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Homework Planner

Our free homework planner printable will keep you organized and on top of your homework assignments. We also offer a digital version if you prefer. Both are free.

Homework Planner Template

Our free homework planner printable will keep you organized and on top of your homework assignments. If you prefer a digital version, you can open the PDF homework trackers on an iPad and write on them with a note-taking app and stylus (see digital planner ).

Select any homework planner template from the selection below. Select a format that you think will work best for you.

Homework Calendar

When I was a student, I personally loved using a homework calendar. It helped me see the bigger picture and take all of my obligations into account. You can use the homework calendar template as is or you can edit it to suit your needs. Add your list of assignments below. Add each assignment to the calendar on the due date. This is a blank calendar that you can use for any month.

Word | Editable PDF | Image

The following homework schedule is similar to the one above but it doesn’t have a list of assignments.

Add your list of assignments or homework on the due date. Mark each one once you have completed it.

Daily Homework Planner

This daily homework planner will help you keep track of assignments received and due.

Word | Editable PDF | Image | Excel

Editable PDF | Image

Weekly Homework Planner

This weekly school planner will keep track of the assignments and homework you received all week and when each one is due. There is also a checkbox to mark it when it is complete.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

Thursday and Friday

Homework Checklist

If you select the Excel version, then there is a dropdown list to select the subject, priority, and status. You can edit the list of subjects under the “subjects” tab. Each subject is automatically assigned a color code . All assignments that are due the next day are colored red. Assignments due that week are orange and those that are due that month are yellow.

Word | Editable PDF | Excel | PNG

This homework tracker can track your homework assignments, the subjects, due dates, and the status of each assignment. There is a dropdown list to select the subject and each subject will be marked with a different color. To change the list of subjects, go to the subject tab and list each subject. The priority can be either urgent, high, normal, or low. The status is either “to do” or “done”. You can change the priority or the status in the tabs.

Assignment Tracker

This Excel spreadsheet keeps track of assignments, who is responsible for each, and when each assignment is due. The color of each assignment changes according to the due date. When the assignment is due it will turn yellow. You can also open this spreadsheet on Google Sheets.

What is a homework planner?

This is a planner to track your homework and assignments to ensure that you prepare and submit everything on time. An assignment planner can keep track of all your assignments and is a great tool for priority management. However, if you have other obligations such as tests, social and family gatherings, etc, it might be better to prepare a planner that takes all your obligations into account. If you have a family gathering the day before a test, then you will know you will need to start studying one day earlier than you would have. If you don’t keep track of deadlines and everything you need to do, you might find yourself stressed or too late to get everything done. Planning will take the stress out of school and help you be more productive and organized.

How to use an assignment tracker?

Learning how to manage your time is an essential skill that will be needed later on in life as well. Time management is something that sets efficient people apart from those who do not manage their time well and get little done or even fall apart when stressed. Our job as parents is to give our children the skills and tools to manage their time well and get things done, even when they have a lot on their plate.

Start helping your kids to get organized when they are young. Help them write their assignments in their planner. Help them organize their time and schedule. The younger they are, the less they have on their plate. This is the time to help them acquire the skills they will need when they are older and obligations start to become more overwhelming. Remind your kids to review their planner regularly until it becomes a habit. By the time they are older, in high school or college, they will be able to manage their time efficiently.

It isn’t enough to write assignments and homework in a planner when you receive them. In order for a planner to be efficient, you will need to review it regularly. Start a daily habit where you check your homework calendar daily to see what needs to be done. This should be part of your child’s daily routine. If it isn’t feasible to check daily, then it should happen at least once or twice a week. If that doesn’t work, then try setting reminders on your phone.

How to make a homework planner?

Choose whether you want a weekly assignment planner or a daily or monthly planner. Whatever works for you. Scan the templates on this page and see which one you think will be the most helpful. If you like it as-is then download the PDF version. If you prefer to edit it to meet your specific needs then select the Microsoft Word version and edit as you please. Make it work for you.

If you feel comfortable using a spreadsheet then try the assignment deadline spreadsheet template above.

If you are a college student, then you might want a comprehensive student planner that includes a homework tracker:

• College Student Planner (our free student planner includes a class schedule and all other tools you will need during the school year)
• Best Planners for College Students
• School Calendar Template

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amazing resources for students- thank you.

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• TemplateLab
• Homework Planners

15 Printable Homework Planners (PDF, Word, Excel)

Just because you’re a student, that doesn’t mean that you always have things under control. A lot of times, you might feel that you “don’t have enough time” because you have so many things to accomplish like school work, projects , review, and homework. To make at least one of these aspects easier, creating a homework planner is essential.

Table of Contents

• 1 Homework Planner Templates
• 2 Information to include in your homework planner
• 3 Tips for creating your own homework planner
• 4 Best Homework Planners
• 5 Using a notebook or binder for your homework planner
• 6 Free Homework Planners
• 7 How to use your homework planner?

Homework Planner Templates

Information to include in your homework planner

If you want to improve your time management skills through a homework planner, make sure to use the planner wisely. Avoid any crisis and conflict by including this information:

• Regular times for you to do your homework
• The due dates of your homework assignments
• The dates of your tests
• Any special events you have to attend wherein you won’t have time for homework
• The deadlines of signing up for standardized tests
• The due dates for school-related fees
• The dates of school holidays

Tips for creating your own homework planner

It can be quite tricky to keep track of all the due dates of your homework without using a homework planner, a student planner template or any other kinds of organizational strategy. If you plan to create your own homework planner printable template, here are some tips:

• Think about the types of weekly homework planner sheets to include. If you want to remain organized, you must use different types of planning lists, one of which is the homework planner printable.
• Select the type and color of the paper to use when you print out your student planner template. You may also want to think about the type of template to use to organize all the information you need for school. After choosing and downloading a template, either customize it according to your needs or use it as it is.
• After printing out the sheets of your daily, monthly or weekly homework planner, arrange the sheets in the order you want them to appear in your binder or notebook. Think about how you plan to use the sheets of your planner to find the perfect arrangement.
• Organizing the different sections of your template allows you to keep all of your similar sheets for planning in one place. This is what successful planners to and it’s what allows you to remain flexible as you deal with your daily tasks.
• Create different sections for your homework planner. Mark these sections using sheets of colored paper, stick-on dividers or other types of dividers to make it easier for you to locate the different sections.
• Design the front cover of your planner. Here, you can express yourself using your own ideas and creativity. You can either create a design on your computer or use craft supplies to come up with a lovely design. If you think it will motivate you more, come up with a design that makes you feel inspired.
• Name the sections of your planner. You can use the different subjects in your school as the names of the sections, the months of the year, and more, depending on what you need.
• After marking the sheets and sections clearly, bind the sheets together. The simplest way to do this is with a stapler. Then fold a strip of paper over the entire side of the bound sheets to give your planner a neat look. After this, you can start using your planner!

Best Homework Planners

Using a notebook or binder for your homework planner

Apart from creating your homework planner from scratch, you can also use either a notebook or a binder. Here are some steps to guide you:

Standard notebook

• Select a notebook to use. Although using a homework planner printable is very convenient, decorating a notebook and using it for your planner is an excellent way for you to express yourself.
• Decorate the notebook by starting with the cover. Use paint, stickers, and other craft supplies to do this.
• Divide the notebook into how many sections you need for your planner. Think about how many sections you need then think about how many pages of the notebook you need for each of the sections.
• Label the sections either by hand or using printed labels. You can also decorate the label covers of the notebook as you may see fit.
• Create a calendar for your planner or print out a calendar template and attach it to your notebook in some way. This makes it easier for you to keep track of dates and deadlines.
• Create the daily, weekly or monthly planning sheets. You can organize your plans easily by dividing the sheets or pages into equal sections for you to write your notes . Then you can start using the notebook to plan your homework!
• Select the binder to use for your homework planner. In your selection process, consider the size of the banner. If you need a lot of space for your planning, you may choose a bigger binder. However, a smaller one is a lot easier to carry around. Therefore, considering the size is very important.
• Think about the planning method you’d like to use. You can have daily, weekly or monthly planning or to-do lists . Using a binder is a lot easier, especially in terms of adding new sections when you need them.
• Print out the homework or student planner templates you need after downloading or designing them. You can either use the templates you’ve downloaded or customize them as needed.
• Insert all of the planning sheets and dividers into your binder. As you insert these sheets, separate them using standard dividers to make it easier for you to find the different sections. Using dividers also makes it easier for you to label the different sections for better organization.
• After this, you can start using your homework planner!

Free Homework Planners

How to use your homework planner?

Sometimes it’s hard to think about how you can accomplish all of your homework when your teachers keep piling everything on as if there’s no tomorrow. But as a student, the only thing you can do is to deal with what you’re given. The best way to do this is to remain organized by using a homework planner.

Without the proper organization and time management skills, you might not be able to get the top grades you’re hoping for. Now that you know how to create a daily, monthly or weekly homework planner, here are some tips for using it:

• Select the right type of planner When you’re thinking about the type of planner to use, take your time. Select one which can accommodate all of the information you need but which still fits into your bag. Also, stay away from the store-bought ones with zippers or locks which are a challenge to open.
• Name your planner Small as this detail may be, it’s important to name your planner to remind you to keep using it. When you assign a name to an object, you’re also giving it a strong purpose in your life. Choose whatever name you want, make sure that it stands out!
• Incorporate the planner into your daily routine Make sure to bring the planner along with you at all times, especially when you go to school. Also, make sure to check the information written inside at the start and at the end of each day.
• Jot down the information ASAP As soon as your teachers assign you with homework, jot down the most important details right away. Make this a habit and it soon becomes automatic for you. Write down the assignment on your planner, the due date, and other relevant details.
• Learn how to use backward planning Whenever you write down any due date in your planner, keep going back to that homework to remind yourself that the due date is fast approaching.
• Color-coding systems work wonders Use colored dividers, stickers, papers, highlighters, and more to organize your planner. This makes it easier for you to understand and identify the information written on your planner.
• Make sure to include everything in your homework planner You must write down all the possible information in your planner, even the information about events, holidays, and other times which might take you away from doing your homework. If you don’t include this information, you can’t manage your time effectively.
• Use tabs and flags Using tabs and flags makes it easier for you to indicate due dates, finished homework, end of terms, and more. These serve as an excellent visual tool which constantly reminds you of what you need to accomplish.
• Keep the old pages and sheets in a separate file Since you’ll input everything in your planner, this means that each of the sheets contains important information. Therefore, you must keep the old pages in a separate file in case you need to use them as for reference later on.
• Congratulate yourself for creating an organizational system After creating your homework planner and following all of these tips, congratulate yourself for creating your own organizational system. As long as you stick with the planning, doing your homework becomes a lot easier.

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The BEST Homework Planner Every Student Needs (FREE PRINTABLE!)

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If you're organization obsessed or really trying to stay on top of your school work, this homework planner will change your life.

I have always been the type of person to get way overly stressed when I have a lot of assignments due so having a place to write out all my homework and come up with a game plan has been insanely helpful.

I mean... who wouldn't want to use this beautiful free homework planner printable?!

HOMEWORK PLANNER:

If you're anything like me, being organized about what you're doing makes you feel a million times better!

I'm a college student now, but these homework planner printables would work amazing for any grade level!

Every student learns differently (um even my sister and I have MAJORLY different studying approaches haha) so I included 3 different printables that you can choose from! 

I usually will start off with using the page on the far right in the image below and brain dump everything I have to get done. I will then take it to the Weekly Homework Tracker and write in which days I am doing everything.

Finally, I use the page on the far left below as a daily schedule and time-block when I do everything!

It's the best and makes me feel a million times more organized!

It's available in 3 different color ways WITH a black and white version (aka it won't suck up all your ink...you're welcome). 

You can download this FREE Homework Planner printable for yourself by clicking here.

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These printables are for personal use ONLY. You may not alter them or redistribute without written consent from the author, Sophia Lee.

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Printable Homework Planners to Help Students Get Organized

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

If you’re a parent, you know how incredibly overwhelming it can be for students to stay on top of studying and all other homework assignments.

