Effective Homework
Help
October 18th, 2010
Academics Inspiring
Minds
For all children
 Intentional
 An active process
 Age-level appropriate
 Supported by well
trained staff
 Informed by ongoing
needs and progress
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Academics Inspiring Minds
Principles of Quality Homework Help

The best afterschool
programs do two
things: they engage
students in fun
activities that create
a desire to learn, and
they build on what
students are
learning during the
school day to extend
the knowledge they
already have.- SEDL
Academics Inspiring Minds
Successful After-school Programs
EXPECTATIONS
Academics Inspiring Minds
•Asking
questions
•Observing
•Teaching
•Re-teaching
•Suggesting
•Reviewing
finished
homework
Homework help needs to be ACTIVE!!!
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Students spend 10
minutes on
homework for each
grade level.
Fourth graders
spend no more than
40 minutes on
homework
Key is consistent
schedule
Academics Inspiring Minds
Research recommends
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Think about how you will group
students and structure your
homework area
Area for individual study
Area for group study
Area for research and information
Area for students who have completed
their homework
Academics Inspiring Minds
Providing Structure
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Clarifying
Assignments
Maintaining focus or
re-focus
Problem Solving
skills
Reading Skills
Writing Skills
Other
Academics Inspiring Minds
What kind of help do they need?
Active Homework Help
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Ask student to explain
assignment in own
words
Have student write
problem in different way
Encourage student to
guess or estimate
Suggest working
backwards
Enlist peer support
Break problems into
smaller parts and steps

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Model problem using
different example
Teach process of
elimination
Ask student what they
don’t understand and help
them with that aspect
Suggest or ask students
where they can get help
Academics Inspiring Minds
I
do, you
watch
 I do, you help
 You do, I help
 You do, I
watch
Academics Inspiring Minds
You can’t do things the same way
each day
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Have you developed a more positive attitude about
potential of diverse students?
Are you convinced that you can enhance the confidence of
children who have a slow start?
Is the achievement of all your students your main priority?
Can you teach students to speak and write English while
accepting their cultural dialect as another legitimate form
of expression
Can you look past physical attributes, gender, and race to
find the untapped potential in your students?
Can you help your colleagues in your school respond to
diversity and student differences in a more positive
manner?
Academics Inspiring Minds
Promoting Lifelong Success
Failure to compete work
Hostility, disruptive behavior, defiant speech in
class
 Daydreaming, poor attention span
 Little or no eye contact
 Frequent use of excuses
 Fear of failure and of trying
 Repeated tardiness, and absences
 Lack of participation
 Tendency to be withdrawn and isolated
 Dislike for school and or the teacher
 Facial expressions and body movement showing
visible pain, frustration, and anxiety
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Academics Inspiring Minds
Low Academic Self-Image
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Confidence in performing before others
Unique ability in social skills such as sports,
dancing,etc
Mutually supportive system with peers
Keen interest in performing social activities such as
listening to music, dancing, sports, art, cards etc
Non-verbal communication and eye contact with
others. Self assuredness in being able to
communicate to friends without saying a word
Desire to succeed in formal functions and being
noticed by others
Friendly sincere behavior
Facial expressions and body movements that reflect
enjoyment
Academics Inspiring Minds
High Social Self Image

As educators augment their
understanding of systems of low academic
self- image, they can take requisite steps
to provide students with other
opportunities for school success.

AIM can be key in this process!
Academics Inspiring Minds
Changing students self image
Asignacion


Escribir un parafo de
algo acerca de su
familia
4 oraciones
completas
Contesta estas
preguntas
De donde es su
familia?
 Que es una cosa que
le gusta hacer con su
familia?
 Cuantos hermanos y
hermanas tiene or
hijos/hijas?

Academics Inspiring Minds
Estudiantes de Espanol
In general, they spend
much more lesson time
listening than they do
speaking, reading or
writing.
 Listening is the basis of
most classroom
activities. Students
cannot perform these
activities correctly
unless they have heard
and understood the
relevant instructions or
information.
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Academics Inspiring Minds
Helping ELL students understand
what you say

Listening is NOT a
passive process; it
is an active skill of
interpreting the
verbal and nonverbal output of the
speaker in order to
understand the
message
Academics Inspiring Minds
Helping ELL students understand
what you say
If students need to listen
for a long time.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Activate their existing
knowledge of the topic
Ask questions
Make connections with
existing knowledge
Discuss opinions
Making predictions
Pre-teaching key words
Students should be told
what they will have to
do after they have
finished listening.
Academics Inspiring Minds
Helping ELL students understand
what you say
Beginning learners need
speech that is clearly
enunciated and relatively
slow.
Typical "swallowing" of sounds in
English often results in spoken
text that is problematic to new
ESL students.
So, not Dja do your homework?
Djoo come to school by bus?
Did you do your homework?
Do you come to school by bus?
Helping ELL students understand
what you say
Listening comprehension is
easier if supported by
visual material. As well as
the obvious advantages of
students being able to see
pictures or diagrams of
what is being talked about,
it is often helpful for them
to have key words written
on the board.
Academics Inspiring Minds
Helping ELL students understand
what you say
It is unrealistic to expect close
attention by students to
material which is boring or
presented in a boring way.
Teachers can help students
develop listening competence
by setting tasks that can only
be carried out if effective
listening has taken place.
Cooperative activities are an
excellent way of requiring
careful listening.
Academics Inspiring
Minds
Helping ELL students understand
what you say
Increasing wait time

This will give
students a chance to
process what they
have heard and
formulate answers in
their mind.
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Repeat or rephrase
questions that are in
complex syntax or
require more than
simple answers.
Wait for 2 students to
answer questions
before providing
feedback
Add to the amount of
time available for the
ESL student to
formulate a response
Sometimes
responses are mental
ones not yet
expressed aloud.
Helping ELL Students
Understand what you say
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ESL students learn
from being exposed
to language which
is comprehensible
to them.
Idioms
Euphemisms
Jargon
Slang
Helping ELL students Understand
what you say

The best methods are therefore those that
supply 'comprehensible input' in low
anxiety situations, containing messages
that students really want to hear. These
methods do not force early production in
the second language, but allow students
to produce when they are 'ready',
recognizing that improvement comes from
supplying communicative and
comprehensible input, and not from
forcing and correcting production."
Krashen- Comprehensible input
Active Homework Help






Ask student to explain
assignment in own
words
Have student write
problem in different way
Encourage student to
guess or estimate
Suggest working
backwards
Enlist peer support
Break problems into
smaller parts and steps




Model problem using
different example
Teach process of
elimination
Ask student what they
don’t understand and help
them with that aspect
Suggest or ask students
where they can get help
Academics Inspiring Minds