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10 Helpful Homework Ideas and Tips for Primary School Teachers

Written by Holly (Teach Starter)

Homework ideas… Yep, I’m going there! It is always a hot topic of debate between everyone involved in the education field. Here at Teach Starter , we want to help you ensure that the homework you set meaningful and manageable for your students, their parents and yourself! Deciding on how to set homework, or whether to set homework at all, can be hard when there are so many different opinions and factors pushing and pulling against it.

Parents, either love it or hate it! Principals and leadership teams, either love it or hate it! Teachers are usually the ones stuck in the middle, trying to balance these external pressures with their own beliefs about homework and what is best for the children in their class. We know that it can be a tricky position to be in…

It’s very easy for teachers and schools to say, the research states that homework is not beneficial so no work will be going home! However, there are definitely aspects of the ‘homework’ concept that are beneficial to children and their parents. This blog will outline some helpful homework ideas and concepts that are suitable for primary teachers.

Homework Ideas for Teachers

Here you’ll find practical ideas, homework activities and printable resources. This collection of homework ideas will help you to send your students home with tailored homework activities that will be beneficial to their learning, reinforcing and practising the skills and knowledge they are currently exploring in class. They are homework activities that will help to inform you about student understanding and ensure that students experience success and a degree of independence, which is so great for their confidence as young learners!

Reading is Essential

Reading for homework each night is a no-brainer! All children should be given the opportunity to take home something to read. This means weekly readers for lower years students to read with their parents and a library book or another appropriate book from home for middle and upper years students.

When I was teaching in the lower years, I provided the students in my class with a homework activity sheet, home readers and sight words at their level. I would always reinforce with parents that if only one thing gets done in the after school chaos that I now know (having school-aged children myself), it’s reading! Reading was always the highest priority.

I found that if students were held accountable for their reading by having to log each time they read with a parent, they were more inclined to do it. Middle and upper years students may also benefit from maintaining a home reading log. Check out our Home Reading Journal to send home with your students.

Homework Apps

In this day and age, most children will have access to either a home computer or an iPad.

Why not encourage your children to practise their maths and reading skills at home, using apps that they are already exposed to in your classroom?

Mathletics for Homework

Mathletics is a web-based homework scheme that a lot of primary schools are utilising. This app empowers classroom teachers to set activities for homework which their students must complete before students can then go on to choose their own activities. This enables the teachers to set mathematics tasks that are suitable to each students level of ability which is so important when it comes to setting meaningful homework.

Reading Eggs

More and more Australian schools are adopting the use of the Reading Eggs scheme as a homework option. The multi-award winning online reading program for school students has been designed by Australian literacy experts and makes learning essential reading and phonics skills easy and fun. The online reading lessons, activities and books are sequenced to ensure students are working at their level!

Homework Activity Baskets

This idea came to me after writing about English rotations and Mathematics rotations for other blog posts. Why not create a similar concept, but for homework activities? Yes, it would take some time to collate the activities and set up them up, but what a fantastic way to engage your students in levelled homework activities!

Firstly, divide your class into smaller ability groups, 3 or 4 groups would work. Each group can be given their own coloured homework basket.
You then fill the coloured homework baskets with activities, games and task cards that the students can take home and play with parents, carers or older siblings throughout the week.
Each Monday, students return the activity they had for the previous week and choose another one.

Check out our homework basket activities collection for a range of great hands-on activities that would suit this style of homework set up.

Homework Grids

Homework grids have been around for a number of years now! This is a fantastic concept that can usually take a lot of time for teachers to plan and set up…

Editable Curriculum Aligned Homework Grids

Well, we have done the hard work for you! Check out our editable homework grids, each with matching activities that link with the Australian Curriculum for every year level.

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Editable Spelling Activity Grids

Our editable spelling activity grids are another fantastic way for students to engage with their spelling words without simply writing them out on a piece of paper or rote learning them.

Homework Folders

Creating homework folders for your students to keep their important homework information in is a fantastic way to encourage a sense of ownership and develop their independence.

Below is an example of what you might like to include in a lower years homework folder including a ring of sight words for students to practise at home.

Middle and upper years homework folders may include their homework grid, reading log and other relevant learning prompts such as editing guidelines, generic comprehension questions, times tables and grammar and punctuation reminders.

Homework Task Cards

Sending home a challenge or a task card with one activity for students to do that week is another way to engage kids in a meaningful task that they can complete with their family members.

We have a range of task cards that could suit this homework style and make great additions to the levelled homework baskets described above.

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Create Homework Booklets Using Teach Starter Widgets

Tailored activities aside, if the above homework ideas don’t really suit what you need for your class and a traditional homework booklet/worksheet is something that you would prefer, we do have a few options that suit your needs! Our Maths Mentals widget can be used to create weekly maths questions for specific year levels. These are a great way for students to practise their all-important mental maths in a homework booklet style.

Communicate to Parents

Sending home a homework information sheet.

After deciding how your homework will look in your classroom, it is important that you communicate this to the parents of your students, especially in the early years. Sending home an information sheet at the beginning of the year will empower your students’ parents and carers, helping them to feel comfortable with how the year will look and what they can expect to be doing with their kids at home.

You may like to use our Editable Homework Information Sheet to give you an idea of what information to send home to parents.

Include Homework Information in Classroom Newsletters

Another way to communicate to parents is by sending home weekly classroom newsletters. Although this seems like a lot of work, once you have the template ready to go, it really doesn’t take long to fill in the bits of information for the week.

By including a simple homework task in your classroom newsletter, you can steer away from the traditional homework sheet, instead providing a relevant and engaging task for your students to complete that week.

You may even wish to set up a show and tell timetable for the students to present their findings or talk about their experiences from homework task each week. This also encourages them to talk in front of the peers and gives you more opportunities to sort out that speaking mark for report cards!

Use our editable classroom newsletter which is available in colour and black and white.

Do you prefer traditional homework styles or new concepts?

Let us know in the comments section of this blog..

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11 Comments

Yes Sarah. LOVE IT!!!

Would love there to be a button here where I can download all the resources at once rather than go into each activity and download it separately.

Hi Sarah, This is an awesome idea and we are discussing ways to implement this for our future blog posts. We really appreciate your feedback. If there is anything else I can assist you with, please don't hesitate to contact me.

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November 7, 2018 VG Teaching Resources Vocab & ELA Res , Vocab Gal , ELA K-5 , ELA Seasonal Back to School , ELA 6-8 , ELA Resources - Activities , ELA 9-12 , ELA PD - Classroom Management , ELA PD - Vocabulary , ELA Focus - Writing with Vocabulary , ELA Focus - Vocabulary

11 vocabulary homework ideas and how to motivate students to do it, by: vocab gal.

Homework is such a valuable formative assessment for both teachers and students, and yet students are motivated* by many different factors when it comes to their desire to actually complete the work. In this article, I'm sharing how to motivate students to do their homework and 11 vocabulary homework ideas and worksheets that work in grades 1–12. Plus, preview and grab my 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework Kit .

Keep scrolling to find vocabulary homework ideas!

How to motivate students to do their homework.

As a teacher, I try to concentrate students’ learning on activities done in class, because asking some students to complete work at home can be daunting. Many times in my career I have been discouraged when more than half the class does not return to class with their homework assignment complete.

Yet we only have so many minutes with our students, and we need them to practice the concepts and skills they are learning until the knowledge becomes ingrained. Most students have a homeroom, study hall, or other downtime during the day in which they could complete activities, they just have to be motivated to do it.

Many studies cite “student choice” as one of the most important factors in inspiring students to learn. When students have the opportunity to select what questions to answer, what activity to complete or what role to play, they tend to feel more comfortable and confident about performing.

Additionally, research shows that when students are dedicated to a task important to them, like improving their video game scores, or optimizing their success on a playing field, they will go to great lengths to improve. While probably not as meaningful as their video game level, students will be more excited to answer questions about themselves than a generic worksheet.

By providing students with both choice and a topic that is personally meaningful, homework can be a great learning exercise as well as an important formative assessment.

Steps to Ensure Students Complete Homework

There are a few other motivating factors that can help establish homework as a meaningful part of a student’s educational experience. Here are suggested steps a school, parish, department, or teacher might take to ensure successful homework completion.

Step One First, confirm that students have a strong rapport with their teacher(s). While it is difficult to cultivate a deep relationship with each student, teachers should strive to show students that they value their students and are committed to helping them learn and grow to their fullest potential. I would encourage teachers not to assign homework for the first few weeks of school until they develop a classroom community of respect and appreciation for learning.

Step Two Second, once the classroom community has been established, teachers should specifically explain the importance of homework as a way of deeply ingraining knowledge. Teachers should also make it clear that homework is a meaningful formative assessment where both they and their students can understand what students know and where there are knowledge gaps.

Step Three Third, some students may be quite unhappy when being mandated to do specific work. Therefore, teachers should stress the choices a student gets when completing their homework and that students get to complete the work that best reflects their own sense of self.

Step Four Finally, the teacher should praise students individually, as well as praise the class when homework is turned in on time. Many students thrive on positive reinforcement and also many may feel guilt if they let their classmates or teacher down. Additionally, as many teachers know, a word of encouragement or a small sticker can make the difference to many.

How to Respond When Homework is Not Completed

When at last it comes time for homework collection, there will be students who did not complete the assignment, no matter how well it was set up. Teachers can again encourage students who did not complete the homework in time to think about what may motivate them to complete it. If a student seems to dislike direct mandates, providing support such as, “I know that you value your learning and will find a way to demonstrate your abilities,” might be more effective than, “Turn in your paper by Thursday or it’s a zero!”

For others who seem driven by the need to please or help others, teachers might encourage students by stating, “I’m disappointed that you weren’t able to complete your work on time, and I know you will submit your work in order to show us both what you know and understand,” might work better than, “Don’t you want the credit for this assignment?”

Vocabulary Homework Ideas for Students

For this post, I have a few homework assignments that model these ideas. Both in my new It's All About Me vocabulary practice page, and my tried-and true, 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle, students are motivated to continue their learning because they have both choice and a focus on themselves, a topic in which they are already invested.

My new It's All About Me Vocabulary Activity tasks students with answering a series of questions about themselves using vocabulary words in context. On the first page of this download students will list their vocabulary words and write their own brief definitions. On the second page student will answer eight prompts. Each response should include at least one of the vocabulary words from their list in context . In each of their answers students must underline the context clues that would help someone unfamiliar with the word understand what it means.

I find that students tend to be more engaged in an assignment if they are asked to answer questions about themsleves than a generic worksheet. My new It's All About Me Vocabulary Activity tasks students with answering a series of questions about themselves using vocabulary words in context.

With the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle, students can choose from a variety of fun and engaging activities for learning or reviewing vocabulary words. In addition to the homework selection sheet, the bundle includes worksheets for vocabulary homework ideas number five and six. The other vocabulary homework options can be completed on a plain piece of paper or in student workbooks.

Here are the vocabulary activities listed on the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework handout:

#1 Say Your Words

Do you love the sound of your own voice? Do you tend to learn information by teaching others? Then try saying each of the vocabulary words, out loud and in context, to friends, family, strangers, etc. Use either your flashcards or your list of words, and make sure to get initials from someone who heard you say your vocabulary sentence. If you can’t get a signature, just explain when and how you said the sentences and we will invoke the HONOR SYSTEM! Create two sentences per word.

Do you love to write? Do you copy your notes to help you remember information? Then try writing two sentences for each vocabulary word. These can either be two individual sentences for each word or you can put all of your words together in a story. (If you write a story, you only have to use each word once). Have fun and get creative – amuse me and impress me, but make sure you use your vocabulary words in context!

#3 Write Your Words in Other Classes

As an alternative to the above “Write your Words,” use your vocabulary in your assignments for other classes – social studies essays, science notes, art descriptions, etc. Write down the vocabulary you used for this assignment (For example: On my science test I said “Newton was meritorious,” etc.). You can abbreviate your explanations slightly, as long as I understand you know the word’s meaning; remember to use each word twice.

#4 Become Your Words

Do you gesture when you talk? Is it hard for you to sit still? Then consider creating motions to go along with your words. Cry for lament , raise your arms in praise for approbation , etc. See me during class to “perform” your motions, or write them down, making sure that the connection between word, meaning, and gesture makes sense.

#5 Draw Your Words

Are you an artist? Do you constantly doodle? Then create cartoons or drawings that illustrate each word’s meaning. Create one drawing or cartoon per word and make them neat, using clean white paper (consider using recycled paper that has printing on the other side). Paperclip all your drawings together for the end of the week.

Vocabulary Homework Ideas: Draw Your Words - Are you an artist? Do you constantly doodle? Then create cartoons or drawings that illustrate each word’s meaning. Create one drawing or cartoon per word and make them neat, using clean white paper (consider using recycled paper that has printing on the other side). Paperclip all your drawings together for the end of the week.

#6 Sing Your Words

Do you love to sing? Are you constantly creating your own raps? Try rewriting the lyrics to a song to incorporate each of your vocabulary words or write your own song, rap, etc. You can also write poetry; regardless of the form you choose, the words should be used in the correct context.

Vocabulary Homework Ideas: Sing Your Words - Do you love to sing? Are you constantly creating your own raps? Try rewriting the lyrics to a song to incorporate each of your vocabulary words or write your own song, rap, etc. You can also write poetry; regardless of the form you choose, the words should be used in the correct context.

#7 Test Your Words

Do you want to play teacher and write the test as well as take it? Now you can! Create a vocabulary test using all the words in a variety of different types of questions. Make sure to create the answer key to the test as well.

Download the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle and have students keep the selection sheet in their binders. Now they have seven weeks of vocabulary homework assignments!

Additional Vocabulary Homework Ideas

Ultimately, establishing a culture of community and trust in the classroom, explaining the reasoning behind and the benefits of homework, and providing choice and meaningful topics can make a significant difference in completion rates. Even if homework is not completed on time, teachers can still work to connect with each student to provide motivation to complete the assignments.

As educators, we all strive to make learning exciting and applicable to our students. By setting up clear expectations and providing interesting options, we can make any homework, including vocabulary homework, meaningful and valuable to students.

*I have recently completed Gretchen Rubin’s audiobook The Four Tendencies about what motivates different groups of people. Many of the ideas about motivating students come loosely from her book as well as my own observations. I highly recommend the book to anyone wanting to learn how to better motivate themselves and others.

BookWidgets Teacher Blog

20+ creative alternative homework ideas for teachers

When giving homework, it must always be based on learning goals your students have to reach, just like in your lessons. But it’s sad to see that lots of teachers are using homework as extra lesson time. Of course, as a teacher, you’re on a clock. But that doesn’t mean your students have to suffer from it and keep working on those boring textbooks and worksheets at home.

Consider goals like attitudes, real-life experiences, and practice, physical exercise, social encounters, creative solutions, and philanthropy as crucial as your lesson goals. These are things students don’t just pick up in your classroom. These are things they pick up in life.

In this blog post, I’ll give you some innovative homework ideas that will engage your students more. These alternatives to traditional homework will thereby also teach your students new things that can’t be taught in the classroom. You will find a variety of homework ideas: online and offline.

I will mention homework alternatives for primary school and high school. Some of these ideas can be changed a little bit, so they are the perfect fit for the right audience.

20 Creative homework ideas

You can divide homework tasks into the following themes or categories:

Crafts & arts
Outdoor activities & outings
Games and activities
Physical activities
Digital or computer activities
Philanthropy & social work

💡 Good to know : all the ready-to-use homework activities are created with BookWidgets . You can easily create activities like these yourself or duplicate an activity below for free, edit it if needed, and share it with your students. You can do so in the examples separately, or you can find all the homework examples in the BookWidgets Blog group folder .

Crafts and arts homework

1. prepare a dish from a recipe book.

2. Make a board game

3. Create a birdhouse

4. Transform a fictional book character into a hand puppet

Outdoor homework activities and outings

5. coupon game.

Students can also go grocery shopping with their parents. Here, they have to read the ingredients of the products and help their parents choose the healthiest products for the best prices, figure out the best deal between the sizes of items, …

6. Visit the zoo

7. Visit the local dumping ground or container park

8. Build a tree house

Games and activities as homework

9. bookwidgets games.

10. Minecraft

11. Play Cards

12. Play Zoo Tycoon or Rollercoaster Tycoon

Physical homework activities

13. rope skipping.

Many rope-skipping songs let your students do different tricks while rope-skipping. This is an excellent opportunity for homework as well. Ask your students to transform a rope skipping song into a song with lesson content. Let them count or spell or even sum up the different states or capitals. To engage their lifestyles even harder, you can additionally give them the assignment to create a TikTok in which they are jumping and singing.

Click here to see how you can get Tiktok more involved in the classroom.

14. Walking quest

If there aren’t any walking quests in the neighborhood, you could ask your students to create a walking quest like this for their fellow students. What a fun day it will be!

15. Obstacle Quiz

In order for students to answer the questions, they have to run and pass a challenging parkour. This is a fun homework exercise, and in the end, it’s a great lesson starter or lesson end.

16. Swimming games

After the activity, they can fill out an Exit Slip:

Digital or computer homework activities

17. create a picture album.

This teaches them to handle the online software, add pictures and write without spelling mistakes. And of course, creating memories is so much fun!

18. Video job application

19. Your life in 10 minutes - video

20. Email pen-pals

Is it still too complicated? Read the messages from your students, before they send them, and provide them with some feedback.

Philanthropy and social homework

21. grow a community garden.

22. Help in a retirement home

23. Help at a homeless shelter

24. Collect litter

Here’s another homework tip: Don’t call homework “homework”. Call it a challenge. Homework has become a negative word for students, and I bet they start rolling their eyes as you even mention the word.

Still looking for more inspiration? Check out the blog on short films and lesson activities that spice up your Google Classroom . Tip: even if you don’t use Google Classroom, there is a lot of inspiration back here.

Above you have read single assignments. But, you also have the option to involve your homework in a project. Find out more here .

So, as I mentioned earlier, there are many fun alternatives to traditional homework. Now it’s up to you to apply this in the classroom as well. In this folder , you will find all the examples you have come across.

Which idea do you or perhaps your students like the most? Let us know on Twitter . Of course, there are many more alternatives. If you have other ideas, you are always welcome to share it with other teachers in our Facebook group .

One more thing: don’t forget to say hi👋 on LikedIn .

Join hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and get the best content on technology in education.

BookWidgets enables teachers to create fun and interactive lessons for tablets, smartphones, and computers.

10 entertaining homework ideas for online English Language Learners

Did hearing the words, “do your homework,” when you were a child excite you?

For most of us, the word homework doesn’t conjure up exciting or fun memories.

Homework was likely one of the last things you wanted to do as a student!

However, what if you could make homework fun for students? What if homework was entertaining?

In this article, we share some entertaining homework ideas for English language learners to help them improve their English while having fun!

You might be familiar with lots of ESL games and activities for your students , but assigning the right homework can feel overwhelming.

This is particularly true if you don’t want to burden your students with a tremendous amount of information.

Have you ever thought about combining games with homework?

There are many alternative ways to create memorable lessons, such as incorporating karaoke songs to learn English.

Here are 10 fun and entertaining homework ideas for your ESL students:

Cafe hopper
Tiktok star
Let’s go to the movies
Hello Mr. Teacher
Interview a stranger
Shine like a Karaoke star
Expert on the loose
24 hour challenge
It’s a wrap!
Masterchef in the making

1. Cafe hopper

Most people love checking out cafes and this is an easy homework task to assign to your students.

