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How to Do Homework: 15 Expert Tips and Tricks

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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.

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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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Homework Hacks: 8 Tips to Get It Done Faster

Homework is no fun, especially if you’ve got a full schedule. You only have a little bit of time and a little bit of energy. And it takes so long to get through it.

Not anymore. We’ve got some helpful homework hacks for you that will make doing your homework faster and less painful.

1. Plan Your Homework and Make a List

When you start your homework, you’ll probably jump right into the first thing on your mind or the first thing you pull out of your backpack, then work your way through the rest of your assignments. There’s a better way.

Figure out how much time you have to do homework, then list out all the different tasks that you have to do. Estimate how long it will take to complete each assignment to see if you need to allow yourself more time. Be realistic. Once your list is complete you can work straight through instead of stopping frequently to figure out what to do next. It will also be extremely gratifying to cross things off after each assignment you finish!

2. Get Out All the Books and Supplies You Need

While you’re working, you discover you need a calculator, you need a certain book, you need a new pencil, you ran out of paper… the list can go on.

Since you’ve now identified all your assignments, figure out everything you need to get each item done and bring it to your workspace so it’s there when you need it.

3. Find a Quiet Place to Work Without Distractions

Speaking of workspace, you probably prefer doing your homework in front of the TV, but that can actually be the biggest distraction of all. Sitting in front of the TV is probably slowing you down, making homework time seem much longer that it actually is.

Find a place that’s quiet, with as few distractions and clutter possible. Remember, the faster you get it done, the faster you can get back to fully enjoying Netflix.

4. Turn Off Your Phone

We know this is probably the last thing you want to hear. How can you live without your phone? But for a couple hours, its totally worth it. Every time you get a notification and check your phone, it breaks your focus. It then takes more brain power to get back on track to what you were working on.

5. Listen to Classical Music While Working

We know what you’re thinking… Classical music? Seriously?

However, classical music is great for background audio. There aren’t any lyrics or beats to distract your focus. And research has shown that students who listen to classical music score higher on tests than students who listen to other genres of music. So find some good classical playlist on Spotify, then celebrate with Queen Bey when you’re done.

6. Eat Snacks and Drink Water

At the end of a long day, you may be mentally and physically tired. If you go straight into homework it may take you a long time to finish and it won’t be your best work.

Having some light healthy snacks and drinking plenty of water helps revitalize your brain and body. Avoid soda, energy drinks, or sugary snacks that will only make you crash before you’re done.

7. Take Short Breaks in Between Homework Tasks

If you have a lot to do, you may feel the pressure to just work straight through hours and hours of homework. But this will likely end up slowing you down, prolonging the entire session.

Do your work in short sprints. Go hard at a task, then take a quick break to stretch and walk around. It’ll re-energize your mind and body to keep going. For starters, try working for 25 minutes, then taking a 5-minute break.

8. Reward Yourself After You’re Finished

Homework isn’t always fun. But negativity can slow you down.

Our brains work off of reward systems. If you give yourself a reward when finishing your homework, it makes it a lot easier to start your homework the next time and you’ll get through it faster. Rewards could be being able to watch a show, eat ice cream, play a game, or going out and doing something fun.

Now that you’ve got all these tips, go get your homework done faster than ever before. It may be hard at first, but keep using these tips and it’ll get easier as you go.

Featured Image: Piotr Marcinski/Shutterstock

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Electronic Resources for Students: Got Homework? We've Got Help

San diego public library, innovation synopsis, challenge/opportunity.

The San Diego Public Library is committed to connecting students with the Library's electronic resources to help them succeed with their education. But, the Library was challenged with finding the funding for these resources and the mechanisms to adequately promote them to students. This is why the Library sought collaboration with the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSC) and private donors to pool their community resources to more effectively connect San Diego’s elementary and secondary students to these high quality online resources.

Key Elements of Innovation

The Library and School District have a history of working together on educational related projects. This project was different in the level of collaboration between the two organizations. It involved working with SDUSD’s coordinator of the Instructional Media Center to develop a strategy for buy-in from the SDUSD superintendent and administration and working with principals, teachers, and school librarians to motivate students to use the products.

A branding outreach campaign was developed that bundled four electronic resource products (Live Homework Help, SchoolRooms, Ask Now, and Research Databases) into a theme called, Got Homework? We’ve Got Help . The Library created a website, posters, flyers and table top tents in both English and Spanish and distributed them to the 36 libraries and many of the schools. The Library also created a Digital Keycard bookmark that allows students access to the online resources without needing to have a library card. They were distributed to more than 16,000 students via classroom teachers. Two school media events were held at two separate high school libraries to publicize the resources to the public media and journalism students for school newspapers and websites. These events that had the involvement of City Councilmembers, donors and vendors also provided student demonstrations of the products.

The Library worked closely with the Library Foundation to obtain private and corporate donations of more than $45,000 to defray the purchase costs of the electronic resources and support the outreach effort. In addition to paying for outreach materials, this funding was used to produce a public service announcement (PSA) in Spanish and English. The PSA was distributed widely to media outlets in the area. Volunteers from the Foundation also contacted Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) in high electronic use and economically disadvantaged areas to educate the parents about the products and provide articles for the PTA websites.

Achieved Outcomes

There has been a steady increase in use of the online resources for students as evidence of the increasing annual use of Live Homework from 7251 in 2007 to 9750 in 2008 to 13,364 in 2009. This is an 84.3 % increase from 2007 to 2009.

Homework Helper: Ask a Question

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First, try to find the answer yourself by entering a search term in the box above. We even have some to help you out.

Next, we have answered quite a few questions already, so you should search the existing to see if your question is similar to one we've already answered.

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When we do respond to your question, don't expect us to do all your work for you. We will point you in the right direction and help you find the answer.

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You can find your answer by coming back to the site and going to the . We will send you an email with the address of the page on our site where you can find your answer when it's ready.

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Rethinking Homework for This Year—and Beyond

A schoolwide effort to reduce homework has led to a renewed focus on ensuring that all work assigned really aids students’ learning.

I used to pride myself on my high expectations, including my firm commitment to accountability for regular homework completion among my students. But the trauma of Covid-19 has prompted me to both reflect and adapt. Now when I think about the purpose and practice of homework, two key concepts guide me: depth over breadth, and student well-being.

Homework has long been the subject of intense debate, and there’s no easy answer with respect to its value. Teachers assign homework for any number of reasons: It’s traditional to do so, it makes students practice their skills and solidify learning, it offers the opportunity for formative assessment, and it creates good study habits and discipline. Then there’s the issue of pace. Throughout my career, I’ve assigned homework largely because there just isn’t enough time to get everything done in class.

A Different Approach

Since classes have gone online, the school where I teach has made a conscious effort as a teaching community to reduce, refine, and distill our curriculum. We have applied guiding questions like: What is most important? What is most transferable? What is most relevant? Refocusing on what matters most has inevitably made us rethink homework.

We have approached both asking and answering these questions through a science of learning lens. In Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning , the authors maintain that deep learning is slow learning. Deep learning requires time for retrieval, practice, feedback, reflection, and revisiting content; ultimately it requires struggle, and there is no struggle without time.

As someone who has mastered the curriculum mapping style of “get it done to move on to get that next thing done,” using an approach of “slow down and reduce” has been quite a shift for me. However, the shift has been necessary: What matters most is what’s best for my students, as opposed to my own plans or mandates imposed by others.

Listening to Students

To implement this shift, my high school English department has reduced content and texts both in terms of the amount of units and the content within each unit. We’re more flexible with dates and deadlines. We spend our energy planning the current unit instead of the year’s units. In true partnership with my students, I’m constantly checking in with them via Google forms, Zoom chats, conferences, and Padlet activities. In these check-ins, I specifically ask students how they’re managing the workload for my class and their other classes. I ask them how much homework they’re doing. And I adjust what I do and expect based on what they tell me. For example, when I find out a week is heavy with work in other classes, I make sure to allot more time during class for my tasks. At times I have even delayed or altered one of my assignments.

To be completely transparent, the “old” me is sheepish in admitting that I’ve so dramatically changed my thinking with respect to homework. However, both my students and I have reaped numerous benefits. I’m now laser-focused when designing every minute of my lessons to maximize teaching and learning. Every decision I make is now scrutinized through the lens of absolute worth for my students’ growth: If it doesn’t make the cut, it’s cut. I also take into account what is most relevant to my students.

