How much homework is too much? Research is consistent in recommending that ten minutes of total homework per grade level may benefit students and that going beyond two hours of homework for all subjects combined actually correlates with a decline in achievement. So how do we ensure that homework is productive?
The type of homework is ultimately more important than the amount. Each homework activity should seek to check for understanding, practice a necessary skill, and to consolidate learning or to analyze and reflect. Students should be able to correctly practice a skill with the supervision of a teacher before they practice a skill independently for homework. Rather than grade homework, teachers should provide feedback and use homework as a tool to guide instruction.
Being able to complete work independently is a big factor in homework success. When a child cannot complete homework independently, they lose self-esteem.  While well-intentioned parents don’t desire this for their children, they sometimes cause it inadvertently. For example, parents who do their children’s homework, who micromanage how the child works through a homework activity, or who correct their children’s homework, are subliminally teaching their children that they are not problem solvers and that they are not internally wired to succeed.

Parents should help their children develop ownership of their homework. Allow children to determine what works best for them in terms of completing homework. What time of day do they work best? Where is the best place for them to focus? How is the best way for them to complete the task? Allowing children to make these sorts of decisions about their homework helps them develop responsibility and independence.

Source: “Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs” by Dr. Cathy Vatterott, Professor of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
•    Provide organizational resources like a single folder for all homework activities or a portable carrier for homework supplies
•    Monitor how much time the student is on task while completing homework
•    Negotiate with your child where, when, and how they do homework best
•    Ask your child to explain their errors from a test or evaluate what they did or did not understand in a homework activity. This helps build ownership.
•    Have your child chart the amount of time they spend on each task for homework by subject. This puts students in the driver’s seat of their learning.
•    Don’t complete or correct your child’s homework. These activities diminish a child’s self-confidence at completing homework independently.
Woodlynde School is one of the region's oldest and most successful college prep schools for intelligent, talented students in grades K-12 with language- or math-based learning differences, ADD/ADHD, Auditory Processing Disorder, Executive Function Disorder, or those who need a small classroom environment. Located in Wayne/Strafford, Woodlynde's students gain access to caring experts in education, thrive in a nurturing environment, benefit from specialized teaching methods, rise to the challenge of a college prep curriculum, and emerge with the tools and self-confidence to be successful and happy in college, career, and life.
Attend an Open House or Register for our Summer Program

Open Houses are the perfect way to determine if Woodlynde School is the right fit for your child who learns differently. Attend one of our upcoming open houses on May 10 or July 12 at 8:45 a.m. Register today. 

Discover Woodlynde through our four-week K-8 summer program, running from June 27 to July 22. Our morning academic programs and afternoon adventure camps are perfect for students who may benefit from learning strategies and organizational tools or who may lose important skills over the summer.
Learn more. 
Lost in the Tech Effect: Strategies for Successful Work-Family-Life Integration with Dr. Catherine Steiner Adair
Thursday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Free & open to the public
Internationally recognized clinical psychologist, school consultant, speaker, and author Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair will help parents push the pause button to look at some of the psychological fallout of our fast-paced adaptation to technology and refresh their thinking about how to raise children in the digital age. Register today  
Woodlynde School, Where Great Minds Learn Differently
K-12 College-Prep for Diverse Learning Styles
445 Upper Gulph Road
Strafford, PA 19087
www.woodlynde.org
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