler, O. C., & Burow, R. (1995). Parents’ reported involvement in students’ homework: Strategies and practices. In The Elementary School Journal, 95(5), pp. 435-450.

1. You need to organize a system to have continuous and effective communication with families. For example, you can send a home folder every Monday and call it “Monday Folder.” Label the folder with its title and use its title when you communicate with students and families.

2. Decide what goes into the folder. For instance, you can include a relevant piece of students’ previous week’s work, a classroom weekly newsletter (if you don’t choose to email it) and letters and notifications about things such upcoming events, fieldtrips, and classroom guests. Whenever possible, have documents translated into the families’ native languages.

3. Let students take ownership of the process. As a Monday routine, have students organize their folders, deciding what papers need to be sent home in the “Monday Folder.”

4. Introduce families to your system of communication. You can present your system at Open Night, send families a letter, or ask your students to share the system with their parents.

5. Make it workable. In addition to enlisting your students to help to choose and organize the folders, solicit a reliable family volunteer or a group of rotating family volunteers to help collate papers into students’ folders each Monday.

9. Be creative. There are many ways in which you can organize the folders. Here are a couple of ideas:

– Use color-coded folders for take-home assignments. This can help prepare students to be organized as well as provide parents with a reliable tool to be informed of homework. It can also help minimize confusion and increase communication amongst all stakeholders.

– Include memos to parents and goal setting charts

Standard #1: Learner Development 

Standard #3: Learning  Environments 

3(q) The teacher seeks to foster respectful communication among all members of the learning community.

Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration 

10(d) The teacher works collaboratively with learners and their families to establish mutual expectations and ongoing communication to support learner development and achievement.

1. “Engaging Families in Out-of-School Time Programs Toolkit” at https://cdn.ymaws.com/nafsce.org/resource/resmgr/Toolkits/Boston_Engaging_Families_Out.pdf

2.  “8 Innovative Ways to Organize Take Home Folders” at https://www.weareteachers.com/8-innovative-ways-to-organize-take-home-folders/

3. “Weekly Folders Deliver News from School to Home” at http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin463.shtml

4. Another example of a communication folder. http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/08/daily-communication-folders-teacher-tip.html

Suggested procedures:

It is important to consider the reasons why you are asking students to do homework and what you expect students to get out of it. Read these two short texts (click here), and then answer the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of your homework? Vatterott talks about the following purposes:

• Pre-learning , Tasks to provide an introduction to a topic or background for a more in-depth lesson and prepare students for the materials that are going to be introduced.
• Checking for understanding . Tasks that provide information to teachers about students’ knowledge in order to plan for re-teaching or for further instruction.
• Practice . Tasks that allow students to practice the knowledge and skill learned in class. It is important to ensure that students have actually learned the material and don’t have any misconceptions that might be reinforced by practice, as well as to make sure that practice is distributed and not given all at once.
• Processing . Tasks that ask students to reflect, synthesize, apply, or extend what they have learned in class.

2. What type of learning are you seeking for your students? Vatterott provides the following overview:

• Facts —Discrete bits of information that we believe to be true (e.g., whales are mammals)
• Concepts —Categories of things with common elements that help us organize, retain, and use information (e.g., the process of photosynthesis)
• Principles —Rules that govern concepts (e.g., matter can change forms)
• Attitudes —Degrees of commitment to ideas and spheres of learning (e.g., we should be concerned about the environment)
• Skills— The capacity to apply the understandings students have gained (e.g., drawing conclusions from data)

3. How will you promote students’ interest and motivation to do homework? You need to carefully consider the following aspects:

• Academic purpose — Tasks should have a clear academic purpose.
• Competence — Tasks should have a positive effect on a student’s sense that they can be successful.
• Ownership — Tasks  s hould be personally relevant and customized to promote ownership.
• Aesthetics — Tasks  s hould be aesthetically pleasing.

4. How will you differentiate your homework? Homework should be differentiated based on the learner’s readiness, learning style, and organizational skills. Homework may be differentiated by difficulty or amount of work, by the amount of structure or scaffolding provided, or by learning style or interest.

5. How do you plan to give feedback to students about their homework? Good feedback on homework requires back-and-forth dialogue between teachers and the students, so teachers need to find efficient ways of doing so. Consider also self- and peer- feedback on homework.

6. How do you plan to use the homework info in your teaching? Ideally, homework should provide feedback to the teacher about student understanding, allowing the teacher to adjust instruction, and when necessary, reteach concepts, before practice is assigned.

Read the following quote:

“ If children are not required to learn useless and meaningless things, homework is entirely unnecessary for the learning of common school subjects. But when a school requires the amassing of many facts which have little or no significance to the child, learning is so slow and painful that its school is obliged to turn to the home for help out of the mess the school has created.”

– Excerpt from article in the November 1937 issue of Parents magazine, cited in Alfie Khon’s “The homework myth: Why our kids get too much”

Do all students need homework?

by Cathy Vatterott

A parent once asked her daughter’s teacher “If my daughter already knows how to do these math problems, why does she have to do 30 of them?” To which the teacher replied, “Well, if she already knows how to do them, she should breeze right through it.”

The answer to the question “Do all students need homework?” depends on what one believes the purpose of homework is. If you believe the purpose is to reinforce learning or extend learning outside the classroom, then you probably believe that the child needs more challenging homework. If you believe the purpose of homework is to develop independent learners, then you probably believe the child should be able to create her own homework. If you believe the purpose of homework is to build the habit of doing homework, then you probably believe all children must have homework.

The idea that some children would not have homework makes many people very uncomfortable. Is it fair that they have less work than other students? But if you believe the purpose of homework is to help students master a set of standards for a grade level or course, and the student has done that, then you may quite comfortable with some students not doing homework.

In standards based systems, homework is often optional. If the student can pass the assessments, they have shown mastery—the homework is merely a tool for those who need it, much like in many college courses. If a student gets 100% on the 3rd grade spelling test, that student doesn’t have spelling homework. And no, they don’t have extra homework in other subjects.

Most of us could see the logic of allowing an Olympic athlete or a gifted musician to succeed academically without doing homework, because they are honing a unique talent. But if other students are allowed to skip unnecessary homework, they may spend more time reading, learning Spanish, or delving into their passion for history, science or art. And isn’t that what educating the whole child is all about?

1(b) The teacher creates developmentally appropriate instruction that takes into account individual learners’ strengths, interests, and needs and that enables each learner to advance and accelerate his/her learning.

Standard #2: Learning Differences

2(e) The teacher incorporates tools of language development into planning and instruction, including strategies for making content accessible to English language learners and for evaluating and supporting their development of English proficiency.

2(f) The teacher accesses resources, supports, and specialized assistance and services to meet particular learning differences or needs.

2(g) The teacher understands and identifies differences in approaches to learning and performance and knows how to design instruction that uses each learner’s strengths to promote growth.

3(i) The teacher understands the relationship between motivation and engagement and knows how to design learning experiences using strategies that build learner self-direction and ownership of learning.

1. Esptein, J., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2001). More than minutes: Teachers’ roles in designing homework. Educational Psychologist, 36(3), 181-193.

1. Before the start of the school year develop or purchase homework planners for your students. Collaborate and consult with colleagues and administration, since this may be implemented on a grade- or school-wide basis.

2. Decide what will go in the homework folder.

3. Present and explain the purpose and use of the homework folder to students and parents during Open House, with a letter home, or both.

4. Establish daily and weekly routines. For example, at the end of the day, students could quietly and independently copy down homework off the whiteboard. At the beginning of the day, students can put the folder in a pre-arranged bin. During the day, check the folder for completion, add information as needed, and include new homework. You can enlist the help of parents or community volunteers to do this.

5. You may want to have parents sign or initials next to completion of homework on a daily or weekly basis.

6. Work with your students and their families to decide what happens when homework is not submitted on a consistent basis. What are the classroom consequences? Will there be any consequence at home?

1(d) The teacher understands how learning occurs—how learners construct knowledge, acquire skills, and develop disciplined thinking processes—and knows how to use instructional strategies that promote student learning.

1(k) The teacher values the input and contributions of families, colleagues, and other professionals in understanding and supporting each learner’s development.

3(d) The teacher manages the learning environment to actively and equitably engage learners by organizing, allocating, and coordinating the resources of time, space, and learners’ attention.

Standard #8: Instructional Strategies

8(k) The teacher knows how to apply a range of developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate instructional strategies to achieve learning goals.

Strategy #10: Leadership and Collaboration

1. Tips for using a homework planner. http://homeworktips.about.com/od/timemanagement/a/planner.htm

2. “7 Tips for the Most Successful Planner” and a free student tutor planner at https://student-tutor.com/blog/7tipsforthemostsuccessfulplanner/

3. Additional resource for planners for primary, elementary, middle school, and high school students at https://meridianplanners.com/

4. Success by Design, Inc. provides primary, elementary. middle, and high school planners at https://www.successbydesign.com

5. Homework reminder slips can be found for K-12 students at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

Check out other support systems in the resource section.

2(i) The teacher knows about second language acquisition processes and knows how to incorporate instructional strategies and resources to support language acquisition.

Standard #5: Application of Content

5(s) The teacher values flexible learning environments that encourage learner exploration, discovery, and expression across content areas.

1.”11 Ways Parents Can Help Their Children Read at Home” https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-literacy/11-ways-parents-can-help-their-children-read

2. Tips for parents for supporting their child’s writing at home at https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/support-writing-home

3. “Listen, Talk, Answer—Support Your Child’s Learning” at https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/listen-talk-answer-support-learning

4. Helpful Homework Tips for Parents. This 1-page PDF file gives basic suggestions on things parents can do to support their child(ren)’s homework and learning at home. You can download this at http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/homework-project-tips/10-homework-help-tips

5. “Helping Your Child Do Well in School” from the National Education Association and National Parent Teacher Association at https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/helping-your-child-do-well-school

1. Talk to your administration and colleagues about the feasibility of setting up a homework hotline and whether there is a budget to support teachers who participate. If there are no funds, collaborate with peers to investigate grants for which you can apply.

2. If the administration is supportive and you have funds and commitment from teachers, seek input on ideas from the PTA, families, and students about how to set up and run the homework hotline. Conduct a needs analysis survey to find out:

a) The subjects with which the students need help. b) How, specifically, teachers will be able to help students with the homework. c) The time of day that would be convenient for students to call the hotline and for teachers to be available. d) Whether you will need bilingual teachers (or assistants) to help with non-native English speaking families

Be open to other feedback. In addition, consult with the other teachers about the needs of their students.

