BeinganEfficientHomeworkHelper:TurningaChoreintoa Challenge

By:ReginaG.Richards(2008)

"Thesecretofeducationliesinrespectingthepupil." RalphWaldoEmerson(18031882,U.S.poet,essayistandlecturer)
Homeworkisaconstantformostchildrenitisalwaysthere.Andformanychildren,itisoftenachore. Justtheconceptof"homework"cancausemultipleanxietiesandnegativefeelings.Toassistparentsand students,thisarticlepresentssometoolstohelpturnthischoreintoanenjoyablechallenge.Itfocuseson somegeneralpreliminaries,basicstrategies,andmotivation. Tobegin,wemustkeepinmindthecharacteristicsofourownchildren,becauseeachchildhashisorher uniquestrengths,weaknesses,andneeds. Whenembarkingonanyproject,therearefirstsomequestionsweneedtoaskourselves.Theseapply whethertheprojectisapageofmathfactsorafullreport. Weneedtomakesureweunderstandtheproject:whatarewetryingtodo? Weneedtoassembleourtools:whatmaterialswillweneedforthisproject? Workingsuccessfullywithourchildrenonschoolworkrequiresrespect,andrespectbeginswith understanding.Ifachildstruggleswithand/orresistshomework,askyourself,"why?"Asyoudiscoverthe reasons,sharethemwithyourchildsoheorshebetterunderstandstheissues.Doingsotakesthe mysteryoutofstrugglesorfrustrations.PediatricianMelLevinecallsthis"demystification,"whichhe describesaseliminatingmysterybyexplainingthechild'sstrengthsandweaknessesandguidinghimto developmoreaccuratepersonalinsight. Studentsmaystrugglewithand/orresisthomeworkforavarietyofreasons.Thesemayincludeanyofthe following: Yourchildisexperiencingsomeaspectofalearningdisabilityorlearningdifference. Yourchildisinefficientinaskillneededtoestablishasolidfoundationrelatedtotheconcept. Yourchildstrugglestoprocessoneormorecomponentsofthetask. Yourchildlacksorisnotusingtheappropriatestrategiesortools. Yourchildisexperiencingfatigue,eitherprocessingfatigueorgeneralfatigue. Asaparent,weshouldattendtohowourstudentapproachesthetask.Helphimidentifyandsortthrough thedifferentcomponentsanddeterminetheneededsubsteps.Youcandelineatetheseusingaconcrete chartorgraphicorganizer. Manystudentsexpresstheideathathomeworkis"stupid"ora"wasteoftime."Evenifyoudowonder aboutthevalueofthegiventask,itiscriticaltocommunicateanoptimistic,importantbeliefthat homeworkpositivelyaffectsachievementinschoolandteachesmanyvaluableskillscriticalforsuccess throughoutlife.Forexample:

Followingdirections Independentworkhabits Timemanagement Useofstrategies Followthrough Responsibility Keepinmindthatyouandyourchildarelayinganimportantfoundationthatwillguidehisroutinesfor yearstocome.Startinginearlyelementaryschoolyears,eachchildbeginstoestablishhabitsfortime managementandtaskcompletion.

Preliminaries
Location
Establishingaconsistentworkspaceisacriticalbeginning.Thepreciselocationfordoinghomeworkdoes notmatteraslongasitisfreefromdistractions.Forexample,tryingtoreadachapterinthemiddleofthe kitchenwhileaparentmakesdinnerandsiblingsruninandoutcreatesarecipeforfailure.Intheearly grades,youandyourchildshouldselectthehomeworklocationtogether,identifyingaplacewhereyou canbeclosebyandavailableforhelp.Asthechildmatures,hecanbemoreindependentinselectinghis ownworkspace.

Supplies
Atthebeginningofeachschoolyear,helpyourchildcreatehisownHomeworkSurvivalKitwiththe necessarysupplies.Ifthechildreceivesaccommodationsfortheirlearningdisabilitiesatschoolsuchas aparticularpencilgrip,atypeofpaper,oraFrankinspellertrytoletthemusethemathometoo. ChildrenshouldlearntotakecareofthesuppliesintheirHomeworkSurvivalKit,thereforesharingisnot advisable.Yourchild,evenatagefive,shouldhavealargecalendarwithenoughspacetonotetheir assignments.Thisisacriticalhabitthatstudentswillneedtousethroughhighschoolandcollege.

Lightingandposture
Useofanappropriatewritingpostureshouldbeencouraged.Therefore,adeskandchairofappropriate sizearenecessary.Thedeskshouldhaveadequatelighting.Somechildrenenjoyreadinginadifferent position,whileinabeanbagchair,forexample.Ensurethatthereisalsoadequatelightingbythelocation.