Especially when they’re juggling multiple classes.

Due dates can pile up quickly if they aren’t staying organized and managing their time wisely.

However, there is a tool that can be quite helpful – A printable homework planner! You’ll find a few different styles below.

Weekly homework planners

These free printables will help students plan and track all their assignments for each day of the week.

They can write down the class, a description of the homework assignment, and when it’s due. Once it’s completed it, check “done” and move on to the next!

I recommend printing a few copies at a time. Encourage your middle schooler or high schooler to keep one in their binder.

Monthly homework calendars

In addition to weekly planners , older students may benefit from a blank homework calendar as well.

It’s nice to have a bird’s-eye view of each month.

Some of these templates have extra lines below the calendar for writing down reminders and other misc. notes.

Monthly assignment and exam trackers

Some students may prefer a simple running list of what’s due each month.

With these trackers, they can write down the class, jot down a quick description of what’s due (whether it’s a basic assignment, project, or exam), and the due date.

And, of course, once the assignment is finished, they can mark done.

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Free Homework Planner Templates

Explore the collection of free homework planner templates our editable and printable planners will help track homework for different subjects, assignments to complete, timeframes, and other important details. get perfect grades and stay organized with ready-made options in google docs, excel, google sheets, and word formats..

Convenient Homework Planner

Blue Homework Planner

Brown Homework Planner

Cute Homework Planner

Orange Homework Planner

Homework Planner

Funny Blue Homework Planner

Blue Homework Lesson Planner

Having trouble optimizing your homework time? We advise you to write down all tasks and duties received. Make this process easier with modern and simple homework planner templates. Use editable blanks with user-friendly structures, easy-to-read, eye-pleasing, and cute designs, and many built-in tools! Achieve efficiency in school and at home when doing homework.

WTO / Education / Charts / 22 Free Printable Homework Planners (Templates)

22 Free Printable Homework Planners (Templates)

A homework planner serves as an essential tool, similar to a journal, that enables students to keep track of their assignments and deadlines.

Utilizing this planner ensures you remain up-to-date with all your homework and assignments, along with their respective due dates.

Employing this planner minimizes the chances of overlooking deadlines, helping you stay organized and focused throughout your academic journey.

As a student, possessing such a planner is crucial in managing your school work efficiently and avoiding last-minute scrambles. This tool allows you to stay informed about upcoming tasks and prioritize your homework based on deadlines and task complexity.

Regardless of whether you choose a physical notebook or a digital planner, having a planner simplifies school life management. By utilising a template to create your personalised planner for homework, you can effectively organise your tasks and time, allowing for a more relaxed mental state.

Editable Templates

Why Keep a Homework Planner? 

You can get many benefits as a student if you choose to keep a planner for your homework and assignments. With it, you will be able to improve your productivity, especially if you have a part-time job . It would be best if you have this planner to ensure that you dedicate enough time to each task and complete them all successfully. This way, you will increase your productivity and, hence, achieve better and higher-quality output.

This planner will help you plan your time properly . With a planner, you can manage your time wisely, which will help you meet your deadlines and avoid any stress. In addition, a planner will help you improve your organisational skills. That means you will be a more organized student with fewer instances of forgetfulness and confusion. You will learn how to keep your commitments and meet your deadlines.

Another important aspect of the planner is that you will be able to track your achievements and goals. Making a list of your assignments, homework, and to-do lists in your planner will help you track what you have completed and what is still pending. This planner will also make you more responsible. This means, with a planner, you are more likely to develop a sense of responsibility that will ensure you remain focused on your school tasks and achieve all your goals as planned. 

How to Create a Homework Planner?

You need to know how to create this planner because having one is important and beneficial. You can use any of the ways mentioned below to create your own planner according to your requirements.

Explained below are the five ways you can create your planner:  

Method 1: Design your own homework planner

• Choose all the planning sheets you will need in your planner. This may include a monthly calendar, a weekly planning sheet, and a daily to-do list . You can use sticky notes to add information to your calendar or choose to use sticky notes to add important details to specific dates.
• The next step is to download free templates for different kinds of sheets that you have chosen for your homework planner and then print them. You can use notebook paper, blank printing paper, or other printed papers for printing, depending on your style and planning design.
• You should then organize your papers in a way that you want them to appear in your planner. You can start with the monthly sheets, then the weekly ones, and finally the daily papers. Because school schedules are usually divided into weeks rather than months, having separate sheets for weeks and days ensures continuity in planning even if the month changes midweek. 
• The next step is to create sections for your planner by using color-coded sheets, dividers, tape, or post-notes to mark the presence of two sections or mark important sections.
• After that, you can creatively design your planner cover by drawing and painting it, decorating it with your favorite stickers, or designing and printing out a cover on the computer.
• Since you already have the sections divided, you need to decide what each section will include. You can categorize your planner sections according to subjects. Monthly, weekly, and daily categories can be created within the sections.
• The final step in designing your own planner is to bind the papers together and put a cover. You can choose to either glue or staple the papers together. Your planner is now ready for you to add information about your assignments and homework. You can use your planner for assignments from one class or different classes. Make sure to highlight each task using a different color of ink.

Method 2: Use a standard notebook

• The first step is to choose a planner notebook based on what you need and the number of assignments and homework you might receive for each class, from the various homework planners available. 
• The next step is to decorate your notebook, a journal, or a composition book. Be creative and either draw or glue decorations on your notebook. Decorating your planner will help you stay motivated when using a planner.
• Then, you should divide your notebook into sections like the ones mentioned earlier: the monthly sections, weekly sections, and daily to-do list. You can count the number of sheets you need for each section and divide them using dividers, folding corners of the papers, and using tape or coloured sheets.
• Ensure that you label all the sections that you have created in your planner to make it easier to indicate the right information in the right place. You can create the label by writing, drawing, or using stickers.
• The next step is to draw your calendars so that you can plan your month based on the information in your planner. You should make a calendar by drawing a large box, dividing it into four columns and seven rows, naming the days of the week on top of each column, naming the months, and including the correct dates.
• Ensure that you create your weekly planning sheets since these are the ones you will use the most. Most of your homework and your assignment will be included in the weekly sections. You will need to divide it into eight columns, seven for the days of the week and one extra column for notes.
• The final step of using a standard notebook to create your planner includes the required assignments and homework. Ensure you organize your tasks based on deadlines to ensure you meet all your deadlines.

Method 3: Use a binder

• Choose a binder that will fit all the necessary papers that you need to include in your planner. This includes the assignments sections, the calendars, and the weekly planners. Try to minimize the number of papers in the binder so that you can easily access information about your assignments.
• The next step is to decide how you want to organize your planner for your homework. You should include the monthly calendar, weekly sections, and daily to-do lists. Using a binder will make it easier to add more sections and papers in the future when needed. That means you do not have to focus much on the number of papers for each section.
• The next step is to print out your planning sheets, including blank calendars and blank weekly planning sheets. You can edit and download customized homework planning sheet templates and then print them for use. After printing, insert these planning sheets into your binder.
• The fourth step will be to divide your planning sheets using dividers so that you can separate and access each section easily. You should also label these sections appropriately. Finally, you should open your binder rings and insert the to-do list, the weekly sections, the calendar, and a special index page to help you with arranging the pages.
• The final step is to include your homework and assignments sections. At this point, the binder is ready to be used as a homework planner, and you can start planning and organizing your schoolwork.

Method 4: Use a digital planner

• Select a digital planner that can be used on your laptop, iPad, or smartphone. For example, you can use note-taking or other calendar apps as your digital planner for your homework.
• The next step is to either take notes or design a custom planner meant to organize your school homework and assignments directly into the apps.
• Finally when including details about your assignment, ensure you focus on these three important times; new semester, new year or new season, Sundays, and classes.
• For the upcoming semester (year or season), you can include all the set dates for important activities like tests and deadlines. The apps help you update your weekly sections on Sundays, as they mark the start of the new week. Finally, in class, you can use the app to update information in your planner for to-do lists, key dates, lengthy assignments, projects, tests, and final exams.

Method 5: Use a template

You can also choose to use a template to prepare your planner for homework. A template is the easiest method to use since you will be required to download a premade planner and customize it to suit your homework needs.

You can easily edit a template and fill in the required information. Also, you can choose to download and print it, then paste it in your notebook to use as your daily planner. Whatever method you choose, the template for homework planner is not time-consuming and guarantees you less stress during the preparation process.

In the case of a to-do list, you do not have to mention every single thing you intend or plan to do during the day. This will be difficult if something unexpected occurs or you decide to do something other than what you planned. As a student, the best way is to organize the tasks you need to complete immediately, the tasks you will complete in a couple of hours, and the tasks you will do on another day. It is about which assignment or homework is the most important.

What to Include in a Homework Planner

The information in this section will help you create a comprehensive planner that will assist you in organizing your homework and assignments.

Here is what you need to include in your planner once you have created it using any of the methods mentioned above:

Regular times for homework

You need to include a regular block of homework time. This is the time that you have dedicated to doing your homework. Setting regular times for homework is important, as it will help you plan for extra study and other school work you may have.

Due dates of homework assignments

The deadlines and due dates for your homework and assignments should also be included in the planner. This will help you remember what you need to do and when to ensure you submit your work on time.

Dates of tests

Your planner should include information about your homework and the test dates. You need to plan and organize your time to study and prepare for your tests. Including this information will help you stay informed about the upcoming tests.

Any special events to attend

In case you need to attend a dance, party, celebration, or any other special event, you should include it in your planner. This is important, as you will not have time for your homework if you have not planned it properly in your schedule.  

Deadlines for signing up for standardized tests

Standardized tests like the SATs are important tests for you as a student. If you are interested in taking such exams, you need to note the deadlines for registering for these standardised tests in your homework planner. That way, you can prepare for the tests and stay alert about applying.

Your planner should also have information about your school fee due date. You have to remind your parents or guardians about paying your school fees, and that is why it is important to include this information in your planner.

Dates of school holidays

Since you will be checking your planner for information about your homework, assignments, and tests, the planner is a good place to indicate the dates of any upcoming school holidays. This will help you remember to do all that is required before the school holiday.

Best Practices to Follow

When creating and filling your  planner, there are tips that you should remember. These tips are some of the best practices you need to adapt and follow for effective homework planning.

Some of these best practices include the following:  

1. Choose the right planner for you

It is important to choose the right planner for your homework and assignment needs. Your planner is meant to help with your school life by organizing your schoolwork. That means choosing your planner is the first and most important thing you should do. Choose what is most suitable for you, whether it is a notebook or a digital planner.

2. Set weekly goals

You need to include your weekly goals in your planner. Apart from your homework and assignments, you can also include your weekly goals in the planner. An example of a weekly goal can be studying for about 45 minutes to improve your grades.

3. Keep track of upcoming assignments

For the planner to be beneficial, remember that it is not enough to note your homework and assignment details. As a student, you must track those assignments that are due soon. It will not be beneficial to have a homework planner and still forget to complete assignments on time.

4. Practice time management

When creating and filling in your planner, you need to practice time management. As a student, managing school and your personal life requires you to learn how to manage your time. Ensure you allocate appropriate time for each school task, homework, and assignment. That way, you can have more time to indulge in other activities.

5. Keep it positive 

Ensure to include positive information in your planner. You can congratulate yourself by adding positive notes in the planner every time you complete your work and school assignments. This will encourage you to stay focused on adhering to the planner.  

Final Thoughts

As a student, you need to have a method to organise your school work and your personal time. You might feel overburdened or even forget to complete some of these tasks as you balance your homework, assignments, and other schoolwork. That is why you need a homework planner. You can easily make a planner to ensure you stay organized and responsible, and always remember to complete your homework. Use our customized templates to create your planner today.

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Homework Planner Template

The best thing I can say about this homework planner is that my own kids like it enough to want me to print a copy for them each week. The design for this planner came from a mash-up of the techniques that my brother and I used in college to organize our time. I've refined the design based on feedback from my kids (one high-schooler and two home-schoolers).