3. Based on the above information gathering, create a plan of action:

a) Set up a schedule (day and times) indicating the names and telephone numbers of volunteer teachers. b) Establish guidelines or expectations for calling the hotline. For example, make a list of the kinds of questions students might ask, the type of homework assignments volunteers will assist with, and what is an acceptable frequency of calling. c) Write a letter and send it home to parents. d) Give students a written copy of the schedule, phone numbers, expectations, and other relevant information.

4. Pilot test the hotline.

5. At the end of the semester, send home a survey to collect feedback and suggestions and also gather information from the other teachers regarding whether the program is helping students improve their homework. Remember to continuously modify your system, as needed.

Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration

10(g) The teacher uses technological tools and a variety of communication strategies to build local and global learning communities that engage learners, families, and colleagues.

1. Reach, K., & Cooper, H. (2004). Homework hotlines: Recommendations for Successful Practice. Theory into Practice, 43(3), pp. 234-241.

1. Gather books to start your own lending library. You might have access to funds from the school, write a grant, seek donations, and/or purchase inexpensive second hand books.

2. Decide whether the lending library will be used for all children or if you will target at-risk children. While all students will benefit from additional opportunities to read, having access to books is especially important for at-risk students, who may not have access to books at home and may have difficulty determining the level of books they should choose. Providing books for at-risk students can accelerate their academic achievement, love of reading, and sense of self-worth.

3. Send an explanatory letter home and follow up with a phone call, if necessary.

4. Explain to students the purpose and goals of the program.

5. Model how you want students to complete the readings.

6. Allow for choice and student ownership by setting up a system. For example, if you send home five picture books a week, students may be given the option to choose three to which they will respond. Responses can be written, drawn, or presented in other forms.

7. Create a system to keep track of who is doing what and when. For instance, make a checklist and mark books that are borrowed. Gather and label resealable (e.g., Ziploc) plastic bags for students to carry books home. Provide a checklist for students to mark the books they have read and responded to, and record students’ completed reading comprehension tasks.

8. Send home the resealable bag full of books on Friday. Collect them the following Friday, check off and collect tasks, and refill the bag with new books.

9. During the week, have each student share at least one of the lending library books using multiple modes of delivery.

10. If possible, try to get help for your project by involving family volunteers, student helpers, colleagues, the school librarian, and others relevant parties.

RL.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding

RL.2: Recount stories

RL.5: Describe the overall structure of a story

RL.7: Use illustrations and words to understand characters, setting, or plot

RL.10: Read and comprehend a variety of texts

RI.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding

RI.2: Identify the main topic

RI.10: Read and comprehend informational texts

RF.3: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis to decoding words

RF.4: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension

1. Creating your own classroom library at http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/creating-your-own-classroom-library-set

2. “What an Effective Classroom Library Looks Like: Organization and Layout” at https://www.scholastic.com/content/dam/teachers/articles/migrated-files-in-body/organize_class_library.pdf

3. “6 Tips to Help Set Up a Classroom Library” at https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/articles/6-tips-to-help-set-up-a-classroom-library.html

4. Classroom library checkout system suggestions at https://organizedclassroom.com/classroom-library-checkout-systems/

1. Print out and photocopy printable mini-books according to your students’ levels and interests.

2. Send home a parent letter explaining the mini-books, highlighting their purpose and use in improving children’s reading proficiency. Provide suggestions about how parents can support their children’s at-home reading development (go to the resources section for some ideas about this). Even better, hold a home literacy night to give this information to parents and model reading with their children.

3. Integrate the mini-books as part of your weekly homework assignments. For example, you can send the books home in your “ Monday Folder”  or “ Homework Folder.”

4. Explain to students the procedures and expectations for completing the mini-books. Model and provide examples.

5. In small group reading instructional teams, discuss and follow up on the assigned mini-books.

6. Get students excited about reading. Expose them to a variety of topics and genre. If you can afford to allow students to keep the books, encourage them to highlight new words, write questions, make text connections, and decorate the pages.

7. When possible, try to connect the reading of these books with children’s individual goal setting and interests.

1. Scholastic mini-books at https://teachables.scholastic.com/teachables/premium/printable-minibooks.html

2. Enchanted Learning at http://www.enchantedlearning.com/books/mini/

3. A to Z Teacher Stuff at http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Printables/Printable_Books/

4. Amazon (search for mini-books) at http://www.amazon.com

1. To complement your Language Arts and Reading instruction, start an at-home literacy program to help your struggling readers or the whole class, and get families involved.

2. Design a phonic/decodable reader homework routine for your struggling readers or the class. Depending on the students’ reading proficiency, you may use a combination of single-sheet printables or phonic printable mini-books.

3. Find, print, and/or photocopy decodable and phonic readers or single-sheet exercises. Design a system to send this reader home on a regular basis.

4. Send home a letter explaining the program, its purpose, and how the families can be involved. See the resources section for a sample of a letter home. Invite families to email, call, or visit you if they have questions.

5. Integrate the phonics/decodable readers with your weekly Language Arts homework assignments. Make sure to integrate reading, writing, and spelling and pay attention to oral development as well.

6. In order to get students and families accustomed to the routines, make sure you are consistent in the implementation of this program.

RI.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text

1. Printable Decodable & Phonic Readers at http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/home/

2. Printable phonic readers at https://teachables.scholastic.com/teachables/premium/printable-minibooks.html

* NOTE: You need to be a subscribing member to download and print these resources.

3. Decodable readers teacher’s guide at https://eps.schoolspecialty.com/EPS/media/Site-Resources/Downloads/Miscellaneous/spire/spire_eBook_TE.pdf?ext=.pdf

4. Building phonics skills. http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/developing-reading-skills/building-phonics-skills

1. In your small instructional Language Arts team (e.g. literacy/struggling readers), explain the high frequency word program that you’ll be starting with them. Explain the purpose and benefits.

2. Individually assess each student (in the at-risk instructional group) during Language Arts/Reading or any other free time during the day. The student is given a laminated copy (one sheet) of the first one hundred words. You have the assessment sheet. Write down the student’s name and date. Ask them to read the words one-by-one. They do not need to know the meaning; they only have to decode.

3. Put a check next to the word any time they make a mistake. After reading all 100 words, tally how many words were misread. If more than 95% of the words were read correctly, they can advance to the next level. In the same way, give the next level test.

4. Note: if the student is making many mistakes and struggling to read the words, you should stop the test and congratulate them on what they’ve done so far. You don’t need to have them get through all 100 words.

5. If the student doesn’t pass the level, then you know this is the benchmark level.

6. Prepare resealable plastic bags filled with laminated flashcards for each level. Label the bags.

7. When the student doesn’t pass the level, give a bag filled with the words misread mixed with some of the words that were read correctly. Have them practice and memorize those words for the next week.

8. Send a parent letter/memo home explaining the high frequency word program, its purpose, and how parents can support their child (e.g., having them practice the words, read aloud the words to the parents, playing word games with the cards, fun quizzes to review).

9. A week later, retest the student on the same 100 words. If they score more than 95%, then they pass on to the next level and the process starts over again (e.g. benchmark text, flashcards in a bag, practice for a week, retest).

10. Involve your parent volunteer: have a station during Language Arts/Reading time in which students who are involved with this program rotate to the volunteer to practice reading their words, playing word games, and other decoding/word manipulation activities.

11. Be consistent and you’ll see exponential growth in your struggling readers.

12. Make connections and help your students make connections with the high frequency words and words they see in their texts and reading assignments.

1. High frequency word flashcards at https://sightwords.com/sight-words/flash-cards/

2. High frequency word flashcards, worksheets, and assessments (for purchase) can be found at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com

3. Tips for teaching high frequency words. http://www.reading-tutors.com/tips/TH_Tips_HFW.pdf

1. It is well documented that students’ reading comprehension is closely tied to reading fluency. Without fluency, students will struggle to read grade level texts. The following at-home tasks can help to accelerate students’ reading proficiencies.

2. If, due to management and time constraints, you only have time to work with a small group of your struggling readers, identify the students with whom you will be working.

3. Schedule a time during the day when you can assess each of the students. (a) Find an on-grade level text (or if that’s too difficult, find one that’s slightly above student’s level)– preferably a one-page story from a teacher’s resource book. (b) Photocopy the story–one for you and one for the student. (c) Ask children to read the story to the best of their abilities. (d) As the students read, check off any words that are misread. (e) Stop the student after 1 minute– regardless if they finished the story or not. (f) Congratulate the children on their reading. (g) Count the number of words read in the 1 minute minus the words misread. This is the total words per minute, (h) Go over the misread words with the students, and if possible read the story together and practice.

4. Assign the story (same one as above) as part of the students’ special homework or integrate it as regular homework. Tell the student that they should practice reading the story as often as possible to practice their fluency–at home during breakfast, in front of siblings/parents, by themselves, etc.

5. Send home a parent letter explaining this at-home reading fluency program and how the family can help Ask families to encourage practice, listen to children reading aloud, check for accuracy, record progress, and praise!

6. In one week, retest the students on the same story to see how much their fluency has improved. Record the results.

7. Pre-test using another story, and continue the same process.

8. In a few short months you should steadily see an increase of your students’ reading fluency and confidence.

9. This reading fluency program is also a low stress task for parent volunteers. They can help students practice reading their text and provide correction.

10. You may also connect this to the students’ portfolio, goal setting, and communication folders for parents.

1. How to conduct and record timed readings at https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/timed_repeated_readings

2. Timed reading fluency record sheet (free pdf download) at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Timed-Reading-Fluency-Recording-Tracker-Sheet-Words-per-Minute-4938292

3. Chang, A. C-S (2010). The effect of a timed reading activity on EFL learners: Speed, comprehension, and perceptions. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(2), 284-303. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ901548.pdf

Many educators recommend that parents use audio books to promote children’s language and literacy development (Beers, 1998; Koskinen, Blum, Bisson, Phillips, Creamer, & Baker, 2000). Audio books can help develop children’s abilities to read books fluently and may enhance feelings of confidence and excitement in reading. Audio recordings can assist struggling readers. Listening to a book on tape together promotes awareness of children’s reading materials and may encourage family members to be involved in children’s reading.