For example, our 10th-grade English team has redesigned a unit that explores current manifestations of systemic oppression. This unit is new in approach and longer in duration than it was pre-Covid, and it has resulted in some of the deepest and hardest learning, as well as the richest conversations, that I have seen among students in my career. Part of this improved quality comes from the frequent and intentional pauses that I instruct students to take in order to reflect on the content and on the arc of their own learning. The reduction in content that we need to get through in online learning has given me more time to assign reflective prompts, and to let students process their thoughts, whether that’s at the end of a lesson as an exit slip or as an assignment.

Joining Forces to Be Consistent

There’s no doubt this reduction in homework has been a team effort. Within the English department, we have all agreed to allot reading time during class; across each grade level, we’re monitoring the amount of homework our students have collectively; and across the whole high school, we have adopted a framework to help us think through assigning homework.

Within that framework, teachers at the school agree that the best option is for students to complete all work during class. The next best option is for students to finish uncompleted class work at home as a homework assignment of less than 30 minutes. The last option—the one we try to avoid as much as possible—is for students to be assigned and complete new work at home (still less than 30 minutes). I set a maximum time limit for students’ homework tasks (e.g., 30 minutes) and make that clear at the top of every assignment.

This schoolwide approach has increased my humility as a teacher. In the past, I tended to think my subject was more important than everyone else’s, which gave me license to assign more homework. But now I view my students’ experience more holistically: All of their classes and the associated work must be considered, and respected.

As always, I ground this new pedagogical approach not just in what’s best for students’ academic learning, but also what’s best for them socially and emotionally. 2020 has been traumatic for educators, parents, and students. There is no doubt the level of trauma varies greatly ; however, one can’t argue with the fact that homework typically means more screen time when students are already spending most of the day on their devices. They need to rest their eyes. They need to not be sitting at their desks. They need physical activity. They need time to do nothing at all.

Eliminating or reducing homework is a social and emotional intervention, which brings me to the greatest benefit of reducing the homework load: Students are more invested in their relationship with me now that they have less homework. When students trust me to take their time seriously, when they trust me to listen to them and adjust accordingly, when they trust me to care for them... they trust more in general.

And what a beautiful world of learning can be built on trust.

The Main Library is closed for essential preventative maintenance with an anticipated reopening in late October.

Pruitt branch is closed for maintenance. We anticipate reopening in early fall.

Horrified by Homework? We’ve Got You Covered

Beat the Schoolwork Slog with our Library’s Free Resources

Picture this: you’ve just finished a long day of work. All you want to do is flop on the couch and zone out with Netflix or a good read. (We’d recommend the good read, but we’re biased.)

No such luck, friend. You might want to veg, but the kids are begging for your help with homework. The thought of dealing with more geometry just makes your stomach churn. And dinner isn’t going to make itself ...

Does this sound like you?

We get it. The life of a parent or caregiver for school-aged children can be chaotic, especially with everything going on in the world right now. Coupled with a new system of online-exclusive learning, the back-to-school season may have you feeling like you’re chained to a treadmill set to max speed.

But don’t despair just yet. Nashville Public Library (NPL) has some free tools that are perfect for helping your kids get an A+ on their schoolwork, while you hang on to your sanity … mostly.

PowerKnowledge for Power Parenting

Think back to your middle school science classes. Do you remember how to follow the scientific method? How far the Earth is from the sun? How photosynthesis works?

No? Guess what: we don’t either! You can still swap science facts with your kids like a pro with PowerKnowledge.

With this online compendium of all things science, your kids can quickly look up key facts about the earth, space, life, and physical sciences they need to know now. Each subject in this series comes with a handy list of topics for easy navigation and a search function if you just can’t find what you’re looking for.

And don’t worry — PowerKnowledge is written so that third through fifth graders can easily understand it. You’ll never have to feel embarrassed about not knowing the difference between a neutron and a proton ever again.

To explore the different topics covered, visit PowerKnowledge Earth and Space , PowerKnowledge Life Science , and PowerKnowledge Physical Science .

Knowledge + Fun Games = Happy Kids (and Happier Adults)

What would you turn to if your kid said they needed to write an essay on the Tennessee Legislature for social studies class, a brief overview of Beethoven for music class, and a timeline of the American Revolution for history class?

Oh, and what if it was all due tomorrow?

If your answer is “dive under the couch,” we wouldn’t blame you. Fortunately, we have a better solution.

TEL4U is a free online resource compiled by the Tennessee Electronic Library. It features a wide range of digital databases that cover Tennessee state history; movies, music, and the arts; a full range of encyclopedias; and much more.

What’s more, TEL4U has a great collection of browser-based games and quizzes to make learning fun for your kids.

Or, at least, distracting enough so you can, just maybe, take a break.

Bonus: if your kid learns best through digital interactivity, check out ReadyRosie for quick, engaging videos covering a wide variety of early childhood and parenting topics delivered right to your inbox.

Books that Read for You (No, Really!)

Which would you prefer: struggling with exhaustion while you read to your child, your speech slurring like something from a horror film, or having a warm voice read for you while they follow along and explore new words at their leisure?

Unless your kids just love scary sounds, you probably chose option two. In that case, we’ve got something you’re going to love.

NPL’s collection of talking books come with audio players attached to the physical book. These simple-to-use devices feature recordings of books that your little ones can pause, fast-forward, and rewind as they follow along.

They get the joy of having a story read to them while they learn at their own pace; you don’t have to sound like a Walking Dead cast member. What’s not to love?

To find our talking book series, visit our online catalog and search for “vox book” or “wonderbook.” Place a hold on the Talking Book version of the titles you want, and then choose from any one of our eight curbside service locations to pick them up.

Plus - Want to earn free prizes while your children read? Sign up for Read to Rise , our early literacy rewards program for readers and “listeners” from birth to age five, and start racking up points today. And remember — talking books count for Summer Reading Challenge points, too!

Ed's a proud member of NPL's Marketing and Communications team. Some of his favorite books include Dracula , Once an Eagle ,  Neuromancer ,  Starship Troopers ,  The Black Company ,  Berserk ,  Blade of the Immortal ,  Blame!  and Vampire Hunter D . When not at the Library, you'll find him spending time with his wife and son, doing interval training, reading, or waiting for the next FromSoftware game.

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Homework – Top 3 Pros and Cons

Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates

From dioramas to book reports, from algebraic word problems to research projects, whether students should be given homework, as well as the type and amount of homework, has been debated for over a century. [ 1 ]

While we are unsure who invented homework, we do know that the word “homework” dates back to ancient Rome. Pliny the Younger asked his followers to practice their speeches at home. Memorization exercises as homework continued through the Middle Ages and Enlightenment by monks and other scholars. [ 45 ]

In the 19th century, German students of the Volksschulen or “People’s Schools” were given assignments to complete outside of the school day. This concept of homework quickly spread across Europe and was brought to the United States by Horace Mann , who encountered the idea in Prussia. [ 45 ]

In the early 1900s, progressive education theorists, championed by the magazine Ladies’ Home Journal , decried homework’s negative impact on children’s physical and mental health, leading California to ban homework for students under 15 from 1901 until 1917. In the 1930s, homework was portrayed as child labor, which was newly illegal, but the prevailing argument was that kids needed time to do household chores. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 45 ] [ 46 ]

Public opinion swayed again in favor of homework in the 1950s due to concerns about keeping up with the Soviet Union’s technological advances during the Cold War . And, in 1986, the US government included homework as an educational quality boosting tool. [ 3 ] [ 45 ]

A 2014 study found kindergarteners to fifth graders averaged 2.9 hours of homework per week, sixth to eighth graders 3.2 hours per teacher, and ninth to twelfth graders 3.5 hours per teacher. A 2014-2019 study found that teens spent about an hour a day on homework. [ 4 ] [ 44 ]

Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the very idea of homework as students were schooling remotely and many were doing all school work from home. Washington Post journalist Valerie Strauss asked, “Does homework work when kids are learning all day at home?” While students were mostly back in school buildings in fall 2021, the question remains of how effective homework is as an educational tool. [ 47 ]

Is Homework Beneficial?

