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13 Fun Homework Ideas: The Best Ways To Make Homework Fun For Kids Quickly & Easily

Sophie Bartlett

Figuring out how to make homework fun can be a tricky task for parents.

Does it feel like you’re constantly nagging your kids to do their homework? If your answer is yes, know that we’ve all been there! It’s natural for parents to want their children to progress and do well in school, but after an entire day of paper, pencils, and books many youngsters will resist getting on with their homework – and that’s putting it mildly!

Top Tips To Make Homework Fun:

1. work together, 2. use rewards and incentives, 3. make them a snack, 4. make it visual, 5. try different learning apps, 6. set up a homework play date, 7. go outside, 8. turn it into a game, 9. let them play teacher, 10. use a timer, 11. create a special homework space, 12. remember to be positive, 13. get help if you need it.

Thankfully, there are ways of making homework less boring and that are a little bit more fun for your child. Whether they need to practice spelling, learn their times tables or revise for an important exam, our top fun homework ideas will help you magically take the ‘work’ out of homework.

Adults often work best in the company of others, and the same can be said of kids, so why not sit with your child while they’re studying and get on with some of your own work or life admin?

Whether you’re returning emails or doing your online banking, creating a shared workspace and modeling focused work is a great way to spend quality time together while they complete their homework. Win-win!

Quick win : While your child is tackling their fractions homework, you could sit down with them and take a look through your finances.

Rewards and incentives are great when it comes to getting your children to follow your household rules and routines, and homework is no different. Things like stickers or the promise of time on their iPad or games console for slightly older children can all work wonders in getting them to do their homework without a battle.

Quick win: For every few questions they answer they could get a minute of screen time!

Let’s face it: A hungry child is an unfocused, unmotivated and unhappy child.

Most children come out of school ravenous, so let them nibble on a nutritious after-school snack while they get on with homework; things like popcorn, apple slices, grapes, or crackers and cheese are all great snack options.

If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, Active for Life has a list of healthy after-school snack ideas and recipes to try.

Quick win: One of the best brain foods for kids is a nice and crispy apple! So when your child is craving something sweet just cut up an apple and let them munch away.

Help to eliminate the late night ‘Oh, I forgot to do that’, and create a weekly homework chart so your child can see what they have to do each day and check off each ‘to do’ task as it’s been completed.

Again, Pinterest has some great free printables to help keep kids organized. Get them involved by letting them color it, or decorate it with their favorite stickers, and pin it up somewhere at their height, where they will see it easily every day as a reminder. Some exciting new stationery and colorful pens might help too.

Quick win: An easy way to make homework fun is to grab a piece of paper and get your child to draw out and decorate a ‘homework chart’ consisting of 5 days. Stick it on the fridge and add a sticker to each day after they’ve done their homework, when they’ve collected 5 stickers they get a treat!

If your child prefers to be online, there are some great online apps around that children will have fun using, yet encourage learning too. Here are our favorite free math websites for example. Speak to your child’s teacher too and see which apps the children use in school so you can support what they’re doing at home.

Quick win: One of our favorite websites that makes homework fun is Tang Math !

Holding a homework playdate where your child can invite one of their best school buddies over to do homework together can be a great way for them to learn and make sure the work gets done, especially older children in elementary school.

Plus, it’s likely that their parents will be delighted!

Younger children may need a bit more support and guidance but can still gain a lot from the experience of learning together with a friend – think of this as a mini-educational play date for them.

Quick win: Let your child and their friend play for a while, and then get them to work through their homework with the incentive of a yummy ‘ice cream party’ when they’ve completed all of their homework.

If the weather allows, create a comfortable outside study space and allow your child to do their homework outdoors.

The fresh air can help kids with their concentration if they’ve been stuck in a classroom all day, and studies also show that being outside, closer to nature, can increase productivity. The reward of a quick game of Frisbee or a kick-around of a soccer ball between tasks will help them stay motivated too.

Who said home learning had to be boring? If children enjoy what they’re learning, they’re more likely to remember what they’re being taught, so turn their learning into a fun game. Using sweets like Smarties to help with math and number work can turn the experience from a chore into a treat. If they get the right answer, they get to eat some!

Another trick that you can use when your child is learning spellings is to write them in shaving cream or in magnetic letters. It sounds simple but we can guarantee that it will make homework a lot more fun for your child.

These math games for kids and times tables games are a great place to start.

Quick win: If you’re looking for some fun homework ideas then check out this simple multiplication activity you can do at home, it’ll even get in one of your child’s five a day!

Make another fun homework game by creating your own mini-classroom and letting your child step into the role of teacher.

Have your child explain a concept to you as a teacher, as you, or their sibling, play the role of the student. This game works particularly well with subjects that require theory, like Science for example, as it will improve their understanding of the concept and build logic and reasoning skills.

Quick win: Make homework fun by getting your child to choose their favorite teddies and toys and setting them up in their own mini- classroom. Start off with registration, ‘mom’ ‘present’, ‘mr teddy’ ‘here’ etc. You’ll soon notice that your child is growing in confidence regardless of the topic as children love playing teacher!

Some children may have difficulty working for prolonged periods of time without a break, so using a timer can be great for getting them to complete homework without whining. For example, if your child is given 20 math problems for homework, you can say “Complete the first 10 questions, then we’ll take a 5-minute break, then complete the next 10 questions”.

Many children will need a mental break and will work more effectively when given the opportunity to take one. At the end of the task, they get to pick an activity of their choice. If your child gets easily distracted, a timer game can work well to keep them focused on the task in hand.

Quick win: Put the timer on your phone so that your child can see the countdown while they’re working.

A special study space can make homework more fun and help motivate your child to get it done! Choose a space in your house that’s least likely to distract your child, and create simple, organized, and kid-friendly homework.

You could hang up some of their artwork above the desk, and have all their school essentials nearby so everything is close to hand.

Quick win: Make sure that they aren’t surrounded by things that will distract them. Televisions and iPads are a no go at homework time!

Remember to always be upbeat and positive about school and the importance of their homework. Give your child lots of praise and encouragement about how well they’re doing to help them stay motivated and on track.

Quick win: After every homework session, spend five minutes talking through what your child has accomplished. If you’re running out of activities to do, have a look at our list of home learning packs – all free to download.

Homework can be frustrating if your child doesn’t understand the material or gets bored easily. If your child is struggling, get them some expert help!

Quick win: Third Space Learning has plenty of advice on learning math for kids and parents but if you need more support, our primary school math tutors are easy to organize and very affordable.

Do you have students who need extra support in math? Give your students more opportunities to consolidate learning and practice skills through personalized math tutoring with their own dedicated online math tutor. Each student receives differentiated instruction designed to close their individual learning gaps, and scaffolded learning ensures every student learns at the right pace. Lessons are aligned with your state’s standards and assessments, plus you’ll receive regular reports every step of the way. Personalized one-on-one math tutoring programs are available for: – 2nd grade tutoring – 3rd grade tutoring – 4th grade tutoring – 5th grade tutoring – 6th grade tutoring – 7th grade tutoring – 8th grade tutoring Why not learn more about how it works ?

The content in this article was originally written by primary school teacher Sophie Bartlett and has since been revised and adapted for US schools by elementary math teacher Christi Kulesza.

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28 Ideas On How To Make Homework Fun For Students

Do your children seem to need continual nagging to complete their homework? If your answer is “yes,” then don’t worry; we’ve all been there. Parents naturally want their kids to advance and do well in class, but after a full day of paper, pens, and books, many students won’t feel like doing their assignments.

No matter what the ages or grades of the students are, academic burnout may happen to any student, which affects overall learning and development. To solve this issue, we have brought 28 ideas on how to make homework fun and interesting for students of any age. Not only for parents but also if you are a tutor, these tricks and tips will come to your use.

28 Ideas on How To Make Homework Fun for Students

Homework enables the students to revise and evaluate the classroom learning and develops a habit of self-study, which in turn helps the students to score better. But it can be energy-draining, challenging, monotonous, and difficult to focus upon for students of any age.

Getting students to enjoy their homework and assignments could be immensely difficult at times. Especially after a long break or vacation, they find it difficult to focus on homework. Simultaneously, the importance of home tasks cannot be ignored. Wondering what the solution is?

It’s easy – why not make the homework fun and engaging? Yes, this is the ALL-IN-ONE solution to create a spark of interest in homework. There is practically a plethora of ways to let students feel enthusiastic while doing homework. However, not every strategy suits every student.

For instance, some students love to go outdoors and complete their homework or study amidst nature. On the other hand, some students simply want to stay indoors and complete home tasks in their study area.

So, while implementing a strategy or adopting ways to make homework fun and interesting, you must make sure you are doing the right thing for the right individual so that the student receives maximum benefits.

Here are 28 brilliant ideas that will guide you on how to make homework fun for elementary, middle, and high schoolers. Take a look:

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1. rewards are magical motivators.

It’s nothing new to provide children with little rewards in the classroom. But when it comes to the concept of homework for students, these approaches are rarely used. Instructors aren’t always aware of what’s offered or if it’s useful, and some parents may create their rewards. A great idea is to offer rewards inside the classroom.

Giving out vouchers, stickers, snacks, toys, or meal coupons that let youngsters earn money by doing their homework is something we advocate. The advantages of these magical motivators include having a friend sitting next to you in class, access to the internet, and unscheduled time in the classroom. If they link accomplishing their tasks to positive classroom experiences, students will be more engaged and motivated both inside and outside of the classroom.

2. Get Some Favorite Snacks

How to make homework fun and captivating? Let’s face the truth: A hungry student will be disinterested, uninspired, and miserable. Give them something healthful and palpable to eat while they do their schoolwork because most young kids are ravenous when they get home from school. Some options are apple slices, popcorn, grapes, crackers, flapjacks, and cheese.

If you want to attempt something a little more systematic, make a list of nutritious after-school snack suggestions and recipes and try them out every day. A delicious, crunchy apple is one of the healthiest nutrients for youngsters’ brain development. Some other nutritious and palpable snacks for students are Pancakes, Butter Popcorn, Fruit-flavored Yogurt, nut mix, sliced pears with ricotta cheese, Banana Smoothies, etc.

3. Beat the Clock

This is perfect for young kids who are reluctant to complete their schoolwork. Try it out, and you’ll thank us later. Young children like competing in races. By creating timed tasks, you may make schoolwork feel more like a race. For instance, keep track of the number of words they can spell properly or the number of arithmetic problems they can do in five minutes. Challenge your child to beat their previous best the next day.

To make it more fun, a little competition with siblings or best friends will work great. Nevertheless, make sure that the competition is healthy and doesn’t turn into an aggressive one. Often, students’ psychology works differently, and they tend to be violent in these kinds of situations.

4. Get A Homework Buddy

Allow your child to have a buddy or two over to study if they struggle with a particular topic or have difficulties concentrating in a quiet, empty room. If a second child is too distracting, set an example by helping your youngster. You may pay bills, prepare supper, respond to emails, or even work on a crossword puzzle or other mental exercise while they are doing their schoolwork.

Working on homework teaches children that work is a part of life, not just school, and fosters friendship without being overpowering.

5. Design an Awesome Workspace

Improve the area where your kids complete their schoolwork to increase efficiency, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. Have tools and materials available, such as cool notepads or notebooks, colored pens, highlighters, and sticky notes, to assist students in completing difficult projects.

Use calendars, whiteboards, chalkboards, corkboards, or even simply paper and tape to help them visualize and keep track of all they need to complete. You may also decorate it with art and other items that inspire you. For pupils older than 5 years old, you may also hang up some aesthetically pleasing motivating quotations and photos in their study space to help them stay focused and goal-oriented.

6. Make Them Feel Comfortable

The comfort level of the students is the first and foremost thing you have to take care of while making them complete their homework. Not every learner has the same comfort level in the same ways, and these levels tend to differ from one person to another. It’s the responsibility of a parent or a teacher to understand their comfort zone and then plan accordingly.

For instance, provide them with a variety of alternatives or let them design their strategy. You might also inquire as to what time they like to complete their assignment. You won’t need to repeatedly remind people of their duties if you reach an agreement.

7. Incorporate Intervals and Breaks

Some learners might be able to finish their entire load of homework in one sitting. If your class has any pupils that can’t sit still, think about introducing breaks into the assignment process. Weekly study regimens can accommodate breaks.

Give a food break, allow them to complete one level of a video game, or let them talk to a buddy during a quick break. To establish expectations for when and how homework breaks should be taken, teachers might talk about these concepts with parents and students.

This functions in two main ways. It first rewards pupils for finishing their schoolwork. In addition, it gives them a mental break so they can come back to their job reenergized and motivated.

8. Role Plays Work Wonders

Create your little school and let your youngster take the role of the instructor to make enjoyable learning-based games. Assume the position of the student, and have your youngster explain a concept to you in the teacher’s role. This game will help players better comprehend the topic and develop their logical and reasoning abilities. It works especially well with courses that call for theory, like science.

By letting your kid pick their favorite stuffed animals and playthings and placing them in their little classroom, you can make schoolwork enjoyable. Begin by registering, saying “mummy,” “gift,” “Mr. Teddy,” etc. Since kids love to pretend to be teachers, you’ll soon notice that your kid is becoming more self-assured.

9. Make Them Stay Positive and Focused

Ensure to keep the students’ attitudes toward school and the values of their schoolwork are always positive. To keep them inspired and on track, shower your youngster with compliments on how great they’re doing. If they are getting pissed off with the pressure of homework, make them understand its importance and how positively it can impact their learning.

Spend five minutes after each homework session going over your child’s accomplishments. Have a look at our selection of free-to-download home learning packs if you’re out of things to do. To keep them motivated, you can reward or recognize their achievements in front of their peers. This will not only boost their confidence but also will help them maintain a positive outlook toward homework and studies.

10. Take It Outside

Outdoor learning is one of the most feasible ways to do homework with fun in a natural environment. If the weather is good, create a cozy and safe study space outside and let the student finish all the homework outdoors.

Studies also demonstrate that being outside, nearer to nature enhances productivity. The fresh air can aid students’ attention if they have spent the entire day in a classroom. In between jobs, rewarding them with a brief game of football or Frisbee will keep them engaged. You can conduct some fun outdoor Math or English fun homework activities.

11. Altering the homework concept

Many kids feel burdened by their homework assignments. What if, though, you adopt a whole new approach to homework? It can be argued that schoolwork has a lot of unfavorable associations. These concepts usually start early in life and persist into college.

By referring to assignments in different ways, teachers can change these mental habits. Better ways to describe homework include home learning, brain workouts, and study time. You might try using these phrases in place of homework in the classroom.

12. Get Help If You Need

Homework can be frustrating if your child doesn’t understand the material or gets bored easily. Furthermore, excessive pressurizing or insisting on too much can mess up the student’s psychology. To be honest, in extreme cases, none of the methods will work. If your child or student is struggling beyond the normal limit, get them some expert help!

Education Advisors have plenty of advice for students who are not able to cope with homework. They also conduct counseling sessions from time to time in case it’s required.

13. Go for Audio-Visual Resources

Engaging additional senses in the at-home learning process is another technique to cheer up your boring assignments. Focus may be improved by using a child’s perception of touch, smell, or taste in a unique manner.

Sending kids home with instructions for making scented play dough, for instance, improve learning. The dough may be used in classes including math and spatial concepts. Plus, the aroma of scented/colored clays keeps kids focused while they work. Additionally, it enables children to link the smell to what they learned, improving memory and recall.

Another item that teachers might give their pupils as a take-home is a stress ball. Before, during, or after tasks, using a stress ball can encourage creative thinking and anxiety reduction positively.

14. Meditation Can Reduce Stress

Stress is not something that happens only to adults. With the increased competition in academics, young learners nowadays are suffering from severe stress, which ushers’ negative impacts on their mental health. Sometimes, both the little children and older students can’t express this stress and fail to explain how they are feeling.

Homework pressure often creates such challenging situations which disrupt the emotional equilibrium of youngsters. In situations like this, meditation can reduce stress and improve focus. Positive thinking, fear and the tension and anxiety that lead to depression may all be lessened by meditation. Being aware without judgment is one of the foundational elements of meditation, and this attitude of acceptance may ward against unpleasant thoughts.

15. Make It a Group Effort

Since time immemorial, team working is super effective for any activity. The same applies to homework as well. If students sit for the home task in a group, they will be able to wrap all the assignments up quickly.

Now the question is – how? Teamwork involves group discussions as well as brainstorming, which gives rise to new ideas. Students try to develop new ways to complete homework through mutual discussion.

16. Take Help from Learning Apps and Libraries

If your child struggles with their homework, it can be difficult for you as well. Games and visual examples in amusing math practice applications may be a terrific way to give your youngster practice with things he is having trouble with. Therefore, make schoolwork enjoyable for your youngster by downloading an app that simplifies the subject.

There are so many online applications and libraries that will help students enjoy fun and encouraging homework sessions. If the toddler or an older student specifically refers to a particular app or a website, talk to him/her about it properly. Then visit the online resource, and if you think it is a legit and helpful one, let your child or student use it during his/her homework time.

17. Tell Them Not to Take It Too Seriously

There are more important things in life than homework and grades. Too much focus on grades can affect your child’s love for learning. Think about what values you want to instill in your child and make sure the homework is not getting in the way.

If you believe your child’s teacher is giving out too much homework after you see your child demonstrate an understanding of the subject, don’t be afraid to voice your concern. Even if nothing changes, it will show your children that you care and empathize with them. That matters a lot!

18. Storytelling Can Be a Great Idea

Storytelling is a fantastic idea to make children complete their homework without facing any boredom. Especially for specific subjects like Math, History, and Literature, storytelling develops a context that allows the students to grasp things very easily.

If you find a student is finding it difficult to understand a concept and complete assignments on it, you can give a try to the storytelling method a since it works well. Storytelling has the power to captivate learners and keep them engaged irrespective of their age and grades.

19. Create A Homework Mood

Creating a mood for homework is a bit difficult for younger students but setting the right environment can help them complete the tasks as quickly as possible. However, it’s not an issue for the senior students but can be a bit overwhelming for the little kids.

You can select a comfortable location for them to study and use their favorite stickers, lights, etc., to decorate the space. Keeping in mind the results as well as their abilities to take the pressure, set goals and establish rewards. It’s vital to make them understand the goals and disclose a bit about the rewards but don’t let them know exactly what’s going to happen. This will create an enthusiasm to complete the homework in no time.

20. Turn on Some Music

The psychological effects of music are undeniable. Music brings concentration and helps to focus on a particular work pleasantly. Then why not use it for your children’s homework? Science dictates that music is the best aid for studying.

Play some soft music while the student is doing his/her homework and this will help to create an ambiance. You can also play cool, energetic, upbeat music since it radiates energetic vibes and the student will find immense energy as well as positivity to complete the tasks.

21. Ask Them to Do the Tough Tasks First

One more cool thing to try out is doing the tough tasks first. It’s a perfect strategy if the student has a list of various tasks of different levels of complexity. You will be able to realize how much time he/she needs to complete the tasks and edit afterward if needed.

Completing the more complex tasks at first enables a student to think and decide critically. The remaining time can be enjoyed with much lower stress while doing the easier assignments. If your child gets bored very quickly you can try this method out.

22. Get Creative

Wondering how to make homework fun creatively? Homework doesn’t sound exciting to students. To be more specific, solving sums after sums or writing science projects doesn’t sound fun alone. Rather, if you mingle these tasks with an artsy adventure, the same old boring homework sessions become interesting.

For instance, you can ask them to paint out the math problems, prepare a model for their science projects, or act a portion of the history or literature books. Some other effective ideas may include creating a range of paintings while explaining a paragraph to a child, making clay characters, and doing some moves with the music.

23. Doing Homework at School

Nowadays, as the syllabuses are changing, students have too much pressure from homework to deal with. After coming home from school, it’s quite natural for them to feel exhausted. At times it becomes impossible for a kid to keep their eyes open for homework.

The best remedy here is to complete the majority of their homework at school. Your child also doesn’t have to stay up all night looking for answers or trying to understand how to remember academic facts. They can use their free time at school to complete some of the homework to stay relaxed later. Also, completing homework with peers involves so much engagement and fun.

24. Ask Them to Work on Different Subjects in a Session

Are you trying to know how to make homework fun without putting in much effort? Plan a routine for your child so that they can work on different subjects in a single session. Try to mix and match the subjects to make them feel comfortable with the pace of the study.

Working on a maximum of 3 subjects a session will help a student to get rid of the homework quickly without considering it as a pressure. Ensure they are not in a rush to complete one subject after another. Make it as systematic and orderly as you can to avoid any unwanted confusion.

25. Get Academic Help

Getting a little homework help is a feasible way to make homework fun. Nevertheless, you must make sure that none of you, the teachers, or the program facilitators are not spoon-feeding them, or else it will affect the student’s development in terms of learning.

