Bigger classes are the reality for more and more teachers across the country. In the 2010-11 school year, 57 percent of districts increased their class sizes, and 65 percent anticipate doing so in 2011-12, according to a December 2010 survey by the American Association of School Administrators. So how do teachers cope? Experts and veteran teachers…

Parents and teachers working together can take the hassle out of homework. This article offers sample letters and tips for teachers to adapt to communicate to parents the purposes and basic guidelines of homework. (MT)

A systematic approach which clearly defines teacher, student, and parent roles in homework is described, including discussion of homework policies, homework returns, study areas, survival kits, and time management. (CB)

Ideas for organizing homework and ensuring parental involvement are discussed. Making students responsible for their own behavior is emphasized. (MT)

Math can be the sort of homework parents respect, children enjoy, and teachers savor. Suggestions for achieving this are offered. (MT)

Ways that instructional materials for elementary school students can be taken from room to room or from school to home are described. Ideas include mesh carryall bags, knapsacks, and paper carriers. (CJ)

After spending most of the day in school, students are given additional assignments to be completed at home. It is worth asking not only whether there are good reasons to support the nearly universal practice of assigning homework, but why it is so often taken for granted--even by vast numbers of teachers and parents who are troubled by its impact…

For homework assignments to be effective, they must serve to develop skills and help students gain a sense of accomplishment. Suggestions for developing interesting, positive homework assignments that use contracts and skill cards are offered. (DF)

To improve homework quality in the classroom, teachers should clear up homework fogginess and use strategies for success, including creating goal-directed assignments, balancing homework, allowing time to finish assignments, viewing homework-assignment time as part of the learning process, helping students organize their homework, and helping…

Eight teachers contribute their ideas for successfully working with parents. Included are: a parent information/resource center; guidelines for parent teacher conferences; ideas for using parents as classroom volunteers; and skill development activities that parents can use at home with their children. (SJL)

Interactive language arts homework helps parents and children come together on activities they enjoy. The article presents a project in which students interview their parents on hairstyles from their youth, write a paragraph about the subject, then follow up with class activities. Includes a questionnaire form for students to give their parents.…

Involving parents is a good way to promote student success. By sharing an interactive homework assignment, teachers can help parents understand what their children are learning about averages and how they can reinforce the learning at home. Two reproducibles provide models for teachers to create math take-homes. (SM)

The article presents an interactive take-home activity "Test Your Nerves" on the nervous system that helps parents begin talking about health with their children. Suggestions for teachers on introducing the activities, follow-up class activities, and developing similar activities are included. (SM)

The "Kitchen of Words" home project lets parents help their children master nouns and adjectives within their own kitchens, focusing students on the words involved in the kitchen setting. Students create a list of words that apply to their kitchens, recording nouns, their adjectives, and adjectives suggested by family members. (SM)

Two articles focus on helping primary level students grow. One article on the school-home connection describes interactive math homework assignments that involve parents; the other discusses how teachers can help fearful children adjust to school, noting what children fear and offering seven steps to help overly fearful children. (SM)