How to Improve Your Child's Poor Homework Performance
Be prepared., Review problem-solving skills., Work through examples., Make it engaging., Take a break., Be patient.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Be prepared.
It will be easier for you to provide help with your child’s homework if you know what they are working on.This way you can review any concepts you aren’t familiar with beforehand.
You can also gather any supplies and materials that will be needed to complete their homework.
If possible, review their assignments or agenda so that you’ll know what they are learning in each class.
Complete sample problems and skim over text to get comfortable with the materials.
For instance, do the first problem on their math work to make sure you get it.
Look through their notes and textbooks, or Google anything you aren’t familiar with.
For example, if they’re studying mitosis, do a quick search to get an overview of it. -
Step 2: Review problem-solving skills.
Instead of offering answers when you help with homework, encourage your child to show you how they would solve the problem.This will improve their homework performance by giving your child the opportunity to review material and practice problem-solving skills.
For example, if your child is stumped on a geography question, ask "Where could you find the answer? Do you think a map will help? What about your textbook?" Tell your child to show you how to work through what they can of the problem.
Sometimes kids know more than they realize and can finish all or most of a problem.
For example, “This one is challenging.
Show me how you would start.
What would you do next?” It’s also teaching your child to problem solve if you say, “I don’t know how to do this one either.
Why don’t we look it up? Where do you think we should start?” , Instead of doing the work for your child, you can help them with their homework if you create and walk through some examples.Doing similar work helps your child understand how to do the assignment.
The extra examples also give your child extra practice which can help improve their homework performance.
For math work, recreate a problem from the homework assignment by changing one or two of the numbers.
For instance, if the problem says (8b+5)(4b
-2), you could change it to (9b+5)(6b-2).
The steps for solving the problem are the same, only the numbers change.
Show them how you would skim a text by using a magazine article or book you are reading. , Sometimes all it takes to improve a child’s poor homework performance is a little fun.Adding a hands-on element can help your child understand difficult concepts or solve challenging problems.
Draw pictures, graphs, or charts to help explain events, story plots, or word problems.
For example, you could draw a diagram of the water cycle to review it.
If it’s math homework, use candy, beans, or other objects for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems.
Allowing younger students to use things they don’t normally get to use like highlighters, paper clips, and sticky notes can engage them in homework.
For example, highlighting the main idea of the paragraph is fun for your child, but also reinforces their understanding of what they read. , Working for hours non-stop on homework and studying can be frustrating and overwhelming for young and older children.
Encouraging your child to take a break can help give them a chance to de-stress and re-energize.Take a 10-15 minute break after every hour of homework.
Adjust the time of the break as needed to suit your specific child.
Stand up and stretch or take a quick walk.
Physical activity can help your child be more focused and creative when they return to their work.
Allow your child to do something creative like color or draw a picture. , It can be frustrating for you and your child when you are trying to provide homework help, but they still don’t seem to get it.
It can also be upsetting if you are rushing your child to finish.
Instead of giving up or rushing them to finish, be patient and give them time to work through the assignment.
Give your child enough time to think about a question before answering it.
Remember that some things that are second nature to you (like multiplication) may take them more time to do or may even need reviewing.
Take a break for yourself if you find yourself losing patience.
It’s better to walk away than lose your temper over homework. -
Step 3: Work through examples.
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Step 4: Make it engaging.
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Step 5: Take a break.
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Step 6: Be patient.
Detailed Guide
It will be easier for you to provide help with your child’s homework if you know what they are working on.This way you can review any concepts you aren’t familiar with beforehand.
You can also gather any supplies and materials that will be needed to complete their homework.
If possible, review their assignments or agenda so that you’ll know what they are learning in each class.
Complete sample problems and skim over text to get comfortable with the materials.
For instance, do the first problem on their math work to make sure you get it.
Look through their notes and textbooks, or Google anything you aren’t familiar with.
For example, if they’re studying mitosis, do a quick search to get an overview of it.
Instead of offering answers when you help with homework, encourage your child to show you how they would solve the problem.This will improve their homework performance by giving your child the opportunity to review material and practice problem-solving skills.
For example, if your child is stumped on a geography question, ask "Where could you find the answer? Do you think a map will help? What about your textbook?" Tell your child to show you how to work through what they can of the problem.
Sometimes kids know more than they realize and can finish all or most of a problem.
For example, “This one is challenging.
Show me how you would start.
What would you do next?” It’s also teaching your child to problem solve if you say, “I don’t know how to do this one either.
Why don’t we look it up? Where do you think we should start?” , Instead of doing the work for your child, you can help them with their homework if you create and walk through some examples.Doing similar work helps your child understand how to do the assignment.
The extra examples also give your child extra practice which can help improve their homework performance.
For math work, recreate a problem from the homework assignment by changing one or two of the numbers.
For instance, if the problem says (8b+5)(4b
-2), you could change it to (9b+5)(6b-2).
The steps for solving the problem are the same, only the numbers change.
Show them how you would skim a text by using a magazine article or book you are reading. , Sometimes all it takes to improve a child’s poor homework performance is a little fun.Adding a hands-on element can help your child understand difficult concepts or solve challenging problems.
Draw pictures, graphs, or charts to help explain events, story plots, or word problems.
For example, you could draw a diagram of the water cycle to review it.
If it’s math homework, use candy, beans, or other objects for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems.
Allowing younger students to use things they don’t normally get to use like highlighters, paper clips, and sticky notes can engage them in homework.
For example, highlighting the main idea of the paragraph is fun for your child, but also reinforces their understanding of what they read. , Working for hours non-stop on homework and studying can be frustrating and overwhelming for young and older children.
Encouraging your child to take a break can help give them a chance to de-stress and re-energize.Take a 10-15 minute break after every hour of homework.
Adjust the time of the break as needed to suit your specific child.
Stand up and stretch or take a quick walk.
Physical activity can help your child be more focused and creative when they return to their work.
Allow your child to do something creative like color or draw a picture. , It can be frustrating for you and your child when you are trying to provide homework help, but they still don’t seem to get it.
It can also be upsetting if you are rushing your child to finish.
Instead of giving up or rushing them to finish, be patient and give them time to work through the assignment.
Give your child enough time to think about a question before answering it.
Remember that some things that are second nature to you (like multiplication) may take them more time to do or may even need reviewing.
Take a break for yourself if you find yourself losing patience.
It’s better to walk away than lose your temper over homework.
About the Author
Marilyn Clark
Marilyn Clark is an experienced writer with over 8 years of expertise in non profit. Passionate about sharing practical knowledge, Marilyn creates easy-to-follow guides that help readers achieve their goals.
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