Pro 1 Homework improves student achievement. Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicated that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” [ 6 ] Students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework on both standardized tests and grades. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take-home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school. [ 10 ] Read More

Pro 2 Homework helps to reinforce classroom learning, while developing good study habits and life skills. Students typically retain only 50% of the information teachers provide in class, and they need to apply that information in order to truly learn it. Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer, co-founders of Teachers Who Tutor NYC, explained, “at-home assignments help students learn the material taught in class. Students require independent practice to internalize new concepts… [And] these assignments can provide valuable data for teachers about how well students understand the curriculum.” [ 11 ] [ 49 ] Elementary school students who were taught “strategies to organize and complete homework,” such as prioritizing homework activities, collecting study materials, note-taking, and following directions, showed increased grades and more positive comments on report cards. [ 17 ] Research by the City University of New York noted that “students who engage in self-regulatory processes while completing homework,” such as goal-setting, time management, and remaining focused, “are generally more motivated and are higher achievers than those who do not use these processes.” [ 18 ] Homework also helps students develop key skills that they’ll use throughout their lives: accountability, autonomy, discipline, time management, self-direction, critical thinking, and independent problem-solving. Freireich and Platzer noted that “homework helps students acquire the skills needed to plan, organize, and complete their work.” [ 12 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 49 ] Read More

Pro 3 Homework allows parents to be involved with children’s learning. Thanks to take-home assignments, parents are able to track what their children are learning at school as well as their academic strengths and weaknesses. [ 12 ] Data from a nationwide sample of elementary school students show that parental involvement in homework can improve class performance, especially among economically disadvantaged African-American and Hispanic students. [ 20 ] Research from Johns Hopkins University found that an interactive homework process known as TIPS (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork) improves student achievement: “Students in the TIPS group earned significantly higher report card grades after 18 weeks (1 TIPS assignment per week) than did non-TIPS students.” [ 21 ] Homework can also help clue parents in to the existence of any learning disabilities their children may have, allowing them to get help and adjust learning strategies as needed. Duke University Professor Harris Cooper noted, “Two parents once told me they refused to believe their child had a learning disability until homework revealed it to them.” [ 12 ] Read More

Con 1 Too much homework can be harmful. A poll of California high school students found that 59% thought they had too much homework. 82% of respondents said that they were “often or always stressed by schoolwork.” High-achieving high school students said too much homework leads to sleep deprivation and other health problems such as headaches, exhaustion, weight loss, and stomach problems. [ 24 ] [ 28 ] [ 29 ] Alfie Kohn, an education and parenting expert, said, “Kids should have a chance to just be kids… it’s absurd to insist that children must be engaged in constructive activities right up until their heads hit the pillow.” [ 27 ] Emmy Kang, a mental health counselor, explained, “More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies.” [ 48 ] Excessive homework can also lead to cheating: 90% of middle school students and 67% of high school students admit to copying someone else’s homework, and 43% of college students engaged in “unauthorized collaboration” on out-of-class assignments. Even parents take shortcuts on homework: 43% of those surveyed admitted to having completed a child’s assignment for them. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] Read More

Con 2 Homework exacerbates the digital divide or homework gap. Kiara Taylor, financial expert, defined the digital divide as “the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology and those that don’t. Though the term now encompasses the technical and financial ability to utilize available technology—along with access (or a lack of access) to the Internet—the gap it refers to is constantly shifting with the development of technology.” For students, this is often called the homework gap. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] 30% (about 15 to 16 million) public school students either did not have an adequate internet connection or an appropriate device, or both, for distance learning. Completing homework for these students is more complicated (having to find a safe place with an internet connection, or borrowing a laptop, for example) or impossible. [ 51 ] A Hispanic Heritage Foundation study found that 96.5% of students across the country needed to use the internet for homework, and nearly half reported they were sometimes unable to complete their homework due to lack of access to the internet or a computer, which often resulted in lower grades. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] One study concluded that homework increases social inequality because it “potentially serves as a mechanism to further advantage those students who already experience some privilege in the school system while further disadvantaging those who may already be in a marginalized position.” [ 39 ] Read More

Con 3 Homework does not help younger students, and may not help high school students. We’ve known for a while that homework does not help elementary students. A 2006 study found that “homework had no association with achievement gains” when measured by standardized tests results or grades. [ 7 ] Fourth grade students who did no homework got roughly the same score on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math exam as those who did 30 minutes of homework a night. Students who did 45 minutes or more of homework a night actually did worse. [ 41 ] Temple University professor Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek said that homework is not the most effective tool for young learners to apply new information: “They’re learning way more important skills when they’re not doing their homework.” [ 42 ] In fact, homework may not be helpful at the high school level either. Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth, stated, “I interviewed high school teachers who completely stopped giving homework and there was no downside, it was all upside.” He explains, “just because the same kids who get more homework do a little better on tests, doesn’t mean the homework made that happen.” [ 52 ] Read More

Discussion Questions

1. Is homework beneficial? Consider the study data, your personal experience, and other types of information. Explain your answer(s).

2. If homework were banned, what other educational strategies would help students learn classroom material? Explain your answer(s).

3. How has homework been helpful to you personally? How has homework been unhelpful to you personally? Make carefully considered lists for both sides.

Take Action

1. Examine an argument in favor of quality homework assignments from Janine Bempechat.

2. Explore Oxford Learning’s infographic on the effects of homework on students.

3. Consider Joseph Lathan’s argument that homework promotes inequality .

4. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the “other side of the issue” now helps you better argue your position.

