Helping with homework and academic skill-building during out-of-school time
Abstract
Homework assistance in an after-school program can be a valuable resource for children who want to finish their homework right after school and for parents who may feel overwhelmed by helping their children with their homework after working all day. This practice suggests setting up a peer or cross-age tutoring program, recruiting volunteer tutors, and educating staff about appropriate ways to offer help for homework. Also suggested is a homework log, in which students receive a check or a star for having completed their homework each day. Excerpted from section three of the Corporation for National and Community Service's Making an Impact on Out-Of-School Time by the National Institute on Out-of-School Time. Includes a resource list and online directory.Issue
After a long day at work, many parents want to spend time with their children in the evenings without having to focus on homework. Some parents with limited English or academic proficiencies feel overwhelmed by their children's need for help with homework.Action
Homework Help and Academic Skill-Building Activities for After School Programs
Homework help in after school programs can take many different forms including:
- Homework help is offered. (Young people know that if they want to do homework, staff will be available to help them.)
- Time is set aside for all children to work on homework. (Young people without homework can read a book, do research, work on the computer, or do other individual academic skill-building activities.)
- A homework/learning area is created. (Young people visit this area when they wish and/or are required to spend a specified amount of time in this area at some point during the afternoon. In this area, children work on homework, participate in tutoring, or take part in games that build academic skills.)
Following are tips and ideas to help you successfully integrate homework into your program and help young people get excited about learning:
- Create a Special Homework/Academic Skill-Building Area: Work with young people to decorate a room or area for homework and academic learning and come up with a creative name for the area. Fill the area with books, learning games, computers, school supplies such as paper, pencils, and rulers. Put up colorful posters on the walls about books, animals, or science. Young people can come to this area whenever they like and stay as long as they like, rotate through this area in groups throughout the afternoon, or be directed to spend a specified amount of time in this area each day. If young people don't have homework, they can read or participate in skill-building games during the time they spend here.
- Set Up Peer Tutoring Pairs: Invite older children to sign up to be tutors to younger children. Offer the tutors some basic training and hold regular meetings with them. Be sure that tutoring doesn't interfere with the time tutors need to complete their own homework.
- Bring in Tutors: Recruit parents, community volunteers, other national service program participants, and local college and high school students to serve as tutors. They can help with homework in general or specialize in tutoring a specific subject. Ask tutors to come in at regular times each week and commit to serve in the program for a specified amount of time. Be sure that all tutors receive appropriate training (see "Resources" for information on tutor training). Regularly meet with tutors to discuss the needs of "tutees." Assign tutors to individual young people or to small groups so they can get to know each other and learn to work together.
- Create a Homework Sign-Off Log: Once young people finish a homework assignment, have them check in with a staff person or volunteer who can go over their work and put a star or check by their name in a homework log book. Develop a system for letting parents know how much homework their children have completed each day. Offer monthly prizes for those who've successfully completed a certain number of assignments.
- Prepare Engaging Learning Games: Stock your academic area with flashcards, spelling, reading, and math games, and computer learning games. Ask local toy stores and computer software companies for donations. Plan spelling and math contests, science experiments, book-writing activities, read-a-thons, and other simple learning-focused activities.
- Hire or Train an Academic Learning Specialist: Select a staff person or volunteer to coordinate homework and academic learning activities in the program. This person can train and direct volunteers, prepare learning games, coordinate tutoring, and help with homework.
Context
Many young people like to finish their homework during their after school program so that they can work on assignments with friends, get help and support from program staff, and get homework "out of the way." For these and other reasons, many after school programs offer homework time or homework assistance as part of their program.After school programs can not only help young people get their homework done, they can also help youth enhance their attitudes towards homework and learning. With well-trained and enthusiastic staff, after school programs can offer engaging skill-building activities as well as an up-beat and encouraging environment for completing homework and mastering the skills involved in assignments.
Citation
Making an Impact on Out-of-School Time. National Institute on Out of School Time, at Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, The Corporation for National and Community Service, June 2000.Posted On
February 28, 2001Resources
Homework and Learning Activities
Following are some resources that are representative of the many materials available on the subject. This listing does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Government, the Corporation for National and Community Service, or the National Institute on Out-of-School Time.
General
Homework and Out-of-School Time Programs: Filling the Need, Finding a Balance by Susan O'Connor and Kate McGuire. This booklet contains many ideas for integrating homework into an after school program. Available by calling the National Institute on Out-of-School Time at (781) 283-2510.
The Homework and Edutainment Club Guide and Resource Kit by the Activities Club. The guide contains step-by-step instructions for setting up an effective homework program and instructions for hundreds of learning activities supporting different academic subjects. The resource kits contain age-appropriate learning tools and games for different age groups. Available from The Activities Club by calling (617) 924-1556.
Science Activities
The following resources are available through local bookstores, online booksellers, or through companies that specialize in curriculum and materials for children such as School-Age NOTES (1-800-410-8780 or schoolagenotes.com), Quest International (1-800-446-2770 or quest.edu), or Innovative Educators (1-888-252-KIDS or innovative-educators.com).
Science Arts: Discovering Science Through Art Experiences, by MaryAnn Kohl and Jean Potter. Bright Ring Publishing, 1993.
Item number: C1543
Science in Seconds for Kids: Over 100 Experiments You Can Do in Ten Minutes or Less, by Jean Potter. John Wiley & Sons, 1995.
Item number: C1542
Showy Science: Exciting Hands-On Activities That Explore the World Around Us, by Hy Kim. GoodYear Books/HarperCollins, 1994.
Item number: C1554
The Kids' Nature Book: 365 Indoor/Outdoor Activities and Experiences, by Susan Milord. Williamson Publishing, 1996.
Item number: C1536
Beyond the Right Answer: Effective Homework Help , the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. (Video). 2006.
Item number: V3356
Source Documents
Related Practices
Related sites
U.S. Department of Education: Federal Resources for Educational Excellence
B.J. Pinchbeck's Homework Helper