Have your students visit a variety of cafes as part of their homework.

Then, consider what they could do for homework in a cafe of their choice.

Here are some fun ideas for turning cafe-hopping into homework:

Practice ordering in English off of the menu.
Take a photo of the cafe’s and share the differences and similarities with you in class.
Speak to a stranger in each cafe in English and ask them some interesting questions about their life.
Interview the barista about their favorite kind of coffee or beverage.

This is a stress-free homework idea that your students will love, especially if they are coffee or tea lovers!

2. TikTok star

Tiktok is a fun social media application where you can watch videos and songs from creators. You can also watch creators lip-synching to catchy tunes.

Show some fun examples in your class of some famous TikTok songs being lip-synched to by others and practice doing one together.

For homework, have them choose their favorite song on TikTok.
They can lip-synch to the song and download the song to their camera album without having to actually post it to TikTok.
Have them share their creation with you in the next class!

Depending on the age and location of your student, TikTok might not be an option for them. If you are teaching older students or adults , then it might be easier for them to use social media for this homework assignment rather than young children.

If they are too young to use the app, have them find an online video of their favorite song and ask a parent to record them singing!

3. Let’s go to the movies

Going to the movies doesn’t sound like homework, does it? Well, as you might already be discovering, homework doesn’t have to be conventional!

Find some interesting movies that are playing in your students’ area or ask them to watch a movie of their choice in English.

Tell them that their homework is going to be based on the movie they watch.

Here are some ideas for making going to the movies part of their homework:

Have them write a summary of the movie or their favorite part.
Tell them that they have to give you a movie review in your next class.
Have them act out their favorite part of the movie with a sibling or family member and record it (in English of course!).
Ask them to make a poster advertising the movie with captions, titles and text to accompany any drawings.

If you are struggling to find movies they can go and watch in the cinema, you can always use these ESL movies and TV shows as a resource.

Students can also watch movies from the comforts of their homes.

4. Hello Mr. Teacher!

Students love playing the role of the teacher!

This can work for in-person or online ESL classes.

Tell them that as part of the next classroom activity, the first 5 – 10 minutes will be their time to shine as the teacher!

For homework, ask them to:

Think of one topic that they know a lot about (This could be a sport, musical instrument, game, topic, etc…).
Have them prepare 5 important things that someone needs to know about their topic.
Tell them that in their next class they will be the teacher and share their knowledge! (They can even give you homework!).

Have fun with this homework idea and role-play the student where you ask them questions after they finish.

Your students will love this one!

5. Interview a stranger

This one might need some parent support and guidance if you are teaching children, but having them interview someone is an entertaining homework idea for English language learners.

It encourages their own voice as they come up with ideas.
It helps with writing skills as they write out their questions.
Interviewing encourages conversation and role playing which is a fun way to learn English.

You could have your younger students interview a family member and ask questions related to that family member’s childhood.

Here are some sample questions you could help your students form:

What kind of things did you like to do when you were my age?
What was your favorite thing about school?
What types of sports did you play when you were young?
Tell me about what life was like when you were a child.

Have them choose and write out 5-10 questions and come back to class to report on their findings!

6. Shine like a Karaoke star

Who doesn’t like a bit of karaoke? Imagine….singing your heart out to “I love rock n roll” in the privacy of your own home!

You don’t need to go to a karaoke place to actually sing karaoke songs. There are lots of great karaoke songs available online to learn English with your students.

YouTube is a great place to start, just by searching for your favorite song + “karaoke lyrics” in the search bar.

In class, help your student(s) choose a song and task them with finding the online karaoke lyrics to sing along.

Have them sing this for homework! You could even ask a parent to help them record it if they are comfortable with that.

Here are some fun and popular karaoke songs online to learn English:

“I Will Survive” with Gloria Gaynor
“Livin’ on a Prayer” with Bon Jovi
“Summer Nights” with John Travolta and Olivia Newton John
“Don’t Stop Believin’” with Journey

7. Expert on the loose

There is an expert in all of us, including your students!

In this fun and entertaining homework idea, have your student share their expertise on something!

To add a different dimension to the homework idea, “Hello Mr. Teacher,” task your students to dress up as the expert and make a short speech on their topic of choice.

Here are some examples:

Harry Potter
Michael Jordan (to talk about basketball)
Favorite sports athlete
Insect scientist
Astronaut (if your student knows a lot about space)
Presidential candidate
Pilot (for students who know a lot about countries)

Even if they are not an expert on the topic, part of the homework assignment could be to do some research and learn more about their chosen field.

You could even ask them to dress up and come to class in the role, ready to share their knowledge with you!

8. 24 hour English challenge

This one is self-explanatory and incredibly fun!

Set a challenge for your student to only speak in English for 24 hours.

This means that you might need to get parents involved with the homework assignment, so that they can help out.

The idea is that they have to speak only in English (as much as is possible given their situation) when interacting with family, friends and at school.

Your students might already be immersed in English environments, but, oftentimes, they are speaking their native language at home with family and friends.

Having your students force themselves to only speak in English is challenging and a great way to encourage English outside the classroom.

9. It’s a wrap!

Lots of students love to rap! Rap music is poetic and encourages a lot of ESL language skills that we want to build in our students.

This is an activity that you can model with your students in class and assign it for homework for them to create their own rap.

Again, they can come back to class and rap their new song to you! It might, however, work better with older students who have a good base level of English, to begin with.

Here are some fun homework assignments incorporating rap:

Create their own rap if they are the creative type
Find a well known rap online and practice it to present in class
Assign your students to find a rap online that they sing and record with their friends

10. Masterchef extraordinaire

For the food lovers, creating a homework assignment that includes cooking can be really fun.

Most kids love the idea of cooking, especially if it centers around cooking their favorite food!

When considering this as a homework idea, consider these possible assignments:

Create and write out a recipe for a unique culinary dish.
Make a video about the cooking experience.
Record a tutorial of how to cook something.
Turn it into a competition if you have multiple students.

Plus, this works with physical and online classrooms.

Of course, if you have a physical classroom with multiple students, this could be a really fun in-class experience with some homework assignments to accompany it.

Who doesn’t love a food-related assignment?

If you choose Masterchef extraordinaire, allow your students to share the food they make with the class and encourage lots of conversations in English.

Homework doesn’t have to be boring!

As you can see, homework doesn’t have to be boring!

Most of your ESL students have a lot to do even outside class, and that’s why assigning homework that doesn’t feel like homework is ideal!

This is an opportunity to get creative, creating excitement for your students to learn English.

If you use some of the homework ideas mentioned here, make sure you document the experience and continue to discover new activities that bring laughter and joy to the classroom.

And when you are applying to online teaching jobs , be sure to share how you plan to creatively incorporate class assignments and homework for your students!

Enjoy the process and make learning an enjoyable experience for everyone.

Enjoyed this article? Don't forget to share.

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Articles / Homework

Smart Homework: 13 Ways to Make It Meaningful

by MiddleWeb · Published 08/04/2014 · Updated 11/17/2019

In the first installment of Rick Wormeli’s homework advice, he made the case for take-home assignments that matter for learning and engage student interest . In Part 2, Rick offers some guiding principles that can help teachers create homework challenges that motivate kids and spark deeper learning in and out of school.

These articles are adapted and updated from Rick’s seminal book about teaching in the middle grades, Day One & Beyond: Practical Matters for New Middle Level Teachers . Rick continues to offer great advice about homework, differentiation, assessment and many other topics in workshops and presentations across North America. Check back in Part 1 for some additional homework resources.

I’ve been accumulating guiding principles for creating highly motivating homework assignments for many years — from my own teaching and from the distilled wisdom of others. Here are a baker’s dozen. Choose the ones most appropriate for students’ learning goals and your curriculum.

1. Give students a clear picture of the final product. This doesn’t mean everything is structured for them, or that there aren’t multiple pathways to the same high quality result. There’s room for student personalities to be expressed. Students clearly know what is expected, however. A clear picture sets purpose for doing the assignment. Priming the brain to focus on particular aspects of the learning experience helps the brain process the information for long-term retention. Setting purpose for homework assignments has an impact on learning and the assignment’s completion rate, as research by Marzano and others confirms.

2. Incorporate a cause into the assignment. Middle level students are motivated when they feel they are righting a wrong. They are very sensitive to justice and injustice. As a group, they are also very nurturing of those less fortunate than them. Find a community or personal cause for which students can fight fairly and incorporate your content and skills in that good fight— students will be all over the assignment.

4. Incorporate people whom students admire in their assignments. Students are motivated when asked to share what they know and feel about these folks. We are a society of heroes, and young adolescents are interested in talking about and becoming heroic figures.

5. Allow choices, as appropriate. Allow students to do the even-numbered or odd-numbered problems, or allow them to choose from three prompts, not just one. Let them choose the word that best describes the political or scientific process. Let them identify their own diet and its effects on young adolescent bodies. Let them choose to work with partners or individually. How about allowing them to choose from several multiple-intelligence based tasks? If they are working in ways that are comfortable, they are more likely to do the work. By making the choice, they have upped their ownership of the task.

6. Incorporate cultural products into the assignment. If students have to use magazines, television shows, foods, sports equipment, and other products they already use, they are likely to do the work. The brain loves to do tasks in contexts with which it is familiar.

7. Allow students to collaborate in determining how homework will be assessed. If they help design the criteria for success, such as when they create the rubric for an assignment, they “own” the assignment. It comes off as something done by them, not to them. They also internalize the expectations—another way for them to have clear targets.

With some assignments we can post well-done versions from previous years (or ones we’ve created for this purpose) and ask students to analyze the essential characteristics that make these assignments exemplary. Students who analyze such assignments will compare those works with their own and internalize the criteria for success, referencing the criteria while doing the assignment, not just when it’s finished.

9. Spruce up your prompts. Don’t ask students to repeatedly answer questions or summarize. Try some of these openers instead: Decide between, argue against, Why did ______ argue for, compare, contrast, plan, classify, retell ______ from the point of view of ______, Organize, build, interview, predict, categorize, simplify, deduce, formulate, blend, suppose, invent, imagine, devise, compose, combine, rank, recommend, defend, choose.

10. Have everyone turn in a paper. In her classic, Homework: A New Direction (1992), Neila Connors reminded teachers to have all students turn in a paper, regardless of whether they did the assignment. If a student doesn’t have his homework, he writes on the paper the name of the assignment and why he didn’t do it.

11. Do not give homework passes. I used to do this; then I realized how much it minimized the importance of homework. It’s like saying, “Oh, well, the homework really wasn’t that important to your learning. You’ll learn just as well without it.” Homework should be so productive for students that missing it is like missing the lesson itself.

12. Integrate homework with other subjects. One assignment can count in two classes. Such assignments are usually complex enough to warrant the dual grade and it’s a way to work smarter, not harder, for both students and teachers. Teachers can split the pile of papers to grade, then share the grades with each other, and students don’t have homework piling up in multiple classes.

There are times when every teacher on the team assigns a half-hour assignment, and so do the elective or encore class teachers. This could mean three to four hours of homework for the student, which is inappropriate for young adolescents.

13. Occasionally, let students identify what homework would be most effective. Sometimes the really creative assignments are the ones that students design themselves. After teaching a lesson, ask your students what it would take to practice the material so well it became clearly understood. Many of the choices will be rigorous and very appropriate.

This is one reason I always recommend that, as a basic premise, we avoid Monday morning quizzes and weekend or holiday homework assignments. Sure, there will be exceptions when long-term projects come due. But if we are really about teaching so that students learn and not about appearing rigorous and assigning tasks to show that we have taught, then we’ll carefully consider all the effects of our homework expectations. Our students will be more productive at school for having healthier lives at home.

▶ More resources from Rick Wormeli:

Although Rick never mentions the word homework in this article about helping adolescent students improve their “executive function,” you will immediately see the connections! At the AMLE website .

NEXT: In our final excerpt from Day One & Beyond, Rick Wormeli shares his approach to homework assessment – with an clear emphasis on maintaining teacher sanity.

His books include Meet Me in the Middle ; Day One and Beyond ; Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom ; Differentiation: From Planning to Practice; Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching Any Subject, and Summarization in Any Subject , plus The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli: Crazy Good Stuff I Learned about Teaching Along the Way .

He is currently working on his first young adult fiction novel and a new book on homework practices in the 21 st century.

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This is a really great article. It has helped me tremendously in making new and better decisions about homework.

Fabulous sage advice! Although I love every single suggestion you’ve included, I am particularly fond of the elimination of the “homework pass”. As a former middle-level teacher and administrator, I too found the homework pass diminished the importance of follow-up work – a necessary component in determining the level of student understanding.

I do give 2 passes, but they just extend due date by a day. And if not used, they may be returned at the end of the 9 weeks for extra credit.

Rick Wormeli’s ideas and tips in this article continue to be stimulating and useful. That said, it’s been more than a decade since the first edition of his book on grading, homework and assessment, Fair Isn’t Always Equal appeared.

In the intervening years, Rick’s thinking about homework has benefited from his work with teachers and in schools and plenty of debate. In April 2018, he published a new 2nd edition of Fair Isn’t Always Equal that includes an even deeper discussion of homework and its relationship to best practice, differentiation, and the moral obligation of educators to insist on effective homework policies.

Visitors to the Stenhouse page for the new book can preview the *entire* text for free, so be sure to check that out.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the new book:

Tenet: Homework should enable students to practice what they have already learned in class and should not present new content for the first time. Principled Responses:

• I will not assign homework to students who do not understand the content. • I will give homework to some students and no homework or different assignments to others, depending on their proficiency. • I will use exit slips and formative assessment during class so I can determine proper after-school practice for each student. • I will not give homework because parents and administrators expect me to do so, or assign homework because it’s a particular day of the week. • I will assign homework only if it furthers students’ proficiency in the field we’re studying.

Thanks to Rick for giving us permission to share this!

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How to make homework fun – 9 ways to switch things up.

Homework. This word holds different associations for different people. As a teacher, I’ve heard all sorts of opinions on the topic of homework and have been informed about all of the negative aspects of assigning homework for students. However, I don’t believe that setting homework is necessarily a bad choice. Not when it’s done correctly. Also, many schools still require that homework is set for students.

So, as teachers, how can we make sure we are approaching homework the right way, in order to provide enriching opportunities for student learning to take place? Well, here are a few simple ideas to get you started:

Use Task Cards

Task cards are so versatile and are the easiest way to get the same content out to your students that you would put on a worksheet, but in a more interesting format.

Here’s an example of how you can use them for homework. Say you’re working on revising perimeter with your students. Instead of giving them a quiz worksheet, break the questions up into task cards. Create a game out of the cards and ask them to complete a recording sheet as they work through the cards. Hey, presto! You’ve now got the student data you need to assess their knowledge of perimeter, all while your students have had fun playing a game with the task cards you sent them home with. Now, that’s a win-win.

If you are working on perimeter with your students, but you’re thinking you don’t have time to put together your own task cards – you can get my ready-to-use Perimeter Task Card Set here !

Playing games is an effective way to keep students engaged in a task, and there are many fun games that you can use as homework activities. A great part about sending games home with kids for homework is that it encourages parents to get involved in their children’s learning. For example, if you’re having students work on their times table facts, you can use a game like Times Table Bingo . This game is simple for students and parents to understand the rules of, and it allows children to use the strategies that they find most helpful for working out the times table facts.

Make It Personal

Do you know what we all love talking about? Ourselves. Yep, and our students are no different. If you want to get them interested in homework again, give them a chance to share something about themselves. This not only keeps them engaged, but it also helps you get to know them better! If you’re after some resources that provide opportunities to get to know your students, I have a Getting to Know You Bundle available here.

Try Puzzles

Puzzles are such a fun educational tool! They can be used for almost any subject area and are especially easy to incorporate into your homework routine. One way this can be done is by using addition puzzles . In the example shown below, students need to use their addition skills to put three numbers together that equal one hundred. You can adapt this strategy as you need to so that the puzzles focus on whichever learning area your students are spending their homework time on.

Set a Challenge

Setting a learning challenge can be a helpful motivator for kids. I have often used holiday challenges like the one shown below with my students, but there’s no need to wait until the holidays! Think of some different activities that suit the topics you’re covering in class and put together a challenge for your students to work on during their homework time. If you want to save yourself some planning time, I have some ready-made maths and literacy challenges available here .

Make It Practical

Have you tried asking your students to do everyday tasks for homework, such as cooking? This is a great way to engage those learners who find it difficult to sit still and focus for long periods of time. Plus, it encourages parents to get involved too! If you want to give this a try, you can start with part 2 of my Cooking With Maths series , which involves calculating the ingredients needed to bake some yummy vanilla cupcakes!

Utilise Student Choice Boards

I’m an advocate for using student choice boards in the classroom, which is why I often talk about them in my posts. The great thing about choice boards is that you can easily combine more than one subject area in the one board and can switch up the options as often as you like. If you’re after some choice boards for upper primary / elementary students, I have a bundled set available here .

Remember That Less is More

When it comes to homework, teachers and students can tend to overcomplicate things. Although it can be tempting to pack as much into your homework routine as possible, homework is often much more effective when it is simple. Choose one or two activities that are easy for students to understand and let them spend their time on that. Remember that sometimes less is more.

Give Your Students The Night Off

Every now and then there will be times when you and your students just need the night off. That’s when I like to use tokens like these sweet ‘No Homework’ Passes to make a night of no homework seem like a special, well-earned treat for students. Although, when your homework activities are as fun as the ideas above, your students might be a little disappointed to have the night off anyway!

I hope that these ideas inspire you to try something new with your homework routine. You can use the links to buy your own copies of any resources I’ve referenced in this blog post.

P.S. I love to hear how my tips and resources are helping you in your teaching, so leave a comment to let me know!

Do you want some more homework tips that are specific to times table practice while you’re here? Then have a read through my list of engaging times table homework activities .

Have a question or a request? You can contact me at [email protected] .

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Summer homework may start as early as elementary school, but you don’t have to do it the way it’s always been done! Veteran educators like third-grade teacher Alycia Zimmerman have spent time thinking about how to make summer homework meaningful and interesting enough that students buy in—and even want to do it.

Read on for Zimmerman’s summer homework game plan and ideas for how to make summer assignments more fun for everyone.

1. Try a New Student Meet and Greet

If possible, meet your incoming students before summer break (even if it’s virtual!) to instill the importance of summer learning.

At the end of the school year, coordinate with the teachers of your incoming students to swap classes for a period. Introduce yourselves to your future students and build excitement for the fun and challenging learning ahead and the very “grown-up” summer homework you will assign.

“We’ve been far more successful in instilling the importance of our summer assignments when presenting about it face-to-face rather than just sending a packet of directions home cold,” says Zimmernan. “The students sit on the edges of their seats as we talk about the importance of summer reading and our certainty that they will do everything they can to 'keep their brains healthy, pink, and strong’ over the summer.”

2. Emphasize the Importance of Summer Reading

Talk about the best summer assignment of all: diving into books!

Reading should be a treat, not a menial assignment, so Zimmerman doesn’t feel guilty about making reading the bulk of her summer homework. Here are some of her most effective strategies for promoting summer reading:

Have students fill out a log to keep track of the books and other texts they read over the summer. It isn’t necessary to require a certain number of books or specific titles. Simply ask that they find books they love and spend lots of time reading them.