How It Works : This planner combines two very useful tools for keeping track of your homework assignments, both on a single page. First, on the left is a homework check list for each of your classes. Use it to list the assignments, due dates, and the estimated time to complete each assignment. List upcoming exams and plan times to study. Second, on the right side you can plan your week to figure out how you will get everything done.

Printable Homework Planners

The following PDF files can be printed as needed. The main difference is in the weekly schedule because high-schoolers and home-schoolers tend to do their homework at different times of the day.

License : Private Use (not for distribution or resale)

Authors: Jon Wittwer and Jim Wittwer

Description

This spreadsheet includes two separate worksheets with slightly different designs. The Homeschool design doesn't include the "time" column because we found it wasn't as critical to predict how much time a particular assignment would take. However, for high school and college, estimating the time to complete each assignment can be extremely helpful.

We designed it so that you can either print blank copies of the planner, or edit it electronically. You may be able to store and edit this planner on your mobile device if you are using Excel for iPad/iPhone or Google Sheets.

Tips for Students:

1. Customize the template: Using Excel or Word, enter your class names on the left and your typical weekly schedule. For example, use the schedule to highlight the times for each of your classes, your extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, etc.

2. Print blank copies: After customizing the template, you can print as many of these planner pages as you need, and you won't need to enter your typical weekly schedule each time.

3. Don't forget incomplete assignments: When switching to a new page each week, don't forget to go through your list of assignments and transfer the incomplete assignments to the new page.

4. Don't lose it: Keep your planner page in a folder that you always have with you. If you are worried about misplacing it, try taking a picture of it with your phone as a backup.

5. Use a mobile app: If you have a phone with the Excel or Word app or Google Docs app, and you are allowed to use a mobile device in school, you could try going paperless and editing the template on your phone. You could also try using one of the many "student planner" or "homework planner" mobile apps. The problem with this approach is that phones can be a huge distraction. If you are obsessed with Instagram or texting, it may be better to avoid using your phone if you want to get anything done.

Note to Teachers:

You are welcome to print copies of this planner to give to your students. The worksheet is pretty intuitive, but don't assume that students will know how to use it. Teach them about managing their time and help them learn how a planner can help.

One important thing that you can do to help your students is to give them a realistic estimate of how much time each assignment will take. If you get a lot of students complaining that an assignment took longer than you said, either cut back the work (if it was excessive), or use the feedback to give a better estimate next time around.

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Free Printable Weekly Student Planner

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. Read my full disclosure policy here.

Looking for a simple and free student planner? This free printable weekly kids planner can be customized, whether it’s to write down a weekly schedule, homework, or classroom assignments. It’s perfect for planning virtual, homeschool, or in-person learning!

Check out other popular Back To School posts, like these must-haves for setting up a home learning space for your child , a focus roller to help your child concentrate , and these DIY Stress Balls.

When life threw everyone a curveball last spring and schools shut down, we were flustered but I felt an incredible need to organize as much as I could (especially with everything else totally outside of my control.) My daughter is the same way, she loves a good checklist and thrives on following schedules. While the teachers were trying as hard as they could, we knew we needed a way to keep track of what was due, and when.

That’s when I created this printable student weekly planner to organize assignments. It can also be used to write down that week’s schedule, homework, and even habit tracking. It really came in handy to organize everything during a stressful time!

It’s great for all ages– for younger kids, you can draw icons to represent what you’re doing when. Older kids can fill it in themselves. Heck, it’s versatile enough that awesome adults like you can use it to plan meals, write down virtual learning schedules, or plan your homeschooling lessons!

(I even added a chore block to my kids’ schedule… they’re pitching in around the house and writing down one big chore a day was helpful for all of us.)

Get organized in style!

Dive into our assortment of planner printables , including daily, weekly, and annual formats. There’s even an undated planner to use year after year, and the latest additions to our collection!

How to Download the Free Printable Student Planner

How to Use the Free Printable Student Planner

• Download it to your computer and print (see instructions above.)
• Fill out the far left column with time blocks or subject areas, depending on how you’re using the planner. Writing in time blocks creates a ‘block schedule’ that shows what is happening at that time each day, and writing subject areas allows for writing down the assignments or lessons for that subject each day.
• I recommend clipping to a clipboard or protecting with a clear plastic dry erase pocket . You can then hang it on the wall using Command Strip Hooks . Another idea is to three hole punch it or place in a page protector and add it to a binder.

I hope this helps you and your family adapt to the ever changing school situation! Whether you homeschool, virtual school or go in person my goal is to make it as easy and stress free as possible with simple ideas to add systems and routines into your home life.

If you enjoyed this post, it would mean the world if you would share it!

How will you use your free printable weekly student planner?

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16 Printable Homework Planners (100% Free)

As a student, it can be challenging to keep track of your regular classes, sports activities, projects, school work, social life, talents, as well as your homework. In fact, most students report always feeling like they ‘don’t have enough time’ because they are always on the move. Printable homework planners can take some of the pressure off by helping you plan out how and when you will do your homework. Let’s take a closer look at what these documents are and how you can use them.

What Is a Printable Homework Planner?

A printable homework planner is an organization tool that helps you define when, where, and how you will complete your school assignment s. It helps you improve your time management and planning skills by helping you record and keep track of the following information:

• Names and details of your homework assignments
• Timelines within which to complete your assignments
• Dates for upcoming tests
• Upcoming events that could prevent you from completing your assignments
• Deadlines for paying school fees
• School holiday dates

What Is a Printable Homework Planner Template?

A printable homework planner template is a fillable table document that you can use to plan the dates and times for when you will complete your assignments .

Printable Homework Planners Templates & Examples

How to Use Your Homework Planner

Time management skills are crucial to any student because they allow you to balance your school work, be well-rested for class, complete your projects on time, and prepare adequately for tests. Here are some tips for using your homework planner to achieve these goals:

• Select a planner that is large enough to accommodate all your needs but not so large that it cannot fit in your bag properly.
• Give your planner a creative name that motivates you to follow it.
• Once you complete your planner, make it part of your daily routine and carry it with you to school. Check it every morning and every evening to make sure you are on schedule.
• Always note down your assignments as soon as the teacher gives them, including important details like due dates so that you don’t forget anything.
• Use colored papers, stickers, highlighters, and dividers to bring your planner to life and divide different sections so that you understand the content.
• Always note down information about holidays or possible events that could prevent you from completing your homework assignments on time.

Tips for Creating a Perfect Homework Planner

Printable Homework Planners require a lot of effort to create because they track all the assignments you must complete as well as their due dates. Here are some tips to keep in mind when creating your own homework planner:

• Organize your assignments into distinct categories so that you know how to prioritize them. You can do this by subject, due date, difficulty, etc.
• Choose good quality paper so that, when you print your planner, it is durable.
• Create different sheets for your planner, then arrange them in order and bind them into a notebook or binder.
• Use colors or dividers to differentiate the different sections so that you don’t have a hard time looking for one section of your planner.
• Be creative with the front cover and use paints, stickers, and colors that are uniquely your style and that will encourage you to follow your planner.
• Name the different sections of your planner according to date or subject.
• Use a stapler to bind the different sections.

Using a Notebook or a Binder as Your Homework Planner

You don’t have to create a homework planner from scratch as long as you are willing to be a little creative. Instead, you can use a binder or notebook. Here is how:

• Choose a binder of the appropriate size depending on how much space you need and how important portability is to you. You don’t want to be carrying around a heavy binder all day in school, especially if your classes are far apart.
• Determine how you would like to plan your assignments, either daily, weekly, or monthly. You don’t have to be rigid about the timelines because you can easily add new sections to a binder.
• Download a customizable printable homework planner online and add all the information you need to create a personalized planner. Once you are done, print all the sheets on good-quality paper. You can even get creative with the colors.
• Finally, insert all the printed sheets into the binder and use dividers to create appropriate categories. This will make it easier for you to spot all the different sections with ease.
• The method you use to bind the sheets will depend on the type of binder you are using.
• A notebook is different from a binder because you cannot add sheets to it and have to use the already present pages. However, it can also be a lot of fun to create a planner from.
• Start by choosing a suitable notebook whose size meets all your needs. Include your name and contact information on the cover page in case it gets lost in school.
• Next, use stickers, paints, ribbons, etc., to decorate the cover page of your notebook. Be creative here and infuse your personal style into the design.
• Determine the number of sections you need to create and divide the number of pages in the notebook by the number of sections, then use dividers to partition the book.
• Label each section using printed or handwritten labels.
• Print out a calendar and attach it to the first page of your notebook.
• Use the pages to create daily, weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly planning sheets.

What is an assignment planner?

An assignment planner is an organization tool that allows you to plan out the methodology and approach you will use to complete individual assignments.

What is the best app for homework planning?

The answer will depend on what you are looking for in a planner. That said, the top 5 options are:

• MyHomework Student Planner
• The Homework App
• My Study Life

Does Google have a homework app?

Google for Education has an Assignments app that you can use to track your assignments. You can also access other homework planners like MyHomework on Google Play.

It can be difficult to see just how you will manage to complete all your assignments, project, and school work while still doing your chores at home and going for cello practice. Printable Homework Planners will prevent your assignments from piling by keeping track of all the work you need to do and when it needs to be completed. By using it, you can at least bring order to one aspect of your student life.

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How to Make a DIY Daily Planner for School (Plus Tips to Stay Organized)

Last Updated: August 28, 2024 Fact Checked

• DIY Notebook Planner
• Using a School Planner
• Custom Planner Options
• DIY Planner Template

This article was co-authored by Alicia Oglesby and by wikiHow staff writer, Sophie Burkholder, BA . Alicia Oglesby is a Professional School Counselor and the Director of School and College Counseling at Bishop McNamara High School outside of Washington DC. With over ten years of experience in counseling, Alicia specializes in academic advising, social-emotional skills, and career counseling. Alicia holds a BS in Psychology from Howard University and a Master’s in Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology from Chestnut Hill College. She also studied Race and Mental Health at Virginia Tech. Alicia holds Professional School Counseling Certifications in both Washington DC and Pennsylvania. She has created a college counseling program in its entirety and developed five programs focused on application workshops, parent information workshops, essay writing collaborative, peer-reviewed application activities, and financial aid literacy events. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 294,145 times.

If you've ever forgotten to do your homework or been caught unprepared for a test, then you might want to start using a planner. Planners help to keep you organized and on top of your assignments, and making your own planner allows you to create one with a look you like and the features you need. To get started, we’ll give you a step-by-step guide on how to make your own notebook planner, then we’ll go over the best ways to use your planner to stay organized and succeed in school, and give you other options for customizable and printable planners.

Making a DIY School Planner

Write your name on the inside cover of a notebook. Glue your class schedule onto the first page, then draw or paste a daily, weekly, or monthly calendar onto the next page—whatever organization system you prefer. Add sections for events, birthdays, or goal-setting, then decorate your planner with stickers and doodles.

Making a DIY Planner in a Notebook

• You’ll also have a choice of bindings. Spiral-bound notebooks lie flat, but composition books and similar notebooks with a sewn binding won’t damage your other books and papers, as spiral bindings sometimes do. [1] X Research source
• If you like to keep all of your papers together, consider purchasing a notebook that has a folder attached or a pocket inside the front cover.
• If you choose to draw a biweekly calendar rather than listing your assignments, you may find that blank, grid-lined, or grid-dotted paper is a good choice.
• Blank paper will also allow you to make your own pages however you like—simply draw what you want into your planner. This choice is especially handy if you’re good at art and want to add a lot of aesthetics and decoration to your planner.

• Label the top of each column with a day of the week, combining Saturday and Sunday into one column. Then, write the corresponding date into the corner of each small box.
• Write the name of the month and year at the top of the page, e.g., January 2025.
• You only need to create monthly pages for the months you’ll be using your planner in. If you don’t plan on using your planner during the summer, for example, you can skip making pages for July and August.
• You can use this website to view the calendar for any given year and month and make sure you’re filling in the dates and days of the week correctly.