The following are tips to promote the effective use of audio books at home (Beers, 1998).

• Provide positive experiences of using audio books at school.
• Recommend audio books that interest students or are related to the current academic topics.
• Introduce the content of the audio books to the kids first before sending the books home.
• Check the speed of the recording. Struggling readers might need a slower speed.
• Check with parents about whether they have compatible machines to play the audio books at home.
• Encourage parents to use books and recordings with their children.

1. This article describes the benefits of audiobooks for children, where to find audiobooks, and how to preview them: http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/forparents/a/audiobooks.htm

2. A New York Times article on audiobooks together with some suggested titles: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/books/review/lets-go-reading-in-the-car.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

3. A brief explanation of the benefits of audio books along with six suggested places to find audio books for children at https://www.learningliftoff.com/free-audio-books-for-kids/

Check out the list of resources and ideas, including links to websites for further information.

RL.1: Ask and answer questions to show understanding RL.2: Recount stories RL.3: Describe how characters in a story respond RL.5: Describe the overall structure of a story RL.7: Use illustrations and words to understand characters, setting, or plot RL.10: Read and comprehend a variety of texts RI.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding RI.2: Identify the main topic RI.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text RI.6: Identify the main purpose of a text RI.10: Read and comprehend informational texts RF.3: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis to decoding words RF.4: Read with accuracy/fluency for comprehension

1. “Supporting Your Beginning Reader.” This 2-page PDF file gives basic information and suggestions for parents on supporting their children reading at home. It also includes useful websites. This is a free download at: http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/abbeydale/SiteCollectionDocuments/Supporting-Your-Beginning-Reader.pdf

2. “What Kids Really Want to Read.” This 2-page PDF file gives basic information and suggestions for parents on selecting reading texts for their children. It also includes useful websites. This is a free download at: http://www.avonworth.k12.pa.us/Downloads/What_kids_really_want_to_read_2018621142528428.pdf

3. “5 Readings Tips for Parents to Keep Their Kids Engaged” at https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/reading-resources/developing-reading-skills/reading-tips-parents.html

1. Introduce this unit to your whole class. Tell students what they’re going to be doing with this unit. Explain the big picture and the final objectives. For example you might say “We are going to start a new unit so that we can all get to know each other better. I want to learn more about you and your families, and I want all of us to get to know each other better. I think that is really important to us having a good school year together.

2. Start by activating students’ background and asking them to make predictions. For instance, you can ask: “Has anyone ever read this book before? What do you see on the cover page? What do you think the book will be about?”

3. Give instructions to students, like:

a) “We are going to read this Flat Stanley chapter book together. We will practice our reading and it will also help us get ready for other things we are going to do in this project.”

b) “After we read the book, each of us is going to take this Flat Stanley traveling journal to our homes and write about our families and the experiences “Flat Stanley” has while he is visiting with us. I will be the first person to take it home so that you can see how to do it.”

(c) “Next you will return the journal and share a few things that Flat Stanley experienced at your home with your family.”

(d) “In this way, each of us will take a turn to bring Stanley to our homes and then talk about it with the class.”

(e) “This will give us a really great chance to get to know each other better, and practice our reading and writing at the same time.”

3. Read aloud the selected Flat Stanley book. While reading, remember to engage students, apply reading strategies, and make personal connections.

4. Send a letter to families explaining the project and motivating them to be engaged with it.

5. Introduce the traveling journal component once you have finished reading the book. Negotiate with students the criteria for taking the journal and “Flat Stanley” to their homes and narrating Stanley’s journeys. For example, the number of days they will take it home, how much they should write, what they should write about, in what capacity they should include their family members, and whether they should include photos. Take notes of the criteria and later post this prominently on classroom wall, next to memorabilia of Flat Stanley. If you have the time, you may want to scan student and family work in case the journal is misplaced.

6. Take the journal and “Flat Stanley” (e.g. laminate a color picture of Flat Stanley; also if you have extra copies, you might send a Flat Stanley book along with the journal). After the designated number of days, return the journal and Flat Stanley and share it.

7. Review students’ expectations of taking the journal home, answer students’ questions, and assign the first student to take it home.

8. Have the first student share the traveling journal and provide time for questions from the audience. Continue with the rest of the students of the class.

9. Make the traveling journal and extra copies of Flat Stanley available for students to read during the silent time or free time.

10. Consider creating a visual map of the “traveling” of Stanley from home to home.

11. Close the unit with written and/or oral reflections. You can ask questions like: What did you learn from the traveling of Flat Stanley? What are some things you learned about your classmates? Why do you think it is important for us to know each other in our classroom? What’s the most interesting thing you learned about a classmate that you didn’t know before? What else do you think we should do to continue getting to know each other and have a good classroom community?

RL.1: Ask and answer questions to show understanding RL.2: Recount stories RI.1: Ask and answer questions to show understanding W.2: Write an informative or explanatory text W.3: Write a narrative W.5: Focus on a topic; strengthen writing by revising W.7: Participate in shared research and writing projects W.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from sources SL.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners SL.4: Tell a story or recount an experience SL.5: Add drawings/visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences

1. Flat Stanley Project. See this website for additional resources and connections to other classrooms around the world: http://www.flatstanleyproject.com

As with other subjects, parent involvement is important for students to learn mathematics. There are several ways to promote your students’ parents engaging with their children about math topics.

Activities related to school curriculum:

1. Send math projects home for parents and students to talk about. Provide a feedback sheet for parents to provide comments. For example, ask parents to talk about quantities of things with their children. Tell them to ask their children how they came up with their answers. Below is an example of a conversation between a parent and her child.

– Family member: Tell me about your picture. – Child: This is me, Amy. I am drawing my dolls at home. – Family member: How many dolls did you draw here? – Child: Four. – Family member: In your room, I saw six dolls. Why did you draw only four in your picture? – Child: Oh, because on that day, I only had four in my room. Daddy just sent me that blue one yesterday and Auntie Lily gave me this one today.

2. Design math projects that promote family engagement. For example, ask students to find containers at home, investigating the purposes and size of each container.

Opportunities parents can use to discuss math at home:

1. Dinner time. A family member takes advantage of an upcoming improvised dinner with some family members and turns the occasion into a math game.

– Family member: Tūtū and auntie Mary are coming for dinner. How many more utensils should we prepare now in addition to those for mommy, daddy, and you? – Child: I’m not sure… – Family member: OK, let’s set up the chairs and see how many more utensils we need. [Child counts newly set up chairs and gets two forks] – Family member: we also need knives, right? [Child gets them and sets them on the table] – Family member: OK, let’s count together [Family member and child count up to four] – Family member: four, great, we needed 4 more utensils, 2 more forks and 2 more knives. And now, how many plates do we need? [Continue to the conversation for other items needed to set the table for two more guests]

2. Clean-up time.

– Family member: Kahea, it’s time to clear up. We have to get ready for bed. – Child: OK. (Starting to put away all of the toys into a big basket). – Family member: Kahea, what could we do differently instead of putting away everything in that green big basket so everything will look neat? Maybe we can put things by color? – Child: Can I put the green toys here? – Family member: That’s a great idea. How about those blue toys? [Continue to the conversation with other ways to sort items by color]  

*Potentially all the Math standards:

2.0A.1-4: Operations and Algebraic Thinking

2.NBT.1-9: Number and Operations in Base Ten

2.MD.1-10: Measurement and Data

2.G1-3: Geometry

1. For a list of Math terminology, support for Math homework, Math games, family Math games, and other resources check out Oregon City School District’s website at https://www.ocsd62.org/district/mathematics

2. “Doing Mathematics With Your Child: Kindergarten to Grade 6” A Parent Guide by Ontario Ministry of Education at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/parentguidenumen.pdf

3. Help your child learn mathematics: With activities for children in preschool through grade 5 http://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/math/math.pdf

This shows respect and recognition of students’ and families’ identities, and also helps to increase literacy in both languages. Dual language books can be used as a scaffolding structure for your English language learners. Incorporate the native language (other than English) and/or bilingual books into your language arts curriculum and into the weekly reading homework.

1. Send an explanatory letter home to parents. Gather resources. Ask for donations of used children’s books in the native languages of your students, get a grant, and ask your school to see what is already available.

2. During your small group reading time, explain the purpose and goals of the program to the bilingual students.

3. Read a couple of books with your students as a class activity.

4. Model and explain how you would like them to complete the readings at home.

5. Integrate these books into your lending library system. For example, you can create a checklist of books borrowed, get re-sealable plastic bags for students to carry books home, maintain a checklist of the books students have completed, and keep a file for recording students’ completion of reading comprehension tasks.

6. Motivate students. Encourage family members to get involved by having their child share the story at home, reading together, discussing the contents, and making personal connections to the student’s home and culture.

7. Have students share their readings and use the opportunity to connect to students’ home cultures.

8. Promote family members reading aloud in the native language, helping children read, and extending the readings by explaining, comparing, and commenting on the text. Recruit bilingual family members to come to class and do the same.

9. As a culminating activity, have students read aloud their chosen bilingual texts, with or without the help of their family.

1.  International Children’s Digital Library at http://en.childrenslibrary.org/

2. Children’s Books Online. Find children’s books online as well as corresponding translations at http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/library-translations.htm

3. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This site provides different children’s genre and instructional books, in addition to books in different languages. http://www.hmhbooks.com

4. Scholastic is the largest children’s book publisher. For dual language resources, search using key words such as bilingual, culture, diversity, and dual language at http://www.scholastic.com

5. Amazon has a large database for books. Search using key words such as language, bilingual, culture, etc. at http://www.amazon.com

6. Search for children’s books at https://www.barnesandnoble.com

7. Cinco Puntos. This site a selection of bilingual Spanish-English books and audiobooks at https://cincopuntos.com

Read several examples about family engagement initiatives in Hawai‘i. Consider what was successful and challenging, and generate at least two action items you could try in your classroom to enhance your family engagement practices.

1. Read the two short newspaper articles about two different family engagement initiatives in Hawai‘i.

• Use multiple strategies to keep parents updated: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2010/10/08/hawaii-news/teacher-best-in-kids-book/
• Families and classroom teachers (FACT) at Kaunakakai school:  http://archives.starbulletin.com/2005/02/06/news/story4.html  or http://themolokaidispatch.com/hero-kaunakakai-school/

2. Reflect on what you learned. How can you use what was learned to shape your approach to family engagement?

3. Peruse the resources section to see links to family engagement in current school projects in Hawai‘i.

4. Select two projects that pique your interest.

5. Based on the previous reading and the two projects you learned about, answer the following:

• What is the most powerful aspect of family engagement you observed in this project?
• Who took the initiative for the project?
• How did the families, teachers, and students react?
• What kinds of resources are available for you and your school to support your family engagement efforts?