5. Push for the position and policies you support by writing US national senators and representatives .

	1.	Tom Loveless, “Homework in America: Part II of the 2014 Brown Center Report of American Education,” brookings.edu, Mar. 18, 2014
	2.	Edward Bok, “A National Crime at the Feet of American Parents,”  , Jan. 1900
	3.	Tim Walker, “The Great Homework Debate: What’s Getting Lost in the Hype,” neatoday.org, Sep. 23, 2015
	4.	University of Phoenix College of Education, “Homework Anxiety: Survey Reveals How Much Homework K-12 Students Are Assigned and Why Teachers Deem It Beneficial,” phoenix.edu, Feb. 24, 2014
	5.	Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), “PISA in Focus No. 46: Does Homework Perpetuate Inequities in Education?,” oecd.org, Dec. 2014
	6.	Adam V. Maltese, Robert H. Tai, and Xitao Fan, “When is Homework Worth the Time?: Evaluating the Association between Homework and Achievement in High School Science and Math,”  , 2012
	7.	Harris Cooper, Jorgianne Civey Robinson, and Erika A. Patall, “Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Researcher, 1987-2003,”  , 2006
	8.	Gökhan Bas, Cihad Sentürk, and Fatih Mehmet Cigerci, “Homework and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review of Research,”  , 2017
	9.	Huiyong Fan, Jianzhong Xu, Zhihui Cai, Jinbo He, and Xitao Fan, “Homework and Students’ Achievement in Math and Science: A 30-Year Meta-Analysis, 1986-2015,”  , 2017
	10.	Charlene Marie Kalenkoski and Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia, “Does High School Homework Increase Academic Achievement?,” iza.og, Apr. 2014
	11.	Ron Kurtus, “Purpose of Homework,” school-for-champions.com, July 8, 2012
	12.	Harris Cooper, “Yes, Teachers Should Give Homework – The Benefits Are Many,” newsobserver.com, Sep. 2, 2016
	13.	Tammi A. Minke, “Types of Homework and Their Effect on Student Achievement,” repository.stcloudstate.edu, 2017
	14.	LakkshyaEducation.com, “How Does Homework Help Students: Suggestions From Experts,” LakkshyaEducation.com (accessed Aug. 29, 2018)
	15.	University of Montreal, “Do Kids Benefit from Homework?,” teaching.monster.com (accessed Aug. 30, 2018)
	16.	Glenda Faye Pryor-Johnson, “Why Homework Is Actually Good for Kids,” memphisparent.com, Feb. 1, 2012
	17.	Joan M. Shepard, “Developing Responsibility for Completing and Handing in Daily Homework Assignments for Students in Grades Three, Four, and Five,” eric.ed.gov, 1999
	18.	Darshanand Ramdass and Barry J. Zimmerman, “Developing Self-Regulation Skills: The Important Role of Homework,”  , 2011
	19.	US Department of Education, “Let’s Do Homework!,” ed.gov (accessed Aug. 29, 2018)
	20.	Loretta Waldman, “Sociologist Upends Notions about Parental Help with Homework,” phys.org, Apr. 12, 2014
	21.	Frances L. Van Voorhis, “Reflecting on the Homework Ritual: Assignments and Designs,”  , June 2010
	22.	Roel J. F. J. Aries and Sofie J. Cabus, “Parental Homework Involvement Improves Test Scores? A Review of the Literature,”  , June 2015
	23.	Jamie Ballard, “40% of People Say Elementary School Students Have Too Much Homework,” yougov.com, July 31, 2018
	24.	Stanford University, “Stanford Survey of Adolescent School Experiences Report: Mira Costa High School, Winter 2017,” stanford.edu, 2017
	25.	Cathy Vatterott, “Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs,” ascd.org, 2009
	26.	End the Race, “Homework: You Can Make a Difference,” racetonowhere.com (accessed Aug. 24, 2018)
	27.	Elissa Strauss, “Opinion: Your Kid Is Right, Homework Is Pointless. Here’s What You Should Do Instead.,” cnn.com, Jan. 28, 2020
	28.	Jeanne Fratello, “Survey: Homework Is Biggest Source of Stress for Mira Costa Students,” digmb.com, Dec. 15, 2017
	29.	Clifton B. Parker, “Stanford Research Shows Pitfalls of Homework,” stanford.edu, Mar. 10, 2014
	30.	AdCouncil, “Cheating Is a Personal Foul: Academic Cheating Background,” glass-castle.com (accessed Aug. 16, 2018)
	31.	Jeffrey R. Young, “High-Tech Cheating Abounds, and Professors Bear Some Blame,” chronicle.com, Mar. 28, 2010
	32.	Robin McClure, “Do You Do Your Child’s Homework?,” verywellfamily.com, Mar. 14, 2018
	33.	Robert M. Pressman, David B. Sugarman, Melissa L. Nemon, Jennifer, Desjarlais, Judith A. Owens, and Allison Schettini-Evans, “Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background,”  , 2015
	34.	Heather Koball and Yang Jiang, “Basic Facts about Low-Income Children,” nccp.org, Jan. 2018
	35.	Meagan McGovern, “Homework Is for Rich Kids,” huffingtonpost.com, Sep. 2, 2016
	36.	H. Richard Milner IV, “Not All Students Have Access to Homework Help,” nytimes.com, Nov. 13, 2014
	37.	Claire McLaughlin, “The Homework Gap: The ‘Cruelest Part of the Digital Divide’,” neatoday.org, Apr. 20, 2016
	38.	Doug Levin, “This Evening’s Homework Requires the Use of the Internet,” edtechstrategies.com, May 1, 2015
	39.	Amy Lutz and Lakshmi Jayaram, “Getting the Homework Done: Social Class and Parents’ Relationship to Homework,”  , June 2015
	40.	Sandra L. Hofferth and John F. Sandberg, “How American Children Spend Their Time,” psc.isr.umich.edu, Apr. 17, 2000
	41.	Alfie Kohn, “Does Homework Improve Learning?,” alfiekohn.org, 2006
	42.	Patrick A. Coleman, “Elementary School Homework Probably Isn’t Good for Kids,” fatherly.com, Feb. 8, 2018
	43.	Valerie Strauss, “Why This Superintendent Is Banning Homework – and Asking Kids to Read Instead,” washingtonpost.com, July 17, 2017
	44.	Pew Research Center, “The Way U.S. Teens Spend Their Time Is Changing, but Differences between Boys and Girls Persist,” pewresearch.org, Feb. 20, 2019
	45.	ThroughEducation, “The History of Homework: Why Was It Invented and Who Was behind It?,” , Feb. 14, 2020
	46.	History, “Why Homework Was Banned,” (accessed Feb. 24, 2022)
	47.	Valerie Strauss, “Does Homework Work When Kids Are Learning All Day at Home?,” , Sep. 2, 2020
	48.	Sara M Moniuszko, “Is It Time to Get Rid of Homework? Mental Health Experts Weigh In,” , Aug. 17, 2021
	49.	Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer, “The Worsening Homework Problem,” , Apr. 13, 2021
	50.	Kiara Taylor, “Digital Divide,” , Feb. 12, 2022
	51.	Marguerite Reardon, “The Digital Divide Has Left Millions of School Kids Behind,” , May 5, 2021
	52.	Rachel Paula Abrahamson, “Why More and More Teachers Are Joining the Anti-Homework Movement,” , Sep. 10, 2021

More School Debate Topics

Should K-12 Students Dissect Animals in Science Classrooms? – Proponents say dissecting real animals is a better learning experience. Opponents say the practice is bad for the environment.

Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms? – Proponents say uniforms may increase student safety. Opponents say uniforms restrict expression.

Should Corporal Punishment Be Used in K-12 Schools? – Proponents say corporal punishment is an appropriate discipline. Opponents say it inflicts long-lasting physical and mental harm on students.

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Kaleidoscope: Educator Voices and Perspectives

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We’ve All Got Homework to Do

What do I do with my realization that I have been oblivious to, ignorant of, and complicit in racism?

I’m a transgender man who transitioned back in college; as a visibly transgender man at that time, I had to constantly defend my claim to manhood. It felt like the only way I could do that was to conform to very expectation society placed on me as a man. By the end of college I was burnt-out on defending my identity and reaching for alternatives. After starting testosterone and having top surgery, I’m typically assumed to be a cisgender man by most people, making it my choice whether or not to share that I’m transgender.

The idea of not needing to fight the battle of my identity seemed especially appealing since, as a first-year teacher, there were plenty of other battles I needed to fight (for example: “Don’t sharpen your pencil while I’m giving instructions.”). So, in my first year teaching, I decided to stay in the closet.

After six years of teaching without talking about my own trans-ness, it became clear my middle schoolers were more trans-aware than I had realized. One transitioned—and they and their friends didn’t even know I was trans! The following year, at a Gender and Sexuality Alliance meeting, another asked me if I was trans because he had heard rumors that I was. I realized that, by not talking about my trans-ness outright, I was unintentionally sending the message that being transgender was something taboo, something not to discuss, and perhaps even something about which to be ashamed.

I realized I needed to come out to my students so the ones who were trans and gender non-conforming could have a visible role model of an adult who was like them. I also feared my cisgender students would grow up thinking they’d never met a trans person because no one “looked like” the trans women they saw in the media.

I wound up coming out twice that year: first to my own classes during a special lesson I created for the GLSEN Day of Silence, and then to the whole school, on stage, during the annual Gender and Sexuality Alliance assembly. I shared the differences between gender identity, gender expression, and sex assigned at birth. I explained the distinctions between cisgender people (people whose gender identities and sex assigned at birth align) and transgender people like me (people whose gender identities and sex assigned at birth don’t line up).

My story had major impacts on my school community. One of my students immediately texted his mom that his favorite teacher, me, was transgender—just like his older brother! His mom later told me I had become a powerful role model for him in seeing his brother’s trans-ness differently: now he had an image of what a trans man could be like as a successful adult. This made me realize how vital it was to be out and visible—not just for the trans students I might teach, but also for the family members and friends of transgender people.

Following that assembly, colleagues thanked me for sharing my story, expressing that they couldn’t imagine my bravery, getting up on stage and sharing something so personal. And my principal stopped me in the hallway that afternoon to thank me, and expressed, “Today, I learned that I’m cisgender. Thank you.”

Now, I had two minds about this moment with my principal. On the one hand, I was super proud of myself for educating my principal and my coworkers about these terms. And, as I shared my story, my audience was showing me their homework. I had successfully prompted this moment by sharing my own vulnerability and my expectation that they’d be vulnerable, too.

At the same time, I was angry. I was angry that it had to wait for me, a transgender person, to bring these issues to their attention. It angered me because my principal was in charge of a middle school in Chelsea, in New York City, and didn’t even know the terminology to describe gender in a more nuanced and complex way—a necessity of modern society! By not taking responsibility for her own education, my principal had made her gender education my responsibility.

Last fall, I attended a Social Justice Saturday event at Teachers College, and I went to a discussion with Tricia Ebarvia and Dr. Kim Parker from the #DisruptTexts Movement . They asked us to critically examine our media consumption. What marginalized voices were missing? I began to recognize something I’d overlooked: my schooling hadn’t included Black authors and bookstores had taught me “their” literature was different than mine and belonged in its own section.

