Home-work! 10 ways to make homework creative and interesting

Observation based Observe the trees in your neighbourhood, find out the names and list them. Find out what happens to the waste generated in your neighbourhood. Find out how much water is used in your home everyday.

Interaction based Interact with family members and make a family tree. Speak to your grandparents and find out how food habits of the family have changed over a period of time. Speak to people in the neighbourhood to find out about the festivals celebrated in the region.

Research based Find out about any one pre-historic animal and submit a report. Find out about a poet/scientist/author that the lesson is involved with. Find out about the seven wonders of the world.

Collaboration based Find out about the prices of different products produced by different companies. Share the information gathered and present a comparative study of the prices. Which is the costliest? Which is the cheapest? Which adds value to money?

News based Listen to the news and report ten things from the national news in your own words. Follow an ongoing debate on an issue for a week and report the different perspectives. Add your own opinion and justify the stand.

Imagination based Imagine you are a little boy living in the Sahara desert. Write about a day in your life. Imagine a day without water. Write about the possible difficulties you would face. Imagine you are Sindabad the sailor. Describe an imaginary adventure that you had.

Art based Select your favourite lines from the poem that you read in class and draw a picture that captures those words. Narrate the life of the Buddha through a comic strip with dialogues. Make a poster to raise awareness about the wastage of water.

Design based Solve or prepare a word-search based on the terms related to weather and climate. Design a game to show the production and distribution of food from the field to the market. Design a brochure on a historical place, giving the details regarding its location, how to reach the place, its history, its architectural details and other interesting facts about the site.

Application based Write a letter to the local authorities, with an appeal for not cutting a tree in your neighbourhood, giving your reasons for it. Keeping in mind the nutritional value of different kinds of food, plan a mid-day meal for the entire school for a week.

Theme/project based Select a theme for an interdisciplinary project. For example, ‘ Rivers’. The task could study rivers or a single river from a Historical, mythological, geographical, literary, scientific/environmental angles. The entire project can be shared in a group presentation or through an illustrated booklet.

Think of other creative ways to give children tasks that they will be excited to do. Children don’t mind working hard when they enjoy it. Make home-work fun!