1(g) The teacher understands the role of language and culture in learning and knows how to modify instruction to make language comprehensible and instruction relevant, accessible, and challenging.

1(h) The teacher respects learners’ differing strengths and needs and is committed to using this information to further each learner’s development.

2(d) The teacher brings multiple perspectives to the discussion of content, including attention to learners’ personal, family, and community experiences and cultural norms, including Native Hawaiian history and culture.

2(j) The teacher understands that learners bring assets for learning based on their individual experiences, abilities, talents, prior learning, and peer and social group interactions, as well as language, culture, family, and community values.

2(k) The teacher knows how to access information about the values of diverse cultures and communities and how to incorporate learners’ experiences, cultures, and community resources into instruction.

2(m) The teacher respects learners as individuals with differing personal and family backgrounds and various skills, abilities, perspectives, talents, and interests.

2(o) The teacher values diverse languages and dialects and seeks to integrate them into his/her instructional practice to engage students in learning.

8(p) The teacher is committed to deepening awareness and understanding the strengths and needs of diverse learners when planning and adjusting instruction.

Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice 

9(e) The teacher reflects on his/her personal biases and accesses resources to deepen his/her own understanding of cultural, ethnic, gender, and learning differences to build stronger relationships and create more relevant learning experiences.

9(i) The teacher understands how personal identity, worldview, and prior experience affect perceptions and expectations, and recognizes how they may bias behaviors and interactions with others.

10(f) The teacher engages in professional learning, contributes to the knowledge and skill of others, and works collaboratively to advance professional practice.

10(l) The teacher understands schools as organizations within a historical, cultural, political, and social context and knows how to work with others across the system to support learners.

10(m) The teacher understands that alignment of family, school, and community spheres of influence enhances student learning and that discontinuity in these spheres of influence interferes with learning.

http://www.waikikischool.org

Home visits allow teachers and families to connect in an informal setting, provide teachers an opportunity to expand their knowledge and understanding of students’ home lives and cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and provide opportunities to identify, prevent, and resolve problems in a more friendly and efficient manner.

Home visits allow teachers and families to connect in an informal setting, provide teachers an opportunity to expand their knowledge and understating of the students’ home life and cultural and linguistic background, and provide opportunities to identify, prevent, and resolve problems in a more friendly and efficient manner.

Conduct at least one home visit with the family of a diverse student in your class. Write 2 double-spaced pages of reflections about the experience, and indicate three specific things that you learned as well as three specific actions you can take to use your newly acquired knowledge and experience about the children and families you are serving in your daily teaching practices.

1. “Parent Teacher Home Visits: Creating a Bridge Between Parents and Teachers as Co-Educators in Springfield, MA and Seattle, WA”  https://www.neafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/pthv-full-issue-brief-5.pdf

2. “Home Visits 101” at https://www.edutopia.org/article/home-visits-101-cristina-santamaria-graff

3. The Parent Teacher Home Visit Project provides some tips for scheduling and preparing for home visits. The project also provides educator training as well as hosts a conference on parent teacher home visits. http://www.pthvp.org

4. Should teachers visit student homes? The following blog appeared in The Washington Post and addresses this question. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/should-teachers-visit-student-homes/2011/08/17/gIQApbzoMJ_blog.html

Become familiar with the neighborhoods where the majority of your students live. You can then be aware of the resources available and refer students and families to them.

As the classroom teacher, are you familiar with your students’ community? What resources exist? What’s available in the community for students to do after school? Where do they go shopping? The neighborhoods students come from always have a great influence on students’ learning in class. When teachers spend time understanding where their students are from, the students get more respect from their teachers. At the same time, the teachers will have a deeper understanding of the neighborhood in terms of its history, challenges, and resources. Several places/ people you can visit:

• Local landmarks
• Longtime residents
• Community activists
• Church leaders
• Small business owners who live or work in the neighborhood for years

With one or more colleagues, explore your school’s community. Before you go, do some homework first. You can jot down some questions that you want to ask community members. What you learn from the neighborhood walk will help you identify resources that you can use for your instruction. Also, you might start to build your relationship with parents before the school starts during the walk.

After or while familiarizing yourself with the neighborhood(s), draw a map illustrating the location of the school and the various resources in its vicinity.

7(m) The teacher knows when and how to access resources and collaborate with others to support student learning (e.g., special educators, related service providers, language learner specialists, librarians, media specialists, community organizations).

9(d) The teacher actively seeks professional, community, and technological resources, within and outside the school, as supports for analysis, reflection, and problem solving.

Designing and Assessing Homework

The goal of Proficiency-Based Learning Simplified is to ensure that students acquire the most essential knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in school, higher education, the modern workplace, and adult life. Therefore, systems of assessment and verifying proficiency should prioritize enduring knowledge and skills—i.e., graduation standards and related performance indicators.

In a proficiency-based system, homework—i.e., assignments completed largely outside of the classroom and without direct support and supervision from teachers—should be instructionally purposeful and connected to clearly defined learning standards. The Great Schools Partnership recommends that teachers consider the following general guidelines when assigning homework in a proficiency-based l earning environment:

• All homework assignments should be relevant, educationally purposeful, and driven by clearly defined learning objectives for a unit or lesson.
• Students should be given an equal and equitable opportunity to complete all homework assignments. Given that some home situations may complicate a student’s ability to complete an outside-of-class assignment—such as households that have no computers or internet connection—schools and teachers need to ensure that every student has access to all necessary materials, technologies, and resources regardless of their socioeconomic status, language ability, disability, or home situation.
• The failure to complete or turn-in homework on time should not affect a student’s academic score unless the work being done outside of class is part of a larger summative assessment.
• The failure to complete or turn-in homework on time may be reflected in a student’s habits-of-work grade.
• Students should be given additional opportunities to improve, complete, and resubmit homework as an additional demonstration opportunity when reasonable and appropriate. If the assignment is part of a larger summative assessment, the improved scores should be counted, not earlier scores or a combination of scores.
• Teachers should provide feedback in a timely fashion so that students know how well they performed before they take the next assessment.
• The purpose of all homework assignments should be clearly articulated to and understood by students; specifically, students should know what learning objectives and performance indicators the assignment addresses, and what criteria will be used if the homework assignment is going to be assessed.
• Students should know in advance if a homework assignment is going to be assessed, and whether the assignment will be a formative assessment or a graded part of a larger summative assessment.
• To the extent possible, homework should be differentiated for students, which includes, when appropriate, student-designed learning tasks and projects that allow them to demonstrate proficiency in ways that engage their personal interests, ambitions, and learning needs.

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Designing Assignments for Learning

The rapid shift to remote teaching and learning meant that many instructors reimagined their assessment practices. Whether adapting existing assignments or creatively designing new opportunities for their students to learn, instructors focused on helping students make meaning and demonstrate their learning outside of the traditional, face-to-face classroom setting. This resource distills the elements of assignment design that are important to carry forward as we continue to seek better ways of assessing learning and build on our innovative assignment designs.

On this page:

Rethinking traditional tests, quizzes, and exams.

• Examples from the Columbia University Classroom
• Tips for Designing Assignments for Learning

Reflect On Your Assignment Design

Connect with the ctl.

• Resources and References

Cite this resource: Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2021). Designing Assignments for Learning. Columbia University. Retrieved [today’s date] from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/teaching-with-technology/teaching-online/designing-assignments/

Traditional assessments tend to reveal whether students can recognize, recall, or replicate what was learned out of context, and tend to focus on students providing correct responses (Wiggins, 1990). In contrast, authentic assignments, which are course assessments, engage students in higher order thinking, as they grapple with real or simulated challenges that help them prepare for their professional lives, and draw on the course knowledge learned and the skills acquired to create justifiable answers, performances or products (Wiggins, 1990). An authentic assessment provides opportunities for students to practice, consult resources, learn from feedback, and refine their performances and products accordingly (Wiggins 1990, 1998, 2014). 

Authentic assignments ask students to “do” the subject with an audience in mind and apply their learning in a new situation. Examples of authentic assignments include asking students to: 

• Write for a real audience (e.g., a memo, a policy brief, letter to the editor, a grant proposal, reports, building a website) and/or publication;
• Solve problem sets that have real world application; 
• Design projects that address a real world problem; 
• Engage in a community-partnered research project;
• Create an exhibit, performance, or conference presentation ;
• Compile and reflect on their work through a portfolio/e-portfolio.

Noteworthy elements of authentic designs are that instructors scaffold the assignment, and play an active role in preparing students for the tasks assigned, while students are intentionally asked to reflect on the process and product of their work thus building their metacognitive skills (Herrington and Oliver, 2000; Ashford-Rowe, Herrington and Brown, 2013; Frey, Schmitt, and Allen, 2012). 

It’s worth noting here that authentic assessments can initially be time consuming to design, implement, and grade. They are critiqued for being challenging to use across course contexts and for grading reliability issues (Maclellan, 2004). Despite these challenges, authentic assessments are recognized as beneficial to student learning (Svinicki, 2004) as they are learner-centered (Weimer, 2013), promote academic integrity (McLaughlin, L. and Ricevuto, 2021; Sotiriadou et al., 2019; Schroeder, 2021) and motivate students to learn (Ambrose et al., 2010). The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning is always available to consult with faculty who are considering authentic assessment designs and to discuss challenges and affordances.   

Examples from the Columbia University Classroom 

Columbia instructors have experimented with alternative ways of assessing student learning from oral exams to technology-enhanced assignments. Below are a few examples of authentic assignments in various teaching contexts across Columbia University. 

