Page 307 - Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students 4th Edition

CHAPTER 13
How Can the Curriculum Be Expanded and Made More Powerful through Homework? 279
principles to consider when choosing from among activities that meet all the primary cri- teria include: (e) allow students to accomplish several goals simultaneously; (f) are viewed as enjoyable, or at least as meaningful and worthwhile; (g) involve natural, holistic, or authentic applications of learning rather than isolated skills practice or artificial exercises; (h) engage students in higher-order thinking; and (i) are adaptable to accommodate indi- vidual differences in interest or abilities. Activities should be structured and scaffolded by teachers in ways that help students to engage in them with awareness of their goals and metacognitive control of their learning strategies.
These principles also apply to homework activities, with some minor modifications. First, out-of-school learning can use the students’ total environment to provide data or learning resources, which makes certain activities feasible that would not be feasible in the classroom. Also, cost effectiveness does not need to be assigned as high a priority. Class time is limited and needs to be concentrated on lessons and structuring of assignments, but once students are clear about what they need to do, they can work on assignments outside of class. They also can work on individually negotiated or time- consuming projects that complement the group lessons and activities that occur during class time.
Homework opportunities provide a natural mechanism for nurturing intergenera- tional communication by encouraging students to share and discuss what they are learn- ing in school with their families. The idea is to use home assignments to provide a forum for interaction, not to suggest that families are to “teach” what was not accomplished at school. The assignments should encourage students to talk about what they are learning with their families, to take more responsibility for their learning, and to appreciate that learning is continuous and lifelong (Alleman & Brophy, 1994).
Consider using Mem Fox’s Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, a poignant book about a young boy’s relationship with people in a retirement home and his quest to understand the meaning of the word, “memory.” This book shows the power of intergenerational communication. How might you incorporate it into your class?
Teacher and Family Involvement
Home assignments are one way to model and establish the norm that everybody has the capacity and the opportunity to learn out of school. We observed one student exclaim to the teacher, “You are doing the homework too!” The teacher explained that she also was learning new things about her community. On another occasion, a student with a rather puzzled look said, “I thought you just cooked up things to keep us busy. Look, you are doing them too!” Soon students come to realize that if the teacher participates in home assignments—and actually brings data back to the class to share—they must be impor- tant and worthwhile.
Having the teacher model the act of returning home assignments is a good way to encourage students to complete homework and overcome one of the teacher’s major
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