• In the boxes created by this horizontal line, write the corresponding date and day of the week for your desired date range in each box. For example, one set of pages may have Monday March 3, Tuesday March 4, Wednesday March 5, etc.
• In your last column, combine Saturday and Sunday into one, since you generally won’t have homework or assignments due on those days.
• If you’d prefer, make horizontal rows instead of vertical columns. Or, lay it out in a different way that makes sense to you. A planner that you don't like using won't help you organize your homework and get assignments done. So, feel free to adjust and personalize your planner to your exact needs—but use these steps as a guideline.

• Upcoming Events
• After School Activities
• Appointments
• Brainstorming
• Gratitude Lists
• Books to Be Read
• Nutrition & Fitness Tracking
• Work Scheduling
• Goal Tracking
• Mental Health Tracking

• Use colored pencils or markers to doodle or color in sections of your pages and use patterned tape to create borders or make cool designs.
• If you need inspiration, search “aesthetic diy planner” in a search engine or social media platform to see tons of fun and creative planner ideas.

• Or, make a collage of your favorite singer, dream destination, or aesthetic images you like.
• You can use paints, markers, glue, colored pencils, and other craft supplies to decorate the outside of your planner.
• However, make sure that whatever you use will be durable. For example, if you glue sequins to the cover or use glitter, you risk losing your decorations in the deep, dark depths of your backpack.
• Decorating the outside is one of the best ways to make your planner just for you. And the more you feel like your planner expresses your personality and creativity, the more you’ll want to use it. Plus, you’ll get to show off your beautiful work!

How to Use a School Planner Effectively

• For example, let’s say you have a science exam on Friday, October 28th. On each of the 3-4 previous Fridays, write “study a chapter for science exam” onto your monthly calendar. This way, you’ll be studying for your exam throughout the month, rather than cramming at the last minute.
• Similarly, you may have a paper due on Friday, October 28th. Break up the paper into steps, like an outline, rough draft, revisions, and final draft. Assign yourself an earlier deadline for each of these stages and note them in your monthly calendar.
• When you get your school’s official calendar at the beginning of the year, copy its important dates into your planner’s monthly calendar, e.g., school breaks, standardized testing weeks, extracurricular events, etc.
• If you so choose, add personal events like birthdays, appointments, holidays, and other significant occasions to your monthly calendar.

• For example, let’s say you have English and Spanish homework due Wednesday, a math exam on Thursday, and chemistry and history assignments due on Friday.
• Your daily to-do lists might look like: Monday (do English homework); Tuesday (do Spanish homework); Wednesday (study for math exam); Thursday (chemistry and history homework).
• Stay organized by using different colored markers or pens to color code your courses or assignment types. You can assign different colors to different classes, different types of work (essay, project, test review), or different priority levels (due next week, urgent, etc.).
• If your teacher tends to change due dates often, write your planner entries in pencil.

Other Options for a Customized School Planner

• Three-Ring Binder: Print your planner pages and punch them with a 3-hole punch. Place them into a standard three-ring binder .
• Spiral-Bound: Print the template pages and bind them with a binding machine , or have them bound at an office supply store. [9] X Research source
• Professionally Printed: Upload your planner pages to the online system of your local print shop. Select how you want your pages to be bound, as well as if you want the pages to be double-sided, in color, etc.

• In this example, you could purchase a basic, affordable planner with monthly calendar pages . Then, cut those pages out and paste them into a pretty notebook to create your custom planner.

Daily Planner Template for School

Community Q&A

• While you might be tempted to keep track of things using an app or your phone, research has shown that writing things down helps you remember them better later. So, if there’s the slightest chance you’ll forget something important, jot it down in your planner. Not only will you be more likely to remember, but you’ll also have a reference if you need to check later. [11] X Research source Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Have fun with your planner! Write inspiring quotes for each page, keep track of the lunch menu, or keep a log of interesting facts you’ve learned and weird things your classmates have said. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• As you use your planner, you can cross off or put a checkmark next to assignments you've completed so as to keep yourself fully organized.
• If you're making your planner with loose-leaf pages, mix in some pretty stationary for a cute and aesthetic look!

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://bambra.com.au/news/10-book-binding-methods-you-need-to-know/
• ↑ https://www.shescraftycrafty.com/2015/03/diy-planner.html
• ↑ https://lovefrommim.com/planner-decorating-for-beginners-tips/
• ↑ https://www.bowdoin.edu/baldwin-center/pdf/handout-breaking-large-projects-down.pdf
• ↑ https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-get-students-use-their-planners/
• ↑ https://www.additudemag.com/organize-prioritize-adhd-child-school-homework-help/
• ↑ https://youtu.be/bKFx-p7Lx0c?t=611
• ↑ https://mysomethingbeautifullife.com/combining-erin-condren-lifeplanner-and-makselife-planner/
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-the-questions/201808/6-reasons-why-you-should-use-daily-planner

About This Article

To make your own school planner, choose a notebook that will easily fit into your backpack. Write your name inside the front cover in case you lose it, and write or staple a copy of your class schedule on the first page. Open the notebook to the second page, and divide the right page into 3 sections, each labeled with the day of the week and the date. Use these sections to write out daily work. On the left page, write “After School” or “Upcoming Assignments” so you’ll have an easy place to see everything. Keep reading to learn how to make a biweekly planner instead! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Smart Classroom Management

A Simple, Effective Homework Plan For Teachers: Part 1

So for the next two weeks I’m going to outline a homework plan–four strategies this week, four the next–aimed at making homework a simple yet effective process.

Let’s get started.

Homework Strategies 1-4

The key to homework success is to eliminate all the obstacles—and excuses—that get in the way of students getting it done.

Add leverage and some delicately placed peer pressure to the mix, and not getting homework back from every student will be a rare occurrence.

Here is how to do it.

1. Assign what students already know.

Most teachers struggle with homework because they misunderstand the narrow purpose of homework, which is to practice what has already been learned. Meaning, you should only assign homework your students fully understand and are able to do by themselves.

Therefore, the skills needed to complete the evening’s homework must be thoroughly taught during the school day. If your students can’t prove to you that they’re able to do the work without assistance, then you shouldn’t assign it.

It isn’t fair to your students—or their parents—to have to sit at the dinner table trying to figure out what you should have taught them during the day.

2. Don’t involve parents.

Homework is an agreement between you and your students. Parents shouldn’t be involved. If parents want to sit with their child while he or she does the homework, great. But it shouldn’t be an expectation or a requirement of them. Otherwise, you hand students a ready-made excuse for not doing it.

You should tell parents at back-to-school night, “I got it covered. If ever your child doesn’t understand the homework, it’s on me. Just send me a note and I’ll take care of it.”

Holding yourself accountable is not only a reminder that your lessons need to be spot on, but parents will love you for it and be more likely to make sure homework gets done every night. And for negligent parents? It’s best for their children in particular to make homework a teacher/student-only agreement.

3. Review and then ask one important question.

Set aside a few minutes before the end of the school day to review the assigned homework. Have your students pull out the work, allow them to ask final clarifying questions, and have them check to make sure they have the materials they need.

And then ask one important question: “Is there anyone, for any reason, who will not be able to turn in their homework in the morning? I want to know now rather than find out about it in the morning.”

There are two reasons for this question.

First, the more leverage you have with students, and the more they admire and respect you , the more they’ll hate disappointing you. This alone can be a powerful incentive for students to complete homework.

Second, it’s important to eliminate every excuse so that the only answer students can give for not doing it is that they just didn’t care. This sets up the confrontation strategy you’ll be using the next morning.

4. Confront students on the spot.

One of your key routines should be entering the classroom in the morning.

As part of this routine, ask your students to place their homework in the top left-hand (or right-hand) corner of their desk before beginning a daily independent assignment—reading, bellwork , whatever it may be.

During the next five to ten minutes, walk around the room and check homework–don’t collect it. Have a copy of the answers (if applicable) with you and glance at every assignment.

You don’t have to check every answer or read every portion of the assignment. Just enough to know that it was completed as expected. If it’s math, I like to pick out three or four problems that represent the main thrust of the lesson from the day before.

It should take just seconds to check most students.

Remember, homework is the practice of something they already know how to do. Therefore, you shouldn’t find more than a small percentage of wrong answers–if any. If you see more than this, then you know your lesson was less than effective, and you’ll have to reteach

If you find an assignment that is incomplete or not completed at all, confront that student on the spot .

Call them on it.

The day before, you presented a first-class lesson and gave your students every opportunity to buzz through their homework confidently that evening. You did your part, but they didn’t do theirs. It’s an affront to the excellence you strive for as a class, and you deserve an explanation.

It doesn’t matter what he or she says in response to your pointed questions, and there is no reason to humiliate or give the student the third degree. What is important is that you make your students accountable to you, to themselves, and to their classmates.

A gentle explanation of why they don’t have their homework is a strong motivator for even the most jaded students to get their homework completed.

The personal leverage you carry–that critical trusting rapport you have with your students–combined with the always lurking peer pressure is a powerful force. Not using it is like teaching with your hands tied behind your back.

Homework Strategies 5-8

Next week we’ll cover the final four homework strategies . They’re critical to getting homework back every day in a way that is painless for you and meaningful for your students.

I hope you’ll tune in.

If you haven’t done so already, please join us. It’s free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.

What to read next:

• A Powerful Way To Relieve Stress: Part One
• A Simple Exercise Program For Teachers
• How To Give Effective Praise: 6 Guidelines
• How To Make Your Routines More Effective
• 3 Misconceptions Of Effective Classroom Management

21 thoughts on “A Simple, Effective Homework Plan For Teachers: Part 1”

Good stuff, Michael. A lot of teachers I train and coach are surprised (and skeptical) at first when I make the same point you make about NOT involving parents. But it’s right on based on my experience as a teacher, instructional coach, and administrator the past 17 years. More important, it’s validated by Martin Haberman’s 40 years of research on what separates “star” teachers from “quitter/failure” teachers ( http://www.habermanfoundation.org/Book.aspx?sm=c1 )

I love the articles about “homework”. in the past I feel that it is difficuty for collecting homework. I will try your plan next year.

I think you’ll be happy with it, Sendy!

How do you confront students who do not have their homework completed?

You state in your book to let consequences do their job and to never confront students, only tell them the rule broken and consequence.

I want to make sure I do not go against that rule, but also hold students accountable for not completing their work. What should I say to them?

They are two different things. Homework is not part of your classroom management plan.

Hi Michael,

I’m a first-year middle school teacher at a private school with very small class sizes (eight to fourteen students per class). While I love this homework policy, I feel discouraged about confronting middle schoolers publicly regarding incomplete homework. My motive would never be to humiliate my students, yet I can name a few who would go home thinking their lives were over if I did confront them in front of their peers. Do you have any ideas of how to best go about incomplete homework confrontation with middle school students?

The idea isn’t in any way to humiliate students, but to hold them accountable for doing their homework. Parts one and two represent my best recommendation.:)

I believe that Homework is a vital part of students learning.

I’m still a student–in a classroom management class. So I have no experience with this, but I’m having to plan a procedure for my class. What about teacher sitting at desk and calling student one at a time to bring folder while everyone is doing bellwork or whatever their procedure is? That way 1) it would be a long walk for the ones who didn’t do the work :), and 2) it would be more private. What are your thoughts on that? Thanks. 🙂

I’m not sure I understand your question. Would you mind emailing me with more detail? I’m happy to help.

I think what you talked about is great. How do you feel about flipping a lesson? My school is pretty big on it, though I haven’t done it yet. Basically, for homework, the teacher assigns a video or some other kind of media of brand new instruction. Students teach themselves and take a mini quiz at the end to show they understand the new topic. Then the next day in the classroom, the teacher reinforces the lesson and the class period is spent practicing with the teacher present for clarification. I haven’t tried it yet because as a first year teacher I haven’t had enough time to make or find instructional videos and quizzes, and because I’m afraid half of my students will not do their homework and the next day in class I will have to waste the time of the students who did their homework and just reteach what the video taught.

Anyway, this year, I’m trying the “Oops, I forgot my homework” form for students to fill out every time they forget their homework. It keeps them accountable and helps me keep better track of who is missing what. Once they complete it, I cut off the bottom portion of the form and staple it to their assignment. I keep the top copy for my records and for parent/teacher conferences.