Generalenvironment
Keepinginmindthateachstudentmayhavedifferentneedsandpreferences,followingaresomeideasto helpstudentsenhancetheirabilitytofocuswhiledoinghomework: Quietorsoftbackgroundmusic Silence Smallcrunchysnacks,sourcandy,orchewinggum Carbonatedbeverages(preferablywithoutsugar)

Basicstrategies
Oneofthebestgiftsthatwecangivetoourstudentsisanappreciationofandabilitytousestrategies.

Strategiesenableustopreplanandorganizeactivitiesandtasks.Weusestrategiestopullinour processingstrengthswhilecompensatingforprocessingweaknesses.Thisabilityisverybeneficialina widerangeofsituationsthroughoutourlives. Somestrategiesareobvious,suchasmnemonicphrases.Studentslearningmusicusethemnemonic "EveryGoodBoyDoesFine."Thefirstletterofeachwordinthisphrasestandsforthenotesonamusic staff:E;G;B;D;F.Themnemonic"NeverEatShreddedWheat"canhelpstudentsrememberdirections insequence:NforNorth;EforEast;StheSouth;andWforWest. Otherstrategiesarelessobvious.Forexample,ifyouhavedinnerplansfor6p.m.,youneedtodetermine howlongitwilltakeyoutogettotherestaurantsoyouknowwhentobeginyourtravel.Youalsoneedto determinehowlongitwilltakeyoutogetreadysoyouknowwhentostartpreparing.Thistime orientationstrategyhelpsuspreplananactivitybackwardfromthegoalandisvaluablefordetermining howmuchtimewe'llneed.Itcanbeusedinplanninganyproject. Aswehelpourstudentsusestrategies,wemayinitiallyneedtomodelhowtousethestrategyand providepractice.Theendgoalisforstudentstodevelopindependenceinautomaticallyusingstrategies. Notwopeoplehavethesamelearningstyleandeveryindividualisauniquecombinationofstrengthsand weaknesses.Therefore,astrategythatisextremelybeneficialforonestudentmaynotbeusefulfor another.Indevelopingatoolboxofstrategies,parentscanhelptheirstudentslearnwhenandhowto selecttheappropriatetool.Somevaluableresourcesfortoolscanbefoundinthebooksnotedinthe Referencessectionattheendofthisarticle.

Organization
Someideasforhelpingyourstudentorganizehisbookbagorbackpackfollow.Tohelpincreaseyour child'sfollowthrough,initiallyyoumaywanttocheckthebageveryfewdays,providingcommentsand suggestionstohelpmaintaintheorganization. Usedifferentcoloredfoldersfordifferentsubjects. Haveaspecialplaceforpapersthatneedtocomehome. Haveaspecialplaceforpapersthatwillbereturnedtotheteacher. Developaconsistentroutineforyourchildtoreplacehomeworkintheappropriatespotinthebook bagimmediatelyuponcompletingit. Haveaspecificplaceforyourchildtoplacethebookbagwhenitisreadytoreturntoschooland encourageyourchildtousethislocationconsistently. Praiseyourchildforfollowingthroughwiththeroutine.

Understandingthetask
Reviewthebasicassignmentwithyourchildtoensurethatsheunderstandswhatisrequired.Many childrenmisstheoverallmessageorglobalconcept.Visualorganizers,alsocalledmindmaps,arevery efficientinpresentingtheglobalviewinaconcretevisualmanner.Belowisanexampleofavisual organizercomparingfrogsandtoads.Itidentifiessomecharacteristicsofeach,aswellascharacteristics similartoboth.

Figure1:Acomparisonmindmapprovidesaglobalviewinavisualformat Inpreviewingtheassignmentwithyourchild,bealerttohisunderstandingofvocabularyused. Misinterpretingvocabularywordsisafrequentsourceoffrustrationforstudents.Manybooksdescribe variousformsanduseofgraphicorganizers,includingthoselistedintheReferencessection,below.