If there is a math problem that is too difficult to solve or a paragraph with heavy words, you or the tutor can give your helping hand to the student so that he/she can complete it on his/her own. For instance, you can give a clue to solve the sum or narrate the context of the paragraph.

26. Planning Is the Key

Planning is a powerful habit to make homework sessions fun and organized. Not only at school, but also this habit will help a student throughout his/her life. It’s required for a student to be extremely serious about homework in a studying period and systematic planning can help in completing all the assignments on time.

If your child is in high school or middle school, you can guide him/her to make homework routines. However, elementary school kids and preschool students need their parents’ or teachers’ assistance to make advanced homework plans.

27. Ask Them to Write on Their Favorite Topics

Working on something you love will make you feel more connected to the work. The same applies to both the kids’ homework and older students’ homework. If you are thinking about how to make doing homework fun, you can ask them to write a paragraph or a short essay on their favorite topics.

To implement this strategy, first, talk to the students on a one-on-one basis and try to know their individual preferences in terms of writing. Then assign them a task where they will write whatever they want on their favorite topics. This will act as a warm-up session before doing the homework.

28. Provide Choice

One of the key reasons why younger and older students become disengaged with their homework is they find it meaningless. This is where the mentors and the parents have to play the biggest role. They need to make the student understand why homework is important and how it can benefit them in the future.

This will make the kids’ homework sessions more engaging and they will be able to connect emotionally or personally. How to make homework fun in this way? It’s simple, provide the students with more choices while assigning the homework. For instance, if there is a tough project, they can choose to work alone on it or work with partners.

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Elementary school homework tips.

Homework gives elementary students a way to practice the concepts. But you have to be very careful while making them do the home tasks as at this age they don’t develop an understanding regarding the benefits of homework. To them, homework is just something that parents and teachers use to restrict them from doing what they want.

Below are some effective tips on how to make homework fun for kindergarten students.

• Make sure kids have a creative, engaging, and well-lit place to do the homework.
• Give the kids delicious snacks from time to time so that they don’t get distracted due to hunger.
• Encourage the children to complete their homework by giving them small rewards or recognizing their efforts to make the entire process more manageable.
• Instead of dictating to them what to do and threatening them, be a mentor, a leader, and a motivator.
• Create a homework routine for elementary students manually or use desktop app for planning your homework. Don’t forget to keep short breaks in between.
• Try to keep distractions to a minimum. This means no phone calls, loud music, and TV during homework time.

Set good examples for them but without comparing them with anybody. Have you ever seen your little one saving money? Point that quality out, praise him/her for it, and set it as an example.

Middle School Homework Tips

Middle school students develop a fair understanding of the importance of homework. So, you are not supposed to face much trouble to make them complete their tasks. Check out these middle school homework tips below. These tips will work wonders if you are looking for ways to make homework fun for 7th graders or 8th graders.

• Designate a specific amount of time for homework. This will help them to complete work on time.
• Help them prioritize which tasks to do on a priority basis. In this way, they will develop the ability to make decisions.
• Continuously encourage them to evaluate their work so that they can find the mistakes and correct them on their own.
• Put away the phone to prevent them from being distracted from time to time.
• When needed, help them to complete homework instead of spoon-feeding the whole thing. Give clues to solve a sum, point out some important areas, or explain them in a paragraph so that they can complete the next tasks by themselves.
• Don’t pressurize or force yourself to do homework. Parents need to know when to stop, especially when they are feeling exhausted, frustrated, and confused.

High School Homework Tips

When it comes to homework, high school students are better able to manage their time, stay focused and finish their tasks. This enables them to understand the value of homework. They don’t do any tantrums and get less distracted because they understand the consequences of not completing home tasks on time. But if you want to know how to make homework more enjoyable for high school students throughout the school year, here are some effective tips:

• Tell them to write down their homework every day in a notebook, or a planner to keep it more organized.
• Ask them to write their homework with a blue pen on a white sheet to remember their writing. Also, it’s the best combo to do homework faster.
• Help your teens to divide their homework schedule in a planned way and keep short breaks to freshen up their minds. For instance, if they work for 30 minutes, they can take a 5 minutes break.
• Doing homework with buddies is a proven method to complete homework on time and also in an accurate manner.
• If they get stuck while doing any specific homework, ask them to take help from online resources, libraries, video demonstrations, and journals.

Homework Dos and Don’ts

Let’s face it – nobody loves homework although it’s super important for your child’s learning and development. While high school students understand the importance and need of doing school assignments at home, elementary and preschool children can’t develop the understanding at their age.

Several things are to be kept in mind while expecting homework from students in proper time. To make the students complete their homework happily, we have brought some amazing dos and don’ts that parents or teachers need to follow:

Homework Do’s

1. monitor the answers.

After your child has completed his/her homework, check it once to find what went right and what went wrong. If you find any mistake in his/her work, try not to point that out directly. Instead, give your youngster clues so that he/she can find out the mistakes now.

2. Remove the Distractions

Thinking about how to make homework more fun for your child? Remove the distractions from the study room first including social media on the computer, mobile phones, unnecessary toys, etc. Remember, a decluttered environment is the reason behind a decluttered head. They will be able to focus more on the homework when there isn’t a pile of distractions around them.

3. Be A Cheerleader

Always be your child’s motivator when he/she is doing homework. Students may not be correct always but humiliating them may make them demotivated and frustrated at the same time. Celebrate small successes such as completion of the tasks within time, the maximum number of correct answers, the maximum time the child has devoted to homework, etc. Give treats like candies, stickers, pens/pencils, and colored boxes to celebrate their success.

4. Work in Collaboration

The parents and the children need to work together in terms of homework. There must be a proper channel of communication between both parties so that the child’s overall performance can be monitored.

Homework Don’ts

1. don’t force them to homework.

Forcing a student to do the homework can bring immensely negative results. Children won’t like homework – it’s quite normal but forcefully making them do it is tremendously fatal as it will develop a permanent fear or discomfort that will hamper their overall growth.

2. Don’t Show Them Your Frustration

Kids have a lot of tantrums. Especially, the tantrums increase while doing homework. Often teachers and parents get frustrated but showing them the frustration is not at all a good idea. Not only will the child become stubborn but also, they will develop a fear of doing assignments or getting help from you. If you want to make homework fun for 6th graders or students of any other grades, don’t show your frustration in front of them.

3. Don’t Compare with Their Peers

Comparison is something that demotivates a child to a great extent. It develops a deep resentment in their mind which doesn’t fade away even after growing older. Comparing their grades or skills with their peers is probably the worst idea to make students do homework.

4. Don’t Keep Electronic Devices in Front of Them

Yes, you can give the students electronic gadgets for a few minutes as small rewards but don’t keep the devices in front of them all the time when they are doing homework. This may loosen their concentration and will make them distracted from their respective tasks.

How A Homework Planning App Can Help a Student?

A homework app is the best time-management tool that enables students to organize everything they need to do throughout a week, month, academic year, or semester. It’s an easy way to keep your homework sessions organized. In case you are still thinking about how to make homework fun for your child, software with proper features of homework planning can help him/her out.

The academic pressure on school children sometimes becomes too difficult to handle, especially when there is so much to do. This is where student planners for their home assignments are found to be beneficial. Here is an explanation of how an efficient home assignment planning tool can help students finish their tasks on time:

1. Gives Students A Break

It might also be helpful to make sure that kids have some downtime to unwind and not become overburdened with assignments. If teachers are assigning homework through software, they will see how long a piece of homework will take to be completed, and they can allocate the tasks accordingly scheduling breaks in between.

2. Reduces Stress

Homework pressure may not sound like a big deal to you because you have already left those days behind but to your child, it’s a headache. The fear of being scolded by parents/teachers is one of their biggest concerns to them. Thanks to digital planners, these tools know exactly how to help each student in a customized way.

3. Increases Productivity

How to make homework interesting? Students who use a school planner are more productive and can manage their time more effectively. Students today struggle with procrastination because the internet age offers so many diversions. However, if they have noted down the tasks they must complete, they will be more motivated to complete them.

4. Easier for Parents and Teachers

A homework app with intuitive features of planning helps to complete an assignment within time in a systematic manner. Younger students who still rely on the help of their parents and teachers to do their schoolwork often fail to inform them about their homework status. Having homework software can easily sort this problem out and reduces mentors’ work and hassle.

Our Product

How to make homework fun with clarifi.

To assist students to achieve their highest potential, Clarifi is a homework software that acts as an ideal digital homework attention coach. We are dedicated to helping students achieve their academic goals. The pupils may complete their homework independently with the help of this digital planning app for homework.

It is a straightforward and uncomplicated desktop program that gives them more confidence to finish their assignment as quickly and effectively as possible. It is the only research-backed desktop application that enables children who are easily distracted to do their schoolwork without a parent watching over them. Monitoring student behavior is the only way to be sure they are doing their assignments.

However, keeping track of pupils’ activity is a time-consuming and important duty. However, Clarifi is available to make this procedure as easy as possible. With the aid of this program, students can effortlessly enter each homework assignment and keep track of the due dates for each one based on the class or the current day.

They receive prizes from the automated coach for maintaining concentration and doing their homework. When all pupils turn in their schoolwork on time, they will receive diamonds as a reward. This element motivates pupils to develop the positive habit of finishing their home assignments on time. Clarifi is an easy digital homework attention planner that provides kids with the ability to filter out distractions, improve their executive functioning, and keep all of their assignments organized in one location.

Clarifi guarantees to raise their capacity for concentration and focus as well as their academic performance. It incorporates functions that provide users the means to remain centered, motivated, and organized while finishing their schoolwork on their own. When kids use the app, it is specially designed with cutting-edge technology that blocks all other apps.

Generating an undistracted and focused environment for students with Clarifi is the answer to “how to make homework less boring.”

Students Can Now Complete Homework with Fun!

With these tricks and tips, students can now efficiently engage themselves in homework. Learners need to study and complete their homework/assignments with a positive mindset and not forcefully. As soon as a student starts doing his/her homework strenuously, the interest is eventually lost, leading to mistakes and burnout.

But with the tricks mentioned above, homework sessions can now be immensely fun and interesting. Whether you are a teacher, parent, or student, these are some tried and tested ways to complete home tasks engagingly. Stay tuned to Clarifi for similar informative blogs like this. If to need help with your children’s homework and know more about how to make homework fun get in touch with Clarifi today.

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• Articles / Homework

Smart Homework: 13 Ways to Make It Meaningful

by MiddleWeb · Published 08/04/2014 · Updated 11/17/2019

In the first installment of Rick Wormeli’s homework advice, he made the case for take-home assignments that matter for learning and engage student interest . In Part 2, Rick offers some guiding principles that can help teachers create homework challenges that motivate kids and spark deeper learning in and out of school.

These articles are adapted and updated from Rick’s seminal book about teaching in the middle grades, Day One & Beyond: Practical Matters for New Middle Level Teachers . Rick continues to offer great advice about homework, differentiation, assessment and many other topics in workshops and presentations across North America. Check back in Part 1 for some additional homework resources.

I’ve been accumulating guiding principles for creating highly motivating homework assignments for many years — from my own teaching and from the distilled wisdom of others. Here are a baker’s dozen. Choose the ones most appropriate for students’ learning goals and your curriculum.

1. Give students a clear picture of the final product. This doesn’t mean everything is structured for them, or that there aren’t multiple pathways to the same high quality result. There’s room for student personalities to be expressed. Students clearly know what is expected, however. A clear picture sets purpose for doing the assignment. Priming the brain to focus on particular aspects of the learning experience helps the brain process the information for long-term retention. Setting purpose for homework assignments has an impact on learning and the assignment’s completion rate, as research by Marzano and others confirms.

2. Incorporate a cause into the assignment. Middle level students are motivated when they feel they are righting a wrong. They are very sensitive to justice and injustice. As a group, they are also very nurturing of those less fortunate than them. Find a community or personal cause for which students can fight fairly and incorporate your content and skills in that good fight— students will be all over the assignment.

4. Incorporate people whom students admire in their assignments. Students are motivated when asked to share what they know and feel about these folks. We are a society of heroes, and young adolescents are interested in talking about and becoming heroic figures.

5. Allow choices, as appropriate. Allow students to do the even-numbered or odd-numbered problems, or allow them to choose from three prompts, not just one. Let them choose the word that best describes the political or scientific process. Let them identify their own diet and its effects on young adolescent bodies. Let them choose to work with partners or individually. How about allowing them to choose from several multiple-intelligence based tasks? If they are working in ways that are comfortable, they are more likely to do the work. By making the choice, they have upped their ownership of the task.

6. Incorporate cultural products into the assignment. If students have to use magazines, television shows, foods, sports equipment, and other products they already use, they are likely to do the work. The brain loves to do tasks in contexts with which it is familiar.

7. Allow students to collaborate in determining how homework will be assessed. If they help design the criteria for success, such as when they create the rubric for an assignment, they “own” the assignment. It comes off as something done by them, not to them. They also internalize the expectations—another way for them to have clear targets.

With some assignments we can post well-done versions from previous years (or ones we’ve created for this purpose) and ask students to analyze the essential characteristics that make these assignments exemplary. Students who analyze such assignments will compare those works with their own and internalize the criteria for success, referencing the criteria while doing the assignment, not just when it’s finished.

9. Spruce up your prompts. Don’t ask students to repeatedly answer questions or summarize. Try some of these openers instead: Decide between, argue against, Why did ______ argue for, compare, contrast, plan, classify, retell ______ from the point of view of ______, Organize, build, interview, predict, categorize, simplify, deduce, formulate, blend, suppose, invent, imagine, devise, compose, combine, rank, recommend, defend, choose.

10. Have everyone turn in a paper. In her classic, Homework: A New Direction (1992), Neila Connors reminded teachers to have all students turn in a paper, regardless of whether they did the assignment. If a student doesn’t have his homework, he writes on the paper the name of the assignment and why he didn’t do it.

11. Do not give homework passes. I used to do this; then I realized how much it minimized the importance of homework. It’s like saying, “Oh, well, the homework really wasn’t that important to your learning. You’ll learn just as well without it.” Homework should be so productive for students that missing it is like missing the lesson itself.

12. Integrate homework with other subjects. One assignment can count in two classes. Such assignments are usually complex enough to warrant the dual grade and it’s a way to work smarter, not harder, for both students and teachers. Teachers can split the pile of papers to grade, then share the grades with each other, and students don’t have homework piling up in multiple classes.

There are times when every teacher on the team assigns a half-hour assignment, and so do the elective or encore class teachers. This could mean three to four hours of homework for the student, which is inappropriate for young adolescents.

13. Occasionally, let students identify what homework would be most effective. Sometimes the really creative assignments are the ones that students design themselves. After teaching a lesson, ask your students what it would take to practice the material so well it became clearly understood. Many of the choices will be rigorous and very appropriate.

This is one reason I always recommend that, as a basic premise, we avoid Monday morning quizzes and weekend or holiday homework assignments. Sure, there will be exceptions when long-term projects come due. But if we are really about teaching so that students learn and not about appearing rigorous and assigning tasks to show that we have taught, then we’ll carefully consider all the effects of our homework expectations. Our students will be more productive at school for having healthier lives at home.

▶ More resources from Rick Wormeli:

Although Rick never mentions the word homework in this article about helping adolescent students improve their “executive function,” you will immediately see the connections! At the AMLE website .

NEXT: In our final excerpt from Day One & Beyond, Rick Wormeli shares his approach to homework assessment – with an clear emphasis on maintaining teacher sanity.

His books include Meet Me in the Middle ; Day One and Beyond ; Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom ; Differentiation: From Planning to Practice; Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching Any Subject, and Summarization in Any Subject , plus The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli: Crazy Good Stuff I Learned about Teaching Along the Way .

He is currently working on his first young adult fiction novel and a new book on homework practices in the 21 st century.

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Tags: Day One & Beyond grading homework homework homework guidelines homework policies Rick Wormeli why homework

MiddleWeb is all about the middle grades, with great 4-8 resources, book reviews, and guest posts by educators who support the success of young adolescents. And be sure to subscribe to MiddleWeb SmartBrief for the latest middle grades news & commentary from around the USA.

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This is a really great article. It has helped me tremendously in making new and better decisions about homework.

Fabulous sage advice! Although I love every single suggestion you’ve included, I am particularly fond of the elimination of the “homework pass”. As a former middle-level teacher and administrator, I too found the homework pass diminished the importance of follow-up work – a necessary component in determining the level of student understanding.

I do give 2 passes, but they just extend due date by a day. And if not used, they may be returned at the end of the 9 weeks for extra credit.

Rick Wormeli’s ideas and tips in this article continue to be stimulating and useful. That said, it’s been more than a decade since the first edition of his book on grading, homework and assessment, Fair Isn’t Always Equal appeared.

In the intervening years, Rick’s thinking about homework has benefited from his work with teachers and in schools and plenty of debate. In April 2018, he published a new 2nd edition of Fair Isn’t Always Equal that includes an even deeper discussion of homework and its relationship to best practice, differentiation, and the moral obligation of educators to insist on effective homework policies.

Visitors to the Stenhouse page for the new book can preview the *entire* text for free, so be sure to check that out.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the new book:

Tenet: Homework should enable students to practice what they have already learned in class and should not present new content for the first time. Principled Responses:

• I will not assign homework to students who do not understand the content. • I will give homework to some students and no homework or different assignments to others, depending on their proficiency. • I will use exit slips and formative assessment during class so I can determine proper after-school practice for each student. • I will not give homework because parents and administrators expect me to do so, or assign homework because it’s a particular day of the week. • I will assign homework only if it furthers students’ proficiency in the field we’re studying.

Thanks to Rick for giving us permission to share this!

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How to Make Homework Fun

• Post author By admin
• September 6, 2023

Discover engaging strategies for how to make homework fun. Explore personalized study spaces, gamification, collaboration, and more to make learning enjoyable.

Hey there, homework warriors! Let’s face it, homework often gets a bad rap for being a total buzzkill. The mere thought of it can make us want to escape to a world of video games, socializing, or anything but those looming assignments. But guess what? It doesn’t have to be that way!

In this article, we’re about to embark on a journey to uncover the secret sauce of making homework downright fun. That’s right, we’re flipping the script and turning the dreaded “H-word” into an exciting adventure.

So, if you’re ready to banish the boredom and inject some pizzazz into your study sessions, keep reading. We’ve got 15 game-changing tips coming your way to transform homework from a chore into a choice activity!

Table of Contents

How to Make Homework Fun?

Have a close look at how to make homework fun:-

Design a Homework Haven

Transforming a corner of your room into a cozy study nook is all about creating an inviting space that inspires productivity. Consider adding a:

Comfy Chair

Choose a chair with good lumbar support and a cushioned seat for long study sessions.

Soft Cushions

Scatter a few soft cushions on your chair or on the floor to make the nook extra inviting.

Motivational Posters

Hang up posters with motivational quotes or images that resonate with your goals. For instance, a poster featuring a quote like “You’ve Got This!” can provide daily encouragement.

Set a Homework Schedule

Creating a daily study schedule tailored to your rhythm can significantly boost your productivity. Here’s how to go about it:

Identify Your Peak Hours

Pay attention to when you feel most alert and focused during the day. Are you a morning person, or does your energy peak in the evening?

Designate Prime Study Time

Once you’ve identified your prime hours, set aside that time for your most challenging subjects or tasks. For example, if you’re a night owl, designate 8 PM to 10 PM as your prime study time.

Set Goals and Rewards

Setting goals and rewards can turn studying into a thrilling game. Here’s how to make it work:

Task-Based Rewards

Break your study session into smaller tasks. For instance, if you have a 2-hour study session, set a timer for every 30 minutes. When you complete a task within the allotted time, reward yourself with a mini-break or a quick treat.

Dance Breaks

After accomplishing a particularly tough assignment or study session, treat yourself to a five-minute dance break to your favorite upbeat song.

Group Study Sessions

Studying with friends can make homework a social and interactive experience. Here’s how to organize a productive group study session:

Choose Study Buddies

Invite friends who are equally committed to studying. Avoid distractions and focus on collaborative learning.

During breaks, enjoy some snacks and refreshments together. It’s an excellent opportunity to bond and recharge.

Gamify Your Homework

Turning your assignments into a game can make them engaging and competitive. Here’s an example:

Math Challenges

For every correct math problem you solve, award yourself points. Set a target, like 100 points. Once you reach that goal, treat yourself to a favorite dessert or activity.

Use Technology Wisely

Leveraging educational apps and websites can make learning enjoyable. Consider:

Learning Languages

Apps like Duolingo and Babbel gamify language learning with interactive lessons and quizzes.

Science Simulations

Websites like PhET Interactive Simulations offer fun science experiments and simulations.

Listen to Music

Creating a playlist for different study moods can set the tone for productive work:

Upbeat Playlist

Compile lively tunes for subjects like math or science to keep your energy high.