Here is an instant digital download of the form. It’s editable in case you need different fields.

Thanks again for your blog. I love the balance you strike between rapport and respect.

Your site is a godsend for a newbie teacher! Thank you for your clear, step-by-step, approach!

I G+ your articles to my PLN all the time.

You’re welcome, TeachNich! And thank you for sharing the articles.

Hi Michael, I’m going into my first year and some people have told me to try and get parents involved as much as I can – even home visits and things like that. But my gut says that negligent parents cannot be influenced by me. Still, do you see any value in having parents initial their student’s planner every night so they stay up to date on homework assignments? I could also write them notes.

Personally, no. I’ll write about this in the future, but when you hold parents accountable for what are student responsibilities, you lighten their load and miss an opportunity to improve independence.

I am teaching at a school where students constantly don’t take work home. I rarely give homework in math but when I do it is usually something small and I still have to chase at least 7 kids down to get their homework. My way of holding them accountable is to record a homework completion grade as part of their overall grade. Is this wrong to do? Do you believe homework should never be graded for a grade and just be for practice?

No, I think marking a completion grade is a good idea.

I’ve been teaching since 2014 and we need to take special care when assigning homework. If the homework assignment is too hard, is perceived as busy work, or takes too long to complete, students might tune out and resist doing it. Never send home any assignment that students cannot do. Homework should be an extension of what students have learned in class. To ensure that homework is clear and appropriate, consider the following tips for assigning homework:

Assign homework in small units. Explain the assignment clearly. Establish a routine at the beginning of the year for how homework will be assigned. Remind students of due dates periodically. And Make sure students and parents have information regarding the policy on missed and late assignments, extra credit, and available adaptations. Establish a set routine at the beginning of the year.

Thanks Nancie L Beckett

Dear Michael,

I love your approach! Do you have any ideas for homework collection for lower grades? K-3 are not so ready for independent work first thing in the morning, so I do not necessarily have time to check then; but it is vitally important to me to teach the integrity of completing work on time.

Also, I used to want parents involved in homework but my thinking has really changed, and your comments confirm it!

Hi Meredith,

I’ll be sure and write about this topic in an upcoming article (or work it into an article). 🙂

Overall, this article provides valuable insights and strategies for teachers to implement in their classrooms. I look forward to reading Part 2 and learning more about how to make homework a simple and effective process. Thanks

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Free Student Planner Printables

Ready-to-Go Planner Option

Purchase the Ready-Made Planner:

• Floral Softcover ($14.99 here on Amazon)
• Blue Softcover ($14.99 here on Amazon)
• Floral Hardcover ($22.99 here on Amazon)
• Blue Hardcover ($22.99 here on Amazon)

Free Printable Version

Included in this Student Planner Printable Set:

Blank calendar pages.

• These monthly calendars can be customized for a nice overview of each month (be sure to print the entire year at once). They're super simple and can be customized for Sunday or Monday weekly starts.

Weekly Schedule Printables

• Have your student customize these schedule printables with their daily class and activity schedule. They're perfect for either traditional or block scheduling.
• As you can see in the image above, you can even add times to the left of the boxes, if desired.

Daily Schedule Printables

• These daily planner printables are the biggie ...the one you'll need a print of for every school day (easy to do with your home printer). It is broken down into hourly slots from 5am-10pm with additional areas for daily to-do lists, daily goals, and notes. They can be filled in with different subjects, activities, and appointments. There should be plenty of space for alllll of the info.

Assignment Trackers

• These are perfect for the larger-scale assignments, as well as to keep track of their schoolwork, overall.

Homework Trackers

• These are for weekly homework assignments. If you want to simplify things a bit, you can omit the assignment trackers and just use the homework ones, instead.

Upcoming Tests and Quizzes Trackers

• These are similar to the homework and assignment printables, but geared for testing. There is even space to include what needs to be studied.

Checklist Printables I absolutely love instilling an affinity to set goals. I think these list-specific printables will certainly help with that. The following are included: To-Do List Weekly Goals Monthly Goals Semester Goals

Using Your Planner Printables

• You can download the printables you choose to include in your planner below the following two images.
• Print these onto regular paper using your home printer.
• I have a tutorial on customizing printables like this on my Printable Tags and Labels post .
• I created a slightly offset printable with each sheet...the left margin is larger for hole punching. Use a standard three-hole punch with these to keep them in a binder. 
• Grab a three-hole punch here on Amazon.
• My kids carry those larger, fabric binders (they come with a shoulder strap) to all of their classes. They also keep all of their homework and assignments in these binders. I designed this student planner printable set to be kept inside a binder like that, since they're the go-to for most students these days. However, a traditional three-ring binder would work, too.
• This is the exact binder both of my boys used last year. It's from Amazon. Again, we like the strap feature on it.

Customizing Your Student's Planner

• You can download my Free Printable Planner Stickers to use with this planner, too (they are more geared to adult schedules, but many of them work perfectly with the student planner.
• And grab some fun patterned washi tape here on Amazon.
• Or, if you prefer, the plain washi tape may be more to your liking (here on Amazon).
• And be sure to grab some adhesive tabs here on Amazon (my kids use these with their planners to mark their calendars/daily pages).

Planner Color Options

• Hot Pink and Navy Blue
• Orange and Navy Blue
• NEW! Black and White

Download Your Printables:

• Download the Pink and Blue Assignment Tracker Printable.
• Download the Orange and Blue Assignment Tracker Printable.
• Download the Black and White Assignment Tracker Printable.
• Download the Pink and Blue Daily Schedule Printable.
• Download the Orange and Blue Daily Schedule Printable.
• Download the Black and White Daily Schedule Printable.
• Download the Pink and Blue Homework Tracker Printable.
• Download the Orange and Blue Homework Tracker Printable.
• Download the Black and White Homework Tracker Printable.
• Download the Pink and Blue Schedule Printable.
• Download the Orange and Blue Schedule Printable.
• Download the Black and White Schedule Printable.
• Download the Pink and Blue Tests and Quizzes Tracker Printable.
• Download the Orange and Blue Tests and Quizzes Tracker Printable.
• Download the Black and White Tests and Quizzes Tracker Printable.
• Download the Blue To-Do List Printable (coordinates with both pink and orange options).
• Download the Black and White To-Do List Printable.
• Download the Blue Weekly Goals Printable (coordinates with both pink and orange options.
• Download the Black and White Weekly Goals Printable.
• Download the Blue Monthly Goals Printable (coordinates with both pink and orange options).
• Download the Black and White Monthly Goals Printable.
• Download the Blue Semester Goals Printable (coordinates with both pink and orange options).
• Download the Black and White Semester Goals Printable.
• Download the Pink and Blue Blank Calendar Printable.
• Download the Orange and Blue Blank Calendar Printable.
• Download the Black and White Blank Calendar Printable.
• These Student Planner Printables are also available for download here on Dropbox.
• These Student Planner Printables are also available for download here on Google Drive.

Looking for More Planner Fun?

• Don't forget to check out the ready-made versions of these planner printables here in this post about the Best Student Planner .
• You can also grab my Easy-to-Use BIG Printable Planner Bundle that I created a few years ago. It's still a reader-favorite and would be perfect for school work, too!
• I also have a brand new set of printable planner stickers , too! They're free and would go fabulously with this student planner printable.
• This School Planner from Shining Mom has just about everything you need!

31 comments:

These printables and printer recommendation couldn't have come at a better time! We are gearing up for back to school and a new printer is at the top of our list! I love the chic color and design!

Thank you so much, Gina! I appreciate that. Yes, the chic color is my fave.

Thank you so much for your planner actually being free. I am financially strapped right now but really needed this resource. I will continue to support your business and thank you so much again.

Thank you so much for that. xoxo

Ohhh gelato. I'm diggin' that color and that name.

It's just so yummy, right? ;)

LOVE!! Thank you for sharing!

You are SO welcome! I hope they have been as helpful for you and yours as they have for us! <3

THANK YOU for the downloads. I was wondering how I was going to be able to stay organized with four kids home from school (10th grade, 7th grade, 4th grade and 1st grade). These will help so much.

Hi Debra! I hope these printables will be helpful for you! I know this is such a weird and difficult time for us all. I'm happy to have something that might make things a bit easier! May God bless and keep you all! xoxo

Hello Kristi, thank you so much for these forms. I am a college student and have been trying to figure out how to organize myself with everything that is going on. This will help so much. Thank you again, and stay safe!

Oh, I am so happy to hear that. Thank you so much for letting me know. Take care. xoxo

These are great! Because of everything that's going on, both of my teenagers are having to do school remotely and keeping track of everything they have to do has got MY head spinning. I printed out several of your planning pages and am going to try to use them to keep us all organized. Thank you, and be well!

Thank you so much for letting me know, Lisa! I have two teenagers, too, and we're in the same boat. Stay well. xoxo

This is AWESOME! THANK YOU :)

You're so welcome...I'm so glad you like it. xoxo

Thank you for sharing your work! These become much more necessary with Distance Learning.

You're so welcome! Hope your school year starts off well. xoxo

As a high school teacher (freshmen), organization is soooo important. Thanks for making something mature and with large enough boxes to actually write in them!

Thank you so much for that, Theresa. I really appreciate that...especially from someone in the field. Hoping you have a wonderful school year. xoxo

These are amazing! I tried changing it from a pdf to a googledoc so I can fill it out online and it would not convert. Are these files not able to convert? Thanks for your help!

Drop me an email and I can convert on my end if you're still having issues. Thanks!

Thank you so much ! I shared this with my friends cuz its really helpful .

That's very appreciated! Thank you. xoxo

heyy...i am so happy with ur work...i am from india and i loved the sheets and my all friends asked me about these sheets..they r amazing thank u so so kristi

Hi there! You are so very welcome! xoxo

Thank you so much! I just found this today after realizing my child needs help managing her time, projects, and due dates.

Hi Lisa! You are so very welcome! I hope you find these printables helpful! xoxo

You're very welcome! Thank you for stopping by. xoxo

Thank you so much for this! I'm printing for both my kids for this school year.

Appreciate that. Hope your family has a wonderful school year. xoxo

7 best student planner apps

The best apps to help students keep track of classes, homework, due dates, quizzes, and more.

Thad Thompson Jan 21, 2022

12 min read

Table of contents

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If you're a student, you need a system to organize classwork, exams, and life in general. And it's true, there is an app for everything. But there are lots of apps for planning and time management. Which ones make effective school planner apps?

When deciding on a planner app, you should obviously look for one with features most relevant to your life and your schedule. It should have a distinct purpose. And It shouldn't be thought of as a one-size-fits all productivity app . Here are the qualities to look for in a good student planner app:

Visually clean user experience vs. info-dense

Highly customizable vs. highly structured

Integrated with other apps vs. self-contained, with all the features you'll need in one place

Specialized for students vs. transferrable to post-school life

Here, you can check out just a few of the best school planners currently available. Each is highly rated, affordable, and, in several cases, geared specifically toward school and study. And they’re easy to find. Most are available in the Apple App Store or Google Play store for use on your iPhone, iPad, Android, or other smartphone.

7 great planner apps for high school and college students

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free with paid upgrades available

Todoist is a project planner and to-do list all in one. Used by companies like Amazon and Disney, and made for everyone from students to executives, Todoist is an app that can carry you through school and beyond.

Although you can pay to upgrade, the free version offers more than most students are likely to need. Todoist includes features that help you: 

 Enter important details or to-dos in a note-taking section before you forget them

Set up projects for each class and any other activities or hobbies you're involved in

Add "next action" items, so you can always look ahead to your next assignment

Cross items off your checklist without losing them for good

Other helpful features include due dates for individual tasks and reminders that pop up on your phone or email. You can customize every feature, so you won't get lots of notifications without asking for them.

Todoist also allows you to label tasks. You can label by priority, context (laptop work, library, etc.), or any other system you want to create. You can also indicate recurring tasks, like weekly quizzes, so you never miss an assignment.

