Build students' self-confidence by including enrichment activities in your homework station. Check assignments against the following three points to ensure activities address each. First, the activities should be effective in moving students toward meeting learning objectives. Second, they should provide students with a challenge but do not frustrate. Third, they should allow for self-directed, independent focus for completing the task. When the station includes activities that meet these three elements, students will be reinforcing learned skills, supporting long-term retention of skills and applying learned skills independently and successfully.
Another idea for your fourth-grade homework station is to include a hot line journal for students to share, reflect and seek out assistance from others regarding specific skills. Students make entries, anonymously, if desired, and other students respond. They can add a comment, write a reflection or respond to someone else's question. This activity requires students to reflect back on learning processes, which encourages them to recognize misunderstandings or confusions in new learning and collaborate anonymously to refine their understanding.
Set up a folder in the homework station titled Homework Station Helpers. This folder will include sheets for students' independent reference items, or helper sheets. Examples include copies of the times tables, list of spelling word definitions, list of commonly misspelled words, science terms, reading strategies, problem-solving steps, recently learned grammar skills with examples, sample essays in different genres and other tools that will encourage students' independent research in completing homework and enrichment activities.
An electronic homework station is another option for your fourth-grade homework station. Students have access to the homework station folder from any computer in the classroom. The teacher maintains a homework calendar in an electronic folder for students' easy retrieval of assignments. Copies of assignments, sample assignments and a student reflection section are some ideas to get your electronic homework station started. Students can take the leadership role in maintaining updates to the folder as well.