Fatigueissues
Studentsmayofteninterpretfeelingsoffatigueasboredomoradesiretoescapethesituation.Thereare manydifferenttypesoffatigueand,consequently,manyreasonsforit.Exploringthereasonsisbeyond thescopeofthisarticle.However,itishelpfultohavesomebasicstrategiesina"ParentToolKit."Then youmayselectatooltohelpyourstudentmanageherfeelingsoffatigueduringhomeworktime. Provideabreakthatrequireshardpressure(calledproprioceptivepressure),suchaschairpush ups,stretching,liftingapilebooks. Allowforacontrolledmovementbreaksuchaswalkingtoanothertabletosharpenapencil. Provideavisualbreaktohelprelaxeyemuscles(whichmayfatiguewithexcessivebookwork)by askingyourchildtolookoutthewindowatadistanttarget,counttofive,andreturntotask. Allowyourchildtimefor"veggingout"betweentasks,perhapswithashortsnack.Itishelpfulto useatimerthatringstoindicatetheendofthebreak. Prioritizeareasofemphasis:somestudentsperformbetterdoingthehardertasksfirst;other studentsperformbetterstartingwithsimplertasks. Somechildrenexperiencesubstantialfatiguewiththeprocessofwriting.OnesuggestionfromTheSource forDyslexiaandDysgraphiaistoincludeexercisingandstretchingthefingersforafewminutesbefore andduringthetask.Useoftechnologycancompensateforfatigueaswellasmanyotherwritingissues. Someoptionsinclude:usingkeyboarding/wordprocessingratherthanhandwriting;usingaspellchecker withanauditorycomponent(suchasFranklinLanguageMaster6000b);and/orusingagraphicsprogram suchasInspirationorKidspiraition. Monitortheamountoftimeyourchildspendsonhomework.Ifyoufeelyourchildisrequiringan excessivelylongtime,keeptrackofthetimeanddiscussitwithyourchild'steacher.Insomecases,you maywishtosuggestthatyoulimithomeworktoacertainamountoftimeandthattheteachergiveyour childcreditforwhatwasactuallycompleted.Inothersituations,itmaybeadvisabletodecreasethe

amountofhomework,suchashavingyourchildcompleteonlytheoddproblemsonamathpage.

Encouragement
Oneofthemostvaluabletoolsforparentsisthetoolofencouragement.Encouragementcanhelpprovide demystificationforyourchildanditcanhelpreduceyourchild'sfrustrationwhenthetaskbecomesdifficult orhebecomesfatigued. Animportantcomponentofencouragementistosupportyourchild'seffortstoworkindependentlyand buildherconfidenceindoinghomeworksuccessfully.Somesuggestionsfollow. Emphasizethatyouhaveconfidenceinyourchild'sabilitytodothework. Example:"Iknowthisishard,butI'msureyoucandoitwithjustalittlehelp.Let'sjust startwithonesmallpart." Usechunkingorstaging:breakdowntheassignmentintosmallerpartsand/orsimplesteps. Example:"Let'sstartwiththispart.Let'sgooverthedirections."Then,afterchildreadsthe directions,say,"Whatisthenextstep?" Provideencouragementfrequentlythroughoutthetask,helpingyourchildmoveforwardtofinish theassignment. Example:"It'sgreatthatyoudidX.Now,let'sgoontoY." Asyourchildgainsconfidence,havehimdoasmallpartonhisown. Prioritizeareasofemphasis. Provideoccasionalshortnonverbalreinforces,suchasakissonthecheek,apatontheshoulder,a smile,orbringingabeverageorpieceofgum. Ifyourchildcontinuestoaskyouforhelpeventhoughyouareconfidentthatthetaskiswithinhisskill level,youcanplayagamewithhim.Beginbyplacing10piecesofcandyinabowl.Tellhimthatevery timeheasksyouforhelp,hewillgiveyouonepieceofcandy.Whenthecandyisgone,youwillnothelp anymore.Assurehimthathewillkeepwhateverpiecesofcandyremaininthebowlattheendofthe homeworktime.Whenplayingthisgamewithyourchild,besurethatthetaskiswithinhisabilitytowork onhisown.Youmayvarythenumberofpiecesofcandy,dependingonthetask. Anotherimportantcomponentofencouragementistoprovidestatementsofdemystification.Thesehelp removethemysteryofwhyonetaskisdifficultwhileanotheriseasierwhileincreasingyourchild's understandingofhisprocessingstrengthsandweaknesses. Useconcretestatementstoemphasizestrengths,suchas: "Isawthatdrawingyoudid;youarereallygreatatthatkindofartwork." "Veryfewkidsyouragecandrawlikethis;youhavegreattalent." Useconcretestatementsrelevanttoyourchild'sstruggles,suchas: "Manykidsstrugglebecausetheydothingstoquicklywithoutthinkingenough.Thismaygetthem intotroubleorcausethemtodoschoolworktoofastandcarelessly.Sometimesyouarelikethese kidsbecauseyoudothingstooquickly." Useconcretestatementsrelevanttoyourchild'seffortstoovercometheirspecificdifficulties,suchas: "Ilikethewayyouhavecontinuedtoworkatthiswhentheotherkidshavealreadylearnedit.It's particularlyhardtodosomethingwhenyou'rethelasttogetitdone,butyouhavepersistedand

youarealmostthere." "Icanseeitshardtokeepworkingonthatletter,andyouarecontinuingtopersist.Thankyou." Inthebook,Eli,TheBoyWhoHatedtoWrite,Elidescribesmultiplebenefitsheexperiencedduetothe impacthefeltfromencouragement.Asparentsandteachers,weneedtolistentoourchildrenaboutthis verycriticalpoint.