But it was in this moment of recognizing that I hadn’t read influential black authors like Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, or Audre Lorde that I had a deeply uncomfortable realization: I’d never done anything to take responsibility for my own anti-racist education.

That thing my principal had done where she was just a well-wishing bystander but not actually doing anything to proactively promote trans liberation? That’s been me and my White identity.

That thing my principal had done where she was just a well-wishing bystander but not actually doing anything to proactively promote trans liberation? That’s been me and my White identity. There’s a parallel here of “Oh no! I didn’t do my homework!” But meanwhile, I’m mad at my principal for not having done her homework either.

I suddenly developed compassion for my former principal and her “discovery” that she was cisgender. I realized that, in the same way she hadn’t sought out sources on gender, I hadn’t sought out sources on race or racism. More was required from me than just relying on people of color to educate me and point out sources and vocabulary to me.

Examining these two events made me recognize how easy it is to be a part of one oppressed group (in my case, trans people) and, simultaneously, a member of an oppressing group (White people). Just because I might know much about the LGBTQ+ community’s experience of oppression, both from my own experiences and from reading and researching about queer history and talking with other LGBTQ+ people, including my community’s elders, doesn’t mean that I’m educated about all oppression. In fact, I have been oblivious to, ignorant of, and complicit in racism. I asked myself, “What do I do with this realization?” Happily, I’m a teacher, and I am unafraid of homework.

I found my own experiences as a trans person ignited the fire of my anti-racism work, shifting me from being a sympathetic bystander to an active accomplice willing to show up and do the work to examine my own whiteness. And even more importantly, as a teacher, I found myself willing to push my colleagues to analyze the systemic things that we can change as the adults with power in the building, instead of just encouraging our students to advocate for themselves. I also wanted to model how to be an anti-racist for all of my students, especially the White ones.

I found myself willing to push my colleagues to analyze the systemic things that we can change as the adults with power in the building, instead of just encouraging our students to advocate for themselves.

I made a commitment this year to read more Black authors, to consume more media produced by people of color, and to ensure that I use my summer to read up on the voices I’d overlooked and missed, so that I can be a better accomplice and a better ally. To be in solidarity with other anti-racists, I must be proactive, rather than wait for someone else to do the work. I must seek out the sources on my own and do my own homework, rather than rely on others to share their knowledge with me for free.

Representation matters: growing up, I didn’t know any trans men. Most of the visions of masculinity I had from society were toxic ones, so when I transitioned, I didn’t know how to enact my own masculinity without reenacting some of those problematic behaviors. It’s for this reason I decided to be out as queer and trans to act as a model for my LGBTQ+ students and their friends and family.

Now, I recognize that I must also be out and visible as a White anti-racist. It is no longer enough to talk the talk, or even to walk the walk. It is now imperative that I also show my students how to walk the walk. And yes: they’ll be assigned homework too, the same way that I was, the same way that everyone should be.

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Kit Golan is a Math for America Master Teacher in his 10th year of teaching math at a public middle school in New York City. He is dedicated to crafting experiences for his students that invite them to mathematize their lives and see math as a tool for making sense of, explaining, and evaluating their lives. Kit also serves as a co-advisor for his school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance and organized a contingent of his MfA fellowship teachers for the NYC Pride March in June 2019. He is constantly reflecting on his teaching practice on his blog teachdomore.wordpress.com and on Twitter ( @MrKitMath ). Reach Kit at [email protected] .

• LGBTQ teachers
• transgender
• transgender rights
• antiracism teaching
• antiracist teacher
• LGBTQIA teachers
• anti-racist teacher
• anti-racism
• LGBTQ students
• social justice
• LGBT students
• LGBTQIA students
• anti-racist teaching
• gender sexuality alliance
• gender and sexuality alliance
• LGBT teachers
• anti-racist

Golan, K. (2020). We’ve all got homework to do. Kaleidoscope: Educator Voices and Perspectives, 7 (1), 22–24.

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Got Homework? We’ve Got Help!

This time of year means back to school and back to books for the children of Raynham. School is in session; classrooms are full, and expectations are high for another successful academic year. Here at the library, it means that it’s time for us to update our lists of homework resources and prepare to answer questions for children eager to complete their assignments. This is an important part of the library’s mission – to help children succeed in school.

We do this in several ways. We purchase books for the elementary and upper grades that support the CORE curriculum. We provide a webpage of homework resources with links to full text articles, encyclopedias and online resources, and we connect with teachers to make them aware that the public library is a source they can rely on throughout the school year.

The resources children have access to is, for the lack of a better word, amazing! We no longer think of resources as simply books on a shelf, but as a wide range of online databases, apps and electronic educational learning tools. A click of a mouse can bring up articles from today’s news headlines, or from any of a range of popular or scholarly magazines and journals. Search results may include videos, interactive maps, timelines, photographs, or audio recordings.

Many of the electronic resources offered on our Homework Resources webpage are provided by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. All school children in the state have equal access to grade level appropriate electronic encyclopedias and full text databases covering general information, biographies, health, history, literature, science, social and world issues. No library card is needed to view, download or print. Simply enter a search term, click the search button and sort through the results. It can be overwhelming for the first time user.

To help parents and children sort through all the library has to offer for homework support, we are holding an evening information session at the library on Tuesday, September 24 at 6:30 pm. We’ll provide an overview of the services and resources for elementary and middle school students, talk about how to access the library remotely, how to use online resources, and how to locate resources in the library. The open forum allows time to ask questions and network with other parents. Please register online in Coming Events on the library’s webpage, raynhmpubliclibrary.org. 

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How to write a perfect essay

Need to write an essay? Does the assignment feel as big as climbing Mount Everest? Fear not. You’re up to the challenge! The following step-by step tips from the Nat Geo Kids Almanac will help you with this monumental task. 

Sometimes the subject matter of your essay is assigned to you, sometimes it’s not. Either way, you have to decide what you want to say. Start by brainstorming some ideas, writing down any thoughts you have about the subject. Then read over everything you’ve come up with and consider which idea you think is the strongest. Ask yourself what you want to write about the most. Keep in mind the goal of your essay. Can you achieve the goal of the assignment with this topic? If so, you’re good to go.

WRITE A TOPIC SENTENCE

This is the main idea of your essay, a statement of your thoughts on the subject. Again, consider the goal of your essay. Think of the topic sentence as an introduction that tells your reader what the rest of your essay will be about.

OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS

Once you have a good topic sentence, you then need to support that main idea with more detailed information, facts, thoughts, and examples. These supporting points answer one question about your topic sentence—“Why?” This is where research and perhaps more brainstorming come in. Then organize these points in the way you think makes the most sense, probably in order of importance. Now you have an outline for your essay.

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, WRITE!

Follow your outline, using each of your supporting points as the topic sentence of its own paragraph. Use descriptive words to get your ideas across to the reader. Go into detail, using specific information to tell your story or make your point. Stay on track, making sure that everything you include is somehow related to the main idea of your essay. Use transitions to make your writing flow.

Finish your essay with a conclusion that summarizes your entire essay and 5 restates your main idea.

PROOFREAD AND REVISE

Check for errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. Look for ways to make your writing clear, understandable, and interesting. Use descriptive verbs, adjectives, or adverbs when possible. It also helps to have someone else read your work to point out things you might have missed. Then make the necessary corrections and changes in a second draft. Repeat this revision process once more to make your final draft as good as you can.

Download the pdf .

Homework help

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“I can’t do it,” George groaned, and brought his forehead to rest on the block of lined paper in front of him.

“Can’t do what?” I asked, looking up from peeling the carrots for the evening meal. I work from home, so I’m around when George gets in from school. He sits at the kitchen table, and I bring him some milk in his Manchester United mug and a plate with a teatime snack. This might be a slice of toast and honey with a peeled satsuma from which I have removed any stray threads of pith, or perhaps an apple, cored and cut into fine slices, with a few cubes of Cheddar.

Quite often I’m not able to stop what I’m doing, and then I have to stay put. I call out from my desk to say hello when I hear the front door. He calls hello back and makes his way to the television. I’d rather catch up on work in the evening, but I don’t always have a choice.

“Can’t do what?” I repeated. “I’m sure you can.”