Have your current students write book reviews of their favorite titles to send home with your rising students. Invite your current students to serve as reading ambassadors and speak to the younger students about the importance and joys of reading. When coming from slightly older peers, the message is very well received.

And of course: Sign your students up for the Scholastic Summer Reading Program ! From May 9 to August 19, your students can visit Scholastic Home Base to participate in the free, fun, and safe summer reading program . As part of the program, kids can read e-books, attend author events, and keep Reading Streaks™ to help unlock a donation of 100K books from Scholastic – distributed to kids with limited or no access to books by Save the Children.

3. Share Fun and Educational Activities

Direct your students to fun (and educational) activities.

When considering other homework, the best options are activities that students will be motivated to do because they’re entertaining.

Give your incoming students the “everything is better in moderation” speech so they understand that they shouldn’t play hours of computer games every day this summer. If possible, send them home with printable and book-based packs to polish their skills for the year ahead (you can even pair these with your own assignments):

4. Connect Through the Mail

Stay connected with your students over the summer through cards.

Giving incoming students the opportunity to connect with you and with each other can motivate them to complete summer assignments. Here’s one plan for connecting via letters:

Have your incoming students mail you a letter of introduction. Explain that you want to hear about their summer activities, their hobbies, their families, and anything special they want you to know before the school year begins.

When you receive letters from your students, send a postcard back with a brief response. Tell them a bit about your summer plan, and let them know you can’t wait to see them in the fall.

Encourage them to write again!

You can also pair up students and have them write to each other over the summer. In September, they can bring their pen pal letters to class to display on the bulletin board.

Take advantage of everyone’s increasing familiarity with virtual resources by connecting online, too! Post a short video, article, or question once a week on your classroom's online platform, and invite both incoming students and rising former students to write their thoughts in the comments section. Be sure to moderate their comments and enjoy their back-and-forth dialogues as they engage with each other.

Get started by shopping the best books for summer reading below! You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store .

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Tag Archives: big writing

Talk the big talk.

Talk the Big Talk, a precursor to Big Writing, puts emphasis on the importance of talk, particularly in the early years, to enhance the writing process.

‘If a child can’t say it, a child can’t write it.’

Up-levelling- the skill of improving sentences through the use of ambitious vocabulary, varied connectives, powerful openers and punctuation. Allowing learners to develop the concept of VCOP orally, will in turn influence their ability to transfer their skills into their writing. Click on the links below for ideas of how to use VCOP in the classroom. sentenceplay.co.uk – CLICK HERE! VCOP Ideas Bank- CLICK HERE! VCOP – Year 1 ideas- CLICK HERE!

In addition to this, ‘Talk Homework’ is at the core of Big Writing/Big Talk sessions. Some ideas for Talk Homework can be found below: Talk Homework Ideas- CLICK HERE!

If you use ‘Talk the Big Talk’ in your classroom, and have any learning and teaching ideas, we’d love to hear from you.

Big Writing- What is it?

‘Big Writing’ is a strategy used to teach writing; developed in England by Ros Wilson, its core principle is to improve the writing standards of our learners.

The purpose NOT to teach the features of fiction and non-fiction text, but to develop the confidence of our learners in using ambitious vocabulary, varied connectives, powerful openers and sophisticated punctuation to produce effective pieces of writing.

Whilst using Big Writing I have found that:

Learners thoroughly enjoy VCOP games and activities (Vocabulary/Connectives/Openers/Punctuation)
The interactive software, which can be purchased through Andrell Education, supports practitioners when planning lessons
The ‘Scottish Criterion Scale’, used to assess pieces of writing, gives you a shared standard in which learners can work towards
Moderation with colleagues is KEY to ensure that we are assessing pieces accurately and with confidence, due to some subjective criteria in the scale
A wealth of resources are available to support Big Writing, however they are not housed in one particular place

Visit the Andrell Education website below to find out more: http://www.andrelleducation.co.uk/about-us/what-big-writing-is/

Are you using Big Writing? If so, we’d love to hear your experiences of using the strategy.

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Engaging and exciting homework tasks – Part Two

In her previous post, Joanna Szoke emphasized the importance of planning the homework we set students, of making sure they understand what they have to do, as well as making homework more personally relevant and interesting.

In this second post, Joanna shares some ways to incorporate 21st century skills into homework.

There are many such skills, all crucial, but the 4 most well-known are: creative thinking, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration – the 4 C’s.

Let’s see how this can work in practice with some simple examples! I’ll show you 3 quite traditional tasks and what we can do with them to incorporate some of the 4C’s:

Connect the new terms with their definitions – A staple in almost every course book but not so exciting. What we can do to make it collaborative is to build in a crossword game! Just keep the terms, ask your students to prepare definitions for them, and type them into a free template offered by crosswordlabs.com . They take part in the defining process and they can then fill in the crossword in pairs, which improves their communication skills as well.

2. Communicate

Write a 150-word letter of complaint to the restaurant manager – This is a typical exam task. To make it a little different, you could include some research or some real experiences. Ask your students to look up a unique restaurant online (they might even go and try the food there), try to imagine what they could complain about, and then put it on padlet.com with the image of the restaurant. You can also appoint restaurant managers whose responsibility is to respond to these complaints under the original Padlet post. A similar but more life-like twist could be to make your students write Google Maps reviews – they might even post it in the end!

3. Do research, advance preparation

You just finished a unit, will start a new topic next, and have nothing really to give as homework – Imagine that you finished everything and have no idea what to do with your students. They can either have some time off or… You could ask them to do some research on the topic that’s coming up next and record their findings via videoask.com , flipgrid.com or vocaroo.com (this one’s audio only). You could also ask them to look for something specific – a surprising fact, a controversial idea, a scandal, or something inspiring. They can watch each other’s short videos before the lesson with some guided task, and come to class prepared.

So to sum up the main takeaways: To make homework tasks more engaging, try making them more personalised, authentic, and challenging by integrating several 21st century skills and involving the real world around your students . Don’t hesitate to share your ideas here or on social media!

Joanna is a very active educator, trainer and blogger.

Check out her blog (highly recommended): http://www.shortandsimpleenglish.com

Follow Joanna on: http://linkedin.com/in/joanna-szoke https://twitter.com/jo_shortnsimple

Engaging and exciting homework tasks - Part One
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13 Fun Homework Ideas: The Best Ways To Make Homework Fun For Kids Quickly & Easily

Sophie Bartlett

Figuring out how to make homework fun can be a tricky task for parents.

Does it feel like you’re constantly nagging your kids to do their homework? If your answer is yes, know that we’ve all been there! It’s natural for parents to want their children to progress and do well in school, but after an entire day of paper, pencils, and books many youngsters will resist getting on with their homework – and that’s putting it mildly!

Fun Math Games and Activities Packs for Kindergarten to 5th Grade

Individual packs for Kindergarten to Grade 5 containing fun math games and activities.

Top Tips To Make Homework Fun:

1. work together, 2. use rewards and incentives, 3. make them a snack, 4. make it visual, 5. try different learning apps, 6. set up a homework play date, 7. go outside, 8. turn it into a game, 9. let them play teacher, 10. use a timer, 11. create a special homework space, 12. remember to be positive, 13. get help if you need it.

Thankfully, there are ways of making homework less boring and that are a little bit more fun for your child. Whether they need to practice spelling, learn their times tables or revise for an important exam, our top fun homework ideas will help you magically take the ‘work’ out of homework.

Adults often work best in the company of others, and the same can be said of kids, so why not sit with your child while they’re studying and get on with some of your own work or life admin?

Whether you’re returning emails or doing your online banking, creating a shared workspace and modeling focused work is a great way to spend quality time together while they complete their homework. Win-win!

Quick win : While your child is tackling their fractions homework, you could sit down with them and take a look through your finances.

Rewards and incentives are great when it comes to getting your children to follow your household rules and routines, and homework is no different. Things like stickers or the promise of time on their iPad or games console for slightly older children can all work wonders in getting them to do their homework without a battle.

Quick win: For every few questions they answer they could get a minute of screen time!

Let’s face it: A hungry child is an unfocused, unmotivated and unhappy child.

Most children come out of school ravenous, so let them nibble on a nutritious after-school snack while they get on with homework; things like popcorn, apple slices, grapes, or crackers and cheese are all great snack options.

If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, Active for Life has a list of healthy after-school snack ideas and recipes to try.

Quick win: One of the best brain foods for kids is a nice and crispy apple! So when your child is craving something sweet just cut up an apple and let them munch away.

Help to eliminate the late night ‘Oh, I forgot to do that’, and create a weekly homework chart so your child can see what they have to do each day and check off each ‘to do’ task as it’s been completed.

Again, Pinterest has some great free printables to help keep kids organized. Get them involved by letting them color it, or decorate it with their favorite stickers, and pin it up somewhere at their height, where they will see it easily every day as a reminder. Some exciting new stationery and colorful pens might help too.

Quick win: An easy way to make homework fun is to grab a piece of paper and get your child to draw out and decorate a ‘homework chart’ consisting of 5 days. Stick it on the fridge and add a sticker to each day after they’ve done their homework, when they’ve collected 5 stickers they get a treat!

Fun Homework Ideas - try different learning apps

If your child prefers to be online, there are some great online apps around that children will have fun using, yet encourage learning too. Here are our favorite free math websites for example. Speak to your child’s teacher too and see which apps the children use in school so you can support what they’re doing at home.

Quick win: One of our favorite websites that makes homework fun is Tang Math !

Holding a homework playdate where your child can invite one of their best school buddies over to do homework together can be a great way for them to learn and make sure the work gets done, especially older children in elementary school.

Plus, it’s likely that their parents will be delighted!

Younger children may need a bit more support and guidance but can still gain a lot from the experience of learning together with a friend – think of this as a mini-educational play date for them.

Quick win: Let your child and their friend play for a while, and then get them to work through their homework with the incentive of a yummy ‘ice cream party’ when they’ve completed all of their homework.

If the weather allows, create a comfortable outside study space and allow your child to do their homework outdoors.

The fresh air can help kids with their concentration if they’ve been stuck in a classroom all day, and studies also show that being outside, closer to nature, can increase productivity. The reward of a quick game of Frisbee or a kick-around of a soccer ball between tasks will help them stay motivated too.

Who said home learning had to be boring? If children enjoy what they’re learning, they’re more likely to remember what they’re being taught, so turn their learning into a fun game. Using sweets like Smarties to help with math and number work can turn the experience from a chore into a treat. If they get the right answer, they get to eat some!

Another trick that you can use when your child is learning spellings is to write them in shaving cream or in magnetic letters. It sounds simple but we can guarantee that it will make homework a lot more fun for your child.

These math games for kids and times tables games are a great place to start.

Quick win: If you’re looking for some fun homework ideas then check out this simple multiplication activity you can do at home, it’ll even get in one of your child’s five a day!

Make another fun homework game by creating your own mini-classroom and letting your child step into the role of teacher.

Have your child explain a concept to you as a teacher, as you, or their sibling, play the role of the student. This game works particularly well with subjects that require theory, like Science for example, as it will improve their understanding of the concept and build logic and reasoning skills.

Quick win: Make homework fun by getting your child to choose their favorite teddies and toys and setting them up in their own mini- classroom. Start off with registration, ‘mom’ ‘present’, ‘mr teddy’ ‘here’ etc. You’ll soon notice that your child is growing in confidence regardless of the topic as children love playing teacher!

Some children may have difficulty working for prolonged periods of time without a break, so using a timer can be great for getting them to complete homework without whining. For example, if your child is given 20 math problems for homework, you can say “Complete the first 10 questions, then we’ll take a 5-minute break, then complete the next 10 questions”.

Many children will need a mental break and will work more effectively when given the opportunity to take one. At the end of the task, they get to pick an activity of their choice. If your child gets easily distracted, a timer game can work well to keep them focused on the task in hand.

Quick win: Put the timer on your phone so that your child can see the countdown while they’re working.

A special study space can make homework more fun and help motivate your child to get it done! Choose a space in your house that’s least likely to distract your child, and create simple, organized, and kid-friendly homework.

You could hang up some of their artwork above the desk, and have all their school essentials nearby so everything is close to hand.

Quick win: Make sure that they aren’t surrounded by things that will distract them. Televisions and iPads are a no go at homework time!

Remember to always be upbeat and positive about school and the importance of their homework. Give your child lots of praise and encouragement about how well they’re doing to help them stay motivated and on track.

Quick win: After every homework session, spend five minutes talking through what your child has accomplished. If you’re running out of activities to do, have a look at our list of home learning packs – all free to download.

Homework can be frustrating if your child doesn’t understand the material or gets bored easily. If your child is struggling, get them some expert help!

Quick win: Third Space Learning has plenty of advice on learning math for kids and parents but if you need more support, our primary school math tutors are easy to organize and very affordable.

Do you have students who need extra support in math? Give your students more opportunities to consolidate learning and practice skills through personalized math tutoring with their own dedicated online math tutor. Each student receives differentiated instruction designed to close their individual learning gaps, and scaffolded learning ensures every student learns at the right pace. Lessons are aligned with your state’s standards and assessments, plus you’ll receive regular reports every step of the way. Personalized one-on-one math tutoring programs are available for: – 2nd grade tutoring – 3rd grade tutoring – 4th grade tutoring – 5th grade tutoring – 6th grade tutoring – 7th grade tutoring – 8th grade tutoring Why not learn more about how it works ?

The content in this article was originally written by primary school teacher Sophie Bartlett and has since been revised and adapted for US schools by elementary math teacher Christi Kulesza.

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PEMDAS Math Poster (Spanish Version) [FREE]

Trying to help remember what the mnemonic PEMDAS stands for? Display this poster to engage young learners with answering questions on the order of operations.

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Creative Homework Ideas For Your Students

Setting appropriate homework tasks is a big part of your teaching role. Setting homework is an opportunity to ensure that your students have absorbed the lesson and can apply what they've learnt to individual study. Homework allows students to reflect on your teachings and broaden their understanding of a particular subject or topic.

However, motivating your class to view homework this way might be something of a challenge! Most young people find settling down to complete homework outside of school hours challenging. If the task feels overwhelming or difficult or seems monotonous, they might just go through the motions of getting it done rather than giving it their full energy and attention and completing it the best they can.

So how can you ensure students' love of learning continues outside the classroom and that they not only give their all to completing homework but actually enjoy it too?

By getting creative with the work you set and thinking about how you can engage and motivate students to complete their homework, you will undoubtedly see better results.

Here are some excellent homework ideas to help encourage creative, student-led learning.

Exciting, engaging homework ideas to keep your students paying attention

Write their own lesson plan.

If you want to give your students a chance to step into your shoes for the day, why don't you ask them to create their own lesson plan around a topic they've learnt about or are about to learn? This will give them a chance to showcase their knowledge, do research and think creatively. You'll also learn more about how your students like to work and what would make a good lesson from their perspective, which could help inform how you shape your lessons in the future.

Write a speech or story from a different perspective

If your students are learning about a famous historical figure or studying a classic text, why not get them to think about different perspectives? You could ask them to embody someone influential from a particular period or a character from a play or story and write a speech or story from that person's point of view.

Create a board game

Gamification is always a fun idea to try to inject energy into the classroom, and getting your students to create their very own board game is a fantastic way to keep things fun while also getting them engaged in their learning. Games could centre around a particular topic; they could be quiz-based, matching games, or number games - let them get as creative as they like. You can then have fun in class playing the best ones too.

Go on a treasure hunt

As a fun homework task that will get your students out and about, ask them to go on a treasure or scavenger hunt, finding certain things that are related to your topic. For younger children, this could be as simple as collecting leaves, flowers, or twigs they might find in their local park, or particular shapes or colours, but older children can benefit from this kind of task too by setting more complicated challenges.

Create a collage

Creating collages can be a fun and interesting way for students to demonstrate their learning, improve their research skills and use their creativity and imagination and can be based on a variety of different topics so they work well across lots of subjects. Encourage them to stick cutouts, fabrics, tickets, photographs, and any other relevant materials to make up their collages, and then they can take turns presenting these in class.

Film a video

If your students are older and have mobile phones, you could set a video-making task for them to do at home. This could involve interviewing friends and relatives about a topic or filming themselves talking about a specific subject, or answering a particular question. Students could share their videos in class and will love being able to use their phones in school for once!

Create a crossword

Get your students to think creatively about questions and answers by asking them to create their very own crossword puzzle, using the material you've taught them in class as a basis. You can ask them to bring all their crossword puzzles into class and then swap them with each other to see if other students can fit the answers in correctly.

Find fun facts

Almost every subject has weird and wonderful facts surrounding it. Did you know, for example, that the word 'hundred' derives from an old Norse term 'hundrath,' which actually means 120?! Or that water can both boil and freeze simultaneously? Encourage your students to find the most obscure or interesting facts about the subjects you are teaching them, and then you can all share your findings in class.

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6th September 2020

Creative Homework Ideas

How can you create homework assignments that build on the day’s lessons and encourage creative, student-led learning? It’s a challenge for most teachers, especially as motivating pupils to complete homework can add a whole extra layer to your lesson plans. But it’s essential to bridge the gap between teacher and student learning – the skills gained through independent study reinforces knowledge from your class, as well as a host of other benefits:

Extended learning time – outside of the constraints of the school day, students are free to learn at their own pace and in their own environment.
Independent learning – vital skills for exam preparation and higher education
Teaches students to be resourceful and to overcome challenges independently.
Gives students the freedom to be creative in their learning, gain valuable problem-solving skills and confidence in their own abilities.

Tips For Setting Creative Homework

Plan independent learning both in and out of the classroom – you can monitor students effectiveness and address issues that may arise in the classroom before they become problematic for pupils at home.
Don’t leave homework assignment to the end of the lesson, rushing through the task might leave some students confused which inevitably leads to a lower homework completion rate. Write plenty of time for explaining homework assignments into your lesson planning – read our Beginner’s Guide To Lesson Planning here
Homework should to not too easy nor not too hard, offering pupils a challenge that reinforced the topics learnt during the day
Give room for creative expression – allowing students to add their own diagrams, decorations or chose their own project topics from a selection.
Try using peer or self-assessment to mark homework – a double whammy of reducing your workload and allowing pupils to take control of their own learning.
Include timings and explicit steps for completing more complicated assignments, especially for pupils that you anticipate might struggle. Comprehension of the task is the biggest hurdle in getting pupils to work on an independent basis.
Self-driven projects, posters, creative tasks and research are more exciting than standard comprehension tasks and might encourage pupils that find sitting and writing dull or hard to complete the homework set – give students the freedom to learn and be creative in their home study.
Provide specific instructions and internet safety reminders for research-led assignments. It’s very easy for children to find research overwhelming with a vast amount of information available online. Provide suggested websites and links in your homework to keep things on track!
Don’t introduce a new topic for homework – keep it to topics that you’ve already covered in class
Taking note of the subjects that excite and engage your class and set homework accordingly – try keeping dryer topics and for the classroom so that you can monitor engagement
Mark work promptly – essential to keep students motivated to complete work in their own time!
Offering students the opportunity to select the homework that they would like to do from a selection guarantees a higher rate of completion. We’ve seen some teachers create grids or sheets of homework assignments for the pupils to select, or offer baskets of activities for younger children to take home and complete with an adult.

