Unhomework: How to get the most out of homework without really setting it

In a dynamic and ever changing education climate it is important to re-evaluate practice in schools on a regular basis in order to ensure that we are doing the right thing for our children. With questions being raised over the value of homework, Mark Creasy advises teachers and parents on how to get the most out of homework without letting it get in the way of their lives. The author provides suggestions for how teachers can make homework more effective, applicable and less pointless; by organising classroom learning to allow children to set their own homework and creating opportunities for learning out of everyday situations. Based on over 10 years of real teaching practice in both primary and secondary schools, Unhomework is both entertaining and informative. It challenges the current status quo of traditionally set homework and provides an insight for parents and educators intohow homework can be done differently, for greater effect as an extension to classroom practice. Unhomework is based on the 5Rs and these are detailed for teachers to implement to secure Unhomework successfully. With practical ideas for teachers across year groups and subjects to use, Unhomework is for teachers (Year 3-13) at all stages of the profession, senior managers in primary and secondary phases, independent and state sectors, parents and teacher trainers.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction Chapter One - Unhomework vs homework Homework What is the problem with homework? What is Unhomework? Chapter Two - How to secure Unhomework in your classroom Creating a climate for Unhomework Primary and secondary considerations Introducing Unhomework (the DAD Model) The first few weeks of Unhomework Establishing Unhomework Unhomework Utopia Chapter Three - Parents and Unhomework Parents' role in homework How to introduce Unhomework to parents (the MUM Model) How can parents further support their children? Further activities to support learning Chapter Four - Convincing colleagues 'You're doing what?' Potential challenges Different roles = different problems Their questions, your answers Using children as convincers Chapter Five - Developing Unhomework on a wider canvas In this together Unhomework across a department Whole school Unhomework Cross phase/transition work Chapter Six - My favourite Unhomeworks Examples from primary school children Examples from secondary school children Beyond Unhomework Internet resources Recommended books to support Unhomework Appendix 1 - Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills Appendix 2 - Mission: Homework Bibliography Webography

About the Author :
Mark Creasy is a dedicated father and teacher at an independent school in Buckinghamshire. His contemporary and down-to-earth style of teaching has allowed him to view learning as a tool, not a rule, to ensure that his pupils are given the right to an education that suits their needs and maximises their potential for future success.

Review :
This book offers an inspiring alternative to the setting of homework for homework's sake. Mark shows us how to turn the sometimes dubious exercise of ritual homework-setting into a genuinely useful and positive experience. He demonstrates how homework can play a significant role in pupil progress, so that it is no longer seen as a bolt-on activity by learners or their teachers.Written in a lively and accessible way, Mark's theory of Unhomework makes differentiating for every learner both simple and tactful. His innovative approach is sensitive to all three faces of the homework experience - learner, teacher and parent.Isabella Wallace, education consultant, author and presenter, founder and managing trustee of Reach Out 2 Schools Unhomework furnishes a philosophy for all primary and secondary teachers with a reliable array of homework tactics, resilience and thought. This book re-kindles the value of home-learning and fosters the process from a creative-curricular experience. This completes the perfect homework utopia. Using project-based learning, Creasy shuns the traditional homework-setting and chasing methods and shares his epiphany millisecond (which you may also have experienced) that transformed his thinking about homework altogether!Unhomework promotes inspiring, well-thought-out and differentiated homework that has stirred my own practice. This will add value for all individual teachers and students alike in any school and, in reading this book, you will secure a classroom experience that lowers teacher-workload, yet heightens student grit and independence.Creasy showcases 'enquiry within a context'; learning beyond the classroom and equipping students to think, in order to take responsibility for themselves to increase rewards both emotionally and intellectually. He quite rightly berates the worksheet and advocates self-selecting timeframes and missions. Unhomework, full of intrinsic values to shift school policy, has thoughtfulf