Many children have an interest in money, so incorporating change and dollars into math activities is effective for your lesson goals. Whether you are teaching first and second graders how to sort and count, or third, fourth and fifth graders how to multiply, pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters can make effective props for your activities. For homework, have students practice counting money or completing math problems based on the mathematical level they are at. Math problems and equations using money are better suited for elementary students in higher grades.
Based on the in-class lesson plan that you give to students, send them home with a math-related task that requires them to come up with a list of how the math lesson pertains to "real life." For instance, if the lesson is about addition, students may identify that addition is used for paying for groceries at the store. Older elementary students that learn about more advanced math theories may identify taxes, bills and home mortgage interest as "real life" instances that use math.
Shapes are important in geometry, and elementary school teachers can start educating students about shapes before they reach high school geometry courses. For first and second graders' homework, give them a sheet of paper with different shapes on it. Ask them to count the number of sides each shape has. Then, ask them to count the number of angles or points the shapes have. Have third and fourth graders do the same exercise with more advanced shapes, such as octagons and cones. Fifth and sixth graders can complete this activity, but make the version more challenging by giving each shape a dimension and requiring students to come up with equations for the dimensions.
Early math skills teach children how to tell time by reading the clock. As a homework assignment, have young students practice telling time by asking them to write down what time they eat dinner, what time they watch television and what time they go to bed. The activity will help to familiarize them with paying attention to the clock.