“You don’t know . Everybody says it’s really hard. And now I’ve got to give it in for tomorrow.”

“Why do you do this? Why do you leave it to the last minute?”

That’s another wonderful thing about George—you can tell him off and he won’t immediately go into orbit like some I could mention. He’s not a great one for flying off the handle.

“It’s just so hard,” he moaned.

“Now, come on,” I said, drying my hands and patting his nice strong shoulder. “Sit up and tell me what it is. You never know, I might be able to help.”

“It’s Mr. Mottram,” he said, heaving himself up from his slump. “It’s English, so it should be all right, but he still wants to make it hard. We’ve got to do three sides of paper out of our own heads.”

George is already taller than me and can lift me off the ground. One or two of his friends have had their growth spurts, so that I find myself deferring to the sudden height and booming voice of a boy whom last year I knew as a clear-skinned little pipsqueak.

“What is it, this terrible task he’s set you?”

“ ‘Write About an Event That Changed Your Life,’ ” George said with mournful sarcasm. “ That’s what it is.”

“Three pages is a lot.” Then a thought occurred to me. “You’ve had all the Easter holidays to do this, haven’t you? And you just didn’t let on about it. Now it’s your first week back and the chickens have come home to roost.”

“I know,” he said, spreading his hands palms upward in front of him. “There’s no excuse.”

“What have your friends done?”

“Dylan’s written about when he went to a football match with his uncle, Crystal Palace versus Queens Park Rangers, and realized Crystal Palace was the team he wanted to follow for the rest of his life.”

“I can’t see how he filled three sides of paper with that.”

“He said it only took up one page even in big writing,” George said. “Now he’s got to, you know, pad it out. He’s going to describe all the Crystal Palace matches he’s been to since then, one at a time.”

Serves Mr. Mottram right, I thought; I don’t know what he can be expecting from a class of thirteen-year-olds. They can’t know what a life-changing event is at their age. How can they know if what happened to them last year will have changed them in twenty years’ time? They won’t know till they get there.

“I shouldn’t really help you,” I said. “I should leave you to get on with it. But if I do . . .”

“Yes?” George said, propped up on his elbows, eying me with wary optimism.

“ If I help you, you’ve got to understand it’s only this once.”

“Course,” he said with a beaming smile of relief. “You know I’m not like that, Mum.”

“Yes.” I smiled back. “I do know. I trust you.”

“ ’Cause you can,” he said, shrugging.

“All right then, let’s think.”

I sat down at the kitchen table and watched him assume a thoughtful expression. He furrowed his brow and chewed at the end of his Biro, then caught my eye and started to giggle.

“I’d rather write about anything else in the world,” he complained.

“Just think,” I said. “In fifty years’ time you might really want to write about the Event That Changed Your Life. In your old age you might find you’re desperate to set down your memories. Look at Grandma.”

My mother had recently filled half a red Silvine exercise book with startlingly deadpan revelations. Her father had, at the age of fourteen, rejected a future as a farm laborer and walked down from Wakefield to London to find work; at first he slept wrapped in old newspaper on benches along the Embankment. That was before he went to fight in France. His father had been, among other things, a prizefighter at country fairs, more or less on the wrong side of the law all his life.

“No,” George said, shaking his head firmly. “ Boring .”

“You might find it interesting when you get older,” I persisted. “I never knew that her mother, your great-grandmother, was found as a newborn baby wrapped in a flour sack on the church steps early one Sunday morning. That accounts for a lot.”

I’m glad I wasn’t born at a time when you had to stay with the father of your children even if he broke your jaw.

“Where was I born?” asked George, who knew perfectly well.

“Willesden General,” I said. “Then I kept you beside me in a basket all the time for months and months. You were a lovely mild baby, like a dewdrop.”

George smiled a gratified smile. “But I did cry sometimes,” he prompted.

“Yes, but when you cried it just made me laugh,” I said. “You didn’t wail in a high-pitched way; no, it was more like the roar of a lion, and then only when you wanted milk. When you were hungry, you just roared!”

He smirked at this and gave an illustrative growl.

Following his birth, I’d had an urge to find out more about my family tree. After a while I gave up. It had branches and twigs and leaves in every corner of the British Isles. There were shipwrights and ropemakers in Northumberland, laborers in Lincolnshire, watchmen and peddlers and blacksmiths from Ipswich and Barnstaple and Carlisle. The further back I went, the further afield they spread out. It seemed pointless. George was from all over the place.

“Life-changing events,” I said, returning to the business in hand. “Let’s think of some examples.”

“If you win the lottery,” George suggested.

“Or lose all your money,” I said. “Go bankrupt like Dad’s dad. Skip the country like my uncle Colin.”

“Yes,” George said, pen poised, looking less hopeful.

“What would change the life of a thirteen-year-old, though? That’s the question,” I reminded myself. “The death of a parent, certainly, but I don’t want you writing about that because it might bring bad luck.”

“Jacob’s mother died,” George commented. “He doesn’t want to talk about it.”

“No,” I said. “Poor Jacob. What did she die of?”

“He says cancer. But Ranjit told me it wasn’t that, it was a bottle of tablets.” George shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“No,” I said again. Jacob would get by till middle age, probably, when he would step onto this death as onto the tines of a garden fork, and the solid shaft of the handle would rear up and hit him in the face.

“So, not death,” I said. “Because that’s the obvious one. No, it’ll have to be your parents’ divorce.”

“But you’re not divorced.”

“Well, we are in this story.”

“He’ll think it’s really true,” George said, looking worried.

“So?” I said. “It’ll fill three sides of paper. Let’s have the mum leaving the dad for a change, rather than the other way around. And you have to move from your family house to a flat, and your new bedroom is tiny and you have to share it with your little brother, who drives you mad.”

“I haven’t got a little brother.”

“Mr. Mottram doesn’t know that.”

My siblings are scattered far and wide. Sharon runs a bed-and-breakfast up by Hadrian’s Wall. Valerie has an alpha-male job in the City, just like her husband, and they live in a big house in Wimbledon. Keith has had various irons in the fire over the years, but now he’s teaching English as a foreign language in China. Very modern Britain, our family.

George looked at me warily. I could see that he was torn between his natural fantasy-hating honesty and a desire to have someone else do his homework.

“Is it allowed?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “It’s English, isn’t it? Don’t they call this bit creative writing? Well, you’re just being creative.”

“Ha,” George said.

“Inventive,” I added. “It’s a good thing. Listen, you want to watch the match tonight, don’t you? Chelsea versus Liverpool, isn’t it?”

“In which case you’d better get this homework finished before dinner. Which I’m doing specially for seven o’clock, because I know you like all that warmup chat beforehand.”

“Thanks, Mum.”

I couldn’t resist giving him a hug, the roaring dewdrop baby who had grown into this broad-shouldered boy. Last week I’d been making flapjacks while he stood by to lick the spoon, and I mentioned that I’d always liked the picture of the lion on the Golden Syrup tin. “Out of the strong came forth sweetness,” he read aloud, peering at the green-and-gold picture. “That’s what’s written underneath it.” I never knew that before.

“Have you got your pen ready? I’m not going to write this for you, you know; I’m only going to give you ideas.”

“O.K.,” he agreed. He was in no position to object.

“Your parents had been having arguments for years. You remember the slammed doors and bitter words from when you were little,” I began.

George started to write.

“You tried to blot it out, but you couldn’t help feeling upset inside. It got into your dreams. You could put a bad dream in, George; that would take up a few lines.”

“What about?”

“Oh, an earthquake perhaps,” I said. “I was always dreaming about earthquakes and floods and fires when I was your age. Or you’re in a house and it falls down around you and you try to run, but the ground opens up in front of you.”

“To pad it out a bit?” George said.

“If you like. Then there’s the divorce, which is a relief after all the fighting.”

“Why did Auntie Sharon get divorced?”

“I don’t know,” I said, tutting. “They seemed quite happy to start with, but then Mike turned into a bear with a sore head when she had the twins. Some people find domestic life more of a trial than others.”

“Dad loves domestic,” George commented. “On Fridays when he gets back home, he says, ‘Ah, domestic bliss.’ ”

“Yes, well,” I said with a stunted smile.