Chillout Playlist

Use calming melodies for reading assignments or essay writing to stay focused.

Change Your Study Materials

Enhance your study materials with colors and visual appeal:

Colorful Notes

When taking notes, use different colored pens for headings, key points, and examples. Highlight important concepts with bright markers.

Create a Homework Playlist

Crafting a motivational playlist can boost your enthusiasm for study sessions:

Personalized Mix

Include songs that motivate you. Whether it’s energetic rock, inspiring pop, or calming instrumental, curate a playlist that resonates with you.

Relate Homework to Real Life

Connecting assignments to real-life situations can make them more meaningful. For example:

Applying Math

If you’re learning about percentages, practice by calculating discounts while shopping online. It’s a practical application of what you’re studying.

Ask for Help When Needed

Don’t hesitate to seek assistance when you’re stuck:

Online Tutors

Utilize online tutoring services like Khan Academy or Chegg when you need clarification on complex topics.

Celebrate Your Achievements

Reward yourself for completing challenging assignments:

Mini Rewards

After finishing a tough essay or solving a set of difficult problems, treat yourself to a favorite snack or a short episode of your favorite TV show.

Use Colorful Visual Aids

Visual aids can make complex topics easier to understand:

Timeline for History

Create a timeline of historical events using colorful markers and sticky notes. It helps you visualize the sequence of historical occurrences.

Stay Organized

Organization is key for effective studying:

Digital Planner

Use digital tools like Google Calendar or Todoist to keep track of assignments and due dates. Set reminders to stay on top of your tasks.

By incorporating these detailed strategies and examples, you can transform your homework routine into an enjoyable and productive experience tailored to your preferences and learning style.

These examples demonstrate practical ways to infuse fun and engagement into your homework routine, making the learning process more enjoyable and productive.

What are ways to make homework fun?

• Create a Comfortable Space: Design a cozy study spot with your favorite things.
• Set a Schedule: Stick to a regular study routine that suits you.
• Break Tasks Down: Divide homework into smaller, manageable chunks.
• Reward Yourself: Treat yourself after completing tasks or goals.
• Study with Friends: Make it social by studying with buddies.
• Use Apps: Try fun and educational apps for learning.
• Listen to Music: Create a motivating study playlist.
• Make It Visual: Use colors and visuals to make notes pop.
• Connect to Real Life: Relate homework to everyday situations.
• Stay Organized: Use planners to stay on top of assignments.

These simple tips can make homework less daunting and more enjoyable.

How do I make my homework less boring?

Want to jazz up your homework and banish the boredom? Here’s the lowdown:

Create Your Happy Place

Start by transforming your study spot into a haven of fun. Add some quirky decorations, fairy lights, or even a cozy blanket fort – whatever makes you smile.

Slice and Dice

Homework can feel like a mountain, right? Well, cut it into bite-sized chunks. Tackling one piece at a time feels way less overwhelming.

Goals with a Side of Rewards

Set yourself mini-goals and sprinkle rewards on top. Finish that math problem? Treat yourself to a victory dance or a mini snack party.

Study Squad

Invite a friend for a study date. You can help each other out and share some giggles during breaks.

Homework Gamified

Turn your homework into a game. Assign points or rewards for completing tasks. Hit a certain score, and it’s time to indulge in your favorite treat.

Dive into educational apps or websites. Learning becomes a blast when it’s interactive and entertaining.

Musical Motivation

Craft a playlist with your favorite tunes. Pop on some energetic beats for those math equations, or soothing melodies for reading assignments.

Colorful Creativity

Don’t just take notes, make them a work of art with colorful pens and highlighters. Visuals can make studying way more interesting.

Real-World Homework

Connect your assignments to real life. If you’re tackling percentages, apply them to calculate discounts while shopping online.

Stay Organized and Sane

Keep your homework organized using planners or digital tools. No more last-minute panics about forgotten deadlines.

With these tricks up your sleeve, homework will become a breeze, and you might even have some fun along the way!

How do I make myself enjoy homework?

Making yourself enjoy homework can be a challenge, but it’s possible with a few mindset shifts and strategies:

Find Purpose

Understand why you’re doing the homework. Connect it to your long-term goals and how it benefits you. Knowing the “why” can make it more meaningful.

Positive Mindset

Approach homework with a positive attitude. Focus on the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel when you complete it.

Set Realistic Goals

Break your homework into smaller tasks and set achievable goals. Completing each part can give you a sense of progress and satisfaction.

Create a Comfortable Space

Design a cozy and organized study area that you enjoy spending time in. A pleasant environment can make a big difference.

Mix up your subjects and tasks to avoid monotony. Switching between different assignments can keep things interesting.

Set a Schedule

Establish a study routine that suits your natural rhythm. Find the time of day when you’re most alert and use it for more challenging tasks.

Reward Yourself

Treat yourself after completing homework or reaching specific milestones. It can be as simple as a small snack, a short break, or doing something you love.

Stay Engaged

Try to actively engage with the material. Ask questions, discuss concepts with classmates, or relate it to real-life situations.

Study Groups

Consider joining or creating study groups with friends. Discussing topics and helping each other can make the process more enjoyable.

Celebrate Progress

Celebrate your achievements, even small ones. Recognize your efforts and improvements.

Mindfulness Techniques

Practice mindfulness or relaxation techniques before starting homework to reduce stress and increase focus.

If you’re struggling with a particular subject, don’t hesitate to ask for help from teachers, classmates, or online resources.

Visual Aids

Use visual aids like diagrams, charts, or flashcards to make studying more engaging and easier to grasp.

Incorporate Interests

If possible, relate homework topics to your interests or hobbies. It can make the material more relatable and enjoyable.

Use planners or digital tools to keep track of assignments, due dates, and progress. Being organized can reduce stress.

Remember that enjoying homework might not happen overnight, but by implementing these strategies and maintaining a positive mindset, you can make the process more enjoyable and rewarding.

How can I make my high school homework fun?

Making high school homework fun requires creativity and a positive attitude. Here are some tips to make your high school homework more enjoyable:

Personalize Your Space

Create a study environment that reflects your personality and interests. Decorate your study area with posters, photos, or artwork that inspires you.

Set a Homework Routine

Establish a consistent homework routine that aligns with your energy levels. Determine the best time of day for you to focus and stick to it.

Break Tasks into Smaller Steps

Divide your assignments into smaller, manageable tasks. Completing each step feels like an accomplishment and keeps you motivated.

Incorporate technology into your homework. Explore educational apps and websites that make learning interactive and engaging.

Study with Friends

Organize study groups with friends to tackle assignments together. You can explain concepts to each other and share different perspectives.

Gamify Your Learning

Turn your homework into a game. Set challenges, time limits, or point systems for completing tasks. Reward yourself when you meet your goals.

Create playlists for different subjects or moods. Upbeat music can boost your energy for math, while calming tunes can help you concentrate on reading assignments.

Experiment with different study materials. Use colorful pens, highlighters, or digital tools to make your notes visually appealing.

Real-Life Applications

Relate your homework to real-life situations whenever possible. For example, if you’re studying economics, analyze current events or business news .

Seek Support

Don’t hesitate to ask for help when needed. Reach out to teachers, classmates, or online resources for clarification or guidance.

Celebrate Achievements

Celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small. Reward yourself with a treat, a short break, or an activity you enjoy after completing homework.

Use planners, to-do lists, or digital tools to stay organized and track assignments and deadlines.

Challenge Yourself

Set personal challenges to make homework more engaging. Aim to finish assignments faster or with higher accuracy than before.

Whenever possible, relate homework topics to your interests or future career goals. It can make the material more relatable and engaging.

Stay Positive

Maintain a positive attitude toward your homework. Focus on the sense of accomplishment and knowledge gained through your efforts.

By incorporating these strategies into your high school homework routine, you can make the experience more enjoyable and productive while achieving academic success.

In conclusion, making homework fun is not just a distant dream; it’s a practical approach that can transform the way you tackle your assignments.

By personalizing your study space, setting goals and rewards, collaborating with friends, and gamifying your learning, you can turn the once-dreaded homework into an engaging adventure.

Incorporating technology, music, colorful materials, and real-life connections adds an extra layer of enjoyment. Remember to celebrate your achievements along the way and stay organized to reduce stress.

With a positive mindset and these strategies in your arsenal, you can embark on your homework journey with enthusiasm, making it not only bearable but genuinely enjoyable.

So, let’s turn the page and dive into the exciting world of learning, one fun homework assignment at a time!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can i really make homework fun.

Absolutely! With the right approach and mindset, homework can be an enjoyable part of your academic journey.

What if I can’t concentrate with music?

Not everyone finds music helpful. Experiment with different study environments to discover what suits you best.

How do I avoid procrastination?

Creating a schedule and setting achievable goals can help you stay on track and avoid procrastination.

What if I still find a particular subject boring?

Try to connect it to your interests or real-life situations to make it more engaging.

How can I make studying with friends productive?

Ensure that your study group remains focused on the task at hand and avoids distractions.

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7 Ways to Make Homework Fun (Seriously!)

Make homework fun by changing the way you look at it

Your kids just spent all day at school. And now you’re asking them to do what? Homework? Hey, that’s kind of like having school at home. After an entire day of paper, pencils, and books, your child may resist (and that’s putting it politely) getting down to business during the after-school hours. Don’t stress out. Whether your child has to study a vocab list, do a few zillion math equations, or finish a few extra assignments, we’re sharing seven tips that can magically transform homework from a super-struggle to some serious fun!

1. Work Together Why not be hands-off when it comes to your kid’s homework, while still working beside one another? Return emails, answer your co-worker’s texts or work on the PTA fundraiser, modeling focused work to your child as the two of you spend QT together. If you think this seems like you’re not paying attention to your child or you’re slacking when it comes to parenting—you aren’t. Instead, you’re creating a shared workspace where the two of you can get business done together.

2. Get Creative Sitting like a statue and calculating problem after problem on a math worksheet isn’t exciting, so consider turning a study session into an all-out artsy adventure! As your kid reads a chapter from the assigned text, use the opportunity as a chance to put on a play. If not acting, paint out math problems, sculpt letters or turn American history into a song.

Other ideas (perfect for older kiddos) include more sophisticated setups like creating a series of paintings explaining a text the child is trying to interpret or interpreting a poem using their musical notes. Kindergarten-aged kids set can get back to basics and finger paint letters, make clay characters from a story or bang on pots and pans to learn about patterns or counting.

RELATED:  11 Math Games That Equal Tons of Fun

4. Take It Outside If there’s an outdoor space where they can spread out and study in your home, encourage it. A study showed that workers saw a 45% increase in productivity after being outside for about 30 minutes. Plus, offering up 10-minute breaks in the sun is a huge perk.

4. Make It a Group Effort Start a study group. Have your kiddo invite classmates to read, write and do math equations together. If your student is old enough to handle organizing and delegating, take a step back and let your kid take on a leadership role. Younger kids may need more help—think of this as a mini-educational play date for them.

5. Design an Awesome Workspace Take a page from some of the coolest places on Earth to work. Google, Apple and other tech giants all have fab workspaces for their employees. Why? To increase productivity. Create a communal workstation that all your kids (or all your family) can share instead of sending your little learners off to their room alone. Mix it up with a tall desk (by using a shelf), so your child can stand and work, or swap out desk chairs for a yoga ball or a twisty stool.

RELATED:  17 At-Home Learning Spots to Keep Kids on Track

6. Engage the Senses There is a reason those darned pop-its were suddenly in every kid’s hands. While engaging their sense of touch, smell or sight might seem like a distraction, it helps them focus. Try doing a sensory activity like making your playdough . You can also engage other senses: Stash a stress ball in the homework area to engage the sense of touch or play white noise to break the quiet distracting to your child.

7. Hold Office Hours Your child needs some homework help. Instead of hovering (no helicopters here) or taking over and writing your very own book report, set up office hours—just like your college professors did. Make the living room couch or the dining room table into your “office.” The kids can schedule a time to ask questions or can come to your “open hours.” This lets you help your child without actually doing the work yourself

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15 Innovative School Homework Ideas to Make Learning Fun

Aashita Pillai

Aashita is a writer here at Suraasa and has formerly worked as a Teacher Mentor for a couple of years. She wields words like weapons to help readers get clear and concise information.

Introduction

General tips to keep students hooked to school homework, 15 innovative school homework ideas to engage your students, theme a: arts and crafts, theme b: physical and outside activities, theme c: digital activities, theme d: games, theme e: entrepreneurship.

“Hi teachers! I am your old friend, School Homework. Over time as education changed, so have I— thanks to the endless innovations that happened to me.  Let me take you through my life and the various innovations that made me your best friend- I was born in the 1920s to help students reinforce what they learned in class. Until the 1980s, I was basically just pen-and-paper-based assignments.  The Internet was born in 1983. From there onwards, I made my stride into the ‘digital era’.

Until the beginning of 2020, I was slowly being integrated within online platforms and technology to help students learn better. Then at the onset of 2020, the world plunged into the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools shifted to a ‘remote learning’ mode of education. During this pandemic, you and I became very crucial in ensuring the continuity of our students’ learning. You all embraced creative approaches to keep the students engaged. You leveraged interactive games, virtual simulations, & more to make me engaging. Gone are the days when you, my dear teachers, would limit your homework to worksheets, textbook questions, literature reviews, and reports. Today as we stand here in 2023, there is no limit to innovative and exciting homework formats! Well, that’s from me. See you in the classrooms!”

So teachers, we heard from homework about how it has evolved over time. As it said, many innovative ways have come up to reinforce our students' learning. So, are you ready to make your students fall in love with these new school homework ideas? Let’s begin with understanding some general tips to keep your students engaged with their school homework.

1. Make it Relevant and Meaningful 

Connect the school homework to their lives, interests, or current events to make it more meaningful and relatable. For example, if it’s Christmas time, you can ask your students to explore the themes of charity, storytelling, etc.

2. Give Them a Choice

Allow students to have some choice and autonomy in their assignments. Ask them to select the format (e.g. written format in the online medium, oral format in the offline medium) in which they want to submit their homework. When they feel a sense of ownership, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged. This is how you become a 21st-century teacher who uses differentiated learning. 

3. Celebrate Their Achievements

When children get appreciated for their achievements or good behaviour, it boosts their self-confidence. It encourages them to repeat those actions. This creates a positive learning environment. They are more likely to deliver results when appreciated for their actions. Hence, you can celebrate their achievements via small rewards, recognition or a display of their work in class.

Let's move to the next part of this blog, where we will share innovative school homework ideas that will turn mundane homework into engaging learning sessions!  After assigning any of these innovative homework ideas, you might never hear students’ innovative excuses to avoid homework! To give you a quick run-through, these ideas have been grouped under some common themes. Under each theme, you will learn how to use 3 ideas listed alongside relevant examples to comprehend it completely. Come along as we give the ratty old homework a MAKEOVER!

By infusing the joy of arts and crafts into school homework, you can tap into the innate curiosity and imagination of your students. And you never know, you might end up being the person that shaped the next Da Vinci! So, let’s get right into it:

1. Create Your Storybook

We all have heard stories. We have loved them and adored them. So why not give our students a chance to write one?  After the students submit their storybooks, you can review their stories and give personalised feedback. Such feedback addresses each student’s individual needs, strengths, and areas for improvement. This fosters a student-centric learning environment.  Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

2. Make Your Own Board Game

Do you remember the joy of gathering around a table, rolling a dice, and playing Snakes & Ladders? As kids and even as adults, many of us love spending our time playing board games.  Now, picture becoming the teacher that integrates school homework with a board game! Students can design board games and incorporate artistic elements into their theme, board layout, cards, etc. They can become architects of fun and learning!

Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

3. Construct a Birdhouse

Now, let’s tap into the sweet nostalgia of DIY(Do it Yourself) Projects. It could be something as simple as bedsheet forts or something a little more complex like a birdhouse 🙂 Won’t it be wonderful to watch your students feel a sense of accomplishment when they build their own handmade creations?  Let’s focus on the idea of constructing a birdhouse. By assigning students this homework, you’ll additionally be encouraging kinesthetic learning . 

Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely: 

Students love spending their time outdoors. Assigning school homework that requires them to be outside is a big plus! It will also help them apply what’s taught in class in real-life situations and promote active learning.

4. Participate in a Scavenger Hunt

Everyone loves a good old mystery! Give your students the chance to be modern-day ‘Sherlock Holmes’ as they set out on scavenger hunts.  Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

5. Maintain a Physical Activity Journal

In this digital age, where mobile and laptop screens often dominate, the majority of the students lead sedentary lifestyles. School homework which encourages physical activity, can be a game-changer! And what better than maintaining a physical activity journal that helps with it? Additionally, it will also promote the healthy habit of having an active lifestyle among students.  Getting students to journal can seem tough, but with the right motivation & incentives, it can be done. Additionally, this can also be a fun summer holiday homework, where students can keep track of their activities all summer! Encourage them to document their daily exercise triumphs. Push them to go beyond their own records! Ask them to explore science concepts- BMI, heart and pulse rates, diet, and nutrition! Once you do this, exercise will not just be about breaking a sweat anymore. It will also be something that incorporates learning! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

6. Conduct a Survey at a Local Supermarket

This outdoor activity is an extremely fun option for school homework. Most kids love running through the different aisles in a supermarket. Introducing a concept like surveys here gives them a chance to do some ‘real-life’ work and also provides much-needed relief to their parents!  Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely: 

In the age of tech-savvy students, we often find parents complaining about the excess screen time with their kids. But what if you could harness the untapped potential in technology? Today's kids are already immersed in the digital world, so why not tap into their enthusiasm and merge it with learning?  Let’s look at some innovative methods of assigning digital activities for school homework:

7. Record a Virtual Job Application

This can be a fun homework assignment for students of all grades. One thing that we often forget as teachers is that school is not just about the present; it's also about the future. But often, we don’t discuss the future. This results in students being almost lost when it comes to their future career opportunities.  This is exactly where this school homework activity helps. Assigning school homework related to professions is a great chance for students to explore their career options. This, in turn, will help them be better prepared for life after school.  Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

8. Participate in Online Collaborative Projects

Online projects are a catalyst for active learning and student engagement. They can be a tool for you to create a dynamic learning environment that goes beyond traditional classroom boundaries. Additionally, these activities enhance digital literacy and empower students to leverage technology for learning. Working on online collaborative projects will also help students learn how to function together as a team. This is something that also prepares them for life beyond school, where it’s crucial to learn to work together.

9. Virtual Cultural Exchange

Cultural exchange events open doors to new horizons, offering students a unique chance to explore diverse cultures. By immersing them in new traditions, you develop acceptance, and empathy in your students. You give them a chance to have a broad and more inclusive perspective of the world. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Game-based school homework is one of the best ways to engage your students. Integrating learning within games creates a powerful synergy where education and entertainment merge seamlessly.  It’s time to tap into your students’ natural love for games and leverage it!

10. Use Minecraft as a Learning Tool

Ah, Minecraft! A name that brings back memories of endless adventures in pixelated landscapes. It’s a game that is a nostalgic reminder of our childhood.  But did you know that Minecraft can be more than just a game? It can be a powerful learning tool to level up the educational experience of your students.  💡Learn how to leverage Minecraft to make your classrooms more engaging! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

11. Encourage Role-Playing Games

Lights, camera, action! Role-playing games(RPGs) let students step into the shoes of a character and bring lessons to life. Even though RPGs are not typically classified as games, their unique blend of learning and fun makes them ideal for educational purposes.  You can assign students to act out roleplays based on a historical event, scientific concept or work of literature. They can develop characters, write dialogues, and present this to the class. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

12. Online Challenges

You can introduce online challenges like coding of varying difficulties for different grade levels. Platforms like Scratch or Code.org can be helpful for this purpose. Coding challenges offer hands-on experience to students. It allows them to practice coding concepts and algorithms in a practical and engaging manner.  Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

In today's competitive world, students who embrace innovative thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset stand out. As a teacher, you can nurture these qualities in your students via thought-provoking school homework. Such assignments can ignite students' passion for problem-solving, creative thinking, and strategic planning. Let’s look at some of the ideas below.

13. Pitch Your Business Idea

Have you watched shows like Shark Tank or Billion Dollar Buyer? Have you been completely captivated by the business pitches on these shows? Now, imagine doing the same for your students— unleashing their entrepreneurial spirit. It’s time to bring the hustle of the business world into your classrooms! Encourage students to develop a business idea and create a persuasive pitch. They should research their target market, competitors, and unique selling points. In fact, students can present their pitch using multimedia tools, such as slides or videos, highlighting the problem they're solving and the value their business brings. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

14. Design a Mobile App

Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. Think about the countless hours that you spend on your smartphone, exploring different apps that make your life easier. This is a practice growing like fire amongst kids as well and is cause for serious concern! What if they spend time on their phone and learn at the same time? This homework assignment encourages students to apply their creativity and technical skills to develop a concept for a mobile application. Additionally, you can also assign this as a holiday homework assignment and let students go wild with learning during summer! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

*Technologies like designing mobile applications can be too complex for the primary school. Hence, we focus on this idea only for middle and high school students.

