We hope you are enjoying our theme of the month - Executive Functioning! This week, we want to turn our focus to time blocking. This is a concept that a lot of us educators are already familiar with (you have your literacy block, math, lunch, etc.), but did you know that you can change a child's educational outlook with time-blocking, too?
One of the most common things we hear when families are looking for Learning Evaluations for their children is that "homework takes forever." This is a telltale sign that the child might be struggling somewhere academically.
This could be attention, dyslexia, or a number of other learning disabilities. While it probably doesn't actually take "forever" to complete the assignment, there is a point where your child may be spending too much time on homework.
Tip for Helping Your Students Time Block Their Homework
The rule we always tell our families is that homework should take 10 minutes per grade level. If you have a second grader, they should be spending 20 minutes on homework. If you have an 8th grader, it should be 80 minutes.
As a teacher, you rarely see the students completing their homework. However, if you can provide families with this information, it can help them understand if their child is struggling much earlier on. If you are teaching third grade (where kids should spend about 30 minutes on homework every night), but you have a family who says that it is taking them 90 minutes to get through it, please pass this information along.
By giving your students' families this homework time-blocking information, they will be more aware of how long their child should be spending on assignments each night. While spending too much time on homework itself is not enough to diagnose a learning disability, the parents need to know that it is a valid concern. There could be an academic struggle that is impacting how long it takes the student to complete their homework.
Want to take these strategies further?
Time-blocking can help students see how to approach homework, but creating a schedule is only part of the process. Students also need support estimating how long tasks will take, deciding what to tackle first, and adjusting their plans when things don’t go as expected.
These executive function skills take practice, and students are more likely to use them independently when we teach them explicitly and build them into everyday routines.
Our on-demand training, Supporting EF Through the Grade Levels, gives you a practical five-step framework for developing executive function skills, including goal setting, regulation, attention, planning, and reflection.
You’ll receive the Executive Functioning Toolkit and supporting slides to help you bring these strategies into your instruction, along with a one-hour PD certificate and lifetime access to the training and materials. You’ll have practical resources to revisit as you help students build stronger planning habits and take greater ownership of their learning.