Motivation
Somechildrenneedexternalmotivatorstohelpmaintainfocusonthetask.Someusefulsuggestions includehomeworkcontracts,devicestohelpmonitortimeontask,orrewards.Itisimportantthatyouare settingrealisticgoalsforyourchildandthattheyarenotoverlystressedintheirareaoflearningdisability. Somechildren,forexample,takelongertowritebyhandortocalculatesumssoyouneedtoberealistic abouttimeallowed.

Contracts
Homeworkcontractsmaytakemanyforms.Writethecontractwithyourchild,makingsureitiswithin yourchild'sabilitylevel.Focusononegoalatatime.Examplesfollow. "I,Johnny,willcompletemyhomeworkwithoutargumentforfivenightsinarow.WhenI accomplishthis,Icanwatch30extraminutesofTV." "I,Susie,willmarkoffasquareonmycharteachnightthatIcompleteallmyhomework assignments.WhenIhavemarkedofffivesquares,Iwillselectarewardfrommylist." Thecriteriainyourcontractshouldchangeasthechild'sskillschange.Furthermore,itisimportanttobe specificregardingyourexpectationsregardinghomeworkcompletion.Indicatedefinitestartingand stoppingpointsaswellasminimumrequirements.

Monitoringtimeontask
Atimerisausefuldeviceformonitoringtimeontask.Itmakesthepassageoftimemoreconcretefor yourchild.Identifyareasonabletimeforyourchildtocompleteanassignment(oragivenpart)andset thetimertoringafterthattime.Itisusefulforyourchildtobeabletoobservethepassageoftime,on eitherthetimerorhourglass.Examplestatementsfollow: "Youhaveagreedtopracticetypingforfiveminuteseverynight.Thismeansfiveminuteswithgood focus.Iwillsetthetimerandifyoufocusandpracticeappropriatelythewholetime,youwillbe done.Remember,Iwillhavetorestartthetimerifyoufoolaroundinthemiddle." "Youhaveahalfhourtocompletethispartoftheassignment.I'msettingthistimerfor30minutes. Ifyoufinishyourhomeworkcorrectlybythetimethebellgoesoff,thenyouwillgetXreward(or sticker)." Ifyourchildisearningpointsorstickersforappropriatefollowthrough,youmaywanttoallowhimto earnrewardsforagivennumberofstickers.Tophaseouthisdependenceonthestickers,requirea largernumberofstickersforarewardashebecomesmoreresponsible.

Spinner
Youngchildrenrespondwelltogamesasmotivationalaids.Youcandevelopacustomizedgamespinner byusingcardboardandbrads,oryoumaypurchaseblankspinnersfromaneducationalsupplystore.Fill ineachsectionofthespinnerwithareward.Usetapesothatyoucanoccasionallychangetheawards.Be suretovarytheprizesonthespinnersothatsomearemoredesirable.Youmaywanttohaveaspace marked"nowin."

Establishcriteriawithyourchild,suchascompletingahomeworkassignmentappropriatelyorfinishingall ofthehomeworktasksfortheevening.Whenyourchildmeetsthecriteria(i.e.completesthetask),allow hertospinthespinnerandearntherewardindicated.Besuretouseanappropriatepositivestatement suchas,"Greatjobtonight!You'veearnedaspinonthespinner." Tophaseoutdependenceonthespinner,changetherewardstopoints.Thesepointswillthenaccumulate towardsaspecificprize.Increasethenumberofpointsneededtoearntheprizeasyourchildbecomes moreresponsible.Anexampleofaspinnerfollows.