15. Set up a Stall at the School Fair

This homework acts as an Introduction to Business 101 class for students of all grade levels. Students get to decide what stall to put up, then work on the logistics and finally manage the stall and finances on D-Day. This will teach students real-world skills and give them a feeling of ownership. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely: 

Grade-Specific Tips to follow while Preparing School Homework ‍

1. primary school students ‍.

• Keep it Interactive and Hands-on Younger children thrive on tactile and interactive experiences. Incorporate more of arts and crafts, storytelling, etc., to make homework enjoyable for them.
• Use Visuals Vibrant colours will capture their attention and make tasks visually appealing.
• Keep it Short Primary school students have limited attention spans. Give them small tasks that they can accomplish in a limited timeframe. ‍

2. Middle School students ‍

• Offer More Choices Middle schoolers are often teenagers already on the precipice of changes beyond their control. They will appreciate having some control over their learning. Allow them to choose topics or formats that align with their interests.
• Incorporate Technology Middle school students are often technologically savvy. Utilise online resources, interactive platforms, and digital tools to make homework more engaging and relevant to their interests.
• Encourage Independent Research Foster their curiosity by assigning research-based projects. Encourage them to explore various sources and present their findings in creative ways. ‍

3. High School Students ‍

• Encourage Critical Thinking and Analysis High schoolers are capable of higher-order thinking skills. Assign tasks that require critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical thinking.
• Encourage Self-expression Offer creative assignments that allow them to express their thoughts, opinions and ideas. Remember that they are young adults finding their voice in a loud world. Encourage them to write essays, create multimedia presentations, or engage in spirited debates.
• Push for Practical Application Assign tasks that connect to real-world situations, allowing them to see the relevance and importance of their learning. ‍

How to Improve Your Homework and Other Teaching Strategies?

Do you want to learn about more strategies to improve school homework? What if you could upskill and improve all your teaching strategies- classroom management, assessment, and lesson planning, among many others? Book a call with a mentor to get dedicated teacher counselling on upskilling and improving your teaching strategies.

In a world where school homework is generally met with students’ whining, you can use these approaches to turn it into a gateway for innovation! By infusing ideas such as game-based learning, digital activities, and arts and crafts, you can help students engage with school homework meaningfully. This will foster a lifelong love for learning among your students, ultimately helping them succeed in and beyond the classroom. Want a short compilation of all the amazing school homework ideas? Click the button below

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How to Enjoy Homework

Last Updated: April 19, 2023

This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA . Emily Listmann is a private tutor in San Carlos, California. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. This article has been viewed 52,263 times.

Homework can often feel stressful and boring. Unfortunately, if you're in school it's a part of life. If you consistently dread doing homework, you should look into ways you can enjoy the task. This way, school will be more pleasant for you overall. You can start with subjects that interest you, give yourself breaks and rewards, and work on changing your mentality regarding homework in general.

Planning Homework Time

• It may help to take a few days to measure your natural ebb and flow of energy. You may find that, during late afternoon, you feel a sudden slump in energy. However, as it gets closer to the evening hours, you may suddenly have a boost in energy. Therefore, instead of doing homework after school, try to do your homework after dinner each night.
• You'll feel happier and more productive if you're studying during a time when you're experiencing a peak in energy. Homework will seem to go by faster, and you will not struggle as much to concentrate.

• You can alternate between subjects you like and dislike. This can help give you motivation while moving through subjects that bore you. For example, if you love science but hate history, do half of your science assignment, then half of your history one, and then return to science.

• Even small changes can make homework time more enjoyable. You could, for example, move your desk near the window. Natural light may lead to a more calming environment, and you can occasionally look up and enjoy the view.
• You can also think about studying outside the house. If you love hanging out at a local coffee shop, try doing your homework there. You can get a latte or a coffee as a treat as you move through your homework.

• You may have to experiment with different songs. Some songs may be distracting. If a song makes you want to get up and dance, for example, it may not the best to include on a homework playlist, as you will lose focus in your homework. Some people find that classical music is very helpful when studying.
• Not everyone can concentrate with music in the background. If you find music is making it harder for you to study, you may want to nix the playlists and focus on other means to enjoy your homework.

Giving Yourself Motivation

• Good examples of what to do during your breaks are taking walks, meditating, stretching, or getting yourself a snack.
• Many people find it's most effective to work in short spurts. You may want to plan to work in half hour to 45-minute intervals, for example, and then take a 5 to 10-minute break.
• Be careful with breaks, however. Make sure you time your breaks wisely so they don't end up running over. If you allow yourself a 10 minute Facebook break every 40 minutes, set a timer on your phone to make sure you do not end up procrastinating on social media for hours.

• Be careful who you include in a study group. While you want to be able to enjoy yourself, you also want to get work done. Choose people who are serious enough students that you won't end up distracted all night.
• Together as a group, you can brainstorm ways to have fun. For example, you can agree you'll do homework in silence for 40 minutes and then take a 15 minute break to chat.

• Be careful, however, not to do sloppy work. If you're trying to break a record, you may speed through your homework. Strive to work efficiently rather than quickly.
• Talk to your parents to see how the topic your studying may affect them in the present day.
• Be careful not to get distracted in this extra research or you’ll lose focus on your homework. Set a timer for yourself so you don’t spend too much time doing it.

Changing Your Mindset About Learning

• It can help to make a to-do list. Your studies are items you can check off the list, allowing you to relax and unwind. You'll also feel a sense of achievement with each item you check off your list.
• Stop and think about what you've accomplished when you finish your homework. Try to feel proud of yourself for getting your work done. You'll learn to work towards this sense of accomplishment in the future.

• If you dislike your writing assignments, pause and consider how good writing skills can help you get a job. If you dislike your computer class, try to keep in mind that basic computer skills will be important in college and the working world.

Expert Q&A

• If you have a friend who's a serious student, ask him or her for tips on how to make homework fun. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you are reviewing for a test, review it for 15 minutes then give yourself a break. Go back to studying for 15 minutes and then take another break. This method can help you to process the information, which in the end should result in better results! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/studying-fun.html

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8 Ways to Make Homework More Exciting for Kids

Instead, I suggest we rethink homework.  If we agree that the function of schooling is to make our kids better thinkers, creators, and learners, and that homework is a time for giving kids a chance to develop these skills outside of school, then we can begin to see it in a different light.  Above all, homework should be interesting and fun to do, and should involve real learning experiences, not the drudgery that is far too common for so many schoolchildren.

I like using Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences as a framework for envisioning what creative homework assignments might look like.  His theory suggests that there are at least eight different intelligences that each child or teen possesses:  Word Smart, Number/Logic Smart, Picture Smart, Body Smart, Music Smart, People Smart, Self Smart, and Nature Smart.  I believe students should be given options in how they are to do homework assignments that cover the broad range of intelligences that are part of a student’s potential.  So, let’s say that the lesson during the school day is a unit on birds.  Here is how different homework options might be structured.

• Word Smart (this category includes some of your standard homework assignments  — and kids who are especially Word Smart may prefer these options):  writing book reports, giving oral presentations, writing compositions
• Number/Logic Smart :  collecting statistics about birds, or researching the question ”How does a bird fly?”
• Picture Smart :  gathering together (or creating) charts and/or maps of a bird’s migration patterns; creating a diagram showing a bird’s life cycle, making a media  presentation on the variety of birds in the student’s local area.
• Body Smart :  hiking to a bird’s natural habitat and writing down observations of bird behaviors, building a replica of a specific bird’s nest, or building a bird house and keeping track of how it’s used by birds.
• Music Smart :  collecting recordings online of different bird calls and then rehearsing and finally imitating them back in class.
• People Smart :  interviewing a local birdwatcher about his hobby.
• Self Smart : keeping a journal of watching birds in one’s backyard.
• Nature Smart : volunteering with a community organization designed to safeguard the welfare of the local bird population.

Note that these activities are meaningful, many of them have a positive impact on the welfare of birds, and they all help deepen a student’s understanding of birds and avian behaviors.  Students could choose one to do each week, or students could do one or more of the options and then share their findings or outcomes at a special ”bird unit” celebration at the end of the semester.

See how different this approach to homework is from filling out multiple choice answer sheets, or fill in the blank math problems, or other rote assignments.  One of the advantages of homework is that a student has some unstructured time to pursue one or more of these interesting options at home, and also has better access to the materials and/or environments with which to complete the options (e.g. access to nature).

Teachers need to stop assigning homework simply because they think it’s something they HAVE to do to be an effective teacher. And they should stop equating lots of assigned homework with lots of learning.  Instead, homework should be seen as an enrichment of the material covered in class.  Besides, with the richness and complexity of the assignments (e.g. building a bird house), it’s going to be much more difficult for students to claim that their dog ate their homework!

This page was brought to you by Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. and www.institute4learning.com .

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How to Create Effective Homework

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Based on a recent spate of articles on homework, it’s clear that the homework wars -- how much? how often? -- are still topic of big interest to both parents and teachers. Some teachers hate to give homework; others see it as a vital necessity. But according to some research presented by Annie Murphy Paul, the question isn’t how much, but whether the homework teachers do give actually advances learning.

“A recent study, published in the Economics of Education Review,” Paul wrote in “How Can We Make Homework Worthwhile?” , “reports that homework in science, English and history has ‘little to no impact’ on student test scores. (The authors did note a positive effect for math homework.) Enriching children’s classroom learning requires making homework not shorter or longer, but smarter.” Paul goes on to describe specific practices, like spaced repetition (in which information is presented and repeated spaced out over time), retrieval practice (testing or quizzing not for assessment, but to reinforce material learned), and cognitive disfluency (“desirable difficulties” used to make learning stick) -- all memory/retrieval techniques that may help homework move beyond busy work and advance real learning.

But to get those elements to work, said Fires in the Mind author and speaker Kathleen Cushman, students must be motivated to do their homework in the first place. One example Cushman gave was creating a project so interesting and involved, students naturally wanted to keep working on it after the bell rang. She pointed to a chapter in the book where she describes a particular motivation for some high school students she interviewed, under the heading “Homework We Actually Want to Do”:

“Christina and Nicholas both remembered a global studies unit on the French Revolution in which students acted out a courtroom trial of the king and queen. The project brought even routine homework assignments to life, they said.

“I was the queen. So of course I wanted to do my homework all the time, so I could know the facts of what happened and what didn’t happen, know what I wanted to say when someone tried to say I did this or that thing. I could say, ‘Oh no, I didn’t!’ - because I’d read my homework,” said Christina.

Christina was using a form of retrieval practice -- but because it was so much fun to be the queen, she only knew she wanted to stay in character. The queen had to study the information to get it right.

Another way teachers can take a good, hard look at homework practices, said Cushman, is to ask themselves a few vital questions: “Does this homework ask each student to practice something that the student hasn’t yet mastered? Does the student clearly see its purpose? When students are asked to repeat or rehearse something, does it require them to focus? Or can they do it without really paying attention?” If the homework meets these criteria, she said, then it falls into the desirable realm of “deliberate practice .”

Dan Bisaccio, former high school science teacher and now Director of Science Education at Brown University, said that after years of experience giving homework to high school students, he now “preaches” to his future teachers: “Homework should be practice and extensions of what happens in class and should not be ‘new learning,’” he said. “That is, students [shouldn’t be] having to teach themselves new content or skills.”

He said he agreed with Cushman that motivation is key, and tried to design homework that kept students interested. “Teachers need to clue into what motivates their students, giving them something that they really want to complete, and complete well.” One assignment Bisaccio used, called an “Experience Map,” asked students to create a map of their experiences after a field study or other important project - a technique employing both retrieval practice and the somewhat trickier interleaving, a “desirable difficulty” in which problems of different types are presented in one assignment, making students think harder to come up with solutions and answers.

“We ‘map’ mentally and physically each day. It helps to keep us orientated through our frenzied sun-up to sun-down daily experiences,” reads the assignment. Directions are to draw a field experience map, including -- with regard to the class -- where students have been, what they have done, new challenges, and insights. Special suggestions for drawing include “a place of danger, a favorite place, a place of power, a place with a secret.” Students are also called upon to map the places where they learned the most, where they were challenged the most, and where the funniest experience happened.

In addition, Bisaccio asked students to write what had challenged them most as a learner, what had stretched their limits most -- meant to be reflections just for students themselves, and asked to be kept on the back of the map. “What they wrote on the back was not shared with others,” he said. Once the assignment was completed, maps were posted to form a class atlas of what they had learned.

All the examples included here, however, are examples of homework in a traditional classroom. What about homework in a flipped classroom , where the lectures, usually videos, are the homework? A recent New York Times article on flipped classrooms may provide insight into flipping homework on its head, too: it quoted high school senior Luwayne Harris, saying, “Whenever I had a problem on the homework, I couldn’t do anything about it at home. Now if I have a problem with a video, I can just rewind and watch it over and over again.”

Making School Fun at Home

This article was previously published on 7/30/2019.

12 Ways to Make School Fun at Home for Students of All Ages

Back to school will look different this year as families and schools continue to navigate the uncertainty of COVID-19. Getting kids to enjoy (or even accept) doing their homework can be a struggle at any age, especially in the fall when students adjust to smaller classes, alternate schedules and a continuation of virtual learning that began in the spring.

For some families, new ways of learning are further complicated by parents’ work schedules and a lack of technology access. According to the Afterschool Alliance, 1 in 5 kids are unsupervised after the school day ends. And millions of families don’t have internet access at home.

During challenging times and busy parenting schedules, there are still ways to make learning at home fun, safe and constructive for students. Over the years, our trained youth mentors and program facilitators have developed lots of strategies and ideas to make homework more fun. Get tips on how to make virtual learning and homework fun in high school, middle school and elementary school so you can help your kid succeed at every age.

Ideas to Make Homework Fun for Elementary, Middle and High Schoolers

Many kids find homework assignments boring or simply get restless when asked to sit down and study – but that doesn’t mean they all need the same kind of motivation. Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to homework help by using these age-appropriate tips.

Elementary School Homework Tips

Little kids frequently have trouble focusing on virtual learning and homework, especially when there are so many distractions and fun things to play with at home. The solution? Make learning more like playtime.   

• Create fun focus spaces. Kids often work on homework in their rooms or wherever there’s a little spare table space – but kids’ rooms and common areas are usually filled with distractions. Before this school year starts, create a special “homework zone” in part of the home that’s more peaceful. (A “homework fort” is always a hit with young kids, as long as it’s well lit.) Stock this area with lots of colorful school supplies so there’s no reason to leave until their homework is all done.
• Beat the clock. Young kids love racing to the finish. Make homework more like a race by setting up timed challenges. For example, count how many words they can spell correctly or math problems they can solve in the span of 5 minutes. The next day, challenge your kid to beat their own record. (A little competition can work great with siblings, too.)
• Try learning apps. Support the subjects your kid studies in school with apps that make learning about it more fun. This tip is especially helpful for subjects that you or your kid struggle with. Some of our favorite educational apps include DragonBox for math, Spelling Stage for spelling, and DuoLingo , which offers learning-based games in Spanish, French and many other languages.
• Team up with tunes. Just like the Alphabet Song teaches kids their ABCs, there are plenty of songs out there to help specific subjects stick. Search YouTube to find songs covering a range of subjects, including the planets in our solar system, the days of the week and months of the year, U.S. states and capitals, how to add or subtract, and pretty much any other educational topic you can imagine. If you can’t find a song on a given subject, try making one up together.

Middle School Homework Tips

In middle school, students gain more independence to work alone or with peers. Encourage their developing maturity with a little structure and loads of support.

• Use power hours. Power hours challenge kids to focus for a certain amount of time. Once the timer goes off, they can take a quick break before diving in again. Offering little rewards after productive power hour sessions is a great incentive at this age, too.
• Plan study dates. If your kid struggles in a certain subject or has trouble focusing in a quiet, empty room, let them invite a friend or two over to study. Just remember to follow current safety and social distancing guidelines. If another kid is too much of a distraction, set the tone by working alongside your child. While they do homework, you can pay bills, make dinner, reply to emails, or even work on a crossword puzzle or another brain game. Doing “adult homework” creates a sense of companionship without being too overbearing – and it can help kids learn that work is a part of life, not just a part of school.
• Make a routine. Lack of routine can be stressful for kids. Setting a regular schedule for homework, or the school day for kids learning at home, can help reduce resistance and improve consistency. Beyond planning time for homework, come up with other little rituals that can help your kid focus, from putting on their current favorite album in the background to using prizes and other incentives to reward good work, like a small treat for every complete assignment.
• Stay positive. Your attitude has a huge impact on how your kid sees the world, especially in the formative middle school years. Keep tabs on your own attitude toward your kid’s homework. If you see helping your kid with homework as a chore, your kid will probably feel that way about it, too. Instead, try to see homework help as a fun, productive time when you both can learn and hang out together.

High School Homework Tips

When students reach high school, having parents hanging around to nag them about homework doesn’t always help. Instead of implementing these homework strategies for high schoolers yourself, show this list to your teenager and help them come up with a plan they can stick to. Then, take a step back. Check in with your teen every week or so to see if their plan needs tweaking.

• Get organized . High school is the perfect time to start preparing for the life you want to lead after you leave home. To achieve your goals, you have to make plans and stick to them. It’s the same with homework. When you get your assignments for the week, month or semester, take some time before jumping in to sort through the deadlines and requirements. Then, come up with a schedule and a realistic plan of attack. Use a day planner, calendar app, or time management app like Asana to make to-do lists for yourself – trust us, it feels great to cross stuff off your list.
• Reward yourself . It’s easier to work hard when you know there’s a reward at the end of it. Set a study timer, and if you’ve focused on homework until the timer goes off, reward yourself with a favorite snack, a funny video, an epic solo dance party or a little social media time.
• Upgrade your workspace. Spruce up the place you do virtual learning and homework to fuel your productivity, imagination and problem-solving skills. Keep tools and supplies on hand to help you work through challenging assignments, like colorful pens, highlighters, sticky notes, and cool notepads or notebooks. Decorate with art and other objects that inspire you, and use calendars, whiteboards, chalkboards, corkboards, or even just paper and tape to help visualize and keep track of everything you have to do.
• Turn up the beats. Spotify has tons of playlists dedicated to productivity, from ambient noise to instrumental hip-hop. Find a few go-to playlists that help keep you focused and put one on whenever you have to zone in. Explore movie soundtracks and other kinds of instrumental music to avoid distracting lyrics.

Homework Help from BGCA

Every day, thousands of kids and parents rely on Boys & Girls Clubs of America for homework help and out-of-school support, especially in the crucial hours after school lets out and during the summer months. Explore our website to learn more about our programs , find your nearest club or support BGCA today.

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Parenting And Family

10 Ways to Make Homework Fun

• By Rachel Pinn Updated On March 23, 2020

As adults, we often think of homework as a bad thing; tasks we are required to do after school that take precious free time away from our home life. But for kids, that's not the case! Starting in pre-K, kids are taught that homework can be fun, and it seems like the processes that adults find daunting are seen as play for little kids. So how do we capture that interest, spark and joy that our littlest students come home with, and keep it for as long as possible into our children's elementary and even teen years? Let's make homework fun again!

Designate a homework workspace for each student. This can be an area at the kitchen table, a spot in your home office or their own lap desk. It's not always possible to have a dedicated space for work 24/7, so it's perfectly fine to have a desk caddy with the tools your student needs ready to go when homework time comes.

Calming jazz, symphonies or upbeat rhythms can do a lot for productivity. Lyrics can often get in the way of certain types of homework, so it's best to consider the type of work before selecting. Spotify and Pandora have a lot of free options for listening while working.

As kids get older, homework can become more and more intense. Make sure to build in check-ins and breaks to make sure they're giving their eyes and brains a rest. Perhaps a snack, drink or short dance party is just the thing to refresh them for the rest of their work. 

Color and light are important to a workspace. If your child's favorite color is green, snag some green contact paper or construction paper and put it on their workspace. Make sure the space is well-lit as well, because squinting is no good for homework effectiveness.

Colorful pens, paper, pencils and other tools make doing homework more fun. These can even be a reward themselves, as getting to head to the dollar store or shop online for desk accessories can be just as fun as using them.

When you're working with your student, give them your full attention. Put away your work, your cell phone and other distractions while you help them prepare for some dedicated homework time. If you have to make dinner or get back to work, make sure to at least bookend the time with a few minutes before and after the homework period, which shows you're invested in their success.

Communication

Homework often requires a bit of communication with your child's teacher in order to squeeze the full learning out of it. There may be parts of a lesson that your child doesn't understand, in which case it's a good idea to make sure you communicate with teachers so you can assist where needed.

