Section 1: Academic Achievement - National Center for School ...

• The parents also said that sometimes they don’t have the materials needed to complete the
homework such as, pencils, rulers, etc.
• In response to the question about parent involvement on homework and who their child
goes to for help, many said they help when they can or if they understand the work. If
they don’t understand the question or how to help, they tell their child to come back to
school and ask the teacher. They also asked for suggestions on the survey about how to
help their child with homework at home.
From this information I decided I needed to address completion of homework, quality of the
homework done, how it is getting done, and where to look for help. I decided to create a
lunch bunch homework help club.
Lunch bunch would meet every Tuesday and/or Thursday during the 45 minute lunch hour in
my classroom. The club was open to everyone but I emphasized the importance and
significance of the club with my highly mobile students. I insisted they come to the lunch
bunch. This small group, made up of 4 students attended lunch bunch every Tuesday or
Thursday for two months.
During our first meeting we created homework boxes. The kids were given old shoe boxes
that they could decorate in anyway they wanted using wrapping paper or construction paper.
They then filled these boxes with supplies that they might need to help them complete their
homework at home. We discussed the significance of the materials and why each one was
important to help complete homework. They were able to put in pencils, paper, notebooks,
crayons, scissors, rulers, erasers, and even a few books. All the materials were either donated
by Colorado Coalition for the Homeless or the school. We then discussed how they needed to
keep these very special homework boxes in a secretive place, away from little sibling’s hands,
and a place where they would remember where they put the box. Each had their own special
place in mind to keep their box and seemed excited about having the materials to help get
their work done.
At the next lunch bunch meeting I asked students to bring a homework assignment that was
giving them trouble or was hard to complete on their own, even after they had asked their
Action Research to Study Homelessness and High Mobility in School Communities 42