Learningfrommistakes
Anothercriticaltoolforparentstohaveisthetoolofhelpingtheirchildrenlearnfromtheirmistakes.This isimportantbecausetoomanystudentsareafraidtobewrong.Wegiveourchildrenavaluablegiftby helpingthemunderstandthatmistakesarevaluablebecausetheyhelpuslearnhowtoadjustandimprove ourapproachaswemovethroughatask. RobertBrooksandSamGoldsteinintheirbook,RaisingResilientChildren:FosteringStrength HopeandOptimisminYourChild,devoteawholechaptertolearningfrommistakes.Theydiscuss variousobstaclesthatinterfereaswellassomevaluableguidingprinciplesforparentstokeepinmind. FollowingisasummaryofBrooks'andGoldstein'sObstaclesandGuidingPrinciples:

Obstaclestoapositiveoutlookaboutmistakes
Temperamentandbiologicalfactors Negativecommentsofparents Parentssettingthebartoohigh Dealingwiththefearofmistakesinwaysthatworsenedthesituation

Guidingprinciplestohelpchildrendealwithmistakes
Serveasamodelfordealingwithmistakesandsetbacks Setandevaluaterealisticexpectations Indifferentways,emphasizethatmistakesarenotonlyacceptedbutalsoexpected

Lovingourchildrenshouldnotbecontingentonwhetherornottheymakemistakes

Insummary
Developingtheconceptofhavingatoolkittousewhenworkingwithourchildrencanbeafunand rewardingprocess.Somekeyfactorstokeepinmindare: Havefunwithyourtoolsandstrategies Encourageyourchildtohavefun Expanduponthesuggestionsgiven,usingthemasguidelines Payattentiontoyourchild'sstrengthsandweaknesses Developyourownstrategies ContinuetoexpandyourParents'ToolKitasyourchildmatures

References
Brooks,R.&Goldstein,S.(2002).RaisingResilientChildren:FosteringStrength,Hope,andOptimismin YourChild.NewYork:McGrawHill.http://www.retctrpress.com Canter,L.&Hauser,L.(1988).HomeworkWithoutTears:AParent'sGuideforMotivatingChildrentodo HomeworkandtoSucceedinSchool.NewYork:HarperReference(HarperCollins). FranklinElectronicPublishers,Inc.,SpeakingLanguageMaster(modelLM6000B).Burlington,NJ:Author. http://www.franklin.com Lavoie,R.HowDifficultCanThisBe?FATCity.Steuben,ME:EagleHillFoundation.DistributedbyPBS VIDEOinassociationwithWTA.AvailableintheLDOnLineStore Lavoie,R.(2007).TheMotivationBreakthrough.NewYork:Touchstone(Simon&Schuster).Availablein theLDOnLineStore Levine,M.D.(2001).EducationalCare:ASystemforUnderstandingChildrenwithLearningDifferencesat HomeandatSchool.Cambridge,MA:EducatorsPublishingService,Inc.http://www.epsbooks.com Levine,M.D.(1992).AllKindsofMinds:AYoungStudent'sBookAboutLearningAbilitiesandLearning Disorders.Cambridge,MA:EducatorsPublishingServicehttp://www.epsbooks.com Levine,M.D.(1990).KeepingaHeadinSchool:AStudent'sBookAboutLearningAbilitiesandLearning Disorders.Cambridge,MA:EducatorsPublishingServicehttp://www.epsbooks.com Levine,M.D.(2003).TheMythofLaziness.NewYork:Simon&Schuster.http://www.retctrpress.com Richards,R.G.&Richards,E.I.(2000).Eli,theBoyWhoHatedtoWrite:UnderstandingDysgraphia. Riverside,CA:RETCenterPress.http://www.retctrpress.com Richards,R.G.(2001).LEARN:PlayfulStrategiesforAllStudents.Riverside,CA:RETCenterPress. http://www.retctrpress.com Richards,R.G.(1997).MemoryFoundationsforReading:VisualMnemonicsforSound/Symbol Relationships.Riverside,CA:RETCenterPress.http://www.retctrpress.com Richards,R.G.(1999).TheSourceforDyslexiaandDysgraphia.EastMoline,IL:LinguiSystems. http://www.linguisystems.com

Richards,R.G.(2003).TheSourceforLearningandMemoryStrategies.EastMoline,IL:LinguiSystems. http://www.linguisystems.com Richards,R.G.(2006).TheSourceforReadingComprehensionStrategies.EastMoline,IL:LinguiSystems. http://www.linguisystems.com

Kidspiration(visualorganizersforgradesK3)&Inspiration(visualorganizersforgrades6toadult). AvailableintheLDOnLineStore
Richards,R.G.(January,2008).BeinganEfficientHomeworkHelper:TurningaChoreintoaChallenge. WrittenexclusivelyforLDOnLine. http://www.ldonline.org/article/5606/?theme=print 2008WETA.AllRightsReserved.