It can be hard to teach kids to filter out distractions and get to work, but sometimes a reward can help get them there. Maybe it's dinner at a restaurant they've been wanting to visit, "points" toward a new toy or even something as simple as an extra book at bedtime. Find what motivates your student, and let that motivate them toward homework success!

The best way to learn is to teach, so once your student completes their task, have him or her explain it to you. Let them tell you how he or she thought about the problem, how they came up with the solution and how they got there. That act of explaining will cement those learnings in their mind.

The key here is that if tasks ever become too challenging for your student, stay positive. Don't bring up thoughts of your own childhood; rather, move on to something else and come back to that challenge later. Remind them that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to learning. and if everything was easy for us, it wouldn't be fun at all.

READ THIS NEXT: 11 Painfully Hilarious Homework Tweets from Parents

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10 Helpful Ways to Make Homework Fun and Engaging

Sidrah Qayyum Education , Learning , Learning Skills , Life , Parent , Parenting 0

Homework… The word alone is enough to bring on a huge yawn. Your children come home after spending a long day at school and now you want them to sit down quietly and do their homework. What kind of torture is that?

After hours and hours of staring at the board, surrounded by books and quizzes, and listening to lectures, there is a possibility that kids will throw a small tantrum when you ask them to complete their assignments. Well, let’s fight off the scowls and tears, and turn the nightmarish homework time into a productive and fun-filled sessions. Here are a few tips that will make even math equations bearable!

Table of Contents

1. A Funky Timer

Monday blues are real, and after an adventurous weekend, it can be hard to settle back to your old routine. That’s why it is important to have a fixed schedule. Even on weekends, don’t go completely lax and try to set some time apart for school work. When your child comes home from school, allow them to play and rest after lunch. Once they are well-rested, it is time to begin the work. Most kids find it difficult to start their homework.

One way to avoid the troubled beginnings is to use a timer. A colorful and funky timer can do the trick. Place it on their desk, set the time and go! Children love having their own little things and a cutesy timer may motivate them to apply themselves and plug away. Most of the time, one uninterrupted hour is more than enough to finish the daily tasks. Reset if needed.

Search Timer on Amazon

2. Work Together

“How come you are watching television while here I am… slaving away? That so not fair, mom! (or dad!).” Yes, parents, your school days are long gone, and you are not obliged to spend hours hovering over a pile of books. But hey, such is life! Your child needs your attention and support. They definitely don’t want to feel left out of the fun. You must have some of your own little tasks to sort out. Take this quiet time to wrap up those. Sit next to your child and while they are working on their assignments, you can work on your chores. It can be an office presentation, monthly budgeting or even a novel you really want to finish… Err… this year. At the same time, you can attend to your little ones when they need your help with the homework.

3. Beneficial and Productive Rewards

Honestly speaking, I am not in a favor of offering rewards in return for completing homework, but they can be useful sometimes. I hated math as a kid. It was so painful for me to solve all the word problems and fractions. To get me down to work, my mom would tell me I could play Scrabble with her once I finish my mathematics homework. It worked! I loved Scrabble and loved playing it with my mom even more. My baby brother didn’t make a good competitor for obvious reasons.

When a child absolutely loathes a task and there is no way around it, you can bribe them with a board game, time for some crafty activity, a quick run or play outside, an educational field trip or something equally beneficial.

Don’t promise them video games, extra television hours, screen time or even sugary treats as it can adversely affect their concentration.

4. A Platter of Scrumptious Snacks

Come on, you know how it goes! When you are having a hard day at work, and suddenly a colleague appears with a large box of freshly baked brownies, things start to look up. You gobble down a couple of them, and the day doesn’t feel so bad all of a sudden. Similarly, you can brighten up things for you child with yummy treats in between the tasks. Keep it in balance though and offer them healthy and creative snacks such as cupcakes, homemade cookies, smoothies, fruit salads, pretzels, and chips with delicious dips.

If your child usually does their homework in evening, it is likely they will feel slightly hungry. Having healthy snacks can give them a much-needed boost of energy and may even help them look forward to homework sessions. Be sure to give them snacks in a limited amount. You don’t want them to skip their dinner because they are feeling too full!

5. Let the Creative Juices Flow

Don’t know how to make your child understand the laws of Newton? Get creative! For instance, drawing and labelling can solve many issues. During Botany lectures, I couldn’t understand a thing about different parts of plants. But when I saw the drawings, it was far easier to comprehend apical and axillary buds. For many children, sitting still like a statue and pouring over the books just won’t cut it. They need to reinvent and improvise. Together you can act out a part from the play they are currently studying in class, or they can create a presentation to understand the complicated rules of Organic Chemistry.

For preschoolers, finger-painting the letters and numbers, singing out the poems, and educational toys can help them engage their senses and grasp the concepts. For fidgety children who can’t stay still, exercise balls, fidget toys and bands can help them focus.

6. Their Own Little Nook

Homework can be extremely fun when a child has their own productive space dedicated to their books and their studies. You can set up a study table or a small desk and place a compact bookshelf alongside it. Add some unique pencil holders, a study lamp, and a globe. Make sure the chair is comfortable but not too much or it might put them to sleep. Help them arrange their books neatly on the book rack. Don’t place any gadgets and screens nearby to avoid unnecessary distractions.

Having a special spot for homework can help encourage a child to be productive and creative. Encourage them to use the space for quiet time and reading on a rainy day too. Teach them how to keep their own space neat and tidy and somewhere they can be proud of.

7. A Dose of Colors

Colors instantly brighten up a dull day! In their study corner, hang a colorful board on the wall and put up their weekly timetables along with motivational quotes and pictures of their favorite characters. Visuals, especially when they are delightfully appealing, can give your child motivation to work.

Use a colourful planner where they can list all the things they have to do, they will know what tasks they have to finish and how much is left. Once they are done, they will enjoy crossing completed tasks off the list.

Similarly, colorful stationery and crisp notebooks can do wonders. Take a trip to a stationery shop, or have a look online and allow them to choose some cool-looking school kits especially for use at home.

8. Short Breaks are Essential

Kids are energetic little munchkins and expecting them to sit still for hours is highly unreasonable. When homework sessions are longer than usual, or exams are near, let them study efficiently by allowing them short breaks in between. They can use this time to wander around the house to stretch their muscles and have some snacks and drink, perhaps even read a couple of pages from a favourite story book. Don’t let them use smartphones or devices during these breaks or they might feel demotivated to return to books.

An ideal break would be about 5 minutes long after every 20 minutes or so. Research has shown that 20 minutes is really the optimum amount of time that the brain can function at it’s peak. Anything more than that, and things typically start to become stagnant – think staring at same page and reading the same thing over and over again.

Of course, if something is particularly engrossing for your child, whether it’s a new art piece or they’ve finally cracked those Algebra problems, don’t stop them mid-way.

9. Come Back to it Later

There are times when it feels as if you are talking to a wall. You’ve tried to explain a concept hundreds of times, in a million different ways – You talked them through it, you’ve given brilliant examples, and you’ve even drawn a superb illustration to simplify the concept. Yet sadly, they just aren’t able to grasp it.

When times like that occur, and they undoubtedly will (and you wonder exactly what is going on in school), remind yourself to take a step back and come back to it later.For some reason, my brother took a long time to spell ‘exercise’ correctly. It was frustrating for my mom but she eventually managed to help him memorise with a silly song.

Some concepts, like ‘telling the time’ or ‘fractions’ even learning the alphabet and reading are things that require a certain maturity of thought and some kids will learn certain things faster while others will just take a while to piece certain things together.

Some days are just hard on both parents and kids. Don’t push too hard, especially if they are already trying their best but just aren’t able to perceive it. Often it helps to come back to it, after a break, with a fresh mind.

10. Step Back – Help Them See the Bigger Picture

Sometimes your kids are happily doing their homework when they stumble upon something that requires some revision. For instance, in math, to understand new knowledge and concepts, all the prior principles must be clear. It is like a puzzle. To appreciate it, all the pieces must be in place.  Moreover, children need to learn mathematics with understanding. It is not something that they can just memorise.

Haven’t we all wondered, ‘When will I ever need to use Algebra in my life?’ or ‘Why should I need to know how to calculate molar ratios?’ To make it fun and engaging, help them incorporate their learning in to everyday life. This helps your kids see how their learning can be useful in everyday life such as, angles in cutting up a pizza, how to calculate percentage discounts during a sale, monthly budgeting and totalling up grocery bills.

While academic learning may not always seem relevant to life, sometimes, it is useful to be able to call upon knowledge and principles that we already know.

Gear up, parents! You know you can do it. Just keep your cool and don’t lose patience. Your child’s school going days may seem never-ending now and homework sessions are painful, but they will be gone in a blink of an eye. Before you know it, they will be off to college waving you goodbye.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to do homework: 15 expert tips and tricks.

Coursework/GPA

Everyone struggles with homework sometimes, but if getting your homework done has become a chronic issue for you, then you may need a little extra help. That’s why we’ve written this article all about how to do homework. Once you’re finished reading it, you’ll know how to do homework (and have tons of new ways to motivate yourself to do homework)!

We’ve broken this article down into a few major sections. You’ll find:

• A diagnostic test to help you figure out why you’re struggling with homework
• A discussion of the four major homework problems students face, along with expert tips for addressing them
• A bonus section with tips for how to do homework fast

By the end of this article, you’ll be prepared to tackle whatever homework assignments your teachers throw at you .

So let’s get started!

How to Do Homework: Figure Out Your Struggles 

Sometimes it feels like everything is standing between you and getting your homework done. But the truth is, most people only have one or two major roadblocks that are keeping them from getting their homework done well and on time. 

The best way to figure out how to get motivated to do homework starts with pinpointing the issues that are affecting your ability to get your assignments done. That’s why we’ve developed a short quiz to help you identify the areas where you’re struggling. 

Take the quiz below and record your answers on your phone or on a scrap piece of paper. Keep in mind there are no wrong answers! 

1. You’ve just been assigned an essay in your English class that’s due at the end of the week. What’s the first thing you do?

A. Keep it in mind, even though you won’t start it until the day before it’s due  B. Open up your planner. You’ve got to figure out when you’ll write your paper since you have band practice, a speech tournament, and your little sister’s dance recital this week, too.  C. Groan out loud. Another essay? You could barely get yourself to write the last one!  D. Start thinking about your essay topic, which makes you think about your art project that’s due the same day, which reminds you that your favorite artist might have just posted to Instagram...so you better check your feed right now. 

2. Your mom asked you to pick up your room before she gets home from work. You’ve just gotten home from school. You decide you’ll tackle your chores: 

A. Five minutes before your mom walks through the front door. As long as it gets done, who cares when you start?  B. As soon as you get home from your shift at the local grocery store.  C. After you give yourself a 15-minute pep talk about how you need to get to work.  D. You won’t get it done. Between texts from your friends, trying to watch your favorite Netflix show, and playing with your dog, you just lost track of time! 

3. You’ve signed up to wash dogs at the Humane Society to help earn money for your senior class trip. You: 

A. Show up ten minutes late. You put off leaving your house until the last minute, then got stuck in unexpected traffic on the way to the shelter.  B. Have to call and cancel at the last minute. You forgot you’d already agreed to babysit your cousin and bake cupcakes for tomorrow’s bake sale.  C. Actually arrive fifteen minutes early with extra brushes and bandanas you picked up at the store. You’re passionate about animals, so you’re excited to help out! D. Show up on time, but only get three dogs washed. You couldn’t help it: you just kept getting distracted by how cute they were!

4. You have an hour of downtime, so you decide you’re going to watch an episode of The Great British Baking Show. You: 

A. Scroll through your social media feeds for twenty minutes before hitting play, which means you’re not able to finish the whole episode. Ugh! You really wanted to see who was sent home!  B. Watch fifteen minutes until you remember you’re supposed to pick up your sister from band practice before heading to your part-time job. No GBBO for you!  C. You finish one episode, then decide to watch another even though you’ve got SAT studying to do. It’s just more fun to watch people make scones.  D. Start the episode, but only catch bits and pieces of it because you’re reading Twitter, cleaning out your backpack, and eating a snack at the same time.

5. Your teacher asks you to stay after class because you’ve missed turning in two homework assignments in a row. When she asks you what’s wrong, you say: 

A. You planned to do your assignments during lunch, but you ran out of time. You decided it would be better to turn in nothing at all than submit unfinished work.  B. You really wanted to get the assignments done, but between your extracurriculars, family commitments, and your part-time job, your homework fell through the cracks.  C. You have a hard time psyching yourself to tackle the assignments. You just can’t seem to find the motivation to work on them once you get home.  D. You tried to do them, but you had a hard time focusing. By the time you realized you hadn’t gotten anything done, it was already time to turn them in. 

Like we said earlier, there are no right or wrong answers to this quiz (though your results will be better if you answered as honestly as possible). Here’s how your answers break down: 

• If your answers were mostly As, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is procrastination. 
• If your answers were mostly Bs, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is time management. 
• If your answers were mostly Cs, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is motivation. 
• If your answers were mostly Ds, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is getting distracted. 

Now that you’ve identified why you’re having a hard time getting your homework done, we can help you figure out how to fix it! Scroll down to find your core problem area to learn more about how you can start to address it. 

And one more thing: you’re really struggling with homework, it’s a good idea to read through every section below. You may find some additional tips that will help make homework less intimidating. 

How to Do Homework When You’re a Procrastinator  

Merriam Webster defines “procrastinate” as “to put off intentionally and habitually.” In other words, procrastination is when you choose to do something at the last minute on a regular basis. If you’ve ever found yourself pulling an all-nighter, trying to finish an assignment between periods, or sprinting to turn in a paper minutes before a deadline, you’ve experienced the effects of procrastination. 

If you’re a chronic procrastinator, you’re in good company. In fact, one study found that 70% to 95% of undergraduate students procrastinate when it comes to doing their homework. Unfortunately, procrastination can negatively impact your grades. Researchers have found that procrastination can lower your grade on an assignment by as much as five points ...which might not sound serious until you realize that can mean the difference between a B- and a C+. 

Procrastination can also negatively affect your health by increasing your stress levels , which can lead to other health conditions like insomnia, a weakened immune system, and even heart conditions. Getting a handle on procrastination can not only improve your grades, it can make you feel better, too! 

The big thing to understand about procrastination is that it’s not the result of laziness. Laziness is defined as being “disinclined to activity or exertion.” In other words, being lazy is all about doing nothing. But a s this Psychology Today article explains , procrastinators don’t put things off because they don’t want to work. Instead, procrastinators tend to postpone tasks they don’t want to do in favor of tasks that they perceive as either more important or more fun. Put another way, procrastinators want to do things...as long as it’s not their homework! 

3 Tips f or Conquering Procrastination 

Because putting off doing homework is a common problem, there are lots of good tactics for addressing procrastination. Keep reading for our three expert tips that will get your homework habits back on track in no time. 

#1: Create a Reward System

Like we mentioned earlier, procrastination happens when you prioritize other activities over getting your homework done. Many times, this happens because homework...well, just isn’t enjoyable. But you can add some fun back into the process by rewarding yourself for getting your work done. 

Here’s what we mean: let’s say you decide that every time you get your homework done before the day it’s due, you’ll give yourself a point. For every five points you earn, you’ll treat yourself to your favorite dessert: a chocolate cupcake! Now you have an extra (delicious!) incentive to motivate you to leave procrastination in the dust. 

If you’re not into cupcakes, don’t worry. Your reward can be anything that motivates you . Maybe it’s hanging out with your best friend or an extra ten minutes of video game time. As long as you’re choosing something that makes homework worth doing, you’ll be successful. 

#2: Have a Homework Accountability Partner 

If you’re having trouble getting yourself to start your homework ahead of time, it may be a good idea to call in reinforcements . Find a friend or classmate you can trust and explain to them that you’re trying to change your homework habits. Ask them if they’d be willing to text you to make sure you’re doing your homework and check in with you once a week to see if you’re meeting your anti-procrastination goals. 

Sharing your goals can make them feel more real, and an accountability partner can help hold you responsible for your decisions. For example, let’s say you’re tempted to put off your science lab write-up until the morning before it’s due. But you know that your accountability partner is going to text you about it tomorrow...and you don’t want to fess up that you haven’t started your assignment. A homework accountability partner can give you the extra support and incentive you need to keep your homework habits on track. 

#3: Create Your Own Due Dates 

If you’re a life-long procrastinator, you might find that changing the habit is harder than you expected. In that case, you might try using procrastination to your advantage! If you just can’t seem to stop doing your work at the last minute, try setting your own due dates for assignments that range from a day to a week before the assignment is actually due. 

Here’s what we mean. Let’s say you have a math worksheet that’s been assigned on Tuesday and is due on Friday. In your planner, you can write down the due date as Thursday instead. You may still put off your homework assignment until the last minute...but in this case, the “last minute” is a day before the assignment’s real due date . This little hack can trick your procrastination-addicted brain into planning ahead! 

If you feel like Kevin Hart in this meme, then our tips for doing homework when you're busy are for you. 

How to Do Homework When You’re too Busy

If you’re aiming to go to a top-tier college , you’re going to have a full plate. Because college admissions is getting more competitive, it’s important that you’re maintaining your grades , studying hard for your standardized tests , and participating in extracurriculars so your application stands out. A packed schedule can get even more hectic once you add family obligations or a part-time job to the mix. 

If you feel like you’re being pulled in a million directions at once, you’re not alone. Recent research has found that stress—and more severe stress-related conditions like anxiety and depression— are a major problem for high school students . In fact, one study from the American Psychological Association found that during the school year, students’ stress levels are higher than those of the adults around them. 

For students, homework is a major contributor to their overall stress levels . Many high schoolers have multiple hours of homework every night , and figuring out how to fit it into an already-packed schedule can seem impossible. 

3 Tips for Fitting Homework Into Your Busy Schedule

While it might feel like you have literally no time left in your schedule, there are still ways to make sure you’re able to get your homework done and meet your other commitments. Here are our expert homework tips for even the busiest of students. 

#1: Make a Prioritized To-Do List 

You probably already have a to-do list to keep yourself on track. The next step is to prioritize the items on your to-do list so you can see what items need your attention right away. 

Here’s how it works: at the beginning of each day, sit down and make a list of all the items you need to get done before you go to bed. This includes your homework, but it should also take into account any practices, chores, events, or job shifts you may have. Once you get everything listed out, it’s time to prioritize them using the labels A, B, and C. Here’s what those labels mean:

• A Tasks : tasks that have to get done—like showing up at work or turning in an assignment—get an A. 
• B Tasks : these are tasks that you would like to get done by the end of the day but aren’t as time sensitive. For example, studying for a test you have next week could be a B-level task. It’s still important, but it doesn’t have to be done right away.
• C Tasks: these are tasks that aren’t very important and/or have no real consequences if you don’t get them done immediately. For instance, if you’re hoping to clean out your closet but it’s not an assigned chore from your parents, you could label that to-do item with a C.

Prioritizing your to-do list helps you visualize which items need your immediate attention, and which items you can leave for later. A prioritized to-do list ensures that you’re spending your time efficiently and effectively, which helps you make room in your schedule for homework. So even though you might really want to start making decorations for Homecoming (a B task), you’ll know that finishing your reading log (an A task) is more important. 

#2: Use a Planner With Time Labels

Your planner is probably packed with notes, events, and assignments already. (And if you’re not using a planner, it’s time to start!) But planners can do more for you than just remind you when an assignment is due. If you’re using a planner with time labels, it can help you visualize how you need to spend your day.

A planner with time labels breaks your day down into chunks, and you assign tasks to each chunk of time. For example, you can make a note of your class schedule with assignments, block out time to study, and make sure you know when you need to be at practice. Once you know which tasks take priority, you can add them to any empty spaces in your day. 

Planning out how you spend your time not only helps you use it wisely, it can help you feel less overwhelmed, too . We’re big fans of planners that include a task list ( like this one ) or have room for notes ( like this one ). 

#3: Set Reminders on Your Phone 

If you need a little extra nudge to make sure you’re getting your homework done on time, it’s a good idea to set some reminders on your phone. You don’t need a fancy app, either. You can use your alarm app to have it go off at specific times throughout the day to remind you to do your homework. This works especially well if you have a set homework time scheduled. So if you’ve decided you’re doing homework at 6:00 pm, you can set an alarm to remind you to bust out your books and get to work. 

If you use your phone as your planner, you may have the option to add alerts, emails, or notifications to scheduled events . Many calendar apps, including the one that comes with your phone, have built-in reminders that you can customize to meet your needs. So if you block off time to do your homework from 4:30 to 6:00 pm, you can set a reminder that will pop up on your phone when it’s time to get started. 

This dog isn't judging your lack of motivation...but your teacher might. Keep reading for tips to help you motivate yourself to do your homework.