Creative Homework Ideas For All Ages

Coming up with innovative ways for students to reinforce their knowledge at home can be difficult – many of these ideas would be suitable for lots of subjects with a little tweaking!

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Homework for ESL Students – 10 Ideas for Teachers

Meet David De’ Ath , founder, editor, and writer at Wonderful World English. With his extensive background as an English teacher, David provides valuable insights and practical tips on ESL for students and teachers alike.

Learning English as a Second Language (ESL) is an enriching venture and offers students the ability to access global opportunities.

Homework in ESL is crucial, serving as a bridge between classroom theory and practical language use.

It’s essential for reinforcing learned concepts and enhancing general language proficiency.

To make this learning journey both effective and enjoyable, it’s important to craft homework tasks that are engaging and tailored to diverse learning styles.

This approach helps to maintain students’ interest and motivation, which are key to successful language acquisition.

These ESL homework ideas are designed to enhance language learning and engage students both in and out of the classroom: Daily journaling, vocabulary flashcards, reading comprehension, listening to podcasts/songs, video diaries, role-play scenarios, grammar worksheets, online games, book club discussions, and a pen pal program.

I am an experienced ESL teacher, and I can attest first-hand to the importance of self-study, homework, and review.

Our carefully selected ten homework ideas aim to transform routine learning into an exciting adventure.

These activities are more than just assignments; they’re interactive experiences designed to deepen students’ understanding of English.

From creative writing to practical exercises, these tasks are intended to make learning English a dynamic and enjoyable process, paving the way for a richer, more confident use of the language.

Homework Ideas for ESL Students

ESL students need more than just traditional classroom lessons.

Homework is a vital part of their language development and serves as a bridge between acquired knowledge and practical application.

The following homework ideas are designed to captivate students’ interest, deepen their understanding, and enhance their fluency in English in the classroom and real-life situations.

Let’s dive into these creative and effective homework strategies that promise a richer, more interactive language learning experience:

1. Daily Journaling

This is a great idea to engage students by embracing the habit of maintaining a daily journal.

Writing about their daily experiences, emotions, thoughts, or selected topics can sharpen their writing skills while learning to articulate their feelings and ideas in English.

This journaling process serves a dual purpose: it strengthens their grasp of the language and provides a personal space for self-expression.

As they regularly engage with this practice, English becomes an integral part of their daily routine and will facilitate a more natural and fluent use of the language in their everyday lives.

This activity bolsters their linguistic abilities and fosters a deeper connection with English as a medium of personal reflection and expression.

Writing is a huge aspect of mastering a language.

For a guide on how to improve writing skills for yourself or your students, click the link below!

Related Article: How to Sharpen Writing Skills – Full Guide

2. Making Flashcards

Students can develop their vocabulary skills through the classic and effective method of creating flashcards.

This exercise involves students writing down new words and their meanings on individual cards.

They can add illustrations or use words in sentences to make the learning process more engaging and impactful.

This visual and contextual approach helps better retain and understand new vocabulary.

By regularly reviewing these flashcards, students can gradually build a robust vocabulary base, which is essential for fluency in English.

This method will reinforce their word knowledge and encourage active engagement with the language, making vocabulary learning a more interactive and enjoyable experience.

Flashcards are suitable for students of all ages and can be fun.

For some great insights on effectively teaching ESL students vocabulary, the guide below is for you!

Related Article: How to Teach Vocabulary to ESL Students – The Guide

3. Reading Comprehension Exercises

Immerse more advanced students in the world of English reading by assigning short stories or articles complemented by comprehension questions.

This exercise is pivotal in enhancing their reading skills and deepening their understanding of various contexts in English.

Students encounter different writing styles, vocabularies, and themes by engaging with diverse texts, enriching their language experience.

The follow-up questions serve to test their understanding and encourage critical thinking about the content.

This approach bolsters their ability to comprehend English texts and stimulates their analytical skills, making them more adept at interpreting and engaging with the language in its written form.

Such reading exercises are fundamental in helping students gain confidence and proficiency in navigating English literature and media.

4. Podcasts and Songs

Teachers can offer listening exercises in their curriculums by using English podcasts and songs.

This method exposes students to a variety of accents, speaking speeds, and vocabulary in a natural context.

After listening, students can engage in activities like writing summaries or answering questions about what they heard.

These post-listening tasks are crucial for enhancing their comprehension and retention.

This approach is great at improving listening skills while making the learning process more enjoyable and relatable.

By regularly interacting with authentic English content, students develop a better ear for the language and learn to appreciate its rhythm and nuances in different forms of media.

This not only aids in language acquisition but also connects them culturally to the English-speaking world.

Check out the guide below for a list of the BEST English podcasts!

Related Article: Best Podcasts to Learn the English Language in 2024 (Top 10)

5. Video Diaries

This one encourages students to create short video diaries as a regular assignment.

This task provides them with a platform to practice speaking about a variety of topics in English.

Whether they choose to talk about their daily life, share opinions on current events, or discuss their hobbies, these video diaries offer a unique opportunity for students to engage actively with the language.

This activity not only improves their spoken English skills but also significantly boosts their confidence in using the language.

It helps them to overcome any hesitation or fear of speaking by providing a safe, personal space to express themselves.

The process of recording and watching their own videos can also be a powerful tool for self-evaluation and progress tracking.

This innovative approach to language learning empowers students to become more fluent and self-assured English speakers.

6. Role-play in Real-world Scenarios

Ask your students to prepare role-plays that mimic real-world scenarios, such as shopping, ordering food, or making appointments.

This practical approach to learning takes them beyond the confines of traditional classroom exercises and immerses them in everyday situations. T

Through role-playing, students get to practice conversational English in a structured yet dynamic context.

It allows them to apply their language skills in practical situations, enhancing their ability to communicate effectively in real-life settings.

This method is particularly effective in familiarizing them with common phrases and vocabulary used in daily interactions.

Additionally, role-playing can be a fun and interactive way to learn, helping to reduce the anxiety often associated with speaking a new language.

By engaging in these simulated experiences, students gain confidence and fluency, which are crucial for their overall language development.

7. Grammar Worksheets

This is a classic form of homework for ESL students, to offer them worksheets that concentrate on specific grammar points, such as verb tenses, sentence structure, or prepositions.

Regular practice with these worksheets is instrumental in solidifying their understanding of English grammar.

This methodical approach allows students to focus on one aspect of grammar at a time, ensuring a thorough grasp of each concept.

Such targeted exercises help correct common mistakes and deepen their comprehension of the language’s structure.

By consistently working through these grammar worksheets, students build a strong grammatical foundation, which is vital for effective English communication.

This foundational knowledge enhances their writing and speaking skills and boosts their confidence in correctly using the language in various contexts.

For some tips on how to teach grammar to ESL students, we’ve put together a guide to help teachers everywhere!

Related Article: How to Teach Grammar to ESL Students – Teacher’s Guide

8. Online Games

Motivate your students to engage with educational language games available online.

These games offer a fun, interactive way to learn and practice English.

Students can improve various language skills through game-based learning, including vocabulary, grammar, reading, and even listening comprehension.

The interactive nature of these games makes the learning process more enjoyable and less intimidating, especially for younger learners or beginners.

As students play, they receive immediate feedback on their performance, which helps reinforce correct usage and understanding.

This approach enhances their language skills and keeps them motivated and engaged in their learning.

Online language games provide a dynamic and enjoyable way to supplement traditional learning methods, making language practice an activity that students can look forward to.

For some ideas of classroom games, both traditional and digital, check out the guide below!

Related Article: Fun Classroom Games to Play – Teacher’s Guide

9. Book Club

Another great idea is to start a book club in your class, where students can read and discuss a common book.

This collaborative activity enhances their reading skills and promotes critical thinking and group discussion skills in English.

Choosing books that are appropriate for their language level, the book club encourages students to dive into stories and themes, expanding their vocabulary and comprehension.

Discussing the book with their peers allows them to share perspectives, articulate their thoughts, and engage in meaningful conversations in English.

This interactive and social approach to learning also builds a sense of community among the students, making English learning a shared and enjoyable experience.

The book club thus becomes a platform for growth, not just in language proficiency but also in cognitive and social skills.

10. Pen Pal Program

The tenth great homework idea for ESL students is to start a pen pal program with English-speaking individuals from different parts of the world.

This initiative provides a unique opportunity for students to engage in regular written communication with native English speakers.

Through exchanging letters or emails, students practice their writing skills in a real-world context, learning to express their thoughts and ideas clearly in English.

This regular interaction not only improves their language proficiency but also offers valuable insights into different cultures and lifestyles, enhancing their cultural understanding and global awareness.

The pen pal program is more than just a language exercise; it’s a bridge that connects students across cultures, promoting international friendships and broadening their perspectives.

This kind of cultural exchange can be a highly rewarding and motivating experience, encouraging students to apply their language skills in meaningful and authentic interactions.

You can reach out to other teachers on platforms like LinkedIn and see if they would be willing to start a pen pal initiative for both them and your students.

The homework ideas presented for ESL students transcend the traditional concept of assignments.

They are designed as interactive learning experiences that not only build language skills but do so in a way that is practical, enjoyable, and highly effective.

Integrating these varied activities into the ESL curriculum allows teachers to cultivate a dynamic and nurturing learning environment.

Such an approach encourages students to actively engage with the English language, not just within the confines of the classroom but in their everyday lives as well.

Promoting this kind of immersive learning experience makes students more likely to develop a lasting proficiency and a genuine appreciation for the language.

These activities, therefore, play a crucial role in shaping confident, competent English speakers who are prepared to navigate the global landscape.

We hope you find value in this article; let us know if you require any assistance.

Have a wonderful day!

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15 Innovative School Homework Ideas to Make Learning Fun

Aashita Pillai

Aashita is a writer here at Suraasa and has formerly worked as a Teacher Mentor for a couple of years. She wields words like weapons to help readers get clear and concise information.

General Tips to Keep Students Hooked to School Homework

15 innovative school homework ideas to engage your students, theme a: arts and crafts, theme b: physical and outside activities, theme c: digital activities, theme d: games, theme e: entrepreneurship, downloadable resource.

“Hi teachers! I am your old friend, School Homework. Over time as education changed, so have I— thanks to the endless innovations that happened to me. Let me take you through my life and the various innovations that made me your best friend- I was born in the 1920s to help students reinforce what they learned in class. Until the 1980s, I was basically just pen-and-paper-based assignments. The Internet was born in 1983. From there onwards, I made my stride into the ‘digital era’.

Until the beginning of 2020, I was slowly being integrated within online platforms and technology to help students learn better. Then at the onset of 2020, the world plunged into the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools shifted to a ‘remote learning’ mode of education. During this pandemic, you and I became very crucial in ensuring the continuity of our students’ learning. You all embraced creative approaches to keep the students engaged. You leveraged interactive games, virtual simulations, & more to make me engaging. Gone are the days when you, my dear teachers, would limit your homework to worksheets, textbook questions, literature reviews, and reports. Today as we stand here in 2023, there is no limit to innovative and exciting homework formats! Well, that’s from me. See you in the classrooms!”

Unlimited possibilities when school homework and innovation combine

So teachers, we heard from homework about how it has evolved over time. As it said, many innovative ways have come up to reinforce our students' learning. So, are you ready to make your students fall in love with these new school homework ideas? Let’s begin with understanding some general tips to keep your students engaged with their school homework.

1. Make it Relevant and Meaningful

Connect the school homework to their lives, interests, or current events to make it more meaningful and relatable. For example, if it’s Christmas time, you can ask your students to explore the themes of charity, storytelling, etc.

2. Give Them a Choice

Allow students to have some choice and autonomy in their assignments. Ask them to select the format (e.g. written format in the online medium, oral format in the offline medium) in which they want to submit their homework. When they feel a sense of ownership, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged. This is how you become a 21st-century teacher who uses differentiated learning.

3. Celebrate Their Achievements

When children get appreciated for their achievements or good behaviour, it boosts their self-confidence. It encourages them to repeat those actions. This creates a positive learning environment. They are more likely to deliver results when appreciated for their actions. Hence, you can celebrate their achievements via small rewards, recognition or a display of their work in class.

Let's move to the next part of this blog, where we will share innovative school homework ideas that will turn mundane homework into engaging learning sessions! After assigning any of these innovative homework ideas, you might never hear students’ innovative excuses to avoid homework! To give you a quick run-through, these ideas have been grouped under some common themes. Under each theme, you will learn how to use 3 ideas listed alongside relevant examples to comprehend it completely. Come along as we give the ratty old homework a MAKEOVER!

By infusing the joy of arts and crafts into school homework, you can tap into the innate curiosity and imagination of your students. And you never know, you might end up being the person that shaped the next Da Vinci! So, let’s get right into it:

1. Create Your Storybook

Storybooks as creative holiday homework design for nursery class

We all have heard stories. We have loved them and adored them. So why not give our students a chance to write one? After the students submit their storybooks, you can review their stories and give personalised feedback. Such feedback addresses each student’s individual needs, strengths, and areas for improvement. This fosters a student-centric learning environment. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Create a storybook on their favourite fictional characters from their English Literature Syllabus, such as Harry Potter or Matilda.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Design a narrative-based comic book retelling a classic play like "To Kill a Mockingbird".
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Craft a novella inspired by a chosen literary work from the English Literature syllabus.

2. Make Your Own Board Game

Holiday homework design ideas to make your own board game

Do you remember the joy of gathering around a table, rolling a dice, and playing Snakes & Ladders? As kids and even as adults, many of us love spending our time playing board games. Now, picture becoming the teacher that integrates school homework with a board game! Students can design board games and incorporate artistic elements into their theme, board layout, cards, etc. They can become architects of fun and learning!

Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Design a board game on animals with jungle-themed cards. Add tasks like imitating the animal or guessing the animal’s habitat.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Create a board game depicting important events from World War 2. Add tasks like creating game cards with historical information.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Develop a strategic board game centred around a complex social issue or global challenge. Add tasks like creating a board journey of a historical event.

3. Construct a Birdhouse

Summer vacation holiday homework design ideas to create a birdhouse

Now, let’s tap into the sweet nostalgia of DIY(Do it Yourself) Projects. It could be something as simple as bedsheet forts or something a little more complex like a birdhouse 🙂 Won’t it be wonderful to watch your students feel a sense of accomplishment when they build their own handmade creations? Let’s focus on the idea of constructing a birdhouse. By assigning students this homework, you’ll additionally be encouraging kinesthetic learning .

Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Draw a birdhouse on cardboard or on paper.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Construct a birdhouse from scratch, following specific dimensions and incorporating elements that attract certain bird species. Research and create a guide on local bird species and their habitats.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Design and build an elaborate birdhouse that incorporates sustainable materials and advanced woodworking techniques. Conduct a study on nesting preferences and document findings.

Students love spending their time outdoors. Assigning school homework that requires them to be outside is a big plus! It will also help them apply what’s taught in class in real-life situations and promote active learning.

4. Participate in a Scavenger Hunt

Using scavenger hunt as holiday homework design idea

Everyone loves a good old mystery! Give your students the chance to be modern-day ‘Sherlock Holmes’ as they set out on scavenger hunts. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Join a geometry-themed scavenger hunt and search for items of different shapes in their neighbourhood.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Join a historical scavenger hunt in the community, where students discover landmarks related to local history.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Join a technology-based scavenger hunt using smartphones or tablets. Students can incorporate QR codes and online resources.

5. Maintain a Physical Activity Journal

In this digital age, where mobile and laptop screens often dominate, the majority of the students lead sedentary lifestyles. School homework which encourages physical activity, can be a game-changer! And what better than maintaining a physical activity journal that helps with it? Additionally, it will also promote the healthy habit of having an active lifestyle among students. Getting students to journal can seem tough, but with the right motivation & incentives, it can be done. Additionally, this can also be a fun summer holiday homework, where students can keep track of their activities all summer! Encourage them to document their daily exercise triumphs. Push them to go beyond their own records! Ask them to explore science concepts- BMI, heart and pulse rates, diet, and nutrition! Once you do this, exercise will not just be about breaking a sweat anymore. It will also be something that incorporates learning! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Keep a daily journal of physical activities, such as playing sports or riding a bike. Students can record the duration, type of activity, and how it made them feel.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Maintain a weekly activity log. Students can set fitness goals, track their progress, and reflect on the benefits of regular physical activity.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Create a comprehensive fitness and wellness journal, tracking not only physical activities but also nutrition, sleep patterns, and mental well-being.

6. Conduct a Survey at a Local Supermarket

Holiday homework design idea regarding surveys at supermarkets

This outdoor activity is an extremely fun option for school homework. Most kids love running through the different aisles in a supermarket. Introducing a concept like surveys here gives them a chance to do some ‘real-life’ work and also provides much-needed relief to their parents! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Ask students to talk to a supermarket owner about the number of chocolates they stock v/s the number of chocolates they sell.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Design a multiple-choice questionnaire to survey shoppers about their shopping preferences.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Conduct a comprehensive survey on consumer behaviour, market trends, or sustainable practices at the local supermarket. Analyse the data using statistical methods.

In the age of tech-savvy students, we often find parents complaining about the excess screen time with their kids. But what if you could harness the untapped potential in technology? Today's kids are already immersed in the digital world, so why not tap into their enthusiasm and merge it with learning? Let’s look at some innovative methods of assigning digital activities for school homework:

7. Record a Virtual Job Application

Holiday Homework design for classes 9 to 12 related to career opportunities

This can be a fun homework assignment for students of all grades. One thing that we often forget as teachers is that school is not just about the present; it's also about the future. But often, we don’t discuss the future. This results in students being almost lost when it comes to their future career opportunities. This is exactly where this school homework activity helps. Assigning school homework related to professions is a great chance for students to explore their career options. This, in turn, will help them be better prepared for life after school. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Create a video where students share their aspirations and talk about their role models. They can dress up as that person and talk about their profession.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Students prepare a resume and cover letter for a fictional job and create a brief introduction video.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Research the companies or leaders students want to work with in the future. Record an elevator pitch describing their strengths and weaknesses and why they are perfect for a job role!

8. Participate in Online Collaborative Projects

Online collaboration projects as holiday homework design idea

Online projects are a catalyst for active learning and student engagement. They can be a tool for you to create a dynamic learning environment that goes beyond traditional classroom boundaries. Additionally, these activities enhance digital literacy and empower students to leverage technology for learning. Working on online collaborative projects will also help students learn how to function together as a team. This is something that also prepares them for life beyond school, where it’s crucial to learn to work together.

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Collaborate with classmates on a digital art project using online drawing tools.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Engage in an online group discussion or debate with students from other schools on a specific topic.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Join a global online collaborative project, such as a virtual science fair or a collaborative writing initiative.

9. Virtual Cultural Exchange

Using cultural exchange as holiday homework design idea

Cultural exchange events open doors to new horizons, offering students a unique chance to explore diverse cultures. By immersing them in new traditions, you develop acceptance, and empathy in your students. You give them a chance to have a broad and more inclusive perspective of the world. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Buddy pair students and encourage them to engage in conversations while donning traditional costumes.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Create a presentation that explores similarities and differences between the cultures of their peers.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Engage in virtual cultural exchange programmes with students from various countries. Conduct virtual interviews and share experiences.

Game-based school homework is one of the best ways to engage your students. Integrating learning within games creates a powerful synergy where education and entertainment merge seamlessly. It’s time to tap into your students’ natural love for games and leverage it!