2. Microsoft To Do

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free with Microsoft account

A reworking of the long-appreciated Wunderlist, Microsoft To Do has continued to evolve its features to make it stand out in the field of student planner apps.

One feature that stands out in To Do is that things you didn't check off from previous days stay in the “Yesterday” box. That way you can specifically choose which items to transfer to "My day," and plan a better time for those that won't fit in today's schedule.

To Do allows you to sort tasks into basic lists that you set up, such as "Work," "Home," or "Lab." You can then add subtasks to the items on each list. For example, if your list includes, "Presentation for econ class," create subtasks for "Brainstorm subjects," "Find sources," or other project milestones. 

To Do also includes some features that will please visually oriented people. Dark mode is helpful if you're reviewing your day just before sleep or when you first wake up in the morning. You can also change the background for each list, with lots of modern and inspiring designs.

3. Calendly

iOS, Android, and desktop: Free with additional features available on paid plans

Calendly simplifies scheduling with groups and individuals. As group projects have become the new normal, you’ll likely have to set up plenty of meetings with groups and individuals during the course of your time as a student. You can save a lot of time by scheduling and managing those meetings with Calendly.

Here's how it works:

Connect Calendly with your digital calendar, like Google Calendar , Outlook , and others.

Create a meeting request.

Set the parameters. For example, you can let recipients see your availability, so they can pick a day and time, or you can set a day and time and they can either accept it or request a different time.

Select recipients and send.

Calendly will gather responses from the people you want to meet with, and you'll have a meeting set up without the long texting thread that's usually required.

Other helpful features include the options of Round Robin or collective scheduling on the paid plans. If others share their availability, Calendly will show times that work for everyone, so you can pick. Or, you can use its Meeting Polls feature to let people vote on proposed times before setting your meeting . Also, you can set reminders both for yourself and for those who agreed to meet with you.

Calendly streamlines setting up meetings, so you can free up your time and attention for classes and other responsibilities.

Get started with Calendly

Ready to make scheduling easier than ever?

4. iStudiez Pro

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free with available paid Full Version upgrade 

iStudiez Pro is one of the highest-rated planner apps designed just for students. Enter your class schedule including the professor's name, contact info, and office hours. Then, you can color code your classes and use icons to make it visually interesting and easy to scan.

"Week view" allows you to plan your time and get ready for upcoming classes. "Day view" shows you tasks and scheduled items for today. For each class, you can add assignments, their due dates, and specific tasks associated with them.

If you upgrade to the Full Version of iStudiez Pro, you can even get a regular update on your GPA. As you receive graded assignments back, enter the grade and point value. iStudiez will do the calculating for you with its GPA tracker. It keeps this info from semester to semester, so you can keep the big picture in mind.

5. myHomework

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free or $4.99 per year for Premium

The myHomework student planner is a clean and simple planner app for education. Many teachers have already adopted it for e-learning or online instruction, but it's great for individual use as well.

It's formatted for several types of class scheduling, such as block, period, or time-based schedules. myHomework allows you to not only input assignments and add tasks required to complete them, it also allows for prioritizing and categorizing tasks, so you can focus on what's most needed at any given time. You can set reminders for upcoming due dates too, so you don’t miss deadlines by accident (or procrastination).

While you do need internet connectivity to sync with other devices, this homework app still has full functionality even when you're not connected to WiFi. The free version has plenty of great features, but the paid version of this homework planner lets you get rid of ads as well as share assignments, add file attachments to assignments, and switch out your theme.

6. Power Planner

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free with paid upgrade available

Power Planner is a well-established student planner app with many of the same features as myHomework and iStudiez, like entering your schedule, keeping track of your GPA, and viewing assignments and exams.

Though the app is full of useful features, one element that sets it apart from other similar apps is the responsiveness of the developer. Power Planner is updated regularly, offering continual improvements to its features.

The GPA calculator is more robust in this app compared to others, with its "What if?" feature, which calculates what scores you need on assignments to get an A in a class. It also includes notifications for due dates coming up. The paid version allows you to enter more grades and stores your GPA info from one semester to the next.

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free with multiple paid plans starting at $5, and an automatic student discount

ClickUp is the only productivity platform built to tackle everything from complex projects to your daily assignments, all in one screen. With hundreds of customizable features to organize documents, take notes, schedule due dates, and more, ClickUp is a great daily planner for students at every level.

ClickUp's flexible organizational Hierarchy is perfect for breaking down course loads into manageable tasks, subtasks, and Checklists. There are over 15 ways to visualize your schedule in ClickUp including a dynamic Calendar, List, and Everything view for a high-level look at all projects and deadlines. Plus, ClickUp's Home feature syncs with your favorite calendar app to present your classes, reminders, and messages conveniently alongside your upcoming tasks.

ClickUp was built to consolidate your work into one centralized hub that can be accessed virtually anywhere, even offline, from your phone, or on your Apple Watch. You can create detailed course notes, format drafts, and everything in between using ClickUp's built-in document editor, then export or share them in seconds with a simple URL.

Access its top daily planner features, ClickUp Docs, unlimited tasks, over 1,000 integrations, and more when you sign up for ClickUp's Free Forever Plan, and automatically save 25% on any paid plan for being a student.

3 tips for getting the most from your student planner app

In addition to finding a great app for students, these tips can help you increase your productivity and keep your schedule running smoothly. No matter which app you choose, you’ll get more out of it if you use it alongside smart planning practices.

1. Treat yourself to a semester review

At the beginning of each semester, set aside a couple of hours to prepare yourself and get everything organized in your app and in your head. Make it fun: Take yourself out for coffee, turn on your favorite music, and turn off your texting and other notifications. This is time to get in the zone.

Give yourself time to look through your new app's features and figure out the best way to use them (or customize them) for you. It's helpful to read reviews, as people will talk about the most useful features. It's also an easy way to learn how to use the app.

Gather your syllabi, work schedules, and any other pertinent calendar info. First, enter all your calendar info for the semester. This helps you understand what your weekly schedule will be like. Then create projects or enter assignments (and due dates) for any big projects  your professors already have planned.

For example, the class may require a video assignment due at the end of the semester. Create a task called "plan out video project," and set the due date for around the time you want to begin the project. You don't want to get bogged down in planning the details of all those projects during your semester review. If you stay focused on the big picture, you may have time for more specific project planning at the end of your review session.

This is also a good time to set goals for yourself. Do you want to turn in more assignments on time or participate more in class? Do you want to learn a new instrument or join a team? Get inspired about doing more than just making it through the semester. With a powerful school planner app on your side, this could be your best semester yet — and there's more to that than just getting good grades.

2. Add a weekly review to your calendar

To keep your planner system functional, you have to keep giving it attention. Set up a time every week — about 30 minutes to an hour — for reviewing your projects and planning out your weekly schedule. Make this appointment as set-in-stone as your class times, so you aren’t tempted to put it off.

You can use this time to input any grades you've received if you've chosen an app with a GPA-tracking feature. Make sure that for every project, assignment or exam, you've entered specific tasks to prepare for them as well. You don't want to just remember that you have something due. You want to have a plan for turning in your best work! 

This is also a great time to set up meetings you'll need for the week. Use an app like Calendly to send out requests for meetings, so you're not scrambling at the last minute to find a time when everyone can meet.

And don't forget to schedule some rest! One of the best ways to stay motivated and stick with your work is to know you have some quality fun time coming.

3. Plan daily check-ins

Every morning look over your daily schedule and your list of things to do. This usually doesn’t take more than five minutes, but it can do a lot to help you bring your best to the things that are important to you.

Improve your learning through great planning

Choosing the student planner app that’s right for you is a great way of keeping your mind focused and your grades high during the semester. A great app will help you stay on top of your classes and work, especially if you keep your app up-to-date with regular reviews. 

A great calendar app can also help you to make the most of the other aspects of your life, for a less stressful, more rewarding student experience. The world needs what you have to give, and these apps can help you give your best.

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Thad Thompson

Thad is a former Content Marketing Manager at Calendly. When not sharing scheduling and productivity insights, you’ll find him hiking trails with his family or thumping a bass with a power pop band.

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2024-2025 Free School Planner: 43 Fantastic Student Resources!

Get organized with this free school planner! Use this comprehensive planner to manage your student life. Download school organizers, assignment trackers, project-planning templates, etc. This planner is carefully designed to help you have a blissful academic year. It’s a fantastic student resource to help you stay on top of your schedules, boost your productivity, and achieve academic success. Download this free student planner for the school year 2024-2025!

When I was a teacher, I noticed that students who are organized tend to perform well in class. They submit their homework and projects on time, and they are able to prepare for their lessons, recitations, and exams.

Ahh, I especially missed being in the classroom. Although I am happy blogging from home, I still fondly remember my teaching life. And when I reminisce about my school days, a sense of longing arises, especially when I think about what it was like to spend time with students. This is why I thought of creating a free school planner for students. I hope it will bless them and help them get organized in school and perform better in class. I must admit, it somehow feels like being a teacher again!

So, if you are a student looking for a free school planner , today’s freebie is for you. I hope you can use it and that it will help you have a meaningful and productive school year!

The 2024-2025 School Planner – Cute and Simple!

This free school planner for the school year 2024-2025 is fully loaded with over forty-three printable templates you can download and use immediately. These templates are fun and colorful and have a super cute school theme!

Designed to enhance organization and academic success, this planner is a must-print! It’s here to help you navigate school life with ease, improve your time management, foster discipline to reduce procrastination, and stay on top of your responsibilities as a student!

This free school planner is created for elementary and middle school students. It includes simple and colorful templates to make planning fun and exciting for the young! I also have a free planner for college students. Check out this free printable college planner if you are looking for a planner specifically designed for university students.

What’s Included in this Free Printable School Planner 2024-2025?

Here’s a quick rundown of the free printables included in this cute school planner. Towards the end of this post, you will be able to download the following templates for free:

• School Planner Cover Pages
• Vision Board
• Daily Planner
• Weekly Planner
• Monthly Planner
• Assignment Log
• Examination Schedule
• Project Planner Template
• Class Birthday
• Ideas and Inspirations Sheets
• Reading List and More!!

Free Graphic Organizers for Students

This free school planner includes graphic organizers to help you write your essay plans and brainstorm your assignments. I’ve also included homework and project planners so you can stay on track with your schedules. These simple and practical templates can help you complete your tasks.

Printable School Calendar

You’ll also receive a free monthly calendar for your scheduling needs. Use these blank school calendars to write down important dates, activities, and assignments in school so you will never miss anything important again! There’s also a room for your notes towards the bottom of the page, where you can jot down your major reminders or to-dos for the month. If you’re looking for a dated monthly school calendar, you can also snag this free calendar for kids.

Free Daily, Weekly & Monthly Student Planning Templates

You will also receive daily, weekly, and monthly planning planners. These planners will give you a structured framework for organizing your tasks and priorities more efficiently. They will also give you a clear overview of your academic and personal commitments, reducing stress and bringing greater success to your studies.

Developing strong organizational skills is important for students like yourself. By learning how to organize early on, you will enhance your performance as you progress into high school and college and, ultimately, stage yourself for a successful career path in the future. I hope this free school planner can help you get organized!

Get Your Free School Planner Today!

Ready to download your free school planner? Check out the download instructions below to snag your printable copy!

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE PLANNER INSTANTLY!
• Print the planner and the monthly calendars on US standard letter-size paper. You may also use A4 sheets; just be sure your printer is set to “Fit to Page.”
• Enjoy your school planner!

Pin this Free School Planner on Pinterest

Help spread this free school planner by pinning this post on Pinterest. Pass this freebie forward by pinning the image below. Thank you very much for your support!