“Auntie Sharon lives in the nicest place, and she’s got three dogs, but Auntie Valerie’s got the best job,” George said. “Her family goes on the best holidays, and they’ve got an Audi and a BMW. I want a BMW when I get a job. That’s the first thing I’ll buy.”

“Oh, really.” I sniffed. “The only time they all manage to get together as a family is when they go on some expensive safari thousands of miles away.”

“Just because they’ve got good jobs,” George said, “you shouldn’t be jealous.”

“I’m not jealous!” I declared. “How could I be jealous of anyone working those ridiculous hours? They’ve sold their souls.”

“Oh, Mum,” George said reprovingly.

“Anyway, after the divorce you have to move house and change schools.”

“Because you do. Money. Jobs. And you go and live with your father and your little brother, and you visit your mother at weekends. You might even ask if you can go and live with your grandma for a while.”

“Why?” George said again, large-eyed, even more down in the mouth.

“For a break,” I said absently.

Grow up in certain homes and it’s like being out on a cold, choppy sea in an open dinghy with two angry fishermen in charge. Or sometimes just a single fisherman, who is, what’s more, drunk. Whereas with a grandparent life for a child can be less dangerous, more like being afloat on a reservoir.

“What happens next?”

“The mum wants a new start. She wants to see the world! Everybody else has.”

“But, Mum, Mr. Mottram will think it’s really you.”

“When you think about it,” I mused, “it’s none of Mr. Mottram’s business. He should only be interested in it as a piece of writing. Is it a good piece of writing? Is it convincing?”

“What if he asks me?” George muttered.

“He won’t. He’s an English teacher, isn’t he, not a psychotherapist. So if he did ask you he’d just be being nosy.”

George shrugged helplessly.

When I went to live with my grandmother for a while, she had enough to eat but not quite enough to keep warm. She was over seventy, but she had kept on one of her old cleaning jobs—Mrs. Blincoe—mainly for the sake of being in a house with central heating. I’d go along to help with the floors; then, while she polished and dusted, I’d puzzle over the Latin homework that held my enfranchisement. She never considered this work demeaning, and in fact looked down on Mrs. Blincoe as an unfeminine woman, a cold woman who had made her husband lonely and who did not grieve when he died but said, “Now I’m free to do what I want to do,” and went off round the world on various package holidays. The cheerful bearded sailor on her packet of Players was as close as my grandmother ever got to the sea. She cooked with a cigarette in her mouth; quite often ash would fall into the gravy, and she would stir it in as extra seasoning.

“Listen, you’re doing ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ aren’t you?” I continued. “Do you think Shakespeare got asked whether he’d ever grown donkey’s ears?”

George smiled briefly.

“Right. So you see your mum at weekends, and one weekend she tells you she wants to go to Peru and asks if she can borrow your Duke of Edinburgh rucksack. She promises she’ll send you postcards. It’s just something she’s got to do to move forward in her life.”

George scribbled away, not happy with where the story line was going but incapable of coming up with an alternative. I felt powerful, like a magician pulling rabbits out of a hat.

“I still don’t think it’s allowed,” he said.

“Of course it’s allowed,” I said. “You’ve got to have things happening, see, or it’s not a story. Think of the films you like. Car chases. Explosions. Sharks.”

“Can the mum be swimming in the China Sea and then a shark comes up?” George asked hopefully, trying to enter into the creative spirit.

“Probably not,” I said dryly. “That might be a step too far for Mr. Mottram, don’t you think?”

“But you said—”

“Yes, but we’ve got to make it believable. It’s like a game, isn’t it? He shouldn’t be able to tell what’s real and what’s made up.”

“I’d like to go to Japan,” George said. “They’ve got the new Nintendo Wii there, and I could get it way ahead of everybody else. Plus, you don’t have to have injections to go there.”

“Next,” I said. “I think the dad meets someone else, don’t you? At first he’s just been going to work and coming back and cooking nasty teas. You’ve had to help—buying a loaf of bread on the way home from school, that sort of thing, and doing the washing up without being asked.”

“Isn’t there a dishwasher in the new place?”

“It’s broken. And nobody gets round to finding someone to mend it, and, anyway, you’re all out all day. Maybe your little brother can be in because he’s ill, though. Chicken pox.”

“My little brother can’t be left on his own,” George objected. “If he’s seven or eight or something. That’s against the law.”

“O.K., you’ve got an older sister instead.”

“ She can cook,” he said with satisfaction. The meals were worrying him.

“No, she can’t,” I said. “She just eats crisps and bananas. No, it’s the dad that has to do it after work, unless you start teaching yourself from a cookbook.”

George looked up from his pad suspiciously. I was always trying to get him interested in cutting up broccoli florets or making omelettes.

“The dad should do it,” he protested. “I’m a kid, it’s not my job. Kids should be looked after by their parents.”

“You’re thirteen, George!” I said. I was about to bring up the walk from Wakefield, but then I stopped myself. “Oh well, it’s your story. The dad does the cooking, but it’s always pasta.”

“Cool,” George said, grinning.

“And the pasta is always soggy.” I scowled. “Feel free to carry on.”

“No, no,” he said. “After you.”

“He’s been trying to cook, but he’s no good at it. Then he meets, let’s see, Miranda. You know she’s not nasty or anything, but she’s got nothing to do with you. And he starts including her in on everything.”

“She’s always there when he’s around, watching television with you, in between you on the sofa.”

“What, even when football’s on?”

“Yes. She pretends to like it. She says she’s a Chelsea supporter.”

“Chelsea,” George said grimly.

“One weekend your mum tells you she’s off backpacking in three days’ time, first stop Thailand,” I continued. “We need to wind this up, George. She promises she’ll send postcards. You could have them arriving a bit later on with little messages—you know, ate fried tortoise, went bungee jumping, that sort of thing. You could stick them on the fridge so Miranda can see them.”

“Maybe she can cook.”

“Not likely,” I said. “She’s not interested in food. She doesn’t see why she should, anyway. Why should she? Then it’s the last straw. You’ve just had another of these postcards; the mum’s got as far as Australia. And your dad announces that your holiday this year is camping in Wales—there’s no money for anything else. He can stretch to walking boots for you and your sister, but that’s it.”

“Wales,” George said, with leaden emphasis.

“I think you can leave it somewhere there,” I said airily. “It’s April now—people are planning their summer holidays. Mr. Mottram will buy that.”

“But how do I finish it off?”

“You don’t have to really; you don’t have to solve everything. It’s not a police procedural. But you’re right, you do need something.”

“I know,” I said. “Pull in your love of football. All these months since the divorce you’ve turned to football to help you forget. This year you’ve been following the Champions’ League with a passion. Is your team doing all right in it? Manchester United?”

“Last night’s game was amazing , Mum,” George said earnestly. “Rooney scored this goal in the ninety-first minute, and I couldn’t believe it.” He shook his head in wonder. “It was unbelievable.”

“Was he happy?”

“He did this full-body dive all the way along the grass, then he lay with his head on his arms, and they all bundled in on top of him. We were playing at home, though—it might not be so good in the away match.”

“You can put all that in, just like you’ve told it to me.” I’d been struck by a thought. “Now, what does the Man U crowd chant when it wants the team to win? You know, like Tottenham’s is ‘Come on, you Spu-urs.’ ”

“ united ! united !” George chanted automatically.

“There you are,” I said. “That’s your last paragraph. You explain how football has got you through your parents’ divorce. You describe Rooney’s great goal in the ninety-first minute. How your team means so much to you. Then you write how you joined in with the TV crowd shouting, “ united ! united !” And you round it off with the words ‘Ironic, really.’ ”

“Ha,” said George, who wasn’t slow on the uptake, even if the pilot light of his imagination had yet to flare into action. He smiled reluctantly and started to write this down.

I looked at his fair head bent over the writing pad. The time for advice was almost gone. Beware heat without warmth. When a man loses his temper, people say, That’s the Irish in him, or the Scottish, or the Viking. Don’t listen to them. Dirty players or terriers are what they call footballers with that anger-stoked edge, but strength without sweetness is no use at all.

“Ironic because?” I asked.

“The mum and the dad. They’re not united.”

“There you are.”

I glanced at the kitchen clock.

“I’ve got to get on,” I said. “I’ve got my own work to do.”