10. Use Minecraft as a Learning Tool

Summer vacation holiday homework design ideas using games

Ah, Minecraft! A name that brings back memories of endless adventures in pixelated landscapes. It’s a game that is a nostalgic reminder of our childhood. But did you know that Minecraft can be more than just a game? It can be a powerful learning tool to level up the educational experience of your students. 💡Learn how to leverage Minecraft to make your classrooms more engaging! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Create a Minecraft world that represents a historical monument like the Taj Mahal.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Design a virtual science experiment within Minecraft.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Utilize Minecraft as a platform for architectural design and build virtual structures using architectural principles.

11. Encourage Role-Playing Games

Using roleplay as creative holiday homework design idea

Lights, camera, action! Role-playing games(RPGs) let students step into the shoes of a character and bring lessons to life. Even though RPGs are not typically classified as games, their unique blend of learning and fun makes them ideal for educational purposes. You can assign students to act out roleplays based on a historical event, scientific concept or work of literature. They can develop characters, write dialogues, and present this to the class. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Spend a day as your favourite character and write your experience.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Students can design a setting based on a science concept and enact simple scripts to explain the concept.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Engage in a literary role-playing game where students assume the roles of characters from a play.

12. Online Challenges

Online coding as holiday homework design idea

You can introduce online challenges like coding of varying difficulties for different grade levels. Platforms like Scratch or Code.org can be helpful for this purpose. Coding challenges offer hands-on experience to students. It allows them to practice coding concepts and algorithms in a practical and engaging manner. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Participate in online math challenges or puzzles.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Engage in coding challenges on platforms like Scratch or Code.org.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Join coding competitions or hackathons, either individually or as part of a team, to solve complex programming problems.

In today's competitive world, students who embrace innovative thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset stand out. As a teacher, you can nurture these qualities in your students via thought-provoking school homework. Such assignments can ignite students' passion for problem-solving, creative thinking, and strategic planning. Let’s look at some of the ideas below.

13. Pitch Your Business Idea

Holiday homework design idea of practising a business pitch

Have you watched shows like Shark Tank or Billion Dollar Buyer? Have you been completely captivated by the business pitches on these shows? Now, imagine doing the same for your students— unleashing their entrepreneurial spirit. It’s time to bring the hustle of the business world into your classrooms! Encourage students to develop a business idea and create a persuasive pitch. They should research their target market, competitors, and unique selling points. In fact, students can present their pitch using multimedia tools, such as slides or videos, highlighting the problem they're solving and the value their business brings. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Give some business ideas to students like a craft business or lemonade stand and ask them to choose one and why.
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Present a solution for a problem in the school or community. Students can brainstorm and then present their creative solutions.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Challenge students to create a detailed business proposal, including market analysis, financial projections, and marketing strategies, for a unique business concept.

14. Design a Mobile App

School homework idea to design mobile apps

Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. Think about the countless hours that you spend on your smartphone, exploring different apps that make your life easier. This is a practice growing like fire amongst kids as well and is cause for serious concern! What if they spend time on their phone and learn at the same time? This homework assignment encourages students to apply their creativity and technical skills to develop a concept for a mobile application. Additionally, you can also assign this as a holiday homework assignment and let students go wild with learning during summer! Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	*
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Divide students into teams and ask to come up with app ideas after market research.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Create wireframes and prototypes for a mobile app using basic coding and UI/UX.

*Technologies like designing mobile applications can be too complex for the primary school. Hence, we focus on this idea only for middle and high school students.

15. Set up a Stall at the School Fair

School homework idea of setting up a stall at fair

This homework acts as an Introduction to Business 101 class for students of all grade levels. Students get to decide what stall to put up, then work on the logistics and finally manage the stall and finances on D-Day. This will teach students real-world skills and give them a feeling of ownership. Let's look at a few examples to understand this school homework approach more closely:

Grade	School Homework to Assign Your Students
Homework for classes 1 to 5(or Primary School)	Set up lemonade stands, make posters, and have some light-hearted and healthy competition to see who makes the most money at an internal class fair!
Homework for classes 6 to 8(or Middle School)	Plan and execute a stall that offers a service, such as face painting, a photo booth, or a mini arcade game.
Homework for classes 9 to 12(or High School)	Set up a stall, selling products or services that they have created or sourced.

Grade-Specific Tips to follow while Preparing School Homework ‍

1. primary school students ‍.

Keep it Interactive and Hands-on Younger children thrive on tactile and interactive experiences. Incorporate more of arts and crafts, storytelling, etc., to make homework enjoyable for them.
Use Visuals Vibrant colours will capture their attention and make tasks visually appealing.
Keep it Short Primary school students have limited attention spans. Give them small tasks that they can accomplish in a limited timeframe. ‍

2. Middle School students ‍

Offer More Choices Middle schoolers are often teenagers already on the precipice of changes beyond their control. They will appreciate having some control over their learning. Allow them to choose topics or formats that align with their interests.
Incorporate Technology Middle school students are often technologically savvy. Utilise online resources, interactive platforms, and digital tools to make homework more engaging and relevant to their interests.
Encourage Independent Research Foster their curiosity by assigning research-based projects. Encourage them to explore various sources and present their findings in creative ways. ‍

3. High School Students ‍

Encourage Critical Thinking and Analysis High schoolers are capable of higher-order thinking skills. Assign tasks that require critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical thinking.
Encourage Self-expression Offer creative assignments that allow them to express their thoughts, opinions and ideas. Remember that they are young adults finding their voice in a loud world. Encourage them to write essays, create multimedia presentations, or engage in spirited debates.
Push for Practical Application Assign tasks that connect to real-world situations, allowing them to see the relevance and importance of their learning. ‍

How to Improve Your Homework and Other Teaching Strategies?

Do you want to learn about more strategies to improve school homework? What if you could upskill and improve all your teaching strategies- classroom management, assessment, and lesson planning, among many others? Book a call with a mentor to get dedicated teacher counselling on upskilling and improving your teaching strategies.

In a world where school homework is generally met with students’ whining, you can use these approaches to turn it into a gateway for innovation! By infusing ideas such as game-based learning, digital activities, and arts and crafts, you can help students engage with school homework meaningfully. This will foster a lifelong love for learning among your students, ultimately helping them succeed in and beyond the classroom. Want a short compilation of all the amazing school homework ideas? Click the button below

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Free Safety Talks to Print for Your Next Safety Meeting

Looking for safety talk topics to use at work? Scroll down to browse the list of 250+ completely free safety talks below! Print them off to use for your next safety meeting or safety moment with your employees. Use the links below to segment the talks by the most relevant topic category to easily find what you are looking for.

Members have access to over 320+ additional toolbox talks that are not found on this free site. There are also PowerPoint presentations with quizzes, 80 Spanish safety talks, and hand-picked weekly topic ideas. Additional members-only content is added every month!

Click the image of the safety talk to the left to download 1 of the over 550+ ad-free talks that are available for Members!

Save time and money from having to create your own resources. Instead, use that time to continue furthering your safety program.

Free Safety Toolbox Talk Topics Complete List

* Advice for Using These Toolbox Talks *
Achieving Safety Goals
Alcohol Use
Amputations
Annual Checkup
Asbestos Dangers
Attitude and Safety: Fostering Positive Attitude at Work
Auto Accident Procedures
Automated External Defibrillators
Back Injuries and Prevention
Backing Up Hazards
Battery Handling
Battling Complacency
Bees and Wasps
Before a Work Task Begins
Being Client-focused (Construction Industry)
Being Observant
Being Respectful to Coworkers
Benzene Dangers in the Workplace
Bloodborne Pathogens
Burn Hazards and Injury Prevention
Burn Severity
Carbon Monoxide Safety
Carcinogens in the Workplace
Chainsaw General Safety
Choices at Home and Safety on the Job
Clothing and Safety
Cold Stress Hazards
Common Cold
Common Issues with Fire Extinguishers
Communicating Issues
Communication and Safety
Communication Tools and Safety
Concrete Burns
Concrete Work
Continually Learning
Conveyor Belt General Safety
Costs of Drugs on the Job
Dangers of Excessive Sitting
Dealing with Hazards
Dealing with Stress from Home
Defensive Driving
Diesel Exhaust Dangers and Safeguards
Distracted Driving (Cellphone Use)
Distracted While Walking
Distractions Created by Smartphones When Not in Use
Dog Attacks
Doing Work Tasks Wrong the First Time
Driving Safely Where Deer Are Present
Dropped Objects on the Job
Drowsy Driving
Drunk Driving
Dump Truck Operation
Dump Truck Overturns
Dust Hazards in Construction
Easy Way Instead of the Right Way
Eating Habits
Electrical Injuries
Electrical Safety
Elimination of Hazards
Embracing Change in the Workplace
Emergency Exits
Energy Drink Dangers
Everyone is Responsible for the Culture
Excavation Safety
Excavator Quick Coupler Device Safety
Eye Damage Due to Sunlight
Eye Injuries and Prevention
Fall Protection
Falls in the Construction Industry
Falls on the Same Level
Fatal Four Hazards (Construction)
Fatigue on the Job
Fatigue on the Roadways
Filter Pot Sock Filter Changeout
Fire Extinguishers Use and Inspection
Fire Safety at Home
Fire Watch General Safety
Firework Safety and Injury Prevention
First Aid Preparedness
First Day Back to Work
Five Common Contributing Factors
Fixed Objects (Motor Vehicle Safety)
Fixed Open Blade Knives
Food Allergies
Forklift Fatalities and Injuries
Four Focus Items for Work Area Inspections
Front End Loader Safety
Gasoline Safety
Glycol Reclamation
Good Enough Mindset
Ground Personnel and Mobile Equipment
Habits and Safety
Hand Safety and Injury Prevention Safety Talk
Hand Tool Inspections
Hazardous Chemicals- Four Routes of Entry
HDPE Pipe Welding
Health is Everything
Heart Attacks
Heat Stress
Heat Stroke
Heavy Equipment (Four Other Hazards)
Heavy Equipment (Two Significant Hazards)
Heavy Equipment Operation
Helping Out
Hierarchy of Controls
High Wind Dangers (Construction)
Horseplay on the Job
Hose Parting Pneumatic Testing
Housekeeping in the Construction Industry
How Observant Are You?
How to Calculate Your Company’s TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate)
How We React to Our World
How What We Do at Home Affects Work
Human Performance
Hydration: The Importance of Water
Hydrogen Sulfide
Importance of Mentoring
Importance of Organized Laydown Yards
Incident Report Writing: A Comprehensive Guide
Insect Sting Allergies
Instant Gratification and Safety
Involve the Right Person
It Was a Matter of Time
It Won’t Happen to Me
Know Your Limits at Work
Knowing What to do in an Emergency
Lack of Time
Ladder Safety
Lawn Mower Safety
Lead Paint Dangers and Safety
Learning From Past Incidents
Learning the Hard Way
Leave Yourself an Out
Lifting and Rigging
Lightning Safety at Work and Home
Line of Fire Hazards
Lube Oil Flushing
Lyme Disease
Machine Guarding
Manual Handling Injury Prevention
Material Recovery Facilities General Safety
Mechanical Issue-Related Crashes
Motor Vehicle Safety
Motor Vehicle Safety (Loose Cargo)
Muddy Work Areas
New Employees on the Job
New Equipment
Nine Basic Construction Safety Rules
Noise at Work and Home
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Not a Big Deal Until it is
Not My Problem
Occupational-related Cancer
Office Safety
One Billion Dollars Spent on Injuries a Week
One Decision
One Safeguard Doesn’t Make it Safe
Opioid Abuse
Organization of Work Areas
Orthostatic Intolerance
Pinch Points and Hand Injuries
Playing the Lottery and Workplace Injuries
Pressure to Get Work Done
Pressure Washing
Preventing Equipment Damage Incidents in Construction
Proactive Versus Reactive Safety Approach
Questions to Ask Before a Work Task
Rabies in the US
Radio Communication on the Job
Rationalizing Unsafe Choices
Ready For Work
Recognized Versus Unrecognized Hazards
Recordable Injuries – Why Employees Should Care
Relying on Memory
Report All Injuries
Respirator Donning, Doffing, and Seal Checks
Road Rage (Motor Vehicle Safety)
S.O.R.T Tool
Safety Awareness: Being Present in the Moment
Safety Can Be Redundant
Safety Glasses
Safety Related Paperwork
Seatbelt Use and Safety
Securing a Construction Site
Selective Attention at Work
Seven Basic General Industry Safety Rules
Severity and Frequency
Shift Work Dangers
Shortcuts are a Choice
Shoveling Snow
Silica Dust Dangers and Safety Measures
Skid Steer Safety
Skin Cancer Due to Sun Exposure
Sling Inspections
Slip Hazards and Safety
Slips, Trips, and Falls
Smoking and Your Health
Snakes in the Workplace
Spill Prevention
Spotter Safety at Work
Stopping Work
Stretching Pros and Cons
Strokes- Signs and Emergency Response
Struck-by Incidents (Construction)
Success Through Reaching Potential
Surveying (Construction)
Table Saw General Safety
Take Safety Home
Taking Action to Work Safe
Taking Ownership of Safety
Taking Safety For Granted
Taking Shortcuts
Task Planning
The “WHY” for “WHAT” Needs Done
The Little Things
The Negative Side of Quick Reactions
The Ripple Effect of Safety
Theft from a Construction Site
Think of the Next Person
Three Self-Centered Reasons to Work Safely
Three Types of Poor Housekeeping Hazards
Three Way Communication
Top Five Reasons to Work Safely Today
Tornado Safety
Train Safety
Trip Injuries and Prevention
Truck Driving – Hazards On and Off the Road
Two Types of Workplace Stress
Types of Fire Extinguishers
Underground Utility Strikes
Unloading Trailers (Construction)
Unsafe Acts
Unsafe Conditions in the Workplace
Utility Vehicle Safety at Home and Work
Vehicle Inspections
Verbal Communication and Workplace Safety
Verifying Safeguards
Weakest Link on Your Team
Weed Wacker Safety
West Nile Virus
What Can Hurt Me Today?
What is Your “Why”
What Kind of Influence are You?
Which Safeguard Makes the Difference?
Why We All Should Care
Wildlife in the Workplace
Wind Chill Index
Winter Weather
Winter Weather Driving
Work Area Best Practices
Working Alongside Subcontractors
Working From Home
Workplace Inspections
Workplace Shootings
Workplace Suicides
Workplace Violence
Young Drivers and Motor Vehicle Accidents
Zero Injuries in the Workplace

What Are Workplace Safety Talks?

Safety talks are short safety messages for the members of a work crew prior to work beginning. These talks can be as short as a few minutes or longer than 20 minutes. On average, they are in the range of 5 or 10 minutes long in duration at most companies when conducted often. The talks can cover a range of topics or just a single focal point.

Below are answers to some other common questions individuals may have about conducting these types of talks for their work crews.

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What are other names for these meetings.

There are many names for safety talks. Some of the more common names are safety toolbox talks, toolbox talks, safety moments, safety briefings, safety pep talks, and tailgate meetings. For the most part, many of these names represent the same thing. However, there can be slight differences between companies or industries.

These meetings, no matter what they are called, are the safety message of the day for a work crew prior to the start of the day.

Providing a Safety Moment of the Day

When done correctly, these talks can have a profound effect on the overall safety program at a workplace. Companies that spend time holding these meetings are less likely to have injuries compared to a company that does not hold them on a regular basis.

Conducting meetings often is an effective way to deliver relevant and timely safety messages to an entire work crew. The time spent conducting these talks also goes a long way toward reinforcing prior training efforts.

Even just holding a 5-minute meeting every day equates to a massive amount of knowledge for your workforce over a year’s time. To be exact- it results in over 20 hours of education per employee a year! (5 minutes X 5 workdays per week X 50 work weeks= 1250 minutes… 1250 minutes/60 minutes per hour= 20.8 hours of education) Imagine the difference that education can make if you make the most out of every talk!

What Topics Should You Cover for These Safety Talks?

The topic or topics you should cover for the next safety toolbox talk will vary greatly from what topic(s) another company should be discussing. Some general questions you can ask yourself to narrow in on some topics:

What training needs to be reinforced?
What problems have we been having lately?
What are common injuries in this line of work?
What have our near misses been a result of?
What trends are occurring in the workplace or in our industry?

There are many other questions or guidelines you can use to determine what topics or topics you should cover. Keep topics useful, relevant, and timely.

Where Can I Find Free Safety Topics Online in 2023?

This site has one of the largest libraries of free topics found online today. That being said, there are also a number of great resources online to find topics for your next safety meeting. One of our favorite resources for topics is on OSHA’s website. They have a page called Safety and Health Topics that has a large list of high-quality topics.

Some other high-quality and reputable sources for toolbox talks or materials to support talks:

Mine Health and Safety Administration
Center for Disease Control
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Who Should Deliver a Safety Talk?

The person who is directing the work should be the one responsible for conducting or leading the safety talk. The responsibility at many companies, however, falls onto the safety officer or EHS manager instead. The reason for having the individual who is directing the work lead the talk is to show support for the message and efforts to work safely.

If it is constantly the EHS department’s responsibility to present, then employees can be led to believe that the frontline supervisors or managers do not truly support safety. If the workers’ supervisors or managers are not participating in the safety efforts, why should they?

The EHS department should instead serve more of an advisory role to the supervisor conducting the talk. They can provide the supervisor with topics, materials, or information for the talk, as well as chime in as needed to add value.

Do not be afraid to offer employees the chance to present at a meeting. While most employees would never choose to present a topic, you may be surprised to find that many would if given the chance.

How Often Should You Conduct Safety Talks?

There is no short and dry answer to how often your company should be conducting these talks. Some companies do multiple talks daily, and other companies may only do them monthly. A monthly schedule is probably way too sparingly for most companies, and two talks a day may be too often for others.

Companies often settle on conducting daily or weekly talks. At many companies, daily safety meetings prior to work beginning is an appropriate practice. Holding meetings that often may not make sense for all operations, however.

As mentioned earlier, these talks do not have to be extremely long. A lot of value can be added in a short amount of time if the talks are completed often. Employees are more likely to take more away from these talks if they are shorter in duration but are more frequent compared to longer meetings that occur infrequently.

Where Should Safety Talks Be Conducted?

These talks should be held in a place where employees are comfortable and can focus. Meeting rooms or break rooms are common areas where companies choose to hold their safety meetings. Another setting that can be even more effective is the work area(s) themselves.

This should only be done if the work area is comfortable, safe, and convenient for all involved in the talk. Conducting the talk in the work area itself can help employees visualize the information being conveyed, as well as allow the presenter to point out specific examples of what they are discussing.

If holding it in the work area is not an option, pictures or maps of the worksite can be great tools so that employees can visualize what is being said.

What Else Can You Do to Have a Better Safety Meeting or Safety Moment?

There are many things you can do to hold a better meeting. Below are a few quick tips that have not already been mentioned in this post:

Prepare ahead of time.
Keep topics relevant and timely to the audience.
Only take the time necessary to cover the topic; do not drag it out.
Do not read the talk word for word from the paper.
Get the audience involved by asking for stories or examples relating to the topic.
Use visual aids as needed to help get your message across.
Have fun- don’t take yourself so seriously!

For more tips, check out this post on this site that outlines 10 tips for a better toolbox talk .

Does OSHA Require Safety Toolbox Talks?