How to Do Homework When You’re Unmotivated 

At first glance, it may seem like procrastination and being unmotivated are the same thing. After all, both of these issues usually result in you putting off your homework until the very last minute. 

But there’s one key difference: many procrastinators are working, they’re just prioritizing work differently. They know they’re going to start their homework...they’re just going to do it later. 

Conversely, people who are unmotivated to do homework just can’t find the willpower to tackle their assignments. Procrastinators know they’ll at least attempt the homework at the last minute, whereas people who are unmotivated struggle with convincing themselves to do it at a ll. For procrastinators, the stress comes from the inevitable time crunch. For unmotivated people, the stress comes from trying to convince themselves to do something they don’t want to do in the first place. 

Here are some common reasons students are unmotivated in doing homework : 

• Assignments are too easy, too hard, or seemingly pointless 
• Students aren’t interested in (or passionate about) the subject matter
• Students are intimidated by the work and/or feels like they don’t understand the assignment 
• Homework isn’t fun, and students would rather spend their time on things that they enjoy 

To sum it up: people who lack motivation to do their homework are more likely to not do it at all, or to spend more time worrying about doing their homework than...well, actually doing it.

3 Tips for How to Get Motivated to Do Homework

The key to getting homework done when you’re unmotivated is to figure out what does motivate you, then apply those things to homework. It sounds tricky...but it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it! Here are our three expert tips for motivating yourself to do your homework. 

#1: Use Incremental Incentives

When you’re not motivated, it’s important to give yourself small rewards to stay focused on finishing the task at hand. The trick is to keep the incentives small and to reward yourself often. For example, maybe you’re reading a good book in your free time. For every ten minutes you spend on your homework, you get to read five pages of your book. Like we mentioned earlier, make sure you’re choosing a reward that works for you! 

So why does this technique work? Using small rewards more often allows you to experience small wins for getting your work done. Every time you make it to one of your tiny reward points, you get to celebrate your success, which gives your brain a boost of dopamine . Dopamine helps you stay motivated and also creates a feeling of satisfaction when you complete your homework !  

#2: Form a Homework Group 

If you’re having trouble motivating yourself, it’s okay to turn to others for support. Creating a homework group can help with this. Bring together a group of your friends or classmates, and pick one time a week where you meet and work on homework together. You don’t have to be in the same class, or even taking the same subjects— the goal is to encourage one another to start (and finish!) your assignments. 

Another added benefit of a homework group is that you can help one another if you’re struggling to understand the material covered in your classes. This is especially helpful if your lack of motivation comes from being intimidated by your assignments. Asking your friends for help may feel less scary than talking to your teacher...and once you get a handle on the material, your homework may become less frightening, too. 

#3: Change Up Your Environment 

If you find that you’re totally unmotivated, it may help if you find a new place to do your homework. For example, if you’ve been struggling to get your homework done at home, try spending an extra hour in the library after school instead. The change of scenery can limit your distractions and give you the energy you need to get your work done. 

If you’re stuck doing homework at home, you can still use this tip. For instance, maybe you’ve always done your homework sitting on your bed. Try relocating somewhere else, like your kitchen table, for a few weeks. You may find that setting up a new “homework spot” in your house gives you a motivational lift and helps you get your work done. 

Social media can be a huge problem when it comes to doing homework. We have advice for helping you unplug and regain focus.

How to Do Homework When You’re Easily Distracted

We live in an always-on world, and there are tons of things clamoring for our attention. From friends and family to pop culture and social media, it seems like there’s always something (or someone!) distracting us from the things we need to do.

The 24/7 world we live in has affected our ability to focus on tasks for prolonged periods of time. Research has shown that over the past decade, an average person’s attention span has gone from 12 seconds to eight seconds . And when we do lose focus, i t takes people a long time to get back on task . One study found that it can take as long as 23 minutes to get back to work once we’ve been distracte d. No wonder it can take hours to get your homework done! 

3 Tips to Improve Your Focus

If you have a hard time focusing when you’re doing your homework, it’s a good idea to try and eliminate as many distractions as possible. Here are three expert tips for blocking out the noise so you can focus on getting your homework done. 

#1: Create a Distraction-Free Environment

Pick a place where you’ll do your homework every day, and make it as distraction-free as possible. Try to find a location where there won’t be tons of noise, and limit your access to screens while you’re doing your homework. Put together a focus-oriented playlist (or choose one on your favorite streaming service), and put your headphones on while you work. 

You may find that other people, like your friends and family, are your biggest distraction. If that’s the case, try setting up some homework boundaries. Let them know when you’ll be working on homework every day, and ask them if they’ll help you keep a quiet environment. They’ll be happy to lend a hand! 

#2: Limit Your Access to Technology 

We know, we know...this tip isn’t fun, but it does work. For homework that doesn’t require a computer, like handouts or worksheets, it’s best to put all your technology away . Turn off your television, put your phone and laptop in your backpack, and silence notifications on any wearable tech you may be sporting. If you listen to music while you work, that’s fine...but make sure you have a playlist set up so you’re not shuffling through songs once you get started on your homework. 

If your homework requires your laptop or tablet, it can be harder to limit your access to distractions. But it’s not impossible! T here are apps you can download that will block certain websites while you’re working so that you’re not tempted to scroll through Twitter or check your Facebook feed. Silence notifications and text messages on your computer, and don’t open your email account unless you absolutely have to. And if you don’t need access to the internet to complete your assignments, turn off your WiFi. Cutting out the online chatter is a great way to make sure you’re getting your homework done. 

#3: Set a Timer (the Pomodoro Technique)

Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro technique ? It’s a productivity hack that uses a timer to help you focus!

Here’s how it works: first, set a timer for 25 minutes. This is going to be your work time. During this 25 minutes, all you can do is work on whatever homework assignment you have in front of you. No email, no text messaging, no phone calls—just homework. When that timer goes off, you get to take a 5 minute break. Every time you go through one of these cycles, it’s called a “pomodoro.” For every four pomodoros you complete, you can take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.

The pomodoro technique works through a combination of boundary setting and rewards. First, it gives you a finite amount of time to focus, so you know that you only have to work really hard for 25 minutes. Once you’ve done that, you’re rewarded with a short break where you can do whatever you want. Additionally, tracking how many pomodoros you complete can help you see how long you’re really working on your homework. (Once you start using our focus tips, you may find it doesn’t take as long as you thought!)

Two Bonus Tips for How to Do Homework Fast

Even if you’re doing everything right, there will be times when you just need to get your homework done as fast as possible. (Why do teachers always have projects due in the same week? The world may never know.)

The problem with speeding through homework is that it’s easy to make mistakes. While turning in an assignment is always better than not submitting anything at all, you want to make sure that you’re not compromising quality for speed. Simply put, the goal is to get your homework done quickly and still make a good grade on the assignment! 

Here are our two bonus tips for getting a decent grade on your homework assignments , even when you’re in a time crunch. 

#1: Do the Easy Parts First 

This is especially true if you’re working on a handout with multiple questions. Before you start working on the assignment, read through all the questions and problems. As you do, make a mark beside the questions you think are “easy” to answer . 

Once you’ve finished going through the whole assignment, you can answer these questions first. Getting the easy questions out of the way as quickly as possible lets you spend more time on the trickier portions of your homework, which will maximize your assignment grade. 

(Quick note: this is also a good strategy to use on timed assignments and tests, like the SAT and the ACT !) 

#2: Pay Attention in Class 

Homework gets a lot easier when you’re actively learning the material. Teachers aren’t giving you homework because they’re mean or trying to ruin your weekend... it’s because they want you to really understand the course material. Homework is designed to reinforce what you’re already learning in class so you’ll be ready to tackle harder concepts later.

When you pay attention in class, ask questions, and take good notes, you’re absorbing the information you’ll need to succeed on your homework assignments. (You’re stuck in class anyway, so you might as well make the most of it!) Not only will paying attention in class make your homework less confusing, it will also help it go much faster, too.

What’s Next?

If you’re looking to improve your productivity beyond homework, a good place to begin is with time management. After all, we only have so much time in a day...so it’s important to get the most out of it! To get you started, check out this list of the 12 best time management techniques that you can start using today.

You may have read this article because homework struggles have been affecting your GPA. Now that you’re on the path to homework success, it’s time to start being proactive about raising your grades. This article teaches you everything you need to know about raising your GPA so you can

Now you know how to get motivated to do homework...but what about your study habits? Studying is just as critical to getting good grades, and ultimately getting into a good college . We can teach you how to study bette r in high school. (We’ve also got tons of resources to help you study for your ACT and SAT exams , too!)

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

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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6th September 2020

Creative Homework Ideas

How can you create homework assignments that build on the day’s lessons and encourage creative, student-led learning? It’s a challenge for most teachers, especially as motivating pupils to complete homework can add a whole extra layer to your lesson plans. But it’s essential to bridge the gap between teacher and student learning –  the skills gained through independent study reinforces knowledge from your class, as well as a host of other benefits:

• Extended learning time – outside of the constraints of the school day, students are free to learn at their own pace and in their own environment.
• Independent learning – vital skills for exam preparation and higher education
• Teaches students to be resourceful and to overcome challenges independently.
• Gives students the freedom to be creative in their learning, gain valuable problem-solving skills and confidence in their own abilities.

Tips For Setting Creative Homework

• Plan independent learning both in and out of the classroom – you can monitor students effectiveness and address issues that may arise in the classroom before they become problematic for pupils at home.
• Don’t leave homework assignment to the end of the lesson, rushing through the task might leave some students confused which inevitably leads to a lower homework completion rate. Write plenty of time for explaining homework assignments into your lesson planning – read our Beginner’s Guide To Lesson Planning here
• Homework should to not too easy nor not too hard, offering pupils a challenge that reinforced the topics learnt during the day
• Give room for creative expression – allowing students to add their own diagrams, decorations or chose their own project topics from a selection. 
• Try using peer or self-assessment to mark homework – a double whammy of reducing your workload and allowing pupils to take control of their own learning.
• Include timings and explicit steps for completing more complicated assignments, especially for pupils that you anticipate might struggle. Comprehension of the task is the biggest hurdle in getting pupils to work on an independent basis.
• Self-driven projects, posters, creative tasks and research are more exciting than standard comprehension tasks and might encourage pupils that find sitting and writing dull or hard to complete the homework set – give students the freedom to learn and be creative in their home study.
• Provide specific instructions and internet safety reminders for research-led assignments. It’s very easy for children to find research overwhelming with a vast amount of information available online. Provide suggested websites and links in your homework to keep things on track!
• Don’t introduce a new topic for homework – keep it to topics that you’ve already covered in class
• Taking note of the subjects that excite and engage your class and set homework accordingly – try keeping dryer topics and  for the classroom so that you can monitor engagement
• Mark work promptly – essential to keep students motivated to complete work in their own time!
• Offering students the opportunity to select the homework that they would like to do from a selection guarantees a higher rate of completion. We’ve seen some teachers create grids or sheets of homework assignments for the pupils to select, or offer baskets of activities for younger children to take home and complete with an adult.

Creative Homework Ideas For All Ages

Coming up with innovative ways for students to reinforce their knowledge at home can be difficult – many of these ideas would be suitable for lots of subjects with a little tweaking!

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How to Have Fun While Studying

Last Updated: October 14, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jai Flicker . Jai Flicker is an Academic Tutor and the CEO and Founder of Lifeworks Learning Center, a San Francisco Bay Area-based business focused on providing tutoring, parental support, test preparation, college essay writing help, and psychoeducational evaluations to help students transform their attitude toward learning. Jai has over 20 years of experience in the education management industry. He holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of California, San Diego. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 750,784 times.

If you find studying boring and difficult, why not make it fun? From making your environment more conducive to improving your concentration, there are various ways to make studying more than just a boring task.

Studying Alone

Studying with Others

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Expert Q&A

• Take a glass of water before starting to read. Thanks Helpful 21 Not Helpful 1
• Plan something fun to do after studying so you will look foward to that thing. Thanks Helpful 15 Not Helpful 1
• If you are finding a subject boring because you are struggling with it, seek help from a tutor, older brother or sister, a parent, a friend or anyone you can trust to help you to learn it more easily. At college/university level, you may need to assess deeply if you have made the right choice or whether it would be better to change subjects or even courses. Don't despair - there is always help. Thanks Helpful 15 Not Helpful 3

• Don't ever promise yourself you'll just watch one show, just listen to one song, just check one email, or "just do one" anything. You'll end up losing track of time and get hooked into the TV, iPod, emails, or whatever it is. Thanks Helpful 145 Not Helpful 20
• For music: you can get too much into it and pay more attention to the rhythm than the study. Turn it off if this is happening to you. Not everyone can tolerate music or noise while studying. Thanks Helpful 12 Not Helpful 0
• Don't overeat to reduce stress and get adequate sleep during times of cramming, swotting etc. No need to make yourself ill - it's another of life's lessons about taking everything in your stride and coping well. Thanks Helpful 69 Not Helpful 24
• Note that if you have heavy, continuing stress, it could be time to talk to a doctor. Thanks Helpful 65 Not Helpful 29
• Don't get down over study hurdles. Everyone can have mental blocks, gets fed up and needs for time-out from any activity, even for a period of time. Be gentle on yourself, take a break and get yourself back together again before you give up on your studies. Also, seek assistance if you have special learning disabilities; there are excellent, trained assistants in many schools and universities on call to help out. Have faith - they're there to help you, not to tell you that you can't do it. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 2

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• ↑ https://www.unicef.org/serbia/en/open-digital-educational-tools-interactive-online-teaching-and-learning
• ↑ https://www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/10-ways-fun-study.html
• ↑ https://share.upmc.com/2019/08/healthy-snacks-to-power-studying/
• ↑ https://opentextbc.ca/studentsuccess/chapter/learning-environment/
• ↑ https://www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/study-and-training/help-with-study/how-to-study-better/top-10-study-tips
• ↑ Jai Flicker. Academic Tutor. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.
• ↑ https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/keeping-pets-and-people-healthy/how.html
• ↑ https://health.cornell.edu/about/news/study-breaks-stress-busters
• ↑ https://usm.maine.edu/agile/using-flashcards
• ↑ https://www.utep.edu/extendeduniversity/utepconnect/blog/november-2017/4-memory-techniques-for-successful-study-sessions.html
• ↑ https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/alphabet_matching
• ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/metacognitive-study-strategies/

About This Article

While studying can feel boring and difficult, there are ways to have fun while doing it. Try making your studying more like a game by using interactive learning software or having a family member or friend quiz you. If you’re creative, try writing a song about the general points that you need to study. You can also make some colorful flashcards that you can decorate during study breaks, or read your textbooks in a funny accent or weird voice. Another creative way to study is to pretend you’re the teacher and lecture your siblings or stuffed animals on your test material. To learn how to make studying fun with friends, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Make Homework More Interesting

I was recently asked a million-dollar question, “How can I make homework more interesting for my child?”

The premise of this question is a bit faulty. It is like asking, “How do I make ‘paying bills’ more interesting?” You can play loud music and eat a lot of ice cream while paying bills, but at the end of the day, you are still dishing out your money to others. No matter how you “dress it up,” paying bills is a chore.

So is homework!

The better question to ask is, “How can homework be done faster, more efficiently?” In that case, I have a clear answer…

Learn how  to learn!

The vast majority of schools around the country are not teaching students how to learn. They are bogged down with national and state-mandated curriculum that focus on CONTENT, not on learning or processing skills.

Instead of teaching study skills, it is assumed that somehow, students will automatically know how to learn and get themselves organized.

In reality, these are skills that can be taught and should be taught, but are virtually ignored. Meanwhile, many students get lost in school and fall through the cracks simply because they have never learned strategies for learning or getting themselves organized.

When a child learns that there are quick tricks for reading a textbook with ease or that a simple binder system can help them keep their papers organized, they are relieved! In fact, they are excited to learn that they are not “stupid.” They were simply not applying strategy to their school work.

Students use strategies everyday…to play sports, video games, and even to manipulate their parents!

However, when it comes to homework, they usually have nothing. They do not realize that there are shortcuts. The brain is an amazing tool that can learn new information and complete homework at a very efficient rate IF they know how to capitalize on the way the brain works.

There are also shortcuts for organizing papers and supplies. Did you know that the standard, most common systems teachers use actually CAUSE most of students’ organizational challenges?

Most teachers require students to keep a separate folder and notebook for each class. This creates a giant bottleneck of 10-16 different folders and notebooks that students must maintain on a daily basis.

They all look alike, yet they all have to be transported to school, in and out of the locker, to the correct classes, and then home again for homework. This is the equivalent of adults having 10-16 different email inboxes to maintain each day. We would go crazy! It is no wonder that our students are, too!

A simple system of combining all folders and notebooks into one binder can save sanity… and has literally transformed grades overnight!

Now that I think about it, homework can be more interesting…when tackled strategically. Teaching efficient, student-friendly study skills to your children or students will make a tremendous difference in their attitude towards homework and school. Armed with strategies, you will see their confidence –and their motivation- SOAR ® !

-Susan Kruger

Six Steps to Conquer the Chaos

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How to Make Homework Fun for Kids: 5 Easy Ways for Parents

“Do your homework!”  Whining, procrastinating, and full-on tantrums may ensue, but it doesn’t have to be like that.  With the right attitude and a motivator or two, you can make doing homework fun for your kids.

Make Homework Fun!

Sometimes the thought of your child having to do homework after being in school all day is frustrating.  However, to help make the task more pleasant for your kids and yourself, here are 5 ways to make homework fun!

1.  Magical Motivators

Use incentives to get your children to do their homework without a fight.  Small snacks, stickers, iPad time, or toys work well for younger children.  Older children might be motivated more by privileges like TV and Computer time or larger rewards like money. Whatever you use, remember your ultimate goal is to help develop good habits for the future.

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2.  Write it for Them

No, that doesn’t mean doing it for them.  It might seem counter-intuitive, but if you mix up the routine, and have your child dictate the answers to you, they will be a lot more interested in the actual subject material.  This also gives you a special opportunity to bond with your child.  Not all homework can be done this way, but try to be creative and change up your child’s homework routine.

3.  Learning Apps

Homework can be frustrating if your child doesn’t understand the material. Fun math practice  apps can be a great resource for visual examples and games that help your child practice concepts he is struggling with.  So, make homework fun by getting an app that makes the subject easy for your child.

4.  Get a Homework Buddy

Turn homework into a play date.  Have your child invite a friend over and encourage them to do their homework together.  Make sure you lay down a few rules ahead of time.  Then you can reward the children with free time and a snack after they complete their work.  How fun is that?

5.  Don’t Take it Too Serious

There are more important things in life than homework and grades.  Too much emphasis on grades can destroy your child’s love of learning and devalue relationships.  Think about what values you want to instill in your child and make sure the homework is not getting in the way.  If you believe your child’s teacher is giving out too much homework after you see your child demonstrate an understanding of the subject, don’t be afraid to voice your concern.  Even if nothing changes, it will show your children that you care and empathize with them.  That can go a long way!

How do you make homework more fun for your kids? Let us know your ways at [email protected]

Thanks for reading!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How can i make homework fun.

• Use incentives
• Use game-based learning
• Try different routines
• Try getting your kids a homework buddy
• Have fun with them

How to make school work more interesting?

• Do tough tasks first
• Use games to teach tough concepts
• Try to add a creative touch in every concept
• Get a school work buddy

How do you make homework meaningful and fun?

• Incorporate cause behind assignments
• Give students real-life application of concepts
• Include culture in homework
• Ask students to include new aspects in every assignment they do in order to encourage creativity.
• Make way for team work and collaboration

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How to Make Homework More Fun

After a long day of sitting down and focusing in school, it’s very likely that your child’s idea of a fun afternoon doesn’t include doing homework. The good news is that there are ways to make spelling and fractions more enjoyable for your child and yourself and bond at the same time too. Want to know how? Scroll down to learn how you can turn study time into quality time.

Highlights: 

• You can make studying more fun for you and your child by:  
• Starting with some physical movement to increase energy level and focus. 
• Keeping it short: your little student can’t focus for longer than 10-15 minutes in a row. 
• Adding some fun, active breaks. 
• Working together. 

Below, Sensorimotor Consultant, Mette Drescher Jensen, shares her four best tips to encourage and energise your little student and make homework much more fun for both of you: 

1. Warm Up 

“Make sure your child is properly awake, energised, and ready before you start doing homework. For example, if your child has been gaming or watching TV, it’s always a good idea to do a few physical activities before sitting down at the desk. It can be something as simple as running around the table, doing some jumping jacks, or spinning around on a study chair - just a 30 second activity, because once you have the body going, you also have the brain going.” 