More Planners for Students and Teachers

If you’re looking for more printable organizers for school, please know that the Shining Mom blog has a vast library of free printables. Check out the following favorite planners for students and teachers:

• 500+ Printable Resources for Teachers and Students
• The Ultimate Student Binder: 25 Planning Sheets!
• NEW! Student Binder: 50+ Organizing Templates!
• Amazing Teacher Planner 
• Ultimate Teacher Planner: 40 Organizing Templates!
• Student Binder Printables: 40 Pages!
• Free Teacher Planner
• Homeschooling Planner for Moms and Kids
• The Classic Teacher Planner
• Free Student Organizers
• Free Homeschool Planner
• Cute School Organizers: 20 Printable Pages!
• Aesthetic Planner Covers

July 3, 2019 at 11:14 am

Thanks a lot!

July 3, 2019 at 11:58 pm

Hi there! With three kids in grade school the grade school student planer looks great! I downloaded the calendars and signed up for the mailing list which says the planner will be sent to my mailbox. (2. JOIN OUR MAILING LIST HERE TO RECEIVE THE FREE SCHOOL PLANNER sent straight to your inbox.) I still have not received it in my email. How long does it generally take? Thanks so much for all you hard work!

July 4, 2019 at 10:25 am

Hello, Jeannie! It should reach you immediately upon sign up. Can you shoot me an email at khaye@shiningmomblog(dot)com? Thanks!

July 4, 2019 at 4:40 pm

Hi there! Just sent you an email. Thanks!

July 5, 2019 at 7:11 am

Thanks! Will check it tonight.

July 7, 2020 at 4:19 pm

I have 2 kids. Planning to organized there schedule on this coming home school. student planner looks great..hope you can see my comment. Thank you.

July 17, 2020 at 9:35 am

Hello, Maria! Best of luck with your homeschooling journey!

April 27, 2021 at 8:56 pm

have not stopped printing lol. i just wish there was a way to put too a5 on a page instead of a4

August 20, 2022 at 1:23 am

I would love free copy of school planner

May 14, 2023 at 7:28 am

You can download it for free here!

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6 Tips for a Homework & Studying Schedule That Actually Works

Waiting until the last minute to cram for a test or to write an essay isn’t just going to make your life more stressful. It’s also less likely to produce the results you want.

Studies have shown that the most effective way to retain new material is with spaced repetition . This means engaging with the concepts consistently over a longer span of time.

If you want to cut down on the all-nighters, try these six easy tips to create a homework and studying schedule that actually works.

1. Review Your Homework in Advance

First, set some time aside at the beginning of your semester or school term to look over your assignments. Make sure you understand:

• What each one entails
• How much time each task will take
• Its due date

Then, check to see if you need any additional resources. For example, you may need a library book to complete an assignment. Nothing will throw off your schedule more than sitting down at your desk only to find out that you don’t have what you need to do the work. Reviewing your assignments before they’re due will help with efficiency once you start working.

2. Make Your Schedule as Specific as Possible

Once you have a list of everything you need to do, turn it into a daily or weekly schedule. Decide which tasks you want to do first and when. Then, you can write it in a planner or use an Excel template to create a printable homework chart.

Avoid generalized terms like “study Spanish for two hours.” Otherwise, you’ll be tempted to fill the time with the easiest task that falls into that category.

Instead, list specific items like, “write book report” or “study flash cards.” This way, you know exactly what you need to do and are less likely to put it off.

3. Find Your Preferred Study Routine

Sometimes you have to do homework when you’re tired or aren’t feeling well, but that doesn’t mean you should totally ignore what your body’s telling you.

According to the latest research , multiple 40-minute study sessions can be more productive than three-hour chunks. Experiment with studying at different times of day and for varying lengths of time.

Take notes about which sessions were productive and which ones weren’t to help you figure out your ideal study routine.

4. Download a Studying App

There’s no denying that phones can be distracting while studying. But if you use them wisely they can be a lot of help.

Use flashcard apps to create your own flashcards and gamify your study experience. These apps help you study in small bits throughout the day plus you won’t have to carry physical flashcards around with you.

There are other apps to help you learn a language, practice math, or take better notes . You can also use a homework scheduling app and color-code your assignments by subject.

5. Create a Productive Workspace

Using the same workspace every day can help you stick to your homework schedule. Avoid distracting places like the living room or kitchen, and try not to work on your bed or in front of the TV. Even small things, like making sure your laptop is charged or putting on your favorite study playlist, can make a big difference in your productivity.

Ideally, you should set aside a desk in a quiet room that’s comfortable enough to sit at for a few hours at a time. The more you use it for studying, the more you’ll associate it with productivity and be in the right headspace to get work done.

For some tips on how to get started, check out our guide on how to create the perfect homework environment .

6. Ask for Help if You Need it

Finally, don’t be afraid to reach out for support. Even if you have a good grasp on the material, sometimes studying alone can be isolating.

From joining an online study group to hiring a professional tutor for your SATs, there are plenty of ways to get outside support. You can ask a friend or parent to check in on your progress or proofread your assignments before you submit them.

Whether you’re in middle school, high school, or college, homework never really goes away. But you can make it more manageable with these six helpful homework and studying schedule tips.

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How to Do Homework: 15 Expert Tips and Tricks

Coursework/GPA

Everyone struggles with homework sometimes, but if getting your homework done has become a chronic issue for you, then you may need a little extra help. That’s why we’ve written this article all about how to do homework. Once you’re finished reading it, you’ll know how to do homework (and have tons of new ways to motivate yourself to do homework)!

We’ve broken this article down into a few major sections. You’ll find:

• A diagnostic test to help you figure out why you’re struggling with homework
• A discussion of the four major homework problems students face, along with expert tips for addressing them
• A bonus section with tips for how to do homework fast

By the end of this article, you’ll be prepared to tackle whatever homework assignments your teachers throw at you .

So let’s get started!

How to Do Homework: Figure Out Your Struggles 

Sometimes it feels like everything is standing between you and getting your homework done. But the truth is, most people only have one or two major roadblocks that are keeping them from getting their homework done well and on time. 

The best way to figure out how to get motivated to do homework starts with pinpointing the issues that are affecting your ability to get your assignments done. That’s why we’ve developed a short quiz to help you identify the areas where you’re struggling. 

Take the quiz below and record your answers on your phone or on a scrap piece of paper. Keep in mind there are no wrong answers! 

1. You’ve just been assigned an essay in your English class that’s due at the end of the week. What’s the first thing you do?

A. Keep it in mind, even though you won’t start it until the day before it’s due  B. Open up your planner. You’ve got to figure out when you’ll write your paper since you have band practice, a speech tournament, and your little sister’s dance recital this week, too.  C. Groan out loud. Another essay? You could barely get yourself to write the last one!  D. Start thinking about your essay topic, which makes you think about your art project that’s due the same day, which reminds you that your favorite artist might have just posted to Instagram...so you better check your feed right now. 

2. Your mom asked you to pick up your room before she gets home from work. You’ve just gotten home from school. You decide you’ll tackle your chores: 

A. Five minutes before your mom walks through the front door. As long as it gets done, who cares when you start?  B. As soon as you get home from your shift at the local grocery store.  C. After you give yourself a 15-minute pep talk about how you need to get to work.  D. You won’t get it done. Between texts from your friends, trying to watch your favorite Netflix show, and playing with your dog, you just lost track of time! 

3. You’ve signed up to wash dogs at the Humane Society to help earn money for your senior class trip. You: 

A. Show up ten minutes late. You put off leaving your house until the last minute, then got stuck in unexpected traffic on the way to the shelter.  B. Have to call and cancel at the last minute. You forgot you’d already agreed to babysit your cousin and bake cupcakes for tomorrow’s bake sale.  C. Actually arrive fifteen minutes early with extra brushes and bandanas you picked up at the store. You’re passionate about animals, so you’re excited to help out! D. Show up on time, but only get three dogs washed. You couldn’t help it: you just kept getting distracted by how cute they were!

4. You have an hour of downtime, so you decide you’re going to watch an episode of The Great British Baking Show. You: 

A. Scroll through your social media feeds for twenty minutes before hitting play, which means you’re not able to finish the whole episode. Ugh! You really wanted to see who was sent home!  B. Watch fifteen minutes until you remember you’re supposed to pick up your sister from band practice before heading to your part-time job. No GBBO for you!  C. You finish one episode, then decide to watch another even though you’ve got SAT studying to do. It’s just more fun to watch people make scones.  D. Start the episode, but only catch bits and pieces of it because you’re reading Twitter, cleaning out your backpack, and eating a snack at the same time.

5. Your teacher asks you to stay after class because you’ve missed turning in two homework assignments in a row. When she asks you what’s wrong, you say: 

A. You planned to do your assignments during lunch, but you ran out of time. You decided it would be better to turn in nothing at all than submit unfinished work.  B. You really wanted to get the assignments done, but between your extracurriculars, family commitments, and your part-time job, your homework fell through the cracks.  C. You have a hard time psyching yourself to tackle the assignments. You just can’t seem to find the motivation to work on them once you get home.  D. You tried to do them, but you had a hard time focusing. By the time you realized you hadn’t gotten anything done, it was already time to turn them in. 

Like we said earlier, there are no right or wrong answers to this quiz (though your results will be better if you answered as honestly as possible). Here’s how your answers break down: 

• If your answers were mostly As, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is procrastination. 
• If your answers were mostly Bs, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is time management. 
• If your answers were mostly Cs, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is motivation. 
• If your answers were mostly Ds, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is getting distracted. 

Now that you’ve identified why you’re having a hard time getting your homework done, we can help you figure out how to fix it! Scroll down to find your core problem area to learn more about how you can start to address it. 

And one more thing: you’re really struggling with homework, it’s a good idea to read through every section below. You may find some additional tips that will help make homework less intimidating. 

How to Do Homework When You’re a Procrastinator  

Merriam Webster defines “procrastinate” as “to put off intentionally and habitually.” In other words, procrastination is when you choose to do something at the last minute on a regular basis. If you’ve ever found yourself pulling an all-nighter, trying to finish an assignment between periods, or sprinting to turn in a paper minutes before a deadline, you’ve experienced the effects of procrastination. 

If you’re a chronic procrastinator, you’re in good company. In fact, one study found that 70% to 95% of undergraduate students procrastinate when it comes to doing their homework. Unfortunately, procrastination can negatively impact your grades. Researchers have found that procrastination can lower your grade on an assignment by as much as five points ...which might not sound serious until you realize that can mean the difference between a B- and a C+. 

Procrastination can also negatively affect your health by increasing your stress levels , which can lead to other health conditions like insomnia, a weakened immune system, and even heart conditions. Getting a handle on procrastination can not only improve your grades, it can make you feel better, too! 

The big thing to understand about procrastination is that it’s not the result of laziness. Laziness is defined as being “disinclined to activity or exertion.” In other words, being lazy is all about doing nothing. But a s this Psychology Today article explains , procrastinators don’t put things off because they don’t want to work. Instead, procrastinators tend to postpone tasks they don’t want to do in favor of tasks that they perceive as either more important or more fun. Put another way, procrastinators want to do things...as long as it’s not their homework! 

3 Tips f or Conquering Procrastination 

Because putting off doing homework is a common problem, there are lots of good tactics for addressing procrastination. Keep reading for our three expert tips that will get your homework habits back on track in no time. 

#1: Create a Reward System

Like we mentioned earlier, procrastination happens when you prioritize other activities over getting your homework done. Many times, this happens because homework...well, just isn’t enjoyable. But you can add some fun back into the process by rewarding yourself for getting your work done. 

Here’s what we mean: let’s say you decide that every time you get your homework done before the day it’s due, you’ll give yourself a point. For every five points you earn, you’ll treat yourself to your favorite dessert: a chocolate cupcake! Now you have an extra (delicious!) incentive to motivate you to leave procrastination in the dust. 

If you’re not into cupcakes, don’t worry. Your reward can be anything that motivates you . Maybe it’s hanging out with your best friend or an extra ten minutes of video game time. As long as you’re choosing something that makes homework worth doing, you’ll be successful. 

#2: Have a Homework Accountability Partner 

If you’re having trouble getting yourself to start your homework ahead of time, it may be a good idea to call in reinforcements . Find a friend or classmate you can trust and explain to them that you’re trying to change your homework habits. Ask them if they’d be willing to text you to make sure you’re doing your homework and check in with you once a week to see if you’re meeting your anti-procrastination goals. 