While OSHA does not specifically require a company to hold safety talks or toolbox talks in any of their standards, doing so can play a part in helping to ensure compliance with some standards. For example, OSHA requires that employers make employees aware of the hazards of the work that they do and how to eliminate them.

One specific example of this is found in the construction standard under 1926.21(b)(2), where OSHA states: “The employer shall instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the regulations applicable to his work environment to control or eliminate any hazards or other exposure to illness or injury.”

While training will be a large part of ensuring compliance with this specific regulation, safety toolbox talks are also a way to help to ensure compliance. These talks need to have the correct documentation to do so.

How Should You Document Safety Toolbox Talks?

Without documenting these efforts, there is no actual proof they were done. Meaning there is nothing to show OSHA or someone in your company in response to whether or not you were educating your employees on the hazards involved in their work. A lack of documentation can be problematic.

Every time a talk is conducted, a sign-in sheet should be completed by the presenter and signed by everyone present for the meeting. Some guidelines for documentation:

Include the date and time.
Include the presenter(s) name(s).
Have everyone sign the sheet.
Be detailed about what topics were discussed.
Attach any materials used for the talk to the sign-in sheet.
File documentation in chronological order so they can be easily found to be reviewed if needed.

The answers to the who, what, when, why, and how of safety talks can be as long of a list as the possible topics you could cover in your next meeting. The bottom line is your company should be conducting these talks on a regular basis as well as giving thought on how to continually improve on giving them. Use some of the insight here and tailor it to your company’s needs.

Consider checking out the Members Area of the site. There are plenty of other safety topics covered in there (with additional content added each month) if you find yourself not finding what you need in all of the free content offered on this site!

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Hello Fifth

A Teaching Blog

Homework and Homework Club 101

January 8, 2022 by Jill Shafer

Hello, friend! Let’s talk about homework club and what it looks like in our classroom.

I have used THIS with students in grades three through five but, like with anything, tweak it to meet the needs of your kids .

Disclaimer to start: I’m not here to argue for or against homework. We have a district responsibility and understanding that homework is a component of the day and not to exceed a certain length of time. For us, it’s ten minutes per grade level so by fifth grade, no student should be spending more than 50 minutes on homework each evening.

I will, obviously, modify homework for students, as well as provide time in class for homework completion.

Homework is never anything new; it is always review and for us, it’s very predictable, which I’ll share below.

For our room, here’s what is assigned:

-Reading Plus (a program used district-wide): Our fifth graders are responsible for completing three SRs and three RA assignments each week. They can work at their own pace but we HIGHLY encourage doing at least one each evening. This is OFTEN done in class but takes anywhere from five (the vocabulary assignments) to twenty minutes.

-Language: There is either a brief spelling activity (first semester) or Wordly Wise activity (second semester). This should take about ten minutes.

-Math: Students are assigned 6-10 review problems, which come straight from their workbooks. This is usually content that was taught in class about a week ago. We are constantly spiraling to review. Once a week, students are asked to do only Jiji, another district-wide math program. They do this in lieu of a workbook page that night. Regardless, it takes about twenty minutes.

Okay! So with that said, homework is always on our May Do board, meaning that if all their other assignments are completed, they can go ahead and work on their homework. They may not know the math workbook page that night but they can always do Reading Plus, Jiji, or Wordly Wise.

We fill out our planners every afternoon, right before we clean up to go home (our district provides students in grades three through five with the same planners and I model it every single day under the document camera).

I am well aware that students go home to varying levels of parental support and I do not ever want a child to leave feeling like the homework is unattainable. I am always available to help, whether that’s checking in after-school or being available before school.

Additionally, math in our room is never graded for correctness. Student get their point if it was completed and effort was shown. After our math warm up, we go over answers and students will ask for certain problems to be worked out together.

I have homework checkers (two students) that go around during math and star the page if work is shown and the problems are completed.

For Reading Plus, spelling/Wordly Wise, and Jiji (ST Math), I do not check for completion until Friday morning. This gives students an opportunity to practice daily habits (math workbook) with time management throughout the week (reading and vocabulary).

Now, on Friday, if all assignments have been completed, this is where the homework club kicks in.

During soft starts (you can read more about that HERE ), I call students up. ALL students get called up one by one. We either go over missing assignments OR they get a punch for their card.

These cards are kept in pencil boxes and treated very seriously.

The resource contains so many different options but I like to use these, pictured. In order to get a punch (I have some fun ones in HERE ), all assignments must be done.

Missing one or two? It’s okay. We talk a lot about the reasons why it might have happened, what we can do next time, or how we can reach out for help if needed.

Not all kids get their cards punched every week and that’s okay.

We celebrate homework club every six weeks. This gives kids a chance to “catch up” if they missed something one week.

Coming to homework club means they have their card with all their punches and they’re ready to celebrate!

Homework club can look a hundred different ways and I try to switch it up so that it stays exciting and motivating.

Here are some ideas we’ve done in the past:

-Eat lunch with the teacher

-Muffins/breakfast before school

-Trade your homework club card for a homework pass

-Lunchtime movie or craft (they LOVE the crafts and I’m always looking for inexpensive ideas on Pinterest)

-Board game tournament after school or at lunch

-Special games at recess (I’ll get out THESE things and they’ll play together)

-Popsicles after school

-Trade your homework club card for a small surprise (they love fidgets, puzzle erasers, play dough cans, slime, fun pencils; I have a ton in HERE )

You really can modify it to work for YOU and your class but it’s another little layer of motivation. It also gives me an opportunity to talk to kids about time management skills. My kids leave elementary school and head off to middle school, which is a new ballgame with changing classes and having multiple teachers.

So, I try to keep homework doable and relevant, accessible and meaningful. Homework club is just a little bonus!

Any questions? Ask below!

January 23, 2022 at 4:11 pm

Hi Jill! Thanks for the blog on homework. I’ve been wanting to spruce up my program, and I even looked for homework ideas on here last summer. I do similar stuff with math review, spelling, and book talk prep. I do have a question… what kind of planner do you use? I think I’ll start using planners next year, but I wonder if there are really simple, cheap ones out there. Also, have you had kids lose their planners? Right now, we use homework folders, and I have three kids who are always misplacing their folders and needing a new one. Those repeat offenders are working on responsibility and organization 🙂 and they’ll get it eventually. Thanks again for all of the great ideas. I may even implement a homework club soon! Andie

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Fantastic Summer Homework Ideas for High Schoolers

If your high schoolers are anything like my high schoolers, they love spending time talking about how bored they are. Yet for whatever reason, that talk never turns into action. Nothing seems to change at the end of the year, as kids are making plans for what they will be doing, or not be doing, over the summer. I always enjoy making an addition to their plans–a little bit of summer homework from their (not always) favorite art teacher. For me, there are always a few of ways to go about it–required summer homework and optional summer homework.

Required Work

For my students who will be in AP Studio Art , I require that they complete 2 projects over the summer that are “portfolio-worthy”. I type out assignment sheets for 3 projects with in-depth explanations. However, each of the three has enough open-endedness within a theme to allow students room for expression and personal voice. If students don’t like any of those 3 projects, or don’t want to do them, I allow them to complete projects of their own choosing. As long as the quality is there, I am open to just about any idea they bring to me.

Photography List

In addition, I send AP students home for the summer with a checklist of photography subjects. The photos students take are referenced and utilized throughout the year in a myriad of projects. The more images they come in with, the better. Many students end up using the cameras on their phones, which is OK because the quality doesn’t have to be stellar. The idea here is not for the photos to serve as the art project, per se; the idea is to have a library of images that can serve as backgrounds, design elements, and inspiration for them come fall.

You can download my 3-page PDF list by clicking the image below, or get a customized Word version by clicking here .

Download Now

Optional Work

For the rest of my students, summer homework is optional. I have a list of projects that I give to whoever may want it, and to a few others that I think might just take on the challenge. These are more lighthearted, fun projects that could take all kinds of different directions. I think it goes without saying, but if kids enjoy the work they are doing, they are more likely to complete it.

Here are a few ideas I like to use:

Have a friend pose for you. In 20 minutes draw 20 poses. Go!
Create a drawing or painting inspired by song lyrics or a piece of writing.
Create a time-lapse video of you working on a drawing or sculpture.
Sculpt your favorite food out of mud or sand. Photograph it from multiple angles.
Visit someplace colorful–a farmer’s market, a flower shop, a candy store, or a museum. Make art inspired by the location.

Media Consumption

Lastly, I love to have students take the time to look up interesting artists using not only books and websites, but videos and other media. Artists my students really respond to are Banksy, Robert Longo, Maya Lin, Cheeming Boey, Kara Walker, James Turrell, and Kehinde Wiley. The Art 21 series from PBS is also a great resource. The key is to make the artist interesting enough that kids want to look at more of their work and learn more about the art being made.

Whether your students are making work because they want to or making work because they have to, summer homework is a great avenue to keep them involved and engaged over the summer. There is undoubtedly a challenge in seeing that work is actually completed, but if it is, students come back to the next school year with renewed energy, more confidence, and hopefully a little better understanding of their own art and the art of others.

Do you assign summer homework? Why or why not?

What summer homework assignments have been successful for you?

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

Timothy Bogatz

Tim Bogatz is AOEU’s Content & PD Event Manager and a former AOEU Writer and high school art educator. He focuses on creativity development, problem-solving, and higher-order thinking skills in the art room.

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Talk homework ideas

Subject: Speaking and listening

Age range: 5-7

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5 March 2018

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20 Positive Psychotherapy Exercises, Sessions and Worksheets

The word “psychotherapy” often evokes images of nerve-wracked patients reclining on couches, a stern therapist with furrowed brows and a notepad, and a deep uneasiness linked to the identification and analysis of every childhood trauma you have suffered, whether you remembered it before the session or not.

Although this is an outdated and largely inaccurate idea of psychotherapy, it still may seem counterintuitive to combine positive psychology with psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy is typically reserved for those with moderate to severe behavioral, emotional, or personality issues—not people who are often happy and healthy, and also struggle with occasional stress.

How can this type of therapy, which deals with such serious and difficult subject matter, possibly be considered “positive?”

Fortunately, many respected psychologists have been working to develop a useful and evidence-based positive approach to psychotherapy over the last two decades.

These pioneering researchers have married the research of positive psychology and the science and practice of psychotherapy into a life-affirming alternative to traditional psychotherapy—one that focuses on your strengths instead of your weaknesses, and works towards improving what is good in life instead of mitigating that which is not (Seligman, Rashid, & Parks, 2006).

It does not replace traditional psychotherapy, but can act as an extremely effective supplement to help a person move from “just getting by” to flourishing and thriving! For more on this effective ‘supplement’, we share a variety of exercises, tools and a range of therapy sessions.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises will explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

5 positive psychotherapy exercises and tools, 15 sessions – exercises and tools, a take-home message.

Here is an overview of some of the most effective exercises and tools in a positive psychotherapist’s toolbox.

1. Gratitude Journal

One of the simplest yet most effective exercises in positive psychology is a gratitude journal . Evidence has shown that developing gratitude for the things in your life that you may otherwise take for granted, can have a big impact on your outlook and satisfaction with your life (Davis et al., 2016; Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006).

The practice of keeping a gratitude journal is quite simple and easy to explain to a client who might need a boost in positive emotions.

As a therapist or other mental health professional, instruct your client to do the following:

Get a notebook or journal that you can dedicate to this practice every day.
Every night before bed, write down three things that you were grateful for that day.
Alternatively, you can write down five things that you were grateful for on a weekly basis.
Encourage them to think of particular details from the day or week, rather than something broad or non-specific (i.e., “the warm sunshine coming through the window this afternoon” rather than “the weather”).

If your client is having trouble thinking of things they are grateful for, tell them to try thinking about what their life would be like without certain aspects. This will help them to identify the things in their life they are most grateful (Marsh, 2011).

2. Design a Beautiful Day

Positive Psychotherapy Exercises and Tools gratitude journal

Who doesn’t want to design a beautiful day for themselves?

This exercise is not only fun for most clients, but it also carries a double impact: the planning of the near-perfect day, and the actual experience of the near-perfect day.

As a counselor or therapist, encourage your client to think about what a beautiful day means to them.

What do they love to do? What do they enjoy that they haven’t had a chance to do recently? What have they always wanted to do but have never tried?

These questions can help guide your client to discover what constitutes a beautiful day to them. Direct your client to pick a day in the near future and design their day with the following tips in mind:

Some alone time is fine, but try to involve others for at least part of the day.
Include the small details that you are looking forward to in your plan, but don’t plan out your entire day. Leave some room for spontaneity!
Break your usual routine and do something different, whether it’s big or small.
Be aware that your beautiful day will almost certainly not go exactly as planned, but it can still be beautiful!
Use mindfulness on your beautiful day to soak in the simple pleasures you will experience throughout the day.

3. Self-Esteem Journal

The self-esteem journal is another straightforward but effective exercise for clients suffering from feelings of low self-worth.

This Self-Esteem Journal For Adults provides a template for each day of the week and three prompts per day for your client to respond to, including prompts like:

Something I did well today…
Today I had fun when…
I felt proud when…
Today I accomplished…
I had a positive experience with…
Something I did for someone…

The simple act of noticing and identifying positive things from their day can help clients gradually build their self-esteem and enhance their wellbeing. Sometimes all we need is a little nudge to remember the positive things we do!

4. Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation can be an excellent tool to fight anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions, making it a perfect tool for therapists and counselors to use with their clients.

To introduce your client to mindfulness meditation, you can try the “ mini-mindfulness exercise ,” a quick and easy lesson that only takes a few minutes to implement.

Follow these steps to guide your client through the process:

Have your client sit in a comfortable position with a dignified but relaxed posture and their eyes closed. Encourage them to turn off “autopilot” and turn on their deeper awareness of where they are, what they are doing, and what they are thinking.
Guide them through the process of becoming aware of their breath. Instruct them to take several breaths without trying to manipulate or change their breathing; instead encourage them to be aware of how it feels as they inhale air through the nostrils or mouth and into the lungs, as they hold the air for a brief moment, and as they exhale the air again. Direct their attention to how their chest feels as it rises and falls, how their belly feels as it expands and contracts, and how the rest of their body feels as they simply breathe.
Direct your client to let their awareness expand. Now, they can extend their focus beyond their breath to the whole body. Have them pay attention to how their body feels, including any tightness or soreness that may be settled into their muscles. Let them be present with this awareness for a minute or two, and tell them to open their eyes and continue with the session or with their day when they are ready.

Once your client is introduced to mindfulness meditation, encourage them to try it out on their own. They may find, as so many others have, that mindfulness can be a great way to not only address difficult or negative emotions but maintain positive ones throughout the day as well.

5. Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS)

The VIA-IS is one of the most commonly used tools in positive psychology, and it has applications in positive psychotherapy as well. Completing this questionnaire will help your clients identify their dominant strengths— allowing them to focus their energy and attention on using their inherent strengths in their daily life, instead of getting distracted by the skills or traits they may feel they are lacking.

The VIA-IS is reliable, validated, and backed by tons of scientific research, and best of all – it’s free to use (Ruch, Proyer, Harzer, Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2010).

Direct your clients to the VIA website to learn about the 24 character strengths and take the VIA-IS to discover their own top strengths.

These strengths are organized into six broad categories as follows:

Wisdom and Knowledge

Creativity;
Love of learning;
Perspective.
Perseverance;
Social intelligence.
Leadership.
Forgiveness;
Self-regulation .

Transcendence

Appreciation of beauty and excellence;
Gratitude ;
Spirituality.

Once your client has taken the survey and identified their top 5 strengths , instruct them to bring in their results and have a discussion with them about how they can better apply these strengths to their work, relationships, recreation, and daily life.

The order of sessions outlined below is merely suggestive but there are some essential components that should be maintained to increase long term effectiveness and enhance learning.

While every session introduces new exercises and tools, it is also recommended that some form of restorative technique is used at the beginning and at the conclusion of every session.

For each session, we also suggest one homework assignment to facilitate maintenance in between sessions.

If you are a therapist who regularly assigns homework to your clients, we recommend checking out the platform Quenza to help digitize and scale this aspect of your therapy practice.

The platform incorporates a simple drag-and-drop builder that therapists can use to craft a range of digital activities for their clients to complete in between therapy sessions. These activities can include audio meditations, reflections, self-paced learning modules, and more.

Once done, the therapist can then share these activities directly to their clients’ devices, such as the Daily Reflection on the right, track their progress using Quenza’s dashboard, and send follow-up reminders to complete the activities via push notification.

Additionally, one size does not fit all when introducing any practice including mindfulness, so fit should be carefully considered and special attention should be paid to cultural considerations.

Session I – Positive Inception

Goal : Exploration of strengths and positive attributes is accomplished by inviting the client to share a personal story that shows them at their best as a form of introduction.

Tool : Positive Introduction prompt

Rationale : Initial session is intended to set a positive tone for the on-going practitioner-client interaction. Building rapport both at the outset and throughout the relationship are key factors to better outcomes from a therapeutic process.

One positive psychotherapy practice recommended for this session is a positive introduction. A positive introduction is based on principles of Appreciative Inquiry and involves asking a client to recall a positive event in his or her life that ended very well.

Positive memories can generate positive emotions and improve mood regulation. Positive narratives also help restore healthier self-concept and allow the client to build resources in terms of new ideas and perspectives (Denborough, 2014).

In-session Resources:

Positive Introduction

Describe an event in your life where you handled a difficult situation in a positive way and things turn out well. It does not have to be a major event but try to think of something that brought out the best in you. Write about the situation in form of story with a beginning, middle and positive end: ____________

Discussion questions:

Tell me how this event influenced how you see yourself?
What about you specifically helped you deal with this situation?
Are other people aware of this story in the way you described it?

Homework : As homework, clients can create anchors out of these positive memories by collecting pictures or artifacts that remind them of the pleasant memory. The practitioner can also provide the client with an option to seal this positive introduction in an envelope to be opened at a later date and kept by the practitioner for safekeeping.

Lastly, the client should be encouraged to write similar stories and keep them handy for a quick pick me up.

Practitioner can also suggest that client asks others to share their inspiring stories, that client share more stories like this one and pay attention to what they say about themselves, what themes keep recurring, how their stories change depending on audience, what role they play in their own stories and whether they are a victim or a survivor.

Clinician notes:

Pay careful attention and take notes as the narratives will tend to form sequences.

If a client has a difficulty recalling positive events, they can ask family or friends to recall for them or they can tell a story of someone they admire.

Session II – The Powers Within

Goal : To assess signature strengths and to cultivate engagement through daily activities by choosing tasks that speak to one’s strengths.

Tool : Signature Strengths Assessment

Rationale : Exercising specific strengths can facilitate goal progression and contribute to wellness and personal growth (Linley, Nielsen, Gillett, & Biswas-Diener, 2010). Psychology of motivation teaches us that there are keystone habits that spark positive changes in other areas related to the one being made, so can certain strengths support the healing and growth process. Strength assessment is given, and the concept of engagement is explained.

Preparation:

Prior to the session, the client should ask three people to report on their strengths.

In-session Worksheets:

Your Core Values

Read carefully the descriptions of 24 character strengths below. They can be found in the VIA Institute on Character website .

Circle 5 of the strengths that you find yourself exercising most often and that you feel characterize you the most:


creativity	zest	humility
curiosity	love	prudence
judgment	kindness	self-regulation
love of learning	social intelligence	spirituality
perspective	teamwork	gratitude
bravery	fairness	hope
perseverance	leadership	humor
honesty	forgiveness	appreciation of beauty and excellence

List your 5 signature strengths and then answer questions and prompts to determine the key markers of your signature strengths.