2. Keep it Short 

“It differs how long children can concentrate. When they start to drift off, rub their eyes, or change their posture, it’s a good indicator that now it's time to do something else. A child in preschool or middle school cannot sit still and concentrate for much more than 10-15 minutes in a row, and that is actually quite well done. Break it up into small 5-10-minute intervals depending on your child, and then it’s time for a break.”  

3. Take a Break

"Active breaks are a great way to keep your energy level up and get your blood circulation going. It doesn’t have to take long, and it's fun if you do it together. For example, doing a few arm bends, some wheelbarrow walking or skipping. It can also be a nice backrub and a cosy chat. Do something together to get your body and brain going again. It doesn’t have to take longer than a minute or two, and it’s time well spent.”

4. Do it Together

“Try to turn homework into something positive, your time together in the afternoon. Start calling it ‘our time’ instead of ‘study time’ and create a cosy atmosphere by sitting down together and serving a piece of fruit or a glass of milk. Ask your child if you need to assist all the time or if you just need to be nearby. And then take the active breaks together too. When you're doing a physical activity together, you will laugh and smile together. You will experience some motivation and some joy - and as a parent you will feel a greater connection and more closeness with your child.” 

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13 ESL Homework Ideas

Homework may not be many students’ favorite thing, but research says it’s truly an effective learning tool that teachers should use .

The trick is assigning great homework.

To help you do this with ease, we’ve compiled an awesome list of 13 homework assignments that will have your ESL students begging for more.

1. Read a Short Story

2. share a passion, 3. start a chat group, 4. listen to a podcast, 5. write a letter, 6. write an amazon review, 7. do a wikipedia edit, 8. write a short story or poem, 9. share their culture, 10. catch a movie, 11. meet new people, 12. analyze a song, 13. go on a photo scavenger hunt, what makes homework effective.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Have students read a short story for homework and then ask them to tell the class about the story in the next session.

I would recommend giving students some suggestions on what short stories to read, depending on the level of your students.

Here are some suggestions of short story collections for each level of ESL learner:

• “The Very First Americans” by Cara Ashrose: This collection of short stories features Native American culture and history, written in simple language.
• “Oxford Bookworms Library: Starter Level” This series offers simplified versions of classic stories, such as fairy tales, adventure stories and more.
• “Classic Tales for ESL Students” by L.A. Hill: This collection of classic stories from literature is retold with easier vocabulary and sentence structure.

Intermediate

• “The Best American Short Stories” This series features contemporary short stories from a wide range of American writers, so there’s something for everyone here.
• “Short Stories in English for Intermediate Learners” by Olly Richards: This collection of engaging stories is designed specifically for intermediate ESL students.
• “Roald Dahl: The Collected Short Stories” This delightful collection of quirky and imaginative tales has become a favorite of many of my students.
• “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri: This Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories explores the immigrant experience, something which many ESL students can relate to.
• “Dubliners” by James Joyce: This classic collection of interconnected stories captures the essence of Dublin in 1914. But it still feels modern to many students.
• “Nine Stories” by J.D. Salinger: This classic collection of short stories is a class favorite when I’ve used it.

What do your students really care about? Give them a chance to talk about it in front of the class. 

Have each person choose something they’re passionate about, something they might consider themselves an expert on.

Challenge students to think of a creative way to present five must-know facts about that subject. They might make a movie, create a poster or brochure, write a song or even put on a skit.

Have each person present their creative project to the class, and then give the class five minutes to ask questions of the presenter.

Set certain parameters like students must speak in complete sentences or require that every student ask at least two questions at some point during the presentations.

Students will love sharing about their passions, and they’ll get some great speaking, listening and discourse information in the process, as well as teach the rest of the class some interesting vocabulary.

Ask for class for a volunteer to start a class WhatsApp chat group. They can also decide to use another messaging app like Telegram, Viber, Voxer or any other app that has a group chat function. 

Encourage them to send at least one message and to respond to a couple others for their homework. 

This text group has the added advantage of students being able to make friends with one another, and a place to ask about missed homework assignments on days when they can’t make it to class.

Note that if a student doesn’t want to be included in the chat group, you should have a back up assignment prepared for them.

Listening is one of the ESL student’s most difficult skills to acquire, so listening to a short podcast episode is ideal homework.

You can ask students to write a little about the podcast to turn in to you, or you can ask them to briefly summarize what they heard for the class in the next session.

Here are some suggestions for well done podcasts:

The English We Speak : Produced by the BBC, this podcast focuses on teaching commonly used phrases and idioms in conversational English.

The Moth : A storytelling podcast where real people share their personal experiences and anecdotes in English.

Stuff You Should Know : Though not specifically designed for ESL students, this podcast covers a vast array of interesting topics, providing exposure to diverse vocabulary and subject matters.

Ask your students to write a letter . The letter can be written to a friend or family member (which they could then actually mail or email), or it could be a fan letter to a favorite musician or actor. They could even write a letter to Santa Claus or a historical figure. 

For example, a student might choose to write a letter to Marie Antoinette, asking her what it was like to be the queen of France at such a young age. 

You can also choose to have students write letters to one another. Then the next homework can be writing that letter writer back.

Ask you students to review a product on Amazon (or any other shopping website that has reviews). Ask them to select a product they have really used, so they have a genuine opinion on the quality of the product and whether it lived up to their expectations.

Then, in the next session, show the reviews on the overhead projector to the class and ask a student to read the review.

You can then go over any errors in vocabulary, grammar or sentence structure and revise the review together as a class.

Since anyone can edit a Wikipedia article, it’s a great place for ESL students to hone their writing and editing skills, and they’ll have a built-in readership, too!

Ask students to select a person that they know a lot about—a well-known figure from history, pop culture, music or film would all work. Then ask them to read the Wikipedia entry to see if they can add anything else to the article.

Perhaps the article on Ryan Gosling is missing a key detail about his recent Ken performance. If so, the student will revise and edit the article. They should take notes on what they changed, so they can explain it to you or the class the next day.

Ask your students to get creative. Have them write a short story or a poem . This can get them to use descriptive language that they don’t always have a chance to use.

One good activity to do before you assign this homework is an adjective bubble chart. For this, you start with one adjective. For example, write “moist” on the board, circle it and then draw 4-5 lines coming off of the”moist” bubble.

Ask your students to come up with other adjectives that are related to “moist” and so on. They may come up with “wet,” “watery,” “soaked” or “damp.” Then draw lines from each of those. This can lead to words that you never expected to come up.

Have your students select 3-4 adjectives from this introduction activity that they’ll use in their story or poem.

Ask your students to prepare a short presentation on an aspect of their home culture to tell the class about in the next session. 

For example, a student from China may explain the Lunar New Year, a student from Vietnam may explain Tet or a student from El Salvador may tell the class about their quinceañera .

They can use photos, art, a PowerPoint presentation or they can just explain in their own words.

Then open the class up for questions.

Can you legitimately send students to the movies for homework? You can when you’re teaching ESL.

Your students don’t have to commit to a full-length movie. Instead, you can use the videos on FluentU to screen mini-lessons using clips from TV shows and movies, movie trailers, news segments, vlogs or music videos.

Use these videos in the classroom or assign homework to watch a few and complete the subsequent quizzes. You can also ask students to complete flashcard quizzes based on vocabulary words you want them to pay special attention to. These quizzes are adaptable so every student will have a unique experience catered to his learning level.

There are plenty of ways to use a movie for language development. And whether students watch a new release or catch an old Elvis flick on TV, they can do any of the following activities as homework:

• Summarize the plot.
• Describe a main character.
• Note new or interesting vocabulary (particularly slang) they hear while watching.
• Write an interview with one of the characters in the movie.

I’m sure you also have your favorite movie-related language activities and many work as homework assignments. So get creative with how you have students share about what they watched.

For the most part, people are willing to help someone in need, and that is doubly true for someone who needs to complete an assignment for school.

That’s why sending students out to interview native speakers on campus is such a fun homework assignment.

Start by helping your students write a list of questions they’ll use for their interviews. Students can choose a topic or you can assign one, like leisure activities or celebrity news.

Tell students to list five to ten questions they might ask on that topic that will elicit specific answers. 

As a class, discuss how students might introduce themselves to a potential interviewee. 

Then send students out to their interviews after class. They can share the answers they got in the next session.

Music is great for English learners since it stresses many aspects of language that can otherwise be hard to isolate, like the emotion of language, intonation and stress.

Have students choose their favorite English language song to listen to for homework and then ask them to do the following:

• Practice the lyrics to learn intonation and rhythm.
• Note slang and cultural references in the songs.
• Summarize the theme of the song, or just what it’s about.
• Have students share their favorite lyrics and what a particular song means to them.

Give individual students or groups of up to three students a list of items to find on their homework scavenger hunt. But instead of being specific in your list (for example, including items such as cat), be descriptive in your list.

You might include items such as something frightening, something beautiful, something quiet, something cool.

Students find items they think fit the description. For example, someone who is claustrophobic might choose an elevator for something frightening. They then take a picture of it.

The next day, have each person get with a partner and show them the pictures they took for each item on the list.

If the connection is not obvious, students should ask their partner to explain why they chose a particular item, such as the elevator.

Assigning homework that works isn’t as hard as you might think, especially if you focus on the following points.

• Put your homework in writing. It can be tempting to just announce homework assignments to students at the end of class, but language learners benefit when you reinforce what you say with what they can see. So take a minute to write any homework assignment on the board so students can read it as well as listen to it.
• Let students know what goals you have for a particular assignment. Is it practicing a certain grammar point ? Improving their listening skills ? Pronunciation practice ? When students know why they’re doing something, they’ll be able to tell on their own when they’ve successfully completed their homework assignment.
• Keep your homework practical . Your students may not find themselves planning out a menu for Thanksgiving when they leave your ESL classroom, but odds are they’ll have to order food at a restaurant at some point. Think about realistic ways students will have to use English in the real world and try to make your homework practical.
• Let your students be creative . Give your students choices on how they express themselves or present information. It’s okay for students to make a home movie, put on a one-man play or paint a picture to present to the class. Just because you prefer a particular type of creative expression doesn’t mean your students do, so give them choices and let them express themselves.
• Make homework fun! Every class has its own personality, so what’s fun for one might not be fun for another. Tailor your assignments to the personality of your class. Think about what they would think is fun, and go with that.

No matter what you believed in your student days, homework doesn’t have to be boring. With a little creativity when assigning homework, you might find that the activities you assign for outside of class become the highlights of your students’ days.

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15 Creative Ways to Make Math Fun for Your Students

Written by Maria Kampen

Did you know?

Students who used Prodigy saw a significant, positive shift in their opinion towards math in just a few months.

• Teaching Activities
• How teachers can bring positive to math lessons

Why some kids don't enjoy math

15 secrets to make math fun.

• Turn the math classroom into a healthy environment

The bell rings, you tell students to take out their math work, and then...groans of disappointment. 

When it comes to learning math, not every student is a fan. But at Prodigy, we believe in making math fun and helping students love the learning journey. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for engaging your math class, because it’s a process that looks different for every student. We’ve put together a list of ways to help every student in your class love math. 

Keep reading to find the one that’s right for your classroom!

Teachers can bring positivity to math lessons

Because every kid is different, they might have different reasons for dreading math class or avoiding their math homework. 

• Difficulty — If a student is struggling to keep up with their math homework or understand lessons, it’s very easy for them to disengage and get discouraged or anxious.
• Boredom — If students aren’t being challenged enough or need extra resources to stay occupied, math work they’ve already mastered can cause them to become bored and disengage. 
• General interest — Maybe your student really likes reading, science or art more than math facts. They could be prioritizing work in these classes, or simply be uninterested in paying attention to math. 
• Math anxiety — Testing and grades give some students a lot of anxiety. This stress is exacerbated when they’re struggling to master new concepts, causing them to become overwhelmed and lose focus.

Whether they’re bored or anxious, disengaged or struggling, these 15 math class secrets can help you engage every student in your class — regardless of how they feel about math. 

Keep reading to find some of the best ways to make math fun and help your students build a love of learning !

1. Math games

Math games are a tried-and-true method for bringing excitement and competition to your classroom. Whether online or in person, math games can engage your students and align to your lesson plan. 

Popular math games include:

• Card games like War, where two students use multiplication, subtraction or even exponent rules to build cards with a higher value than their opponent’s.
• Math stations filled with number blocks and other manipulatives during play-based learning activities for younger students.
• Math board games that help students learn basic math facts, while also building socio-emotional skills like turn-taking and collaboration. Try filling a tic-tac-toe board with math facts, or hosting a math bingo game for the whole class!

Prodigy Math Game is a video game-inspired learning platform that transforms math into an epic adventure. Created for first to eighth grade, students can complete quests, earn rewards and collect pets as they learn. 

Plus, your free teacher account gives you access to teacher tools that make differentiation , assessments and gathering student insights easier than ever. 

2. Visual aids and picture books

If you’ve got a classroom full of visual learners, then charts, picture books and other visual aids can help them make sense of new concepts and provide reference points as they work.

Printables, anchor charts and diagrams are readily available on sites like Teachers Pay Teachers to make classroom set up easy and stress-free. You can even have students make their own visual aids to help them remember key terms and concepts!

Picture books are also a great way to engage students that prefer seeing and reading to math work. Some of our favorites are:

• G is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book by David M. Schwartz — Best for students in 4th to 8th grade, this math book explores interesting math concepts for every letter of the alphabet. 
• Bean Thirteen by Matt McElligot — Ralph and Flora are trying to get rid of the unlucky thirteenth bean, but it keeps coming back! This story is a goofy exploration of remainders and division.  
• Uno’s Garden by Graeme Base — Search for different plants and animals in the forest where Uno lives. Students have to complete skills, puzzles and multiplication questions to finish the adventure. 

Whether it’s reading or drawing, there’s something to help every student learn new math skills!

3. Using modern technology

When it comes to teaching math, modern technology can broaden perspectives and give students new ways to engage with the world around them. 

Math is Fun offers students games and math puzzles that balance fun with skills-building challenges. 

Tablets and smartphones give students new ways to engage with math on their own terms. We put together a list of the 13 best math apps for kids , but our favourites include:

• Prodigy Math Game , an adaptive math adventure game.
• Dragon Box , a colorful math app that turns concepts like algebra and multiplication into a fun game.
• Khan Academy , a non-profit organization that creates video lessons for a variety of different topics and levels.

4. Take a hands-on approach

Every teacher knows worksheets aren’t always the most engaging. 

A hands-on approach in the math classroom means finding real-life examples of formulas and concepts, or including student interests in relevant work problems. 

Try a beach ball toss with equations written on each section or bake with your students to learn about fractions! Math puzzles like KenKen, Magic Squares and tangram puzzles can also help kinesthetic learners practice their skills. 

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives also put traditional math tools online for greater accessibility. Ideal for one-to-one device use or station rotations, it offers manipulation tasks for every grade level. 

5. Encourage communication with students and parents

Understanding students and connecting with parents are both equally important, for different reasons. Parent teacher conferences and quick notes home are ways for you to share positive notes and get valuable insights into how students feel about math.

Math journaling is a great way to have students reflect on what they’re struggling with, what they enjoy doing and where they think they need more practice. You might read things that confirm your insights, or find something new! 

6. Focus on your students

It’s easy to focus on just getting through your curriculum for the year — after all, isn’t that what students need to learn the most?

But a shift to student-centered learning techniques can help you support the needs of every student in your classroom. Student-centered learning involves kids in decisions about their studies, helps them build a growth mindset and encourages them to make connections between concepts. 

Some common student-centered techniques include:

• Interdisciplinary learning that mixes math with other subjects
• Service learning projects to combine academic goals with community service
• Personalized learning through regular formative assessments and pre-teaching
• Student-led conferences that involve students in feedback and decision-making about their learning

7. Stick to fixed routines

Building a fixed math class routine can help students feel settled and confident when math class starts, especially if they struggle with math anxiety. 

Outline expectations and what students need to show up to class with, whether that’s a sharp pencil and paper, or just a sharp mind. 

Pick something to start your lesson with, whether it’s introducing a new concept or reviewing an old one:

• Give students a discussion question and ask how they solved it
• Put some vocab words on the board and ask students to define them
• Challenge older students to analyze a piece of mathematical writing from another scholar

Spend the middle of your lesson teaching or giving your class hands-on experience with new concepts:

• Set up station rotation activities and small group instruction
• Use blended learning techniques to promote hands-on activities and group work
• Give a mini-lesson and then hands-on practice with worksheets or other activities

End class on a high note with quick activities that reinforce learning:

• Ask students to summarize what they learned, in writing or out loud
• Have students work individually or in pairs to answer a quick wrap-up question
• Set up an exit ticket activity so students can show you what they learned, either by submitting a piece of paper or answering a question before they leave

8. Use real objects

There are plenty of math tools that can help students picture abstract math concepts in the real world , including:

• Abacus for counting and number sense
• Spheres, prisms and other shapes for geometry
• Manipulatives like base ten blocks, number lines and clocks
• Small objects like gummy bears, buttons or rocks for pattern making
• Flashcards for subtraction, addition, multiplication and division facts, or other math vocabulary terms

Incorporate these items into problem-solving activities for more ways to learn. 

9. Physical involvement

Techniques that get students moving, out of their seats or just engaging in hands-on learning activities can help a variety of different learners. In your classroom, try:

• Writing and acting out skits about math concepts
• A scavenger hunt for geometric shapes or patterns
• Brain breaks to help students stay focused during long stretches of class
• Interactive games like flash cards, dice, manipulatives or “Around the World” with relevant math problems

Think-pair-share activities and flipped classrooms can also help students get hands-on experience and talk through new ideas with peers in real time. 

10. Use interesting and engaging questions

If you have two morph marbles, use one in a Prodigy math battle, and then earn two more, how many morph marbles do you have?

Word problems are a great way to connect student interests with your lesson plans. If you’re not sure what students like, send out a quick survey or ask them about their favorite books, TV shows or video games. 

They’ll be delighted when they find their favorite Prodigy character or TV show on your next handout, and you’ll have a class full of students actually excited about doing their homework. 

11. Address learning issues promptly

If you notice students falling behind (or racing ahead), address it early to avoid any long-term engagement problems. 

One-on-one instruction or small groups can help you pay attention to individual learning needs . A mixture of group and individual work can help all learners absorb information in the way they learn best, too. 

Use response to intervention (RTI) methods to address small and large learning issues promptly. RTI focuses on early and continuous identification, assessment and assistance of students who have learning and behavioural needs. 

If the learning needs are serious, talk to parents and administration about setting up an IEP or 504 plan to make sure students can access support that helps them succeed and stay engaged. 

12. Integrate math into other subjects

Whether it’s statistics in social studies or angles in art, there are endless ways to connect topics and inspire students to learn more. 

Incorporate math talk into other subjects as part of interdisciplinary teaching activities to help students stay engaged — especially if the second subject is something they’re more interested in. 

13. Keep lessons fun and interactive

Fun math activities can help you keep students engaged and learning, whether it’s short and silly brain breaks between worksheets or station rotations with a mix of small group and individual work. 

Be sure to offer lots of opportunities for students to get involved answering questions or helping with hands-on demonstrations.  For more interactive lessons, try modern teaching methods like inquiry-based learning that let students follow their own interests and passions!

14. Incorporate technology for personalized learning

One of the best ways to ensure students are excited about learning is to offer personalized learning opportunities and differentiated content. But in a big and busy classroom, that can be time-consuming and tricky!

Prodigy’s free teacher account comes with tools that help you gather insights while students play. Instead of spending hours grading assignments and developing differentiated math practice, Prodigy helps you tailor content for the learning needs of your students.

15. Apply lessons to life

“Are we really ever going to use this in real life?” is a common phrase heard in many math classrooms. 

To help students understand the benefits and wonder of math, relate what they’re learning to the real world! Have students research different career paths that use the concepts they’re learning, or invite members of the community to speak about how they use math in their jobs. 

Who knows where in life it could lead your students?

Turning the math classroom into a healthy environment

No matter what students are learning, a fun and positive environment is a foundation for academic and personal success. 

Don’t be afraid to mix it up and try several different techniques to make math fun in your classroom! See which ones students respond to best, then use them to keep your students loving math class. 

Prodigy Math Game makes math class an epic adventure with quests, rewards and new worlds to explore. As students play and answer math questions, you can differentiate and collect insights with free and effective teacher tools. Try it today!

• Category: AI

Khan Academy and Microsoft partner to expand access to AI tools that personalize teaching and help make learning fun

• Sally Beatty

Tucked away in a high school chemistry classroom in Northern Indiana are pressure gauges intended to teach a fundamental principle of chemistry known as Boyle’s Law. 

In their place, Hobart High School chemistry teacher Melissa Higgason is using a variety of seemingly random items – including mini marshmallows, plastic water bottles, balloons and eyedroppers – to inspire her students to design their own experiments and see what happens to gas under different conditions. 