• E-portfolios: Statia Cook shares her experiences with an ePorfolio assignment in her co-taught Frontiers of Science course (a submission to the Voices of Hybrid and Online Teaching and Learning initiative); CUIMC use of ePortfolios ;
• Case studies: Columbia instructors have engaged their students in authentic ways through case studies drawing on the Case Consortium at Columbia University. Read and watch a faculty spotlight to learn how Professor Mary Ann Price uses the case method to place pre-med students in real-life scenarios;
• Simulations: students at CUIMC engage in simulations to develop their professional skills in The Mary & Michael Jaharis Simulation Center in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Helene Fuld Health Trust Simulation Center in the Columbia School of Nursing; 
• Experiential learning: instructors have drawn on New York City as a learning laboratory such as Barnard’s NYC as Lab webpage which highlights courses that engage students in NYC;
• Design projects that address real world problems: Yevgeniy Yesilevskiy on the Engineering design projects completed using lab kits during remote learning. Watch Dr. Yesilevskiy talk about his teaching and read the Columbia News article . 
• Writing assignments: Lia Marshall and her teaching associate Aparna Balasundaram reflect on their “non-disposable or renewable assignments” to prepare social work students for their professional lives as they write for a real audience; and Hannah Weaver spoke about a sandbox assignment used in her Core Literature Humanities course at the 2021 Celebration of Teaching and Learning Symposium . Watch Dr. Weaver share her experiences.  

​Tips for Designing Assignments for Learning

While designing an effective authentic assignment may seem like a daunting task, the following tips can be used as a starting point. See the Resources section for frameworks and tools that may be useful in this effort.  

Align the assignment with your course learning objectives 

Identify the kind of thinking that is important in your course, the knowledge students will apply, and the skills they will practice using through the assignment. What kind of thinking will students be asked to do for the assignment? What will students learn by completing this assignment? How will the assignment help students achieve the desired course learning outcomes? For more information on course learning objectives, see the CTL’s Course Design Essentials self-paced course and watch the video on Articulating Learning Objectives .  

Identify an authentic meaning-making task

For meaning-making to occur, students need to understand the relevance of the assignment to the course and beyond (Ambrose et al., 2010). To Bean (2011) a “meaning-making” or “meaning-constructing” task has two dimensions: 1) it presents students with an authentic disciplinary problem or asks students to formulate their own problems, both of which engage them in active critical thinking, and 2) the problem is placed in “a context that gives students a role or purpose, a targeted audience, and a genre.” (Bean, 2011: 97-98). 

An authentic task gives students a realistic challenge to grapple with, a role to take on that allows them to “rehearse for the complex ambiguities” of life, provides resources and supports to draw on, and requires students to justify their work and the process they used to inform their solution (Wiggins, 1990). Note that if students find an assignment interesting or relevant, they will see value in completing it. 

Consider the kind of activities in the real world that use the knowledge and skills that are the focus of your course. How is this knowledge and these skills applied to answer real-world questions to solve real-world problems? (Herrington et al., 2010: 22). What do professionals or academics in your discipline do on a regular basis? What does it mean to think like a biologist, statistician, historian, social scientist? How might your assignment ask students to draw on current events, issues, or problems that relate to the course and are of interest to them? How might your assignment tap into student motivation and engage them in the kinds of thinking they can apply to better understand the world around them? (Ambrose et al., 2010). 

Determine the evaluation criteria and create a rubric

To ensure equitable and consistent grading of assignments across students, make transparent the criteria you will use to evaluate student work. The criteria should focus on the knowledge and skills that are central to the assignment. Build on the criteria identified, create a rubric that makes explicit the expectations of deliverables and share this rubric with your students so they can use it as they work on the assignment. For more information on rubrics, see the CTL’s resource Incorporating Rubrics into Your Grading and Feedback Practices , and explore the Association of American Colleges & Universities VALUE Rubrics (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education). 

Build in metacognition

Ask students to reflect on what and how they learned from the assignment. Help students uncover personal relevance of the assignment, find intrinsic value in their work, and deepen their motivation by asking them to reflect on their process and their assignment deliverable. Sample prompts might include: what did you learn from this assignment? How might you draw on the knowledge and skills you used on this assignment in the future? See Ambrose et al., 2010 for more strategies that support motivation and the CTL’s resource on Metacognition ). 

Provide students with opportunities to practice

Design your assignment to be a learning experience and prepare students for success on the assignment. If students can reasonably expect to be successful on an assignment when they put in the required effort ,with the support and guidance of the instructor, they are more likely to engage in the behaviors necessary for learning (Ambrose et al., 2010). Ensure student success by actively teaching the knowledge and skills of the course (e.g., how to problem solve, how to write for a particular audience), modeling the desired thinking, and creating learning activities that build up to a graded assignment. Provide opportunities for students to practice using the knowledge and skills they will need for the assignment, whether through low-stakes in-class activities or homework activities that include opportunities to receive and incorporate formative feedback. For more information on providing feedback, see the CTL resource Feedback for Learning . 

Communicate about the assignment 

Share the purpose, task, audience, expectations, and criteria for the assignment. Students may have expectations about assessments and how they will be graded that is informed by their prior experiences completing high-stakes assessments, so be transparent. Tell your students why you are asking them to do this assignment, what skills they will be using, how it aligns with the course learning outcomes, and why it is relevant to their learning and their professional lives (i.e., how practitioners / professionals use the knowledge and skills in your course in real world contexts and for what purposes). Finally, verify that students understand what they need to do to complete the assignment. This can be done by asking students to respond to poll questions about different parts of the assignment, a “scavenger hunt” of the assignment instructions–giving students questions to answer about the assignment and having them work in small groups to answer the questions, or by having students share back what they think is expected of them.

Plan to iterate and to keep the focus on learning 

Draw on multiple sources of data to help make decisions about what changes are needed to the assignment, the assignment instructions, and/or rubric to ensure that it contributes to student learning. Explore assignment performance data. As Deandra Little reminds us: “a really good assignment, which is a really good assessment, also teaches you something or tells the instructor something. As much as it tells you what students are learning, it’s also telling you what they aren’t learning.” ( Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode 337 ). Assignment bottlenecks–where students get stuck or struggle–can be good indicators that students need further support or opportunities to practice prior to completing an assignment. This awareness can inform teaching decisions. 

Triangulate the performance data by collecting student feedback, and noting your own reflections about what worked well and what did not. Revise the assignment instructions, rubric, and teaching practices accordingly. Consider how you might better align your assignment with your course objectives and/or provide more opportunities for students to practice using the knowledge and skills that they will rely on for the assignment. Additionally, keep in mind societal, disciplinary, and technological changes as you tweak your assignments for future use. 

Now is a great time to reflect on your practices and experiences with assignment design and think critically about your approach. Take a closer look at an existing assignment. Questions to consider include: What is this assignment meant to do? What purpose does it serve? Why do you ask students to do this assignment? How are they prepared to complete the assignment? Does the assignment assess the kind of learning that you really want? What would help students learn from this assignment? 

Using the tips in the previous section: How can the assignment be tweaked to be more authentic and meaningful to students? 

As you plan forward for post-pandemic teaching and reflect on your practices and reimagine your course design, you may find the following CTL resources helpful: Reflecting On Your Experiences with Remote Teaching , Transition to In-Person Teaching , and Course Design Support .

The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is here to help!

For assistance with assignment design, rubric design, or any other teaching and learning need, please request a consultation by emailing [email protected] . 

Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework for assignments. The TILT Examples and Resources page ( https://tilthighered.com/tiltexamplesandresources ) includes example assignments from across disciplines, as well as a transparent assignment template and a checklist for designing transparent assignments . Each emphasizes the importance of articulating to students the purpose of the assignment or activity, the what and how of the task, and specifying the criteria that will be used to assess students. 

Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) offers VALUE ADD (Assignment Design and Diagnostic) tools ( https://www.aacu.org/value-add-tools ) to help with the creation of clear and effective assignments that align with the desired learning outcomes and associated VALUE rubrics (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education). VALUE ADD encourages instructors to explicitly state assignment information such as the purpose of the assignment, what skills students will be using, how it aligns with course learning outcomes, the assignment type, the audience and context for the assignment, clear evaluation criteria, desired formatting, and expectations for completion whether individual or in a group.

Villarroel et al. (2017) propose a blueprint for building authentic assessments which includes four steps: 1) consider the workplace context, 2) design the authentic assessment; 3) learn and apply standards for judgement; and 4) give feedback. 

References 

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., & DiPietro, M. (2010). Chapter 3: What Factors Motivate Students to Learn? In How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching . Jossey-Bass. 

Ashford-Rowe, K., Herrington, J., and Brown, C. (2013). Establishing the critical elements that determine authentic assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 39(2), 205-222, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2013.819566 .  

Bean, J.C. (2011). Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom . Second Edition. Jossey-Bass. 

Frey, B. B, Schmitt, V. L., and Allen, J. P. (2012). Defining Authentic Classroom Assessment. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. 17(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.7275/sxbs-0829  

Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., and Oliver, R. (2010). A Guide to Authentic e-Learning . Routledge. 

Herrington, J. and Oliver, R. (2000). An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 23-48. 

Litchfield, B. C. and Dempsey, J. V. (2015). Authentic Assessment of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 142 (Summer 2015), 65-80. 

Maclellan, E. (2004). How convincing is alternative assessment for use in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 29(3), June 2004. DOI: 10.1080/0260293042000188267

McLaughlin, L. and Ricevuto, J. (2021). Assessments in a Virtual Environment: You Won’t Need that Lockdown Browser! Faculty Focus. June 2, 2021. 

Mueller, J. (2005). The Authentic Assessment Toolbox: Enhancing Student Learning through Online Faculty Development . MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 1(1). July 2005. Mueller’s Authentic Assessment Toolbox is available online. 

Schroeder, R. (2021). Vaccinate Against Cheating With Authentic Assessment . Inside Higher Ed. (February 26, 2021).  

Sotiriadou, P., Logan, D., Daly, A., and Guest, R. (2019). The role of authentic assessment to preserve academic integrity and promote skills development and employability. Studies in Higher Education. 45(111), 2132-2148. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1582015    

Stachowiak, B. (Host). (November 25, 2020). Authentic Assignments with Deandra Little. (Episode 337). In Teaching in Higher Ed . https://teachinginhighered.com/podcast/authentic-assignments/  

Svinicki, M. D. (2004). Authentic Assessment: Testing in Reality. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 100 (Winter 2004): 23-29. 

Villarroel, V., Bloxham, S, Bruna, D., Bruna, C., and Herrera-Seda, C. (2017). Authentic assessment: creating a blueprint for course design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 43(5), 840-854. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1412396    

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice . Second Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

Wiggins, G. (2014). Authenticity in assessment, (re-)defined and explained. Retrieved from https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/authenticity-in-assessment-re-defined-and-explained/

Wiggins, G. (1998). Teaching to the (Authentic) Test. Educational Leadership . April 1989. 41-47. 