Authenticity: Is this strength a part of who I am at the core?
Enthusiasm: While using this strength I feel excited and joyous.
Learning: Is it natural and effortless for me to use this strength?
Persistence: I find it difficult to stop when I use this strength.
Energy: When I use this strength, do I feel invigorated and full of zest?
Creativity: Do I find new ways and design projects to use this strength?

Pick one or two and try to describe specific experiences or anecdotes associated with expression of that strength: _____________

Now consider the client’s peer feedback. The reports will probably not be identical, but some significant overlap is highly likely.

Circle any areas of considerable overlap and try to identify the following:

Signature strengths – these have been mentioned several (3-4 times) by the client’s feedback providers
Potential blind spots – strengths mentioned by others, but not the client themselves.
How confident do you feel about knowing your signature strengths after completing the assessment?
How well do your strengths reflect your personality?
Which of the strengths you identified have always been there and which have you acquired at some point in your life?
Which signature strengths stood out for you in terms of specific markers like authenticity, energy or learning?

Homework : Instruct clients to take VIA strengths survey assessment and ask that they observe if using signature strengths produces greater engagement.

Clinician notes :

Reminders are tangible cues in our environment that focus our attention on a particular commitment we made. Reminders help anchor a new habit of thought and behavior.

They can be simple or more complicated and creative like a screen saver on the clients’ phone, a bracelet or a keychain that reminds them of their signature strengths, a picture on the wall of the person who motivates them or an entry in their planner with times for a podcast that encourages them to practice and reflect.

Session III – Amplify Your Internal Assets

Goal : To gain a deeper understanding of optimal levels of usage of strengths. Use your signature strengths to be happier as well as to develop skills. Use your strengths to manage your negatives.

Tool : Optimizing Strengths exercise

Rationale : Biswas-Diener, Kashdan, and Minhas (2011) argue against just identifying one’s strengths as it represents a fixed mindset and decreases motivation. He suggests that we should treat strengths as “potentials for excellence” to foster belief in the possibility of improvement where therapy can lead us to develop them further.

Development of practical intelligence can be initiated through considering how client’s strengths can be translated into concrete purposeful actions that enhance commitment, engagement and problem-solving.

Optimizing Strengths

Read the common scenarios below and reflect on the potential of under and overuse of strengths:

Someone is feeling sad or appears disinterested and apathetic
Someone obsesses over small details and worries too much about things you perceive as insignificant
Someone is always volunteering and takes on too many commitments and projects
Someone is often playful and humorous
Some fail to confront another for inappropriate behavior

Discussion questions :

What behaviors let you know you’re overusing or underusing your strengths?
What specific circumstances trigger your overuse or underuse of strengths?
What cultural or personal history factors could reinforce your over- or underuse of strengths?
If you’re overusing one strength, what other strength could counterbalance that overuse?

For between sessions assignment, ask the client to describe a current challenge and then reflect on the following questions:

Is it due to overuse or underuse of strengths?
What aspects of this challenge would you like to change?
What strengths can you use in this situation?
What are the implications on others of using these strengths?
In what way can you calibrate the use of these strengths to improve the situations?

In imparting practical wisdom strategies make sure clients perceive this as the development of a strength, not merely as use of a well-developed strength. Practical wisdom strategies are:

Translate strengths into specific actions and observe the outcome
Consider if strengths are relevant to the context
Resolve conflicting strengths through reflecting on the possible outcomes of the use of these strengths
Consider the impact of your strengths on others
Calibrate according to changing circumstances

Session IV – You at Your Best

Goal : Visualize a better version of yourself.

Tool : You at Your Best Worksheet

Rationale : Our visions of who we wish to become in the future, be it our best selves, our ideal selves or simply our better selves, reflect our personal and professional goals and are created by imagining a better version of who we are today and then striving toward it.

Cultivating and sustaining desirable action can bring us closer to that future self and it may require that we refrain from behaviors that deter us and change old habits that don’t serve us.

Ideal selves reflect our hopes, dreams, and aspirations, and speak to our skills, abilities, achievements, and accomplishments that we wish to attain (Higgins, 1987; Markus & Nurius, 1986).

Research supports this phenomenon of movement toward ideal selves and shows that it predicts many positive outcomes: life satisfaction, emotional wellbeing, self-esteem, vitality, relational stability, relational satisfaction (Drigotas, 2002; Drigotas, Rusbult, Wieselquist, & Whitton, 1999; Kumashiro, Rusbult, Finkenauer, & Stocker, 2007; Rusbult, Kumashiro, Kubacka, & Finkel, 2009).

You At Your Best

1. Find your story.

Recall a recent time or event when you were at your absolute best. You might have been overcoming a serious challenge, or perhaps you made someone else’s life better.

Think about what made you feel happier, more alive. Maybe you were:

more relaxed,
more grounded,
more enthusiastic,
more energized,
more engaged,
more creative,
more connected,
more reflective,

Describe your story as clearly as possible, allowing the details in your narrative to demonstrate your strengths and values.

What happened? What was your part in it? How did you feel?

3. Beginning, Middle, End

Craft your narrative with a start, middle, and powerful ending. It may help to replay the experience in your mind as it happened.

Highlight or circle any words that you feel might relate to your personal strengths.

5. Find your Strengths

List the strengths you’ve identified from the exercise.

How can you move toward this better version of you?
How can you use your signature strengths?
What concrete action can you commit to?
What barriers do you see and what and who can help?
How different is your life once you’ve made the change?

Homework : Commit to specific actions for the week. Name someone who is willing to support you. Decide on how often this person will check in on your progress and how.

Clinician notes : Remind the client that less is more, and that a long list is bound to fail because cognitive overload is likely to lead them to do nothing. Modest aspirations translate into small wins that lead to gradual change. Reinforcing new behaviors takes time and failure is a normal part of the process. Remind the client that they are more likely to succeed on their fifth or sixth attempt.

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Session V – Positive Reappraisal

Goal : Open and closed memories are reappraised through four different methods.

Tools : Open and Closed Memories Questionnaire, Positive Reappraisal exercise

Rationale : Personal written disclosure is employed to explore resentment and painful memories and to encourage cognitive processing using your strengths in order to re-file them so that they don’t drain your energy.

The purpose of positive appraisal is not to change the event or the person involved in these negative memories but to refile then in a way that does not continue to drain us emotionally or psychologically.

Open and Closed Memories Questionnaire

Please answer the following questions to determine if you have open memories:

Does my past prevent me from moving forward?
Does your open or negative memory involve someone who harmed you and you find yourself thinking about this person or the consequences of their actions?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of engaging in this processing of painful memories?
Have you sought another person’s perspective on this issue?

Now apply the following positive reappraisal strategies to one of your memories:

Create some distance. One way to create a psychological space between you and your negative memory is to describe from this person’s perspective to allow yourself to revise the meaning and the feelings around it. Imagine yourself as a journalist or a fly on the wall and describe your open memory from a vantage point of a third person while keeping a neutral expression.
Reinterpret by focusing on subtle aspects of the memory and deliberately recall any positive aspects you may have missed while keeping the negatives at bay. Think of your values in life and how those can be infused in how you remember.
Step back and observe your memory unfold with a non-judgmental receptive mind and shift focus to internal and external experiences evoked by the memory. See if you can allow your memory to pass by.
Divert your attention to a different task that is engaging.
Which strategy was most beneficial?
Which strategy was difficult to do?
How has this experience put your life in perspective for you?
How has this event benefited you as a person?
What personal strengths grew out of this experience?
How has this experience helped you see differently what and who is important in your life?

Homework : Apply one of the strategies to a new challenge and reflect on it in writing before the next session.

Clinician notes : A level of caution needs to be exercised when exploring painful memories. Encourage the client to explore a memory that is not too traumatic. Start the session with a mindfulness practice and ask the client to monitor their emotional state.

Session VI – Forgiveness is Divine

Goal : Model of forgiveness is introduced, and the letter of forgiveness is assigned to transform bitterness.

Tool : REACH Forgiveness worksheet and Forgiveness Letter.

Rationale : Forgiveness is a choice, although not an easy one. It is a gradual process that requires commitment. Decisional forgiveness is only the first step. Empathy is key and ultimately forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself.

Everett Worthington (n.d.), leading research in forgiveness, designed a model that outlines the necessary components of effective emotional forgiveness and the worksheet below is based on his REACH method.

One model of forgiveness therapy that places empathy at its center and stresses emotional forgiveness is Worthington’s REACH forgiveness model based on the stress and coping theory of forgiveness. Each step in REACH is applied to a target transgression that the client is trying to change.

R = Recall the Hurt E = Empathize with the Person Who Hurt You A = Give an Altruistic Gift of Forgiveness C = Commit to the Emotional Forgiveness That Was Experienced H = Hold on to Forgiveness When Doubts Arise (Worthington, 2006).

REACH forgiveness

Follow the reach model in your written narrative of forgiveness:

R = Recall the Hurt. Close your eyes and recall the transgression and the person involved. Take a deep breath and try not to allow self-pity to take over. Write briefly about what happened: ___________
E = Empathize with the Person Who Hurt You. People often act in hurtful ways when they feel threatened, afraid or hurt. Do your best in trying to imagine what the transgressor was thinking and feeling and write a plausible explanation for their actions. This part is supposed to be difficult: ___________
A = Give an Altruistic Gift of Forgiveness. Remember a time when you were forgiven by another person. Describe the event and its effect on you: ____________
C = Commit to the Emotional Forgiveness That Was Experienced. Commit to a gesture of forgiveness, public or private, either by sharing with someone your decision to forgive or by writing a forgiveness letter that you never send.
H = Hold on to Forgiveness When Doubts Arise. Recurrence of memories will be normal but the reminder you created above will be helpful in holding onto your decision to forgive. Brainstorm ways in which you can support your resolution as well as those that may deter you.

A key to helping a person develop empathy for the transgressor is to help the client take the perspective of the other person. To assist the client, write the five Ps on a sheet of paper as a cue to the client and ask them to answer the questions using the five prompts:

Pressures: What were the situational pressures that made the person behave the way he or she did?
Past: What were the background factors contributing to the person acting the way he or she did?
Personality: What are the events in the person’s life that lead to the person having the personality that he or she does?
Provocations: What were my own provocative behaviors? Alternatively, might the other person, from his or her point of view, perceive something I did as a provocation?
Plans: What were the person’s good intentions? Did the person want to help me, correct me, or have in mind that he or she thought would be good for me, but his or her behavior did not have that effect? In fact, it had just the opposite effect.

Homework : Leslie Greenberg and Wanda Malcolm (2002) have demonstrated that people who can generate fantasies where they vividly imagine the offender apologizing and being deeply remorseful are ones who are most likely able to forgive successfully.

Ask the client to vividly imagine the offender apologizing and then write a letter of forgiveness to this person. The client does not need to do anything with the letter itself.

Clinician notes : Although relaxation techniques should be used at the outset and at the conclusion of every session, this one, in particular, is important.

If the client has a difficulty finding compassion for the transgressor, one of the most effective ways to help a client experience empathy is to use the empty-chair technique.

The client imagines sitting across from the offender, who is imagined to be in an empty chair. The client describes his or her complaint as if the offender were there. The client then moves to the empty chair and responds from the point of view of the offender. The conversation proceeds with the client moving back and forth between chairs.

The objective is to allow the person to express both sides of the conversation personally, and thus experience empathy. In doing so, the person might imagine an apology or at least an acknowledgment of the hurt that was inflicted.

Session VII – Good Enough

Goal : To establish realistic expectations of progress. Good enough mindset and concepts of satisficing versus maximizing are introduced, and an action plan to increase satisficing is devised.

Tool : Maximizer v. Satisficer Assessment, Strategies to Increase Satisficing

Rationale : According to psychologist Barry Schwartz (2004), maximizers always aim to make the best possible choice. They take their time and compare products both before and after making purchasing decisions.

Maximizers are more prone to depression due to overly high expectations and fear of regret. Maximizers, like perfectionists, seek to achieve the best, but perfectionists have high standards that they don’t expect to meet, whereas maximizers have very high standards that they do expect to meet, and, when they are unable to meet them, they become depressed (Chowdhury, Ratneshwar, & Mohanty, 2009; Schwartz et al., 2002).

The questionnaire below will help to assess if your client is a maximizer or a satisficer. There are several techniques for increasing satisficing and developing a “good enough” mindset.

Maximizer v. Satisficer Assessment

Read the following statements and carefully rate to what degree they are true and descriptive of who you most often are. Rate them on a scale of one to seven, where one means completely disagree and seven means strongly agree.

	Rate 1 – 7
I think about all possibilities when faced with a choice even those that are not present at the moment.	\|
I am always on the lookout for new opportunities even when I’m satisfied with my job.	\|
I always check what other stations are playing when I’m listening to radio even when I’m satisfied with what is on.	\|
I have to channel surf even when I’m already watching a show.	\|
I expect a lot from relationships and am always looking for a perfect fit.	\|
Picking a gift for a friend is very difficult.	\|
I can never find clothes I really love.	\|
When picking a book or article to read I struggle with picking the best one.	\|
I love ratings and I’m always scanning lists of rankings.	\|
Even when I send a simple email, I always do several drafts.	\|
I hold myself to the highest standards in everything I do.	\|
I always tell people to never settle for the second-best.	\|
I always fantasize about having another better life.	\|

Now add the scores for your answers. The average score is 50, the high score is 75 and the low score is 25 or below. If your score is below 40, you are on the satisficing end of the scale. If you scored 65 and above, it is likely you have maximizing type behaviors that may impact your wellbeing. Consider some of the strategies to increase satisficing listed below.

Strategies to Increase Satisficing

To make choices versus simply have choices means to be able to reflect on what makes a decision important, what makes particular choice say about you, or even create new options if no good options are available. To practice these skills, try the following:

Shorten or eliminate deliberation about decisions that are not important.
Take the time that has just become available to you to ask yourself what you really want in the areas of life where making decisions really matters.

To generally do more satisficing, try the following:

Recall the time when you settled for good enough.
Reflect on how you chose in those areas.
Apply the strategy to another area.

Reflect on what pursuing all the available opportunities costs you:

Make a decision to stick with a decision to do something unless you’re truly dissatisfied.
Resist the urge to go after the new and improved.
Resolve to combat the fear of missing out.
Adopt the attitude where you don’t fix what’s not broken.

Imagine there is no going back. Make your decision irreversible and final to limit the amount of time you waste processing the alternatives:

Make a list of reversible decisions.
Now pick some of those decisions to be made irreversible.

Practice attitude of gratitude and being grateful for what you have and the good aspects of the choices you have made and resolve not to ruminate what was bad about them:

Pick a few decisions you’ve made to practice this attitude.

Having regrets can influence our ability to make a decision to a point of us avoiding to make them. Make an effort to minimize regret where appropriate:

Reduce the number of options before making a decision.
Focus on what is good about making the decision.
Identify yourself as a satisficer versus maximizer.

Adaptation, also known as the hedonic treadmill, robs us of satisfaction we can get from a positive experience. Combat adaptation and develop realistic expectations about how experiences change over time:

Next time you purchase something fully consider how long the thrill of owning it will last.
Vow to spend less time looking for a perfect match.
Create a reminder to yourself to appreciate how good things really are versus how they are less than what they originally were.

Lower your expectations. Our satisfaction with experiences is determined to a large extent by our expectations. To increase satisfaction with results, try the following:

Reduce the number of options you will consider.
Allow for serendipity.
Ask yourself what a satisficer would do in this situation.

Beware of social comparisons. Practice not comparing yourself to others as quality of experience can be significantly reduced by comparing yourself to others:

Focus on what makes you happy and what gives meaning to your life.
Limit the use of social media when you feel the urge to compare your life to that of others.

Appreciate constrains. Our freedom of choice and ability to decide decreases as our options increase. Our society provides rules by which we are limited in forms of laws and norms of behavior.

Create your own list of rules that you are willing to practice to increase your ability to make effective choices.
What does your satisficer versus maximizer score say about you?
If you scored high, what are the emotional or physical costs of maximizing?
In what way knowing your tendencies can help you make meaningful changes in your life?

Homework : Ask the client to practice one or more techniques of satisficing throughout the week.

Clinician notes : Repetition just like regular reminders can aid the client in creating lasting change. Together repetitive action and repetition create ritual over time. Encourage clients to build new positive habits of thinking and behaving.

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Session VIII – Count Your Blessings

Goal : The notion of counting one’s blessings and enduring thankfulness is discussed, gratitude exercise is introduced, and blessings journal is assigned.

Tool : Three Good Things and Gratitude Visit

Rationale : Extensive research shows that enduring thankfulness has many health benefits (Emmons, 2007). In one clinical study, the gratitude condition participants reported significantly better mental health than those in the expressive and control conditions.

This session introduces the client to the practice of gratitude by counting one’s blessings daily and planning a gratitude visit. Clients are also asked to keep a gratitude journal between sessions.

Three Good Things

Before going to bed, write about three good things that happened to you that day. Reflect on those good things by answering the following questions:

Why did this good thing happen and what does it mean to you?
What lessons have you learned from reflecting on this good thing?
How did you or others contribute to this good thing happening?

Gratitude Visit

Gratitude is oriented toward others. Think of a person to whom you would like to express gratitude. Write a letter to them. Try to be specific in describing the way in which their actions have made an important difference in your life. When finished, arrange a visit with that person without explaining the purpose. Try to make it as casual as possible.

When you see them after you settle in, read your letter slowly, with expression and eye contact. And allow the other person to react unhurriedly. Reminisce about the times and specific events that made that person important to you.

What feelings came up as you wrote your letter?
What was the easiest part to write and what was the toughest part?
Describe the other person’s reaction to your expression of gratitude?
How were you affected by their reaction?
How long did these feelings last after you presented your letter?
How often did you recall the experience in the days following?

Homework : Blessings journal is assigned, and client is asked to write about three good things that happened that day before bedtime every night for a week in a way that was introduced during the session.

Suggest that clients socialize with more people who are grateful and observe if that improves their mood. People who are thankful have a language of future, abundance, gifts, and satisfaction.

You can also ask clients to find ways to express gratitude directly to another person. While doing so, ask them to avoid saying just thank you and express gratitude in concrete terms.

Clinician notes : Considerable effort and time to manage the logistics are required to write a letter and arrange a visit. Be sure to provide clients adequate time and support to complete this practice over the course of therapy. You can discuss the timeline, periodically remind them, and even encourage clients to read their Gratitude Letters so they can make changes and rehearse the experience of writing it and reading it out loud.

Be sure clients have the opportunity to share their experiences of the Gratitude Visit.

Session IX – Instilling Hope and Optimism

Goal : One Door Closes, One Door Opens exercise is introduced and the client is encouraged to reflect on three doors that closed and what opportunities for growth it offered.

Tools : One Door Closes, One Door Opens, and Learning Optimism prompts

Rationale : Essentially, hope is the perception that one can reach the desired goals (Snyder, 1994). Hopeful thinking comes down to cultivating the belief that one can find and use pathways to desired goals (Snyder, Rand, & Sigmond, 2002).

Optimism can be learned and can be cultivated by explaining setbacks in a way that steers clear of catastrophizing and helplessness. Optimistic people see bad events as temporary setbacks and explain good events in terms of permanent causes such as traits or abilities.