“There are simulations where students are changing a variable and watching a number climb up and go down,” said Higgason. “But gas laws are very abstract. It’s hard for kids to make all those connections without hands on experiences that are relevant to them.”  

While Higgason has decades of experience in education, she’s the first to admit the idea of using everyday items to teach physics came from an AI-powered teaching assistant called Khanmigo for Teachers , a pilot program introduced last year by Khan Academy, the non-profit online educational organization started in 2008 by Sal Khan with a mission to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere.   

Today at Microsoft Build, Microsoft and Khan Academy announced a new partnership that aims to bring these time-saving and lesson-enhancing AI tools to millions of educators . By donating access to Azure AI-optimized infrastructure, Microsoft is enabling Khan Academy to offer all K-12 educators in the U.S. free access to the pilot of Khanmigo for Teachers, which will now be powered by Azure OpenAI Service.   

The two companies will also collaborate to explore opportunities to improve AI tools for math tutoring in an affordable, scalable and adaptable way with a new version of Phi-3, a family of small language models (SLMs) developed by Microsoft.

With AI tools, teachers have more time to spend on students 

“I use Khanmigo to spice up my classroom to make it fun and engaging,” said Higgason. For example, in another class of Higgason’s, Khanmigo suggested explaining net ionic equations by asking students if they’ve ever been to a dance party, comparing ions to dancers who change partners.   

Besides offering creative lesson plans, Khanmigo provides an array of AI-powered suggestions and teacher tools that relieve teachers of many of the administrative burdens that contribute to teacher burnout. With a click of an onscreen dashboard, in just a few minutes and often less, teachers can generate custom lesson plans, suggest student groupings, or “level” up or down text passages for learners who are either struggling or need more of a challenge. Used together, Khan Academy estimates these tools can save teachers an average of five working hours each week. 

“Teachers are super overworked,” said Sal Khan, noting record numbers of teachers are leaving the profession. School districts in underserved areas have been especially hard hit, with teachers citing low pay and unmanageable workloads exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as some of the top reasons they are giving up on teaching. Using AI for education isn’t just a powerful way to potentially help accelerate student learning, said Khan, it’s also a way “to make teaching more sustainable.” 

Bringing high-quality educational experiences to more learners 

While earning rave reviews from teachers like Higgason since it launched in March 2023, Khanmigo previously cost teachers $4 per month. The fees covered the cost of developing and testing the new technology and accessing the large language models (LLMs) that power Khanmigo. 

As part of the new partnership, Khan Academy’s teacher tools will now be powered by Azure OpenAI Service. Microsoft’s donation of Azure infrastructure will enable the nonprofit educational organization to scale those teacher tools more widely and offer them to all K-12 teachers in the U.S. at no cost.   

The companies will also explore how small language models (SLMs) such as Microsoft’s new Phi-3 family of models, which can perform well for simpler AI tasks and are more cost effective and easier to use than larger models, might help improve and scale AI tutoring tools. To that end, Khan Academy is collaborating with Microsoft to explore the development of new, open-source small language models based on Phi-3. The goal of the exploratory work is to enable state-of-the-art math tutoring capabilities in an affordable and scalable manner. 

Small language models offer many of the same capabilities found in large language models but are smaller and trained on smaller amounts of data. They are also designed to be more accessible and easier to use for organizations with limited resources.  

Under their new agreement, Khan Academy will also give Microsoft access to explanatory educational content such as math problem questions and step-by-step answers to develop AI-powered math tutoring capabilities using Phi-3. Khan Academy will also provide ongoing feedback and benchmarking data to evaluate performance. None of Khan Academy’s user data will be used to train the model.  

Khan is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Microsoft to train small language models in math tutoring – an area where he sees great potential. 

Not only are small language models easier to customize than large language models for specific tasks, such as teaching math, English or chemistry – they are also more efficient. “If they can get comparable to the larger frontier models but at a dramatically lower cost, that dramatically increases the speed at which we can make this accessible to more people,” said Khan. 

In the future, Khan hopes small language models that operate locally on a device (as opposed to the cloud) will create opportunities to provide teacher tools and tutors for resource-constrained schools outside the U.S. that lack computing infrastructure.   

Finally, the two organizations will also work to integrate more Khan Academy content into Copilot and Teams for Education, a free version of Microsoft’s popular Teams app to enhance collaboration and learning customized to meet the needs of educators and students. The integration will make Khan Academy’s vast educational library available to even more learners, while providing high-quality content to users of Copilot and Teams for Education. 

Tutoring with AI and the Socratic method 

Back in Hobart, Indiana, students in Higgason’s class, who have access to a separate set of AI-powered Khanmigo learning tools through its Khan Academy Districts partner program, have embraced its conversational Socratic method of tutoring, characterized by cheerful, energetic questioning to encourage critical thinking by students

They’ve also welcomed the AI teaching assistant’s creative suggestions to enliven normally staid chemistry lessons that have saved Higgason so much time.  

“Using a marshmallow and an eye dropper in a lab – I didn’t think you could use that to show a gas law,” said Madisyn Sanders, a 16-year-old sophomore. “It was a really interesting experiment.”  

“Khanmigo learns the same way I do,” added Aleksandar Tatum, 16. “It’s almost taking the steps with you. It helps you build a connection to help you better understand subjects.”  

Using AI to cheat is a major concern of many parents and teachers, but cheating is difficult with Khanmigo, as it does not do the writing for students. Instead of providing answers, Khanmigo asks questions and provides support as a tutor would do. 

In English class, Tatum and his classmates were asked to read “Romeo and Juliet”and then write a story that changed some of the scenes. Tatum prompted Khanmigo to describe a scene he had trouble remembering. “It was a genuine question I had about Act 1 Scene 3,” he said. But Khanmigo would only respond, “I’m here to help you create a story,” and Tatum had to go back to the original text to refresh his memory.  

When Jzehbel Garcia, 17, asked Khanmigo to provide the formula for “molality,” another abstract chemistry concept, Khanmigo responded with a hint and then a question: “What two pieces of information do you think you need to calculate molality?”  

“What’s really nice from a teacher’s perspective is it does not give my students answers. It gives them questions,” said Higgason. “Science is about asking really good questions. That’s how we learn and grow and innovate.”  

Khan Academy also provides guardrails and safety mechanisms in Khanmigo. Messages at the top of the screen notify students that their chat history and activities are visible to parents and teachers. The system also automatically flags questions or comments from students that are considered problematic, so teachers can review and decide if follow-up with the student is needed.  

Using Khanmigo teacher tools to meet unique student needs 

Before Khanmigo was introduced to Hobart in 2023, “I was drowning,” said Stephanie Franco, a teaching specialist who supports over 40 students still learning English by collaborating with more than 70 teachers located in two different buildings on the school campus.  

She was skeptical about bringing AI into the classroom, concerned like many parents and educators that it would lead to cheating.  

But once she discovered Khanmigo’s translation tools, “it was a breakthrough,” said Franco. Before Khanmigo was available at Hobart, she would spend hours scouring her students’ assignments to change wording or vocabulary that could prove challenging.  

Now she simply copies and pastes those assignments into the Khanmigo teacher chat function and types “make this understandable to a 7th grader.” In seconds, she said, she has a new assignment tailored to the needs of her students: “So instead of my students not being able to be included in the same assignments as their classmates since they’re still learning English, I can now provide them with a similar assignment that is more tailored to their learning needs.”  

Besides offering support for multi-language learners, Franco also teaches English as a second language. Again, she taps Khanmigo to create lesson plans and prompts to engage her students in discussion. “I’ll say, ‘Help me find a story that would help my students with reading comprehension.’ Or I can tell Khanmigo about a famous story and it will make up questions to ask the kiddos,” she said. 

Asking questions is not something that comes naturally to most high schoolers. Writing, too, is a challenge for many students, who often don’t know where to begin. Ben Horjus, who teaches essay writing and composition at Hobart, said many high school students “struggle to pick a focus area, to recognize credible sources, and to synthesize information so they can develop a stance supported by research. In this vast sea of information, it’s hard for them to know how to navigate and not feel lost.”  

With these challenges in mind, Horjus uses several Khanmigo teacher tools, including the “learning objectives” feature, which gives him ideas for student assignments along with activities and discussion topics. He also likes using it to develop guides for instruction for individual students or groups of students.  And he’s looking forward to using the “leveler” function, which can be used to simplify complex text, to demystify the more challenging parts of “The Crucible,” which he plans to teach next fall.  

Coming full circle  

In many ways, Khan said, the advent of AI-powered teaching and learning is a throwback to the origins of education, when 1:1 tutoring was the norm. Alexander the Great, the Macedonian conqueror, was tutored by Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, who in turn was tutored by Plato, who was tutored by Socrates, who pioneered the Socratic method of asking questions to guide students to knowledge. 

“You could imagine that if young Alexander was having difficulty with some topic, that Aristotle would slow down or speed up, or make sure that this young man who’s going to be a future king or emperor is engaged in his learning,” said Khan. 

By partnering with Microsoft, Khan hopes to provide more support for teachers so they can bring personalized teaching and learning to more classrooms, enabling many more students to one day help solve the world’s toughest challenges. “We can use the same tools,” said Khan, “to treat every kid like a future emperor.” 

Related links:  

Learn more: Khanmigo for Teachers  

Read more: Enhancing the future of education with Khan Academy  

Read more: Khanmigo for Teachers is free to all U.S. teachers thanks to support from Microsoft  

Learn more: Microsoft Education  

Read more: Tiny but Mighty: The Phi-3 small language models with big potential   

Top image: Melissa Higgason, who teaches chemistry at Hobart High School in Hobart, Indiana, instructs her students on how to use marshmallows and water bottles to understand an abstract chemistry concept, an idea suggested by Khanmigo for Teachers, a pilot AI-powered teaching assistant. Photo by Scott Eklund for Microsoft.

13 synonyms for "interesting" to improve your English writing

Do you know what’s interesting ? 👀

The English adjective interesting can mean many things—and it can even have conflicting meanings! It can be used in a positive way to mean “intriguing” or “fascinating,” but it can also mean “strange” or even “unpleasant.” It can even mean the complete opposite: “boring.” That means interesting may not be especially descriptive or clear! 

Here are more, ahem, interesting ways to say what you really mean.

Synonyms with a positive tone

When you mean interesting in a positive way, like for something that is “of interest” to the speaker (or writer), there are many alternatives.

The synonym intriguing means “arousing one’s curiosity,” as in, This new recipe is intriguing, I think I will make it! 

Instead, you could use fascinating , “of great interest or attraction,” as in, What a fascinating idea! 

You could also say someone or something is amusing if it causes laughter or is of interest in a charming way—for example, I find their podcasts to be so amusing . 

If you’re describing or writing a book, other great options are compelling , “invoking interest or attention in a powerful way,” or the easily pronounceable unputdownable , “so engrossing one cannot stop reading it.”

Synonyms with a negative tone

Often things are interesting in a bad way, such as gossip or campy mystery films. 

Maybe we don’t understand something or someone so we hedge a bit and say they are, well, interesting to be more polite. This could be expressed instead as peculiar , strange , or odd , which can all mean “unusual in an unsettling way.” For example, Her way of telling a story is peculiar . 

If you really mean that something is of interest but very strange, then weird or even unpleasant may be more descriptive alternatives to interesting as in, Our trip to the beach on the rainy day was quite unpleasant . 

Slang synonyms for interesting

For more casual conversations, there are many alternatives to interesting that are considered slang. 

For example, sick, fab , and goated mean “amazing” or “great,” and are good replacements for the positive sense of interesting as in, That Duolingo comment on TikTok was goated. 

Many interesting options for interesting !

Next time you’re faced with using interesting , remember the many precise synonyms you can turn to instead! We hope you’ve found this post to be not only helpful, but also intriguing , fascinating , perhaps a bit amusing , and certainly unputdownable !

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‘The Substance’ Review: Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley Make Coralie Fargeat’s Sci-Fi Body Horror Double the Fun

Cannes 2024: The festival’s most audacious horror film is sure to send more squeamish audiences running for the exits

Coralie Fargeat’s “ The Substance ” is a body horror film with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. It smashes you over the head with its ideas and imagery, making even the fleeting moments of supposed beauty its characters are desperately chasing into something gloriously gruesome. It’s also great fun, pushing itself to greater heights and increasingly ludicrous lows at every turn as it riffs on the perils of youth and aging. It’s a lurid, loud and lewd film that comes at you.

The garishness of it all is Fargeat’s way of taking society’s often painfully narrow beauty standards and turning them all inside out. The filmmaker does so literally and figuratively, making it one of the most utterly ridiculous and unrestrained films to show at a festival this year. Few come even close.

While not as sensational as body horror films of festivals past, namely “Raw” and “ Titane ,” “The Substance” has all the right stuff on the inside. As we see everything come spilling out, it proves to be yet another stellar genre film from Fargeat after her 2017 feature debut, “Revenge.” The film may not have the same style, but it is a boldly stark work, ensuring you feel every punch in your gut all the same. Be warned: it won’t be easy to stomach for all. 

Premiering Sunday evening in competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival , the film begins with an overhead shot of the construction and degradation of a star on what seems like the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It’s been made for Elizabeth Sparkle, played with both sufficient dramatic heft and deadpan humor by Demi Moore, who was once a star herself but has been increasingly cast aside as she’s aged. After she is cut from the exercise show that she hosts by the megalomaniacal television executive Harvey, played with a truly despicable and terrifying disposition by Dennis Quaid in rare form, an opportunity presents itself to her. It’s a product known as The Substance which, at its very basic, is an injection that allows you to create a younger version of yourself who will be more “beautiful” in the eyes of society. The temptation soon proves to be too much for Elizabeth. 

This injection works exactly as advertised, only with a lot more pain that we see captured in inventive detail, like eyeballs doubling in a socket as the younger version splits open the older original’s back, leaving her unconscious on her bathroom floor. This new version goes by Sue and is played by a madcap Margaret Qualley, in her second film at the festival following “ Kinds of Kindness ,” with a real sense of verve even as she teeters just on the edge of falling apart.  

While the doubling is incredible, there are strict rules both must follow together. Namely, they have to switch every week, with one going unconscious while the other moves freely in the world. So while Sue almost immediately finds immense success, taking over Elizabeth’s hosting job and turning the exercise program into a ratings smash hit by making it more erotic, this is something both don’t get to benefit from. Even as the shadowy group behind The Substance informs them they are one person, a struggle for this singular life starts to take bloody shape. 

While some of this plays out rather predictably at first, it all still works because of how in command Fargeat is as a director. A fair bit of the film is without much dialogue, establishing the fault lines that will create a schism between the two versions with focused visual storytelling. Just as was the case with ‘Revenge,’ Fargeat wastes little time in getting things in motion and isn’t afraid to throw us into the squishy body horror deep end as things begin to unravel. 

Neither Sue nor Elizabeth are fully content with the arrangement which results in the former starting to break the rules by staying conscious longer and longer. This creates disastrous consequences. You already feel this in your bones as Sue must repeatedly inject Elizabeth to remove what seems to be a dangerously high amount of spinal fluid to give her life, but seeing the older version start to decay before our eyes is what provides the film with the necessary urgency. While a bit repetitive here and there, it always finds a way to kick down a new door.

Though frequently confined to the duo’s luxurious apartment, the battle for this one life ensures it never feels too narrow in scope. Reflections on what it means to age as a woman in society are often expressed with blunt dialogue though you’re willing to forgive this because of just how committed Moore and Qualley are to the experience. Each gives body and soul to what can be often physically demanding scenes. They make the film into an often sly tragicomedy, leaning on both humor and horror to ensure that its audience begins to squirm. 

Just when you think it’s run out of ways to show the bodies of the two being more and more impacted, from limbs beginning to decay to a bulge from a meal the other ate, it will smash you right into the next escalation. Fargeat never runs out of fun ideas for how to torment her characters, having them extract a lump through a belly button, squish limbs into place after being out too long, and generally try to make the most of the devil’s bargain they have struck.  

This culminates in a spectacular and chaotic finale that feels like it could potentially set a record for the amount of blood spilled in a film premiering at Cannes. Faces are pointedly repeatedly smashed into unrelenting mirrors just as bodies are distorted by The Substance even further, leaving nowhere else to go but into more absurd and gory anarchy. This all goes on for quite a while, but the ratcheting up of the body horror ensures it never feels tired. The clever manner in which it all ties back to the beginning serves up an absolute showstopper of a closing punchline. It’s a classic “be careful what you wish for” film. You may find stardom, but nothing lasts forever. 

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Your toilet seat doesn’t have to look boring. Bailey Hikawa’s designing ones with pizza slices and pearl necklaces

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This story is part of Image’s May issue, Homemaking , about home and the many ways we choose to make it.

My toilet seats are an offshoot from the phone cases I make. The concept behind the phone cases is going through this everyday object — there’s not a lot of design around a phone, even though we use it for so many things. There’s something really beautiful that happens when people see a designed object in a space where they don’t expect it. The same is true of toilet seats. There isn’t a lot of design innovation around them, even though it’s an everyday object that we use multiple times a day, without thinking. We just assume it’s going to look and be the same as it always is. And I’m like, why is that?

Bailey Hikawa, “Food and Jewelry” (2024), toilet seat featuring silver-plated fork, knife and spoon; fake diamond engagement ring; real pretzels; fake diamond earrings and necklaces; fake ketchup packet; fake chicken wing; real animal crackers; real Cheerios; fake milk; fake spaghetti; real Cheetos; fake pizza slice; Diet Coke can; fake gummy bears; real gummy worms; fake bacon; fake gold watch; real Cheez-It; fake pearl necklace.

(Bailey Hikawa)

For this toilet seat, I ran with the “homemaking” prompt [of L.A. Times Image’s May issue ], which is a beautiful prompt, and a complicated and loaded one, even though it’s such an old, traditional word. It brought up a lot of things for me about gender, about who traditionally has made a home. Ultimately, I went back to this tradition of who cleans toilets — women clean the toilets, women have always cleaned the toilets. And here I am as this new generation of a woman who gets to make the actual toilet seat. I wanted to talk about gender, about beauty and being a woman and adorning my body — I wanted to think about these concepts and let them marinate in the stew of the disgust of a toilet seat.

What is homemaking? It’s a lot of shopping, a lot of cooking, a lot of cleaning. But I also wanted to explore the historical concept of homemaking, even though homemaking now is, like, ordering on Amazon . I wanted to at least throw a bone to what the old homemaking was. I was thinking about feminist artists who are working with these issues, like Judy Chicago ‘s “The Dinner Party,” where she makes a place setting for feminist artists. In that place setting, she’s asking, what does it mean to be a female artist? And who are we setting a table for? I knew I wanted to start from silverware, which is about home arranging, which we don’t do anymore. Instead, we are stuffing our faces with pizza and Diet Coke. We’re feeding our children gummy bears on the floor and Cheerios all over the place. There’s a chaos to eating in our contemporary world, which is just the opposite of the traditional setting where you make a meal and set a place for your family.

For this toilet seat, I ran with the “homemaking” prompt, which is a beautiful prompt, and a complicated and loaded one, even though it’s such an old, traditional word. It brought up a lot of things for me about gender, about who traditionally has made a home.

— Bailey Hikawa

The jewelry really felt like the icing on top. Shiny objects are so easy to come by these days, just like quick food. We’re buying them quickly and putting them in our bodies and putting them all over ourselves to make us not feel disgusting and control ourselves, our homes. Fake jewelry has something kind of disgusting about it, but it’s so glittery; food is glittery and delicious too. Something about those two things felt right — also in a toilet seat, where we are constantly denying that our bodies are disgusting.

Some of it is real food. The Cheerios are real. I have some animal crackers in there. I did fake pasta, fake milk. The pizza slice is fake. The ketchup is fake. The chicken wing is fake. I’ve been wanting to use that chicken wing because it’s so good and juicy — it’s a combination of real and fake.

I have worked with food before. I’ve made a BLT toilet seat. The eyeglasses toilet seat is one of my favorites. The watches one is very popular. There’s something about old watches that trigger something for people and knowing that they don’t work. There’s something there that goes deep into our psyche and it being in a toilet seat — the juxtaposition of time and our bodies falling apart.

I used to make paintings, sculpture and installation. Something happened for me when the sculptures and installations were activated by use. It was something I wanted to lean into and follow. I started working for a set designer, which in a way was starting to merge these art spaces with actual use. I knew I wanted to move in that direction, so I did work in film and TV. I don’t know, maybe I’m a people pleaser, but there’s something about people using an object and having it be in their everyday life that feels so valuable and accessible.

As told to Elisa Wouk Almino

Bailey Hikawa is an artist and self-taught industrial designer living and working in Los Angeles. Her work has ranged from painting to sculpture, scenic design, immersive installation and performance, all mediums that contribute to her interest in the intersection between art and function. She launched her design studio in 2019 with the release of a line of ergonomic sculptural iPhone cases.

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