Wiggins, Grant (1990). The Case for Authentic Assessment . Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation , 2(2). 

Wondering how AI tools might play a role in your course assignments?

See the CTL’s resource “Considerations for AI Tools in the Classroom.”

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• Raising Kids

A Homeschooling Guide for Parents and Students

Instead of attending traditional public or private school, homeschooled children are taught by their parents at home. Learn more about the homeschooling movement and what's really involved when caregivers educate their kids.

• Requirements
• Getting Started

Making a Homeschool Schedule

• Planning a Curriculum
• Homeschooling FAQs

Homeschooling involves parents educating their children at home instead of sending them to a traditional public or private school.

The homeschooling movement began growing in the 1970s, and it's relatively popular today. About 6% of school-aged children were homeschooled during the 2021-2022 school year, according to the National Home Education Research Institute . That equates to about 3.1 million students in grades K through 12.

Keep reading to learn more about homeschooling, including necessary requirements, how to begin, and tips for success.

Requirements for Homeschooling Your Kids

Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states and many foreign countries, but requirements vary depending on location. Some states have few or no requirements; others ask for portfolio reviews, attendance documentation, or standardized testing at certain intervals. In almost all areas of the country, parents do not need an education degree to homeschool—but they do need the right mindset.

According to John Holt , an early proponent of homeschooling and author of the bestselling book Teach Your Own , the most important thing parents need to homeschool their children is "to like them, enjoy their company, their physical presence, their energy, foolishness, and passion. They have to enjoy all their talk and questions , and enjoy equally trying to answer those questions."

Indeed, for the majority of parents who homeschool, the only prerequisite is the desire to do so, along with a dedication to the educational process.

Why Do Families Choose Homeschooling?

Families choose to homeschool for a variety of reasons, including the following:

• Dissatisfaction with available education options
• Increased flexibility with scheduling and curriculum
• Different religious or educational philosophies
• Sheltering from bullying, peer pressure, and school violence
• More opportunities for parent-child bonding
• The belief that children are not progressing within the traditional school structure
• Better ability to cater to mental and physical health problems

Getting Started with Homeschooling

Those with young children who have never attended a traditional classroom can begin a home education program when their child turns school age . At that time, they will start adhering to the requirements in their particular state.

The process is slightly different for parents who have kids in school already and then decide to homeschool. They must first write a letter of withdrawal to the school principal or local superintendent. The letter should describe the parents' intent to remove a child from school to begin homeschooling. After the notification, parents continue to follow their district's specific guidelines.

Homeschoolers organize their days in whatever way works best for them. Many begin their schooling early in the morning, as in a traditional school, but some opt to make less distinction between "school" and "home." If a child gets excited about a science experiment before bed, some parents follow the child's enthusiasm to see where it leads; this becomes part of the school day as well.

The educational philosophy a homeschooling family chooses will significantly influence the structure of their days. Most of us are familiar with only one style of education—the traditional system of textbooks, desks in rows, and standardized testing—but a wide array of educational philosophies exists. These methods include Waldorf, Montessori , Charlotte Mason, classical, leadership education, interest-led learning, unit study, and more. Homeschoolers have the freedom to blend ideas that best meet their children's needs.

You might also be wondering if homeschoolers follow the public school calendar year. In reality, homeschoolers have complete freedom over the structure of their school year. Many follow the traditional school calendar, some school year-round, and others take off during specific weeks when they need breaks.

Planning a Curriculum for Homeschooling

An increased number of homeschoolers has resulted in a wide variety of available curricula and resources. Catalogs are filled with options based on different educational philosophies, learning approaches, the amount of time a homeschool teacher devotes to daily instruction, and so on.

Subjects typically taught include the standard disciplines followed in a traditional school program, as well as those that capitalize on the child's interests . In his best-selling book The Element , British author and speaker Ken Robinson writes that "the key to [educational] transformation is not to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions."

A homeschooling atmosphere provides a natural setting in which parents can deliver an individualized method of instruction that matches the child's unique interests, ability, and learning style.

Families that homeschool often combine certain subjects that aren't necessarily grade- or age-specific, such as history, literature, and the arts. For example, children of different ages might study the same historical time period together, and then be given assignments that reflect specific age and ability.

For studies in other subjects, such as math and reading, a homeschooling parent might tutor each child one-on-one to meet the student's individual needs. Meanwhile, depending on each child's age, the other students may be working on solo assignments or playing in another room .

Homeschooling FAQs for Parents

Are homeschooled kids behind compared with public school kids.

One of the advantages of homeschooling is that students can progress according to their own temperament and timetable. The National Home Education Research Institute found that homeschoolers typically score 15 to 25 percentile points higher on standardized academic achievement tests, compared with kids educated in public schools. These results stay strong regardless of family household income and education level of caregivers.

What's more, the National Home Education Research Institute found that homeschooled students often score above-average in terms of social, emotional, and psychological development. This includes measures of leadership, self-esteem, peer interaction, and more.

Does the state fund any homeschool programs?

Government-funded programs vary widely from state to state, but most homeschooling families fund their children's studies themselves. In certain areas, enrollment in a state-based program is optional. In that case, the state pays for specific resources in exchange for the homeschool meeting certain requirements to remain in the program.

Is there a network of parents who homeschool?

Homeschoolers in most places have access to an array of resources and social networks. In addition to forming co-ops , in which families group together to have classes, you might find social events such as lectures, field trips, art classes, music instruction, sports, and playdates.

What happens if the homeschooling parent is sick?

One of homeschooling's biggest advantages is the flexibility it offers. A sick parent can still ensure that the most essential aspects of the day's work get accomplished, providing instruction from bed if necessary. Group work that requires the sick parent's direct involvement may be cancelled for the day, but the parent could still supervise any individual work the child needs to do—like penmanship or reading. In two-parent families, both parents can contribute according to their schedules.

Do homeschooled kids receive homework?

In many ways homeschooling lessens the need for traditional homework often required by schools , particularly for elementary school-age kids. Without 20 or more children in one class, schoolwork can often be completed in a shorter time frame during the school day, eliminating the need for extra work afterward.

Acting as a one-on-one tutor, the parent-teacher constantly observes the children as they learn. This direct observation allows a parent to keep track of a child's proficiency or struggles. Assignments are then tailored accordingly.

Homeschooled children, especially as they grow older, often attend more traditional classes, giving them experience in completing more typical homework assignments. Some public schools allow homeschoolers to attend certain classes that they choose. As they get older, homeschooled kids may enroll in community college classes and begin their college studies early.

How do homeschooled children receive objective grades?

Although grades in certain subjects are not always needed, many families choose to administer graded tests, some through computer programs. The homeschooling environment allows children to progress at their own pace until they have mastered the necessary materials.

Do homeschooled kids need to take standardized or state-mandated tests?

A number of states require standardized testing at specific intervals; others don't. Some families prefer to have their kids tested to ensure they're progressing academically. Other homeschoolers believe there is no need for such testing until a child reaches high school.

How long does homeschooling last?

Homeschooling can continue until a student graduates and enters college. Families may choose to homeschool throughout their children's education, or they may do so for only a few years before transferring their kids back into a mainstream school system. Most colleges are beginning to take note of homeschooling's popularity. Even Ivy League universities have recruited and accepted homeschooled graduates.

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The Beginners’ Guide to Connecting Home and School

Here are five steps to engage parents in their children’s education, whether through at-home activities or in-class participation, to help foster academic success.

Editor's Note: This post was co-authored by Joanna Maulbeck , a post-doctoral research associate and professor of education at Rutgers University.

An important component to supporting academic success is the relationships between home and school ( Dodd & Konzal, 2002 ). Strained home-school relations may result in or contribute to low student performance. One way to foster these relations is by creating meaningful assignments and projects that connect life at home to life at school and vice versa, encouraging fluid, connected, and pertinent student experiences. When planning such assignments and projects, consider the questions and ideas below. Whether you use them or simply consider them as building blocks, they could inspire your own amazing ideas.

First, ask yourself three questions:

• How will the students benefit from this project?
• How will the parents benefit from this project?
• How will the teacher benefit from this project?

The best practices that link home and school will benefit all three stakeholders. Think about the needs of each stakeholder (students, parents, teachers) and then consider how you can meet those needs. Below are a few examples of projects and assignments that have potential to benefit all parties involved.

Support Bonding Between Children and Caregivers at Home

It's not uncommon for conversations between children and caregivers to be confined to "How was school today?" Providing an opportunity for children to have an in-depth conversation with adult caregivers could be powerful. One way to do this is through the use of interviews. Have children ask caregivers to share about their lives, perhaps about their best childhood friends or the first time they saw their children. Encourage students to ask caregivers about things they love or are scared of, earliest memories, or hopes for the future. In doing so, children are provided with an opportunity to connect with adult caregivers on a deeper level, as well practice interviewing, taking notes, and writing up results. When back in school, children can share findings, either in writing, through presentations, or both, further tapping into their literacy, as well as public speaking skills.

Redefine Homework

Homework is often seen as a solitary practice where students finish a few pages, read for a few minutes, and then get on with their life outside of school. However, homework could become more interactive between students and adults if the teacher scaffolds the experience for parents. Let them know exactly how you hope they'll be involved in their child's homework. This might be through an interactive notebook, calendar, or maybe even a web page. Also, provide tips for parents about how they can be helpful during homework time.

Encourage Family Outings

Create a list of historic sites, churches, and parks in your area. Almost every town has interesting places to visit that are free or very low cost. Share this list with children and caregivers as a way to encourage a family outing that is also a learning experience. You can ask families to share photos or just a few lines about what they liked or disliked about the site. The photographs and testimony could be saved in a book in the classroom or featured on a bulletin board so that students can share and learn from one another.

Invite Parents to the Classroom

Provide welcoming opportunities for parents to be involved in the classroom, where they can see what happens there and interact with children and teachers. There are various ways to involve parents. You can create a time in your classroom for "15-minute experts" where parents teach the children an interesting or useful skill -- cutting vegetables, changing a diaper, grooming a pet, folding towels, or any number of things. This activity has potential to reinforce students' listening skills. Teachers can also extend the activity by asking students to practice writing "how-tos." Parents can also be invited as guest readers, sharing their favorite stories with the class. Sharing stories as a community has great potential to foster your students' appreciation for literacy.

