Online Homework Help

by Francesca Cole

These handy, user-friendly Web sites can make homework time way less stressful for both kids and parents. They can also help strengthen students' online research skills and boost their confidence as they discover ways to help themselves with homework:

Aplusmath.com
As a parent you know that helping your child with homework requires much more than simply supplying answers. You want your student to master skills, not just ace one assignment. A+ math shares the same philosophy! The site’s unique “homework helper” tab helps your child check his or her homework without giving away the answers. The Web site also makes practice easy with flashcards, individualized worksheets and educational games. A+ math concentrates on basic math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. For slightly more advanced math help, try AAAmath.com.

Kids.aol.com/homework-help
Your child comes home telling you that he or she needs to research a very specific event in history or the correct usage of a conjunction. You have two options: You could have your child Google it, and watch as he scrolls through the 1,290,000 page results for “conjunctions,” or you could go to kids.aol.com/homework-help. This site offers concise yet detailed information on every subject, and it’s easy to navigate!

Funschool.kaboose.com
Are you finding it hard to pry your child’s hands away from the video game controller? Funschool offers tons of fun games that will boost your child’s knowledge while they play! It’s a great site for gradeschool kids, and offers study help on a variety of subjects with games like Action Fraction and Lightning Librarian.

Dictionary.com
Remember how our moms used to tell us to, “Look it up!”? Today’s kids have it so good. This online resource has several advantages over the dusty, musty old paper and ink version. Beyond offering definitions in a quick click, it also lets students hear word pronunciation, check spelling, and find that word that’s on the tip of their tongues (using the thesaurus tab). The encyclopedia tab can offer useful context on a subject too (just beware: The not-necessarily-authoritative Wikipedia is one of their sources).

Encarta.msn.com
Encarta is extremely helpful, providing you and your child with all these resources: homework help and tips for children of all ages; help in any category, based on your child’s individual abilities; links to all of the top homework sites; message boards for specific problems that your child may be having with homework; a dictionary and thesaurus; an atlas; fast historical facts, charts and tables; and free SAT and ACT practice tests. Click on the “K-12 Success” tab, and you’ll find whatever you’re looking for—fast!

SparkNotes.com
Created by Harvard students to help tweens and teens master basic skills and achieve their academic goals, this site offers help on a nearly endless range of subjects, such as literature (including “No Fear Shakespeare”), history, math and biology. As with CliffsNotes.com (which offers French and Spanish help too!), some kids may need cautioning against the urge to plagiarize (which can be a strong temptation for students who struggle with literary concepts and analysis). Students should take advantage of the test-prep help offered at these sites, but they’ll want to avoid relying too heavily on them for writing English papers.

Collegeboard.com
College-bound high school students are going to use Collegeboard.com to sign up for SAT or ACT test-taking, and the earlier you encourage them to create a username and get comfortable with the site, the better off they’ll be. Help them get excited about college by finding their dream universities based on majors, location, costs and more. Collegeboard also has information for parents on everything from paying for college to learning how to help your child do what it takes to achieve his or her goals.

All these resources make giving kids homework help a whole lot easier, but there's still no substitute for a parent's calming and encouraging presence. You'll always be your child's favorite teacher!