Social emotional motivation homework strategies

Social / Emotional / Motivation & Homework

Homework can be impacted by a multitude of factors. Socially-oriented children may place a considerably stronger value on interaction rather than on work productivity. Emotionally, children may be anxious about performance or time required for homework, have low or high energy levels that interfere with perseverance for work, or experience agitation when demands are placed on them. Motivation for doing homework can be impacted by the meaning or value placed on working compared to play.

Schedule a weekly meeting with a teacher to gain confidence in talking with an adult and asking questions
Encourage to set goals, identify specifics to attain a goal, and a way to check-in with someone weekly regarding progress toward the goal	Goal Chart sample
Link homework to something the child values	Examples: How is the topic or task personally relevant? Will the task build a quality, such as perseverance, patience, or work ethic? Making material meaningful
Encourage child to try a task three times before giving up
Remain in close proximity and engage in tasks together; assign a mentor for helping with homework completion
Help get started on tasks, by obtaining child’s input for a plan of action; instill a sense of purpose	Avoidance of Homework
Set a phone alarm for a specific time to begin a task and go to a designated place that is removed from other distractions
Limit social media / screen time during homework (i.e. X-Box, TV, computer games) and redirect toward neurofeedback games, board games, playing outside, building activities, etc.	http://www.happy-neuron.com/our-brain-games
Implement a “work, then play” reward structure; rewarding for each segment completed rather than an “all or none” approach. Note: Designate specific activities, such as a favorite game, to only be available upon work completion and at no other time.	Example: Complete 2 homework assignments, and then earn 15 minutes of free time
Relate less desired homework assignments to more entertaining activities	Example: Read a book about the rainforest, complete a worksheet about information in the book, then do a creative activity using that information, such as a drawing, making puppets to use in a skit, etc.)
Instill a sense that mistakes are part of the learning/discovery process
Re-phrase thoughts into a more positive direction (e.g. say “It took me 3 times, but I did it” instead of “I did it, but it took me 3 times”)
Ask the child to determine the aspects that were performed well or what was learned from the struggle	Tips for teachers for effective homework