Teach Real-Life Lessons

It's not uncommon for students to ask, "Why are we learning this? Why do I need to know this?" One way to make learning relevant is to build a connection between home and school by teaching "real-life" lessons that expose students to content which can be used to help them live healthy lives. An example of such a lesson entails finding out how many hours of sleep the children in your classroom need based on their age.

Since effective education entails a partnership between home and school, we must creatively foster that partnership. This can be done through the projects and assignments described above, as well as many other ways. We hope that you will continue the conversation and share your ideas in the comments section below.

Home Assignments-Secondary

105 W. Chesapeake Avenue, Towson, MD 21204 | (443) 809-7515 | Website

quick stats

Total Enrollment

Overview of Home Assignments-Secondary

Home Assignments-Secondary is a public school located in Towson, MD, which is in a small city setting. The student population of Home Assignments-Secondary is 14 and the school serves 8-12. The school’s minority student enrollment is 71%. The student population is made up of 29% female students and 71% male students. The school enrolls 64% economically disadvantaged students. There is no data on the number of equivalent full-time teachers.

At a Glance

Home assignments-secondary 2024 rankings.

Home Assignments-Secondary is unranked in Maryland Middle Schools . Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare their students for high school. Read more about how we rank the Best Middle Schools .

All Rankings

• Unranked in  Maryland Middle Schools

Students/Teachers at Home Assignments-Secondary

These counts and percentages of students and teachers are from data reported by state education agencies to the federal government

School information is provided by the government.

Enrollment by Grade

Enrollment by Gender

Student Diversity

Minority Enrollment

Black or African American

Two or more races

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latino and Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander are not included in this breakdown due to an enrollment of 0%.

economically disadvantaged students at Home Assignments-Secondary

Full-time teachers

Percentage of full-time teachers who are certified

Student-teacher ratio

Percentage of teachers with 3 or more years experience

Number of full-time school counselors

Test Scores at Home Assignments-Secondary

At Home Assignments-Secondary, data for student performance in math and reading is unavailable.

Subject Proficiency

School Data

School profile information is based on government data.

Charter School

Magnet School

This information relates to schools run by this school's state operating agency. Many districts contain only one school.

Total Schools (all grades)

Total Ranked Elementary Schools

Total Ranked Middle Schools

Total Students (all grades)

105 W. Chesapeake Avenue, Towson, MD 21204

Nearby Schools

Po Box 6819, Baltimore, MD 21285 (0 miles)

1401 Carrollton Ave, Baltimore, MD 21204 (1 mile)

112 Ware Ave, Towson, MD 21204 (1 mile)

8501 Loch Raven Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21286 (1 mile)

None, Towson, MD 21286 (1 mile)

8102 La Salle Rd, Baltimore, MD 21286 (1 mile)

1145 Concordia Dr, Towson, MD 21286 (1 mile)

8830 Orchard Tree Ln, Baltimore, MD 21286 (1 mile)

1115 Charmuth Rd, Lutherville, MD 21093 (1 mile)

900 Pemberton Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212 (1 mile)

300 Dumbarton Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212 (1 mile)

250 Dumbarton Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212 (1 mile)

825 Providence Rd, Baltimore, MD 21286 (1 mile)

6916 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21204 (2 miles)

6916 Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21204 (2 miles)

8101 La Salle Rd, Baltimore, MD 21286 (2 miles)

8300 Pleasant Plains Rd, Towson, MD 21286 (2 miles)

1700 North York Rd, Lutherville, MD 21093 (2 miles)

121 Ridgely Road, Lutherville, MD 21093 (2 miles)

1111 Halstead Rd, Baltimore, MD 21234 (2 miles)

None, Baltimore, MD 21212 (2 miles)

6432 York Rd, Bowie, MD 20715 (2 miles)

5826 York Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212 (2 miles)

300 Dumbarton Rd Ste 2, Baltimore, MD 21212 (2 miles)

5915 Glennor Road, Baltimore, MD 21239 (2 miles)

Insufficient student data was reported by six states (California, D.C., Delaware, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington). As such, the rankings for these states were held at their previous positions. They are therefore based on assessment data from 2018-2019 and include schools that were active as of 2019-2020. Updated directory information from 2021-2022 was provided for schools when available.

Data is based on the 2020 - 2021 and 2021 - 2022 school years.

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Student of the Week will continue through the end of the school year. Here's how you can help

Spring has sprung, and many districts are winding down their school year. Since January, we've recognized students with all kinds of talents and abilities, whether it's welding, karate, playing violin, acing their grades or simply being a good leader and example to their classmates.

This week, we still don't have enough nominations to our poll for our weekly Student of the Week story. But we still plan to continue this initiative through the end of the school year. Here's how you can help.

How high schools can nominate students

Representatives of high schools nominate students to the Post-Crescent. These schools have access to an online form that allows them to input information about the student nominee, including a short bio and headshot.

High school principals, if you have not received information about the Student of the Week contest, please send an email to [email protected] .

How can parents get involved?

Parents should contact their high school principal to ask about participating in the Student of the Week contest.

Who is eligible to become the Post-Crescent Student of the Week? 

High school students from public, private and home schools in the Fox Valley.

How will the Student of the Week be chosen? 

A Post-Crescent reporter reviews the nominations, narrows down the nomination pool to a few finalists if needed, then posts the Student of the Week poll every Monday. Polls close at noon Thursday; people can vote once per day.

When and where will winners be announced? 

Winners will be announced Fridays online at  postcrescent.com  and in print each Sunday. We'll also send a certificate to the winner's school.

Rebecca Loroff is an education reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Contact her with story tips and feedback at 920-907-7801 or [email protected]. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @RebeccaLoroff.

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Arkansas led the nation sending letters home from school about obesity. did it help.

Kavitha Cardoza

Since Arkansas started sending the obesity letters to parents, the state's childhood obesity rates rose to nearly 24% from 21%. During the pandemic, the state obesity rate hit a high of more than 26%. M. Spencer Green/AP hide caption

Since Arkansas started sending the obesity letters to parents, the state's childhood obesity rates rose to nearly 24% from 21%. During the pandemic, the state obesity rate hit a high of more than 26%.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Sixth-grade boys were lining up to be measured in the Mann Arts and Science Magnet Middle School library. As they took off their shoes and emptied their pockets, they joked about being the tallest.

"It's an advantage," said one. "You can play basketball," said another. "A taller dude can get more girls!" a third student offered.

Everyone laughed. What they didn't joke about was their weight.

Anndrea Veasley, the school's registered nurse, had them stand one by one. One boy, Christopher, slumped as she measured his height. "Chin up slightly," she said. Then Veasley asked him to stand backward on a scale so he didn't see the numbers. She silently noted his height as just shy of 4 feet, 7 inches, and his weight as 115.6 pounds.

Lifesaving or stigmatizing? Parents wrestle with obesity treatment options for kids

His parents later would be among thousands to receive a letter beginning, "Many children in Arkansas have health problems caused by their weight." The letter includes each student's measurements as well as their calculated body mass index. The BMI number categorizes each child as "underweight," "normal," "overweight," or "obese." Christopher's BMI of 25.1 put him in the obese range.

In 2003, Arkansas became the first state to send home BMI reports about all students as part of a broader anti-obesity initiative. But in the 20 years since, the state's childhood obesity rates have risen to nearly 24% from 21%, reflecting a similar, albeit higher, trajectory than national rates. During the pandemic, the state obesity rate hit a high of more than 26%.

Still, at least 23 states followed Arkansas' lead and required height and weight assessments of students. Some have since scaled back their efforts after parents raised concerns.

One school district in Wyoming used to include a child's BMI score in report cards , a practice it has since stopped. Ohio allows districts to opt in, and last year just two of 611 school districts reported BMI information to the state. And Massachusetts stopped sending letters home . Even Arkansas changed its rules to allow parents to opt out.

Multiple studies have shown that these reports, or "fat letters" as they're sometimes mockingly called, have had no effect on weight loss. And some nutritionists, psychologists, and parents have criticized the letters, saying they can lead to weight stigma and eating disorders.

BMI as a tool has come under scrutiny, too, because it does not consider differences across racial and ethnic groups, sex, gender, and age. In 2023, the American Medical Association called the BMI "imperfect" and suggested it be used alongside other tools such as visceral fat measurements, body composition, and genetic factors.

All that highlights a question: What purpose do BMI school measurements and letters serve? Nearly 20% of American children were classified as obese just before the pandemic — up from only 5% some 50 years ago — and lockdowns made the problem worse. It's unclear what sorts of interventions might reverse the trend.

Joe Thompson, a pediatrician who helped create Arkansas' program and now leads the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement , said BMI letters are meant to be a screening tool, not a diagnostic test, to make parents aware if their child is at risk of developing serious health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory problems.

Sharing this information with them is critical, he said, given that many don't see it as a problem because obesity is so prevalent. Arkansas is also a rural state, so many families don't have easy access to pediatricians, he said.

Don't Focus On Kids' Weight Gain. Focus On Healthy Habits Instead

Thompson said he's heard from many parents who have acted on the letters. "To this day, they are still our strongest advocates," he said.

The program also led to new efforts to reduce obesity. Some school districts in Arkansas have instituted " movement breaks ," while others have added vegetable gardens , cooking classes , and walking trails . One district sought funding for bicycles . The state does not study whether these efforts are working.

Researchers say the BMI data also serves an important purpose in illuminating population-level trends , even if it isn't helpful to individuals.

Parents are generally supportive of weighing children in school, and the letters have helped increase their awareness of obesity, research shows. At the same time, few parents followed up with a health care provider or made changes to their child's diet or physical activity after getting a BMI letter, several other studies have found.

In what is considered the gold-standard study of BMI letters , published in 2020, researchers in California found that the letters home had no effect on students' weight. Hannah Thompson , a University of California-Berkeley assistant professor who co-authored the study, said most parents didn't even remember getting the letters. "It's such a tiny-touch behavioral intervention," she said.

Arkansas now measures all public school students in even grades annually — except for 12th graders because by that stage, the pediatrician Joe Thompson said, the students are "beyond the opportunities for schools to have an impact." The change also came after many boys in one school wore leg weights under their jeans as a prank, he said.

Kimberly Collins, 50, remembers being confused by the BMI letters sent to her from the Little Rock School District stating that all her children were overweight, and that one daughter was considered obese.

"It offended me as a mama," she said. "It made me feel like I wasn't doing my job."