Optimists also tend to steer away from sweeping universal explanations for events in their lives and don’t allow helplessness to cut across other aspects of their lives (Seligman, 1991).

Painful experiences can be re-narrated as it is the client who gets to say what it all means. Like a writer, a sculptor or a painter the client can re-create his or her life story from a different perspective, allow it to take a different shape and incorporate light into the dark parts of their experience.

One Door Closes, Another Door Opens

Think of times when you failed to get a job you wanted or when you were rejected by someone you loved. When one door closes, another one almost always opens. Reflect and write about three doors that closed and what opportunities for growth it offered. Use the following questions to help with your reflections:

What was the impact of doors that closed?
Did this impact bring something positive to you? What was it?
What led to a door closing, and what or who helped you to open another door?
How did you grow from doors that opened?
If there is room for more growth, what might this growth look like?

Learning Optimism

Think of something that happened recently that negatively impacted your life. Explore your beliefs about the adversity to check for catastrophizing.

What evidence do you have that your evaluation of the situation is correct?
What were the contributing causes to the situation?
What does this mean and what are the potential implications?
How is the belief about the situation useful to you?
When a door closes, how do you explain the causes of failure to yourself?
Regarding your happiness and wellbeing, what were the negatives and positives of this adversity?
Was the impact of this setback all-encompassing or long-lasting?
Was it easy or hard for you to see if a door opened, even just a crack?
What does the closed door represent for you now?
How did the One Door Closes, Another Door Opens practice enhanced your flexibility and adaptability?
Do you think that deliberate focus on the brighter side might encourage you to minimize or overlook tough realizations that you need to face?
Would you still like the door that closed to be opened, or do you not care about it now?

Homework : As a weekly exercise explain and write down your broad outlook on life in one or two sentences and then monitor if daily stressors have an impact on your overall perspective. If so, brainstorm ways to help your perspective remain constant.

Alternatively, to practice hope, ask the client to reflect on one or two people who helped to open the doors or who held the opened doors for them to enter.

And to practice optimism, ask the client to help a friend with a problem by encouraging him or her to look for the positive aspects of the situation.

Clinician notes : The benefits of optimism are not unbounded, but they do free us to achieve the goals we set. Our sense of values or our judgment is not eroded by learning optimism , it is enhanced by it.

Suggest to your clients that if rumination keeps showing up, they consider positive distraction and volunteer the time they normally spend analyzing problems to endeavors that make an impact on the world. Not only will they distract themselves in a positive way but may also gain a much-needed perspective on their problems.

Session X – Resilience

Goal : Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is introduced and practiced through writing therapy.

Tool : Expressive Writing

Rationale : Many patients following trauma develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but many also experience Posttraumatic Growth (PTG). Without minimizing the pain and while respecting clients’ readiness, exploration of the possibility for growth from trauma can help them gain insight into the meaning of life and the importance of relationships.

Research shows that PTG can lead clients to:

mitigate the feelings of loss or helplessness (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2006)
develop a renewed belief in their abilities to endure and prevail
achieve improved relationships through discovering who they can really count on
feel more comfortable with intimacy (Kinsella, Grace, Muldoon, & Fortune, 2015)
have a greater sense of compassion for others who suffer
develop greater appreciation for life (Jayawickreme & Blackie, 2014; Roepke, 2015)
enhanced personal strength and spirituality (Fazio, Rashid, & Hayward, 2008)

Positive reinterpretation, problem-focused coping, and positive religious coping facilitate PTG. Although time itself doesn’t influence PTG as it remains stable over time, intervening events and processes do facilitate growth.

James Pennebaker’s strategy, known as the Writing Therapy, showed that writing about a traumatic or upsetting experience can improve people’s health and wellbeing (Pennebaker, & Evans, 2014).

While assuring complete confidentiality, clients are asked to write for 15 to 30 minutes for three to five consecutive days about one of their most distressing or traumatic life experiences in detail and to fully explore their personal reactions and deepest emotions.

Expressive Writing

Using a note pad or journal, please write a detailed account of a trauma you experienced. In your writing, try to let go and explore your deepest thoughts and feelings about the traumatic experience in your life. You can tie this experience to other parts of your life, or keep it focused on one specific area.

Continue to write for at least 15 to 20 minutes a day for four consecutive days. Make sure you keep your writings in a safe, secure place that only you have access to. You can write about the same experience on all four days or you can write about different experiences.

At the end of four days, after describing the experience, please write if the experience has helped you with the following:

understand what the experience means to you.
understand your ability to handle similar situations.
understand your relationships in a different light.
What was the most difficult part of writing?
Do you agree that even though it may have been difficult, it was still worth writing?

Some reactions to the trauma, adversity, or losses can be so strong that we deliberately avoid associated feelings.

Did the writing process help you see this avoidance if any?
Did writing help you to visualize growth in terms of your perspective on life?
Did you experience healing or growth, despite having the lingering pain of the trauma or loss?

Homework : Ask the client to continue writing for three more consecutive days for 15 to 30 minutes each time. Remind the client to make sure to keep their writings in a safe, secure place that only he or she has access to. They can write about the same experience on all four days or they can write about different experiences.

Clinician notes : To better understand the context in which clients are living, the practitioner should continue discussing therapeutic changes with clients without necessarily asking about growth. It also helps to accept the fact that it may be difficult to pinpoint the start and end that marks when growth from trauma occurs.

Focusing on themes of change may help identify when additional support is needed to amplify PTG while keeping in mind that some clients for reasons outside of their control will not continue to experience long-term growth.

Session XI – Taste for Life

Goal : Tendencies toward busy behavior are assessed and savoring exercise is assigned based on the client’s preference and strategies to safeguard against adaptations are discussed.

Tool : Busy Behavior Assessment and Savoring Techniques

Rationale : According to Carl Honoré (2004), we live in a multitasking era where we have become addicted to speed. Evidence shows that people who are cognitively busy are also more likely to act selfishly, use sexist language, and make erroneous judgment in social situations.

On the other hand, research also shows that when people are in a relaxed state, the brain slips into a deeper, richer, more nuanced mode of thought (Kahneman, 2011). Psychologists actually call this “Slow Thinking,” and one method for achieving this cognitive state it to practice what is known as savoring .

Fred Bryant, a pioneer in savoring, defines it as a mindful process of attending to and appreciating the positive experiences in one’s life (2003). Bryant describes four types of savoring: basking, thanksgiving, marveling, and luxuriating. Research shows that savoring fosters:

positive emotions
increases wellbeing
deepens a connection to the meaningful people in our lives.

Savoring requires effort that involves deliberately working against the pressures to multitask. Learning to savor requires time and becomes more natural the more we practice it.

Kinds of Savoring Experiences:

Basking is about taking great pleasure or satisfaction in one’s accomplishments, good fortune, and blessings
Thanksgiving is about expressing gratitude and giving thanks
Luxuriating is about taking great pleasure and showing no restraint in enjoying physical comforts and sensations
Marveling is about becoming filled with wonder or astonishment: beauty often induces marveling and exercising virtue may also inspire it
Mindfulness is a state of being aware, attentive, and observant of oneself, one’s surroundings and other people.
Busy Behavior Assessment

Reflect on whether or not you find yourself constantly busy and how this manifest in your daily life by answering the following questions:

Do you multitask or find yourself constantly short on time?
What are some of the signs of being busy and living life in the fast track: information overload, time crunch, overstimulation, underperforming, anxiety, and multitasking?
Which ones of these do you experience?
Reflect on what drives your busy behavior.
Do you believe that these drivers are internal, external, or a combination of both?

Savoring Techniques

Practice the following strategies to increase savoring. All of the strategies to slow down mentioned here require active engagement. Select one or two of the following Savoring Techniques:

Sharing With Others: Seek out others to share an experience. Tell them how much you value the moment (this is the single strongest predictor of pleasure.)
Memory Building: Take mental photographs or even a physical souvenir of an event and reminisce about it later with others.
Self-praise: Share your achievements with others and be proud. Do so in a way that is authentic and honest in celebrating your persistence in maintaining focus in achieving something meaningful to you.
Sharpening Perceptions: Focus deliberately on certain elements and block out others. For example, most people spend far more time thinking about how they can correct something that has gone wrong than they do basking in what has gone right.

Brainstorm specific actions you will take to practice one or more of these techniques and think about who will support you or what can inhibit your progress.

Discussion questions : When, where, and how frequently can you use it to increase positive emotions in your daily life?

Homework : Pick a favorite or a different savoring technique and practice it between sessions. Reflect and write your personal list of actions which can sustain and enhance savoring.

Clinician notes : Savoring requires practice and some clients may struggle with savoring practices because they overthink the experience which tends to interfere with their ability to notice and attend to their senses.

The focus of the Savoring practices is positive but if the clients are feeling distressed, see if they are able to put aside their negative thoughts and feelings by using the diversion strategy from Session Five: Open and Closed Memories to optimally benefit from this exercise.

Clients should attend mindfully to all aspects of a savoring experience, including its cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects. However, tuning in too much to feelings or thoughts may backfire and could interfere, eventually dampening the savoring experience so encourage the client to monitor their experiences for adaptation.

Session XII – People Matter

Goal : Seeing best in others and developing strategies for cultivation of positive relationships

Tool : Strength Spotting Exercise

Rationale : Recognizing the strengths of one’s loved ones has been proven to have significant positive benefits on relationships and wellbeing of those who practice it actively.

Understanding one another’s strengths foster a greater appreciation for each person’s intentions and actions and promote empathy. Ultimately, positive relationships buffer us against stress. The central positive psychotherapy (PPT) practice covered in this session is learning to see strengths in others and creating a Tree of Positive Relationships.

Strengths Spotting

Answer the following questions about people you have close relationships with:

Who in your immediate or extended relationships always appears to be the most hopeful and optimistic person?
Who in your relationship circles has the most humorous and playful disposition?
Who in your relations is the most creative person?
Who is always cheerful, bubbly, and smiley?
Who is the most curious person?
Who always treats others fairly and squarely?
Who is the most loving person in your family or friends?
Who among your loved ones loves to create new things?
Who is a good leader?
Who in your relations is the most forgiving person?
Who among your loved ones shows balanced self-regulation?
What behaviors, actions, or habits does your partner exhibit to denote the strengths you identified?
Do you share strengths with each other?
Discuss any you share as well as ones you don’t.
In what ways do your strengths complement each other?
Did you also look at your partner’s and your bottom strengths?
What can you learn from those?

Homework : If practical, ask your family and friends to take the VIA strengths survey. Create a Tree of Positive Relationships to help you and people you are close to gain greater insight into each other’s strengths.

Encourage clients to have uninterrupted, quality conversations with their loved ones at least once per week.

Clinician notes : To maintain progress, suggest that clients brainstorm a way to celebrate each other’s strengths. Suggest they focus on bonding activities that establish communication patterns, routines, and traditions both through daily, casual ways of enjoying each other’s company as well as more elaborate planned celebrations and vacations.

Session XIII – Politics of Wellbeing

Goal : Positive communication is addressed through learning about Active Constructive Responding and client is encouraged to look for opportunities to practice.

Tool : Active Constructive Responding (ACR)

Rationale : Shelly Gable and her colleagues found that sharing and responding positively to good events in our lives increases relationship satisfaction and strengthens our bonds (2004). When we capitalize on positive events in our lives by allowing others to partake in the good news not only do we amplify it, but also increase feelings of being valued and validated.

Active Constructive Responding (ACR)

Read carefully the following descriptions of different styles of responding to good news. Check off which type of responses you identify with most of the time.

When I share good news, my partner responds enthusiastically.
Sometimes my partner is more excited about my wins than I am.
My partner shows a genuine interest and asks a lot of questions when I talk about good events.
My partner is happy for me but does not make a big deal out of my sharing positive news.
When good things happen to me, my partner is silently supportive.
Although my partner says little, I know she is happy for me.
Often when I share good news, my partner finds a problem with it.
My partner often sees a downside to the good events.
My partner is often quick to point out the downside of good things.
I’m not sure my partner often cares much.
I often feel my partner doesn’t pay attention to me.
My partner often seems uninterested.

Now let us try ACR in session. We will take turns sharing good news and then allowing the other person to respond. Think of something positive and recent that happened to you and tell me about it.

What can you learn about yourself from identifying your response style?
Are there any barriers that hinder you in engaging in ACR? They can be subjective or objective such as your personality style, preferences, and family of origin, culture, beliefs, or interpersonal dynamics.
Should you already engage in some sort of ACR, what can you do to take it to a higher level?
If you find that ACR doesn’t come naturally to you, what small steps can you take to adopt some aspects of this practice that are consistent with your disposition?
Identify individuals or situations that display all four responding styles.
What effects do you notice of each style both on sharer and responder?

Homework : Ask the client to practice ACR beyond his intimate relationships and use it with family member and friends.

Clinician notes : If the client is proficient in ACR, consider expanding the practice of positive communication into positive affirmations where partners offer each other words and actions that confirm the partners’ beliefs about themselves and behave in ways that are congruent with their partner’s ideal self (Drigotas, 2002).

Ask the client to practice perceptual affirmations where partners’ general view of each other is aligned with their ideal self, where we perceive our partners as trying their best, where we are forgiving of shortcoming and sympathize with the pain of failure, and finally, where we shine the light on qualities.

Ask the client to also practice behavioral affirmations where partners elicit behaviors that are in congruence with the other person’s ideal selves as well as create opportunities for expression of those ideal selves while decreasing situations that can negate them and behaviors that conflict.

This paves the way toward movement in the direction of being the most valuable self through skill development and reflection on aspirations congruent with deeply help hopes and dreams.

Session XIV – Gift of Time

Goal : Therapeutic benefits of helping others are introduced and the client is encouraged to Give the Gift of Time in a way that employs their strengths.

Tool : Gift of Time

Rationale : Helping others and practicing altruistic behavior has been shown to significantly increase a sense of meaning and purpose in life. In addition to making a difference, we also benefit from shifting our focus away from ourselves and indulging in our own thoughts (Keltner, 2009).

Research shows that material gifts lose their charm and value over time, but positive experiences and interactions continue to pay dividends through increased confidence that you can, in fact, do good (Kasser & Kanner, 2004).

Gift of Time

Think of ways in which you could give someone you care about a Gift of Time. Brainstorm ways of doing something that requires a fair amount of time and involves using your strengths. Using your strengths to deliver the gift will make the exercise more satisfying.

If creativity is your strength, write an anniversary note or make a gift by hand.
If kindness sets you apart, prepare a dinner or run errands for a sick friend.
If your humor is your strength, find a way to cheer someone up.

Write about your experience, recalling the details of what was involved in planning and reflect on how it made you feel.

What feeling came up as you were giving your gift?
How did you feel after giving your gift?
What was the reaction of the recipient of your gift?
What were the positive or negative consequences resulting from giving your gift?
Did you use one or more of your signature strengths? If so, which one?
Have you undertaken such an activity in the past? What was it?
Did you find that it was different this time around? If so, what differences did you notice?
Have there been times in the past when you were asked to give the Gift of Time and you didn’t want to?
Have you been a recipient of someone else’s Gift of Time? What was it?
Are you willing to give the Gift of Time regularly for a particular cause? What cause might this be?
Do you anticipate any adaptation, and do you think the Gift of Time might not provide as much satisfaction as it did the first time?
If so, what steps can you take to address this?

Homework : To maintain progress, suggest that the client performs a few random acts of kindness or consider volunteering for a cause they care about in a way that would allow them to use their strengths.

Clinician Note : Exercise caution if the self-care of clients is already compromised and make sure that their altruistic endeavors don’t negatively impact their self-care needs. To help clients decide on the scale of their altruistic endeavors, explore carefully client’s level of distress and wellbeing as it may reveal their exposure to a potential vulnerability.

Session XV – A Life Worth Living

Goal : The concept of a full life is explained as an integration of enjoyment, engagement and meaning and ways of sustaining positive change in the future are devised.

Tools : From Your Past Toward Your Future and Positive Legacy

Rationale : Cultivation of meaning helps us articulate our life goals in a way that integrates our past, present, and future. It provides a sense of efficacy, helps create ways to justify our actions and connects us to other people through a shared sense of purpose.

Cultivating long term life-satisfaction is closely tied to meaningful pursuits and our lives provide opportunities for meaningful stretches if one is willing to look.

In this final session, we combine the positive introduction with a better version of the self, and the hope of leaving a positive legacy.

From Your Past Toward Your Future

If available, please read your Positive Introduction from Session I. If not, simply recall your story of resilience from our first session. Answer the following questions:

From the experience of resilience in your Positive Introduction story, what meaning do you derive today? ____
Which character strengths are most prominent in your story now that you have explored them further? _____
Do you still use these strengths in everyday life? If so, how? ______
What does your story of resilience tell you about your life’s purpose? ____
What creative or significant achievements would you like to pursue in the next 10 years? ____
If you were to pick one, what makes it most important for you and why? ____
In what way will this goal make a difference for others? ____
What steps do you need to take over the next 10 years to accomplish it? Describe what you need to do year by year? ______
Which of your signature strengths will you use in accomplishing this goal? ____

Positive Legacy

Envision your life as you would like it to be and how you would want to be remembered by others. What accomplishments and strengths would they mention? What would you like your legacy to be? Describe in concrete terms. _____

Now look back at what you wrote and ask yourself if you have a plan that is both realistic and within your ability to do so.

What was like it to re-read your story of resilience again?
Would you write it the same way today? If not, what would you change?
How has your thinking about the purpose and meaning of life changed over the course of our sessions?
What was the process like for you of reflecting on and then writing about your goals for the future?
What will your life look like when you accomplish your goals?
What might happen if you do not accomplish your goals?
Think of ways you can use your signature strengths to do something that would enable you to leave a Positive Legacy.
What specific actions would you take to accomplish your short and long-term goals? What is the timeline for completion of these actions?

Homework : Resolve to keep this in a safe place and read it again a year from now. At that point ask yourself if you made progress, if you need to revise your goals, or if new goals have emerged for you.

Clinician notes : Some client may struggle to find purpose and meaning in their life, especially if they are struggling with a significant loss, trauma or severe depression. Nevertheless, it is very important for the client to be asked about meaning. Irvin Yalom (2020), the author of Existential Psychotherapy states that every one of his clients expressed concerns about the lack of meaning in their lives.

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I am very happy to see this post because it really a nice post. Thanks

This article is very informative and comprehensive. It has broadened my knowledge and perspective on Positive Psychotherapy. The exercises can benefit my clients as well as myself in the pursuit of happiness.

This is indeed one of the most rarely well thought and designed positive therapy/ coaching exercises which I am certain that will have a good impact on the client. Millions of thanks

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Beautifully executed. Focused on the positive. Clients would feel enthused to pursue it. A positive psychology CBT.

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PDF 52 Big Writing/Big Talk Talk Homework IDEAS
52 Big Writing/Big Talk Talk Homework IDEAS ig Writing/Big Talk - Talk Hom wo l 2. The worst day of your life ... t om fa S ou hi locality / this city / this coun ry d .
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2. Make a board game. This is definitely one of the most creative homework assignments. Let your students come up with an idea for a board game about the lesson content. They have to make cards, and pawns, draw, write, cut, and paste. They have to use their imagination and inventive ideas to create a coherent board game. Click to open.
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