This article explains how to set up and adjust the default homework settings for your classes to best align with your teaching and support your students' learning.
Turning homework on and off for a class
Turning homework on and off for a class
As soon as you're ready for a class to start receiving homework, you can turn homework on in Class Manager.
From Class Manager, click the blue pencil icon next to the class that you want to work with
Set the 'Homework status' drop-down to 'On'
Click 'Save'. Homework will be set for the class on the next hand-out day and time specified for the class.
If you don't want a class to receive any homework (including optional homework), you can turn homework off by following the instructions above, but setting the 'Homework status' drop-down to 'Off'.
Setting and changing the scheme of learning that the class will follow
Setting and changing the scheme of learning that the class will follow
You'll need to set a scheme of learning for each of your classes so that we can automatically set homework each week that follows your teaching
Setting a scheme of learning for a class automatically populates the Planner for that class
When you set a scheme of learning, you need to select the initial homework level for the class
If you want to make multiple changes across several weeks, or you want to apply the same changes for multiple classes, it may be easier to adjust the scheme of learning that the class(es) use rather than making the changes in the Planner. See Managing Schemes of Learning for information on how to do this.
Setting and changing the default hand-out/-in days and times for a class
Setting and changing the default hand-out/-in days and times for a class
From Class Manager, click the blue pencil icon next to the class that you want to work with
Use the hand-out and hand-in day and time drop downs to set new days/times
Click 'Save' which will apply the new hand-out and hand-in days/times from the next hand-out onwards
As you can only set one homework per week, you can't bring a hand out day forward into a week in which homework has already been set.
You can't set a homework that's longer than 7 days. If you choose Tuesday to Wednesday for example, this will create a 1 day homework and not an 8 day homework.
Setting and changing the default homework length for a class
Setting and changing the default homework length for a class
From Class Manager, click the blue pencil icon next to the class that you want to work with
Use the default homework length drop-down to set a new homework length
Click 'Save' which will apply the new homework length from the next hand-out onwards
Please note: research verified by Cambridge University shows that working in Sparx Maths is positively and significantly associated with higher outcomes in Maths. Completing the recommended 60 minutes of homework per week for one whole school year on average yields a 0.24 level improvement in GCSE grades.
Setting and changing whether students in the class get a times tables task as part of their compulsory homework
Setting and changing whether students in the class get a times tables task as part of their compulsory homework
From Class Manager, click the blue pencil icon next to the class that you want to work with
Set the 'Times tables task in homework' drop-down to 'On' or 'Off'
Click 'Save'. If you've set the times tables task to 'On', students will get a times tables task in the next homework that's set.
For more information on the times tables task see Times tables explained.
Changing the class to Optional Only permanently
Changing the class to Optional Only permanently
From Student Manager, select the Class or Year Group you'd like to edit
Tick the box to select all the students
Click 'Edit selected students'
In the settings that then show. change the Homework Type to Optional Only
Save
The students will no longer receive Compulsory homework. They will receive Target homework and double-length XP Boost each week. You can revert this change at any time.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make the same changes to multiple classes?
How do I make the same changes to multiple classes?
You may sometimes want to make changes to multiple classes, for example this can speed up your class setup at the beginning of a new academic year
From Class Manager, select 'all classes' from the class selector in the header
Tick the blue checkbox next to all classes that you want to change
Click the 'Edit selected classes' button
From here, you can change the following settings for the selected classes:
Whether homework is switched on or off (via the 'set homework status' checkbox)
The homework hand-out day and time
The homework hand-in day and time
The scheme of learning
The initial homework difficulty level for students in these classes
Whether the times tables task is included in students' homework
The default homework length
The teachers that are assigned to the class
Click 'Save' which will apply the change for all future homeworks.
What should I set my hand-out and hand-in days to?
What should I set my hand-out and hand-in days to?
Some tips to consider:
Avoid hand-in on a Monday as this gives less opportunity to remind students to complete their homework.
Having hand-in on the same day as a timetabled Maths lesson allows opportunity for in-person praise and reminders to complete homework.
Having the same hand-out and hand-in days across the school (or year groups), can make it easier for teachers and tutors to remind students about their homework.
Having a weekend between hand-out and hand-in gives students more time to complete their work.
Choosing different days of the week for hand-out and hand-in days allows teachers to check books and avoid confusion over which homework assignment the student needs to do if they have been given an extension or detention.
Can I set homework fortnightly?
Can I set homework fortnightly?
While Sparx Maths works best with weekly homework, you can achieve fortnightly homework by either:
For a 2-week long homework: build your scheme of learning with topics every other week and add 'No homework' weeks in between. See Managing Schemes of Learning for more information.
For a 1-week long homework:
Build your scheme of learning with topics every other week
Leave the weeks in between with no topics (consolidation only)
Go to the Planner of each class and manually change each consolidation week to a 'No homework' week
Can I set more than one homework in a week for a class?
Can I set more than one homework in a week for a class?
No. It's only possible to set one homework per class, per week.
Can I set additional work on top of weekly homework?
Can I set additional work on top of weekly homework?
The personalisation element of Sparx Maths homework means that students are seeing content that is most suitable for them each week without you the teacher needing to differentiate work for your whole class. As such, it's not possible to set additional homework for a class/student. If you want students to complete additional work, we recommend:
Encouraging students to complete their XP Boost and Target homework if they've finished their compulsory homework
Extending the homework length for the class if more practice is needed
Directing students to specific topics in Independent Learning
Can I make changes to a homework that's about to be set?
Can I make changes to a homework that's about to be set?
To ensure that any changes are included in an upcoming homework, we recommend making your changes at least 10 minutes before the homework hand out time.
The homework hand-out time has passed for a week. Why can't my students see their homework?
The homework hand-out time has passed for a week. Why can't my students see their homework?
Homework can take 5-15 minutes to generate after the hand-out time.
If students still can't see their homework after this:
Check that you haven't set the week to a no homework week
If only some students haven't received their homework, verify that they're in this class on their profile in Student Manager