“That’s all right,” he said, smiling up at me. “You go. I can do it now.” ♦

Gateway B1 Unit 5 Grammar

Complete the sentences with the correct comparative or superlative form of theseadjectives. In your answer write only the correct form of the adjective.bad • big • funny • important • intelligent

Correct the mistakes in the sentences.example 1: for me dramas are the more interesting than comedies.correct answer: are more interesting.example 2:  the weather today is as cold than it was yesterday.                                                   correct answer: as cold as , complete the text with too or enough., a: which actor has …………………………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……… house in hollywoodb: i don’t know. maybe it’s ashton kutcher., my sister, bea, is ………………………..……..………..……..………..……..………..………… member of our family. she can speakfive languages and she’s really good at maths., i love the new cartoon series. it’s much ……………..……..………..……..………..……..………..…………………… the last one..

Rate this question:

A: Is it …………………..……..………..……..………..……..………..……………… to do my maths homework or my English?B: Your maths homework. We’ve got a test tomorrow.

My handwriting is a lot ………………..……..………..……..………..……..………..………………… it was in the past. it’s because i text all the time., the film last night was the more interesting than i was expecting., for me, maths is less interesting as science., my english essay is a lot worst than yours, some people say that chinese mandarin is the more difficult language to learn in the world, monica cruz is not as famous than her sister penelope., my dad has just bought a new tv. he said the old one was  ……………………… small and he couldn’t see the screen., but the tv he has bought now is ……………………… big, my mum’s really angry and she says we haven’t got ……………………… space in the living room, she thinks it was (4) ……………………… expensive, and she doesn’t think the programmes are good (5) ……………………… to buy a giant tv..

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Ready for More ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4? We’ve Got the First Official Look at Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek

Fans may know her as Sophie Beckett in the “Bridgerton” book series, but in season four of Shondaland’s hit Netflix series, it’s Sophie Baek who bewitches Benedict Bridgerton.

We know we’ve had to keep this from you for so long, dearest gentle readers, but now we’re able to take the mask off to reveal …

Sophie Baek! Bridgerton season four has finally found its leading man’s leading lady in Yerin Ha, and we couldn’t be more delighted to introduce her. For much of her life, Sophie, who fans of the book series will remember as Sophie Beckett, has been forced to work as a maid for one of the most demanding employers in the ton. But Sophie’s resourcefulness helps her persevere through her circumstances — circumstances that will drastically change after she makes the fateful (and risky!) decision to disguise herself in order to attend Lady Violet Bridgerton’s masquerade ball. It’s there that she meets Benedict Bridgerton — who’s still aimless, still loveless — and changes the course of both their lives.

Here, we’ve got a little visual tease as to what we can expect from the plucky maid whose dreams far outshine her station.

In this first official video, Ha may be in everyday clothes, but not without a nod to her masquerade ball alter ego, thanks to those silver shoes and gloves. Maybe it’s the sincerity on her face, or maybe it’s the rack of gowns, but either way, it’s a thrilling few moments’ look into season four.

A South Korean actor from Australia, Ha is best known for her role as Kwan Ha alongside Pablo Schreiber in Paramount+’s epic Halo series. And before she graces our Netflix accounts alongside Luke Thompson as Benedict in season four of Bridgerton , she’ll be a part of HBO’s highly anticipated prequel series Dune: Prophecy along with our very own Charithra Chandran , who played Edwina Sharma in season two of Bridgerton .

Ha grew up in Sydney with acting in her blood — her parents met in drama school, and her grandmother was also an actor! — so by the time she was 15, she knew she wanted to pursue acting as a career. After moving back to South Korea, Ha was accepted into Kaywon High School of Arts and then returned to Sydney for her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre at Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Art, the alma mater of Cate Blanchett, Murray Bartlett, Sam Worthington and many other well-revered actors.

Before she got her first TV role, in the short-lived French-American crime drama Reef Break , Ha co-starred in a stage production of Lord of the Flies alongside Mia Wasikowska and Eliza Scanlen at Sydney Theatre Company. And now, we’re thrilled to welcome her to the Shondaland family and have her play such an integral role in Benedict’s love story in season four.

As always, do feel free to sift through all our incredible Bridgerton content, including behind-the-scenes videos and interviews, profiles, Q&As, and more with cast members and creatives. And continue to stay tuned to Shondaland.com for more about season four of Bridgerton as we bring you the best access to its stars and creatives.

Valentina Valentini is a London-based entertainment, travel, and food writer and is also a senior contributor to Shondaland. Elsewhere, she has written for Vanity Fair , Vulture , Variety , Thrillist , Heated , and The Washington Post . Her personal essays can be read in the Los Angeles Times and Longreads , and her tangents and general complaints can be seen on Twitter at @ByValentinaV .

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49 No-Fail Gifts for Women That Definitely Won't Get Returned

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

When you're buying a gift for the woman in your life—no matter the occasion—we live by a singular rule: Shop from her wishlist, not her to-do list. Start by thinking about who she is as a person—does she like dabbing on lotions and potions in the name of self-care? Is she a self-proclaimed homebody who wants to be surrounded by beautiful things? Do the finest kitchen gadgets fill her cup?

Then, once you've nailed your shopping category, dazzle her with the latest-and-greatest from brands like Augustinus Bader, Our Place, D.S. & Durga, and more. Shop for her dreams of being cocooned in linen and cashmere. Add to her bar cart with glitzy pitchers and glossy glassware. Here are the best gifts for women at every price point.

The Best No-Fail Gifts for Women, at a Glance

• The Best Beauty Gift: J. Hannah Nail Polish Collection , $67
• The Best Kitchen Gift: Sophie Lou Jacobsen Wave Glass Pitcher, $195
• The Best Home Gift: D.S & Durga Big Sur After Rain Candle , $70
• The Best Tech Gift: Oura Horizon Ring , $499
• The Best Fitness Gift: Nike InfinityRN 4 Blueprint , $160
• The Best Style Gift: Madewell The Beverley Mary Jane Flat , $138

Red Light Face Mask

Soft Services

Theraplush Overnight Repair Treatment

Sangra de Fruta

Botanical Bar Soap (Set of 3)

Sangre de Fruta

D.S. & Durga

Deluxe Box Set

J. Hannah x The Met Tudors

Nail Polish Collection

Beauty Box 1-Year Subscription

Exfoliating Hand Wash

Supersonic Nural Hair Dryer

Augustinus Bader

The Rich Cream

Almost Lipstick Tinted Lip Balm in Black Honey

Pulcina Stove Top Espresso Maker

Ferm Living

Brown Cairn Cutting Board Set

Vintage Finish Faux Tortoise Cake Server

Eye Candy Espresso Set

Tonal Resin Cake Stand

It steals a little bit of the shine from the desserts it's displaying, but that's okay—it’s still a thoughtful gift.

Starter Set

Just moved into a new apartment? It's high time she had some fresh kitchenware to replace the ones with random chips and mysterious stains.

Musui-kamado Cast Iron Induction Cooker

Remember when we said that the best gift ideas are the ones from her wish list, not her to-do list? If she genuinely loves being in the kitchen, this luxe Japanese cookware—a dutch oven with its own induction burner—will open up a whole new world of recipes.

NAMA J2 Juicer

Sophie Lou Jacobsen

Wave Glass Pitcher

MoMA Design Store

The Toaster

Lightweight Water Bottle With Silicone Strap

Lulu & Georgia

Flamingo Estate

The Chef's Kiss

Original Coffee and Espresso-style Maker

Linen Duvet Cover

The Warley Fall Two Gallon Watering Can

'A Spoonful of Sun,' by Pauline Chardin

Cotton Napper Weighted Blanket

Ridges Coaster Heron

Big Sur After Rain

Edie Parker

Yellow & Pink Jello Tabletop Lighter

Experience Ear Plugs for Concerts

Horizon Ring

InfinityRN 4 Blueprint

PRO Yoga Mat

The ROGER Pro Clay Sneaker

Women's Strongfeel Training Shoe

Boyfriend Short

Beverley Mary Jane Flat

Large Packing Cube Set

Baba Leather Slip On Mule

Super-Plush Robe

"Cleo" Convertible Crossbody

Chunky Huggie Hoops

Gold Essentials Stainless Steel Watch

Jenni Kayne

Cashmere Cocoon Cardigan

Loeffler Randall

Mesh Ballet Flats

Net a Porter

Cotton Poplin Shirt