She didn't think her children looked overweight and the family pediatrician had never brought it up as a concern.

Hannah Thompson, the researcher from California, said that's the biggest problem with BMI letters: Parents don't know what to do with the information. Without support to help change behavior, she said, the letters don't do much.

"You find out your child is asthmatic, and you can get an inhaler, right?" she said. "You find out that your child is overweight and where do you even go from there? What do you do?"

Kevin Gee , a professor at the University of California-Davis, who has studied BMI letters , said the mailings miss cultural nuances. In some communities, for example, people prefer their children to be heavier, associating it with comfort and happiness. Or some eat foods that they know aren't very nutritious but are an important way of expressing love and traditions.

"There's a lot of rich contextual pieces that we know influences rates of obesity," Gee said. "And so how do we balance that information?"

Collins' daughter, now 15, said that as she's grown older she increasingly feels uncomfortable about her weight. People stare at her and sometimes make comments. (Collins' mother asked that her daughter's name not be published because of her age and the sensitive nature of the subject.)

"On my birthday, I went to get my allergy shots and one of the nurses told me, 'You are getting chubbier,'" she said. "That didn't make me feel the best."

How Doctors Can Stop Stigmatizing — And Start Helping — Kids With Obesity

Collins said it pains her to see her soft-spoken daughter cover herself with her arms as if she's trying to hide. The teenager has also begun sneaking food and avoids the mirror by refusing to turn on the bathroom light, Collins said. The girl signed up for tennis but stopped after other children made fun of her, her mother said.

Looking back, Collins said, while she wishes she had paid more attention to the BMI letters, she also would have liked practical suggestions on what to do. Collins said she had already been following the short list of recommended healthy practices, including feeding her children fruits and vegetables and limiting screen time. She isn't sure what else she could have done.

Now everyone has an opinion on her daughter's weight, Collins said. One person told her to put a lock on the fridge. Another told her to buy vegan snacks. Her mother bought them a scale.

"It's a total uphill climb," Collins said with a sigh.

This article was produced as a part of a project for the Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship .

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

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40 facts about elektrostal.

Written by Lanette Mayes

Modified & Updated: 02 Mar 2024

Reviewed by Jessica Corbett

Elektrostal is a vibrant city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia. With a rich history, stunning architecture, and a thriving community, Elektrostal is a city that has much to offer. Whether you are a history buff, nature enthusiast, or simply curious about different cultures, Elektrostal is sure to captivate you.

This article will provide you with 40 fascinating facts about Elektrostal, giving you a better understanding of why this city is worth exploring. From its origins as an industrial hub to its modern-day charm, we will delve into the various aspects that make Elektrostal a unique and must-visit destination.

So, join us as we uncover the hidden treasures of Elektrostal and discover what makes this city a true gem in the heart of Russia.

Key Takeaways:

• Elektrostal, known as the “Motor City of Russia,” is a vibrant and growing city with a rich industrial history, offering diverse cultural experiences and a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.
• With its convenient location near Moscow, Elektrostal provides a picturesque landscape, vibrant nightlife, and a range of recreational activities, making it an ideal destination for residents and visitors alike.

Known as the “Motor City of Russia.”

Elektrostal, a city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia, earned the nickname “Motor City” due to its significant involvement in the automotive industry.

Home to the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Elektrostal is renowned for its metallurgical plant, which has been producing high-quality steel and alloys since its establishment in 1916.

Boasts a rich industrial heritage.

Elektrostal has a long history of industrial development, contributing to the growth and progress of the region.

Founded in 1916.

The city of Elektrostal was founded in 1916 as a result of the construction of the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Located approximately 50 kilometers east of Moscow.

Elektrostal is situated in close proximity to the Russian capital, making it easily accessible for both residents and visitors.

Known for its vibrant cultural scene.

Elektrostal is home to several cultural institutions, including museums, theaters, and art galleries that showcase the city’s rich artistic heritage.

A popular destination for nature lovers.

Surrounded by picturesque landscapes and forests, Elektrostal offers ample opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and birdwatching.

Hosts the annual Elektrostal City Day celebrations.

Every year, Elektrostal organizes festive events and activities to celebrate its founding, bringing together residents and visitors in a spirit of unity and joy.

Has a population of approximately 160,000 people.

Elektrostal is home to a diverse and vibrant community of around 160,000 residents, contributing to its dynamic atmosphere.

Boasts excellent education facilities.

The city is known for its well-established educational institutions, providing quality education to students of all ages.

A center for scientific research and innovation.

Elektrostal serves as an important hub for scientific research, particularly in the fields of metallurgy, materials science, and engineering.

Surrounded by picturesque lakes.

The city is blessed with numerous beautiful lakes, offering scenic views and recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike.

Well-connected transportation system.

Elektrostal benefits from an efficient transportation network, including highways, railways, and public transportation options, ensuring convenient travel within and beyond the city.

Famous for its traditional Russian cuisine.

Food enthusiasts can indulge in authentic Russian dishes at numerous restaurants and cafes scattered throughout Elektrostal.

Home to notable architectural landmarks.

Elektrostal boasts impressive architecture, including the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Elektrostal Palace of Culture.

Offers a wide range of recreational facilities.

Residents and visitors can enjoy various recreational activities, such as sports complexes, swimming pools, and fitness centers, enhancing the overall quality of life.

Provides a high standard of healthcare.

Elektrostal is equipped with modern medical facilities, ensuring residents have access to quality healthcare services.

Home to the Elektrostal History Museum.

The Elektrostal History Museum showcases the city’s fascinating past through exhibitions and displays.

A hub for sports enthusiasts.

Elektrostal is passionate about sports, with numerous stadiums, arenas, and sports clubs offering opportunities for athletes and spectators.

Celebrates diverse cultural festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal hosts a variety of cultural festivals, celebrating different ethnicities, traditions, and art forms.

Electric power played a significant role in its early development.

Elektrostal owes its name and initial growth to the establishment of electric power stations and the utilization of electricity in the industrial sector.

Boasts a thriving economy.

The city’s strong industrial base, coupled with its strategic location near Moscow, has contributed to Elektrostal’s prosperous economic status.

Houses the Elektrostal Drama Theater.

The Elektrostal Drama Theater is a cultural centerpiece, attracting theater enthusiasts from far and wide.

Popular destination for winter sports.

Elektrostal’s proximity to ski resorts and winter sport facilities makes it a favorite destination for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter activities.

Promotes environmental sustainability.

Elektrostal prioritizes environmental protection and sustainability, implementing initiatives to reduce pollution and preserve natural resources.

Home to renowned educational institutions.

Elektrostal is known for its prestigious schools and universities, offering a wide range of academic programs to students.

Committed to cultural preservation.

The city values its cultural heritage and takes active steps to preserve and promote traditional customs, crafts, and arts.

Hosts an annual International Film Festival.

The Elektrostal International Film Festival attracts filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts from around the world, showcasing a diverse range of films.

Encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.

Elektrostal supports aspiring entrepreneurs and fosters a culture of innovation, providing opportunities for startups and business development.

Offers a range of housing options.

Elektrostal provides diverse housing options, including apartments, houses, and residential complexes, catering to different lifestyles and budgets.

Home to notable sports teams.

Elektrostal is proud of its sports legacy, with several successful sports teams competing at regional and national levels.

Boasts a vibrant nightlife scene.

Residents and visitors can enjoy a lively nightlife in Elektrostal, with numerous bars, clubs, and entertainment venues.

Promotes cultural exchange and international relations.

Elektrostal actively engages in international partnerships, cultural exchanges, and diplomatic collaborations to foster global connections.

Surrounded by beautiful nature reserves.

Nearby nature reserves, such as the Barybino Forest and Luchinskoye Lake, offer opportunities for nature enthusiasts to explore and appreciate the region’s biodiversity.

Commemorates historical events.

The city pays tribute to significant historical events through memorials, monuments, and exhibitions, ensuring the preservation of collective memory.

Promotes sports and youth development.

Elektrostal invests in sports infrastructure and programs to encourage youth participation, health, and physical fitness.

Hosts annual cultural and artistic festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal celebrates its cultural diversity through festivals dedicated to music, dance, art, and theater.

Provides a picturesque landscape for photography enthusiasts.

The city’s scenic beauty, architectural landmarks, and natural surroundings make it a paradise for photographers.

Connects to Moscow via a direct train line.

The convenient train connection between Elektrostal and Moscow makes commuting between the two cities effortless.

A city with a bright future.

Elektrostal continues to grow and develop, aiming to become a model city in terms of infrastructure, sustainability, and quality of life for its residents.

In conclusion, Elektrostal is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant present. From its origins as a center of steel production to its modern-day status as a hub for education and industry, Elektrostal has plenty to offer both residents and visitors. With its beautiful parks, cultural attractions, and proximity to Moscow, there is no shortage of things to see and do in this dynamic city. Whether you’re interested in exploring its historical landmarks, enjoying outdoor activities, or immersing yourself in the local culture, Elektrostal has something for everyone. So, next time you find yourself in the Moscow region, don’t miss the opportunity to discover the hidden gems of Elektrostal.

Q: What is the population of Elektrostal?

A: As of the latest data, the population of Elektrostal is approximately XXXX.

Q: How far is Elektrostal from Moscow?

A: Elektrostal is located approximately XX kilometers away from Moscow.

Q: Are there any famous landmarks in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to several notable landmarks, including XXXX and XXXX.

Q: What industries are prominent in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal is known for its steel production industry and is also a center for engineering and manufacturing.

Q: Are there any universities or educational institutions in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to XXXX University and several other educational institutions.

Q: What are some popular outdoor activities in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal offers several outdoor activities, such as hiking, cycling, and picnicking in its beautiful parks.

Q: Is Elektrostal well-connected in terms of transportation?

A: Yes, Elektrostal has good transportation links, including trains and buses, making it easily accessible from nearby cities.

Q: Are there any annual events or festivals in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal hosts various events and festivals throughout the year, including XXXX and XXXX.

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Our commitment to delivering trustworthy and engaging content is at the heart of what we do. Each fact on our site is contributed by real users like you, bringing a wealth of diverse insights and information. To ensure the highest standards of accuracy and reliability, our dedicated editors meticulously review each submission. This process guarantees that the facts we share are not only fascinating but also credible. Trust in our commitment to quality and authenticity as you explore and learn with us.

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