Intentional & Effective Homework (Angie from Lucky Little Learners)

Ah, yes, the great homework debate!  Hey everyone, it's Angie from Lucky Little Learners and I am here to talk to you about my view on homework.  Now, let me back up a bit and tell you that I teach 2nd grade in Minnesota and me being a primary teacher will need come into consideration while you're reading this post.

I'm just going to come out and say it, I'm not a huge fan of homework...the way it has been traditionally assigned!  Let me explain...  Ask yourselves these questions:


Is it fair?  Is it accurate?  Is it specific?  Is the feedback timely?  I have been doing a lot of research on homework lately and I have stumbled upon a lot of interesting information.  A lot of my information comes from Douglas Reeves.  He is the founder of Creative Leadership Solutions and can be found on Twitter by clicking HERE.

In my classroom, the only homework I assign is reading.  My second graders are expected to read at home every night.  I use Remind to tell parents what learning target we are addressing so they can pull that into their child's nightly reading homework.  For example, this week we have been working with fiction story elements so I took a picture of my anchor chart and texted it to my families.  Then I encouraged them to ask their child about the characters, setting, problem, and solution after reading at home.  We continue to spiral this focus into the school day as well.

 I think the biggest challenge I face when it comes to homework isn't the kids, it's the parents.  It's so hard to please them all.  Some parents think homework is essential and some prefer a teacher NOT sends homework at all.  Being a teacher that isn't a big homework advocate, it's going to be my focus to educate parents on the research and findings that I come across in an effort to better educate them on the WHY's instead of just saying "That's what I believe."  What do you assign for homework?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

My Lesson Planning Style (Angie from Lucky Little Learners)

Hi friends!  It's Angie from Lucky Little Learners and I'm here today to tell you how I go about my lesson planning.  Now, before I start it is important for you to know that I don't start back to school until September 8th so no judging here when you see that some of my pacing guide planning has not been finished!  First things first...the lesson plan book!  I LOVE my Erin Condren planner.  This will be my second year of owning one of her planners.  If you don't own one yet, and want to, here's my affiliate link which will get you a discount on your very own planner!

When I think about lesson planning, I think big picture first.  My second grade team will sit down with our standards, learning targets, and curriculum.  Then we decide which skills we want to teach in which month.  I love this method because I no longer have to stress in May that there are standards to cover and not enough days left to do the job!

As you can see, the beginning of this process starts out with some sticky notes and my EC planner.  Like I said, no judging, we don't start until September 8th but might I also add that the reason we don't have ELA and Writing done yet is because of this...

That's right!  We JUST received our brand new reading curriculum that we will be teaching this year and a few days later we received our training.  So, now my team is going to sit down and figure out the rest of the order in our long range plans.  We will be using this product from Traci Clausen over at Dragon Flies in First...

Isn't it beautiful?!  When I saw this post on Instagram last spring, I just KNEW that I needed to own this!  I can't wait to get ours finished, printed, laminated, and hung!  It is going to help keep me focused and organized this year.  I also like the visual of what to expect each month at a glance.  Each teacher owns this file and will display it on their classroom wall.  This will keep us all on the same topics which will make our lesson planning meetings go very smoothly!

Once our pacing guide is complete for each month, then I am ready to do my lesson planning.  I wish I could tell you that I use some cutesy templates or some fancy typed plans but the truth is, I like the good ol' fashioned flair pen on paper.  I like to cozy up on my couch each Sunday and draft out my week.  You will notice that my lesson plans may not seem very detailed but what you don't see are my detailed notes that I have ready to go each day for my core and tier math and reading blocks.

Teacher confession:  I love washi tape!  Is it an academic necessity to my lesson plans?  No.  But what I will say is that washi tape makes this teacher's heart happy.  So, my goal this year is to add a little cutesy to my lesson plans in an effort to sprinkle a little happiness throughout my week!