Sharing your goals can make them feel more real, and an accountability partner can help hold you responsible for your decisions. For example, let’s say you’re tempted to put off your science lab write-up until the morning before it’s due. But you know that your accountability partner is going to text you about it tomorrow...and you don’t want to fess up that you haven’t started your assignment. A homework accountability partner can give you the extra support and incentive you need to keep your homework habits on track. 

#3: Create Your Own Due Dates 

If you’re a life-long procrastinator, you might find that changing the habit is harder than you expected. In that case, you might try using procrastination to your advantage! If you just can’t seem to stop doing your work at the last minute, try setting your own due dates for assignments that range from a day to a week before the assignment is actually due. 

Here’s what we mean. Let’s say you have a math worksheet that’s been assigned on Tuesday and is due on Friday. In your planner, you can write down the due date as Thursday instead. You may still put off your homework assignment until the last minute...but in this case, the “last minute” is a day before the assignment’s real due date . This little hack can trick your procrastination-addicted brain into planning ahead! 

If you feel like Kevin Hart in this meme, then our tips for doing homework when you're busy are for you. 

How to Do Homework When You’re too Busy

If you’re aiming to go to a top-tier college , you’re going to have a full plate. Because college admissions is getting more competitive, it’s important that you’re maintaining your grades , studying hard for your standardized tests , and participating in extracurriculars so your application stands out. A packed schedule can get even more hectic once you add family obligations or a part-time job to the mix. 

If you feel like you’re being pulled in a million directions at once, you’re not alone. Recent research has found that stress—and more severe stress-related conditions like anxiety and depression— are a major problem for high school students . In fact, one study from the American Psychological Association found that during the school year, students’ stress levels are higher than those of the adults around them. 

For students, homework is a major contributor to their overall stress levels . Many high schoolers have multiple hours of homework every night , and figuring out how to fit it into an already-packed schedule can seem impossible. 

3 Tips for Fitting Homework Into Your Busy Schedule

While it might feel like you have literally no time left in your schedule, there are still ways to make sure you’re able to get your homework done and meet your other commitments. Here are our expert homework tips for even the busiest of students. 

#1: Make a Prioritized To-Do List 

You probably already have a to-do list to keep yourself on track. The next step is to prioritize the items on your to-do list so you can see what items need your attention right away. 

Here’s how it works: at the beginning of each day, sit down and make a list of all the items you need to get done before you go to bed. This includes your homework, but it should also take into account any practices, chores, events, or job shifts you may have. Once you get everything listed out, it’s time to prioritize them using the labels A, B, and C. Here’s what those labels mean:

• A Tasks : tasks that have to get done—like showing up at work or turning in an assignment—get an A. 
• B Tasks : these are tasks that you would like to get done by the end of the day but aren’t as time sensitive. For example, studying for a test you have next week could be a B-level task. It’s still important, but it doesn’t have to be done right away.
• C Tasks: these are tasks that aren’t very important and/or have no real consequences if you don’t get them done immediately. For instance, if you’re hoping to clean out your closet but it’s not an assigned chore from your parents, you could label that to-do item with a C.

Prioritizing your to-do list helps you visualize which items need your immediate attention, and which items you can leave for later. A prioritized to-do list ensures that you’re spending your time efficiently and effectively, which helps you make room in your schedule for homework. So even though you might really want to start making decorations for Homecoming (a B task), you’ll know that finishing your reading log (an A task) is more important. 

#2: Use a Planner With Time Labels

Your planner is probably packed with notes, events, and assignments already. (And if you’re not using a planner, it’s time to start!) But planners can do more for you than just remind you when an assignment is due. If you’re using a planner with time labels, it can help you visualize how you need to spend your day.

A planner with time labels breaks your day down into chunks, and you assign tasks to each chunk of time. For example, you can make a note of your class schedule with assignments, block out time to study, and make sure you know when you need to be at practice. Once you know which tasks take priority, you can add them to any empty spaces in your day. 

Planning out how you spend your time not only helps you use it wisely, it can help you feel less overwhelmed, too . We’re big fans of planners that include a task list ( like this one ) or have room for notes ( like this one ). 

#3: Set Reminders on Your Phone 

If you need a little extra nudge to make sure you’re getting your homework done on time, it’s a good idea to set some reminders on your phone. You don’t need a fancy app, either. You can use your alarm app to have it go off at specific times throughout the day to remind you to do your homework. This works especially well if you have a set homework time scheduled. So if you’ve decided you’re doing homework at 6:00 pm, you can set an alarm to remind you to bust out your books and get to work. 

If you use your phone as your planner, you may have the option to add alerts, emails, or notifications to scheduled events . Many calendar apps, including the one that comes with your phone, have built-in reminders that you can customize to meet your needs. So if you block off time to do your homework from 4:30 to 6:00 pm, you can set a reminder that will pop up on your phone when it’s time to get started. 

This dog isn't judging your lack of motivation...but your teacher might. Keep reading for tips to help you motivate yourself to do your homework.

How to Do Homework When You’re Unmotivated 

At first glance, it may seem like procrastination and being unmotivated are the same thing. After all, both of these issues usually result in you putting off your homework until the very last minute. 

But there’s one key difference: many procrastinators are working, they’re just prioritizing work differently. They know they’re going to start their homework...they’re just going to do it later. 

Conversely, people who are unmotivated to do homework just can’t find the willpower to tackle their assignments. Procrastinators know they’ll at least attempt the homework at the last minute, whereas people who are unmotivated struggle with convincing themselves to do it at a ll. For procrastinators, the stress comes from the inevitable time crunch. For unmotivated people, the stress comes from trying to convince themselves to do something they don’t want to do in the first place. 

Here are some common reasons students are unmotivated in doing homework : 

• Assignments are too easy, too hard, or seemingly pointless 
• Students aren’t interested in (or passionate about) the subject matter
• Students are intimidated by the work and/or feels like they don’t understand the assignment 
• Homework isn’t fun, and students would rather spend their time on things that they enjoy 

To sum it up: people who lack motivation to do their homework are more likely to not do it at all, or to spend more time worrying about doing their homework than...well, actually doing it.

3 Tips for How to Get Motivated to Do Homework

The key to getting homework done when you’re unmotivated is to figure out what does motivate you, then apply those things to homework. It sounds tricky...but it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it! Here are our three expert tips for motivating yourself to do your homework. 

#1: Use Incremental Incentives

When you’re not motivated, it’s important to give yourself small rewards to stay focused on finishing the task at hand. The trick is to keep the incentives small and to reward yourself often. For example, maybe you’re reading a good book in your free time. For every ten minutes you spend on your homework, you get to read five pages of your book. Like we mentioned earlier, make sure you’re choosing a reward that works for you! 

So why does this technique work? Using small rewards more often allows you to experience small wins for getting your work done. Every time you make it to one of your tiny reward points, you get to celebrate your success, which gives your brain a boost of dopamine . Dopamine helps you stay motivated and also creates a feeling of satisfaction when you complete your homework !  

#2: Form a Homework Group 

If you’re having trouble motivating yourself, it’s okay to turn to others for support. Creating a homework group can help with this. Bring together a group of your friends or classmates, and pick one time a week where you meet and work on homework together. You don’t have to be in the same class, or even taking the same subjects— the goal is to encourage one another to start (and finish!) your assignments. 

Another added benefit of a homework group is that you can help one another if you’re struggling to understand the material covered in your classes. This is especially helpful if your lack of motivation comes from being intimidated by your assignments. Asking your friends for help may feel less scary than talking to your teacher...and once you get a handle on the material, your homework may become less frightening, too. 

#3: Change Up Your Environment 

If you find that you’re totally unmotivated, it may help if you find a new place to do your homework. For example, if you’ve been struggling to get your homework done at home, try spending an extra hour in the library after school instead. The change of scenery can limit your distractions and give you the energy you need to get your work done. 

If you’re stuck doing homework at home, you can still use this tip. For instance, maybe you’ve always done your homework sitting on your bed. Try relocating somewhere else, like your kitchen table, for a few weeks. You may find that setting up a new “homework spot” in your house gives you a motivational lift and helps you get your work done. 

Social media can be a huge problem when it comes to doing homework. We have advice for helping you unplug and regain focus.

How to Do Homework When You’re Easily Distracted

We live in an always-on world, and there are tons of things clamoring for our attention. From friends and family to pop culture and social media, it seems like there’s always something (or someone!) distracting us from the things we need to do.

The 24/7 world we live in has affected our ability to focus on tasks for prolonged periods of time. Research has shown that over the past decade, an average person’s attention span has gone from 12 seconds to eight seconds . And when we do lose focus, i t takes people a long time to get back on task . One study found that it can take as long as 23 minutes to get back to work once we’ve been distracte d. No wonder it can take hours to get your homework done! 

3 Tips to Improve Your Focus

If you have a hard time focusing when you’re doing your homework, it’s a good idea to try and eliminate as many distractions as possible. Here are three expert tips for blocking out the noise so you can focus on getting your homework done. 

#1: Create a Distraction-Free Environment

Pick a place where you’ll do your homework every day, and make it as distraction-free as possible. Try to find a location where there won’t be tons of noise, and limit your access to screens while you’re doing your homework. Put together a focus-oriented playlist (or choose one on your favorite streaming service), and put your headphones on while you work. 

You may find that other people, like your friends and family, are your biggest distraction. If that’s the case, try setting up some homework boundaries. Let them know when you’ll be working on homework every day, and ask them if they’ll help you keep a quiet environment. They’ll be happy to lend a hand! 

#2: Limit Your Access to Technology 

We know, we know...this tip isn’t fun, but it does work. For homework that doesn’t require a computer, like handouts or worksheets, it’s best to put all your technology away . Turn off your television, put your phone and laptop in your backpack, and silence notifications on any wearable tech you may be sporting. If you listen to music while you work, that’s fine...but make sure you have a playlist set up so you’re not shuffling through songs once you get started on your homework. 

If your homework requires your laptop or tablet, it can be harder to limit your access to distractions. But it’s not impossible! T here are apps you can download that will block certain websites while you’re working so that you’re not tempted to scroll through Twitter or check your Facebook feed. Silence notifications and text messages on your computer, and don’t open your email account unless you absolutely have to. And if you don’t need access to the internet to complete your assignments, turn off your WiFi. Cutting out the online chatter is a great way to make sure you’re getting your homework done. 

#3: Set a Timer (the Pomodoro Technique)

Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro technique ? It’s a productivity hack that uses a timer to help you focus!

Here’s how it works: first, set a timer for 25 minutes. This is going to be your work time. During this 25 minutes, all you can do is work on whatever homework assignment you have in front of you. No email, no text messaging, no phone calls—just homework. When that timer goes off, you get to take a 5 minute break. Every time you go through one of these cycles, it’s called a “pomodoro.” For every four pomodoros you complete, you can take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.

The pomodoro technique works through a combination of boundary setting and rewards. First, it gives you a finite amount of time to focus, so you know that you only have to work really hard for 25 minutes. Once you’ve done that, you’re rewarded with a short break where you can do whatever you want. Additionally, tracking how many pomodoros you complete can help you see how long you’re really working on your homework. (Once you start using our focus tips, you may find it doesn’t take as long as you thought!)

Two Bonus Tips for How to Do Homework Fast

Even if you’re doing everything right, there will be times when you just need to get your homework done as fast as possible. (Why do teachers always have projects due in the same week? The world may never know.)

The problem with speeding through homework is that it’s easy to make mistakes. While turning in an assignment is always better than not submitting anything at all, you want to make sure that you’re not compromising quality for speed. Simply put, the goal is to get your homework done quickly and still make a good grade on the assignment! 

Here are our two bonus tips for getting a decent grade on your homework assignments , even when you’re in a time crunch. 

#1: Do the Easy Parts First 

This is especially true if you’re working on a handout with multiple questions. Before you start working on the assignment, read through all the questions and problems. As you do, make a mark beside the questions you think are “easy” to answer . 

Once you’ve finished going through the whole assignment, you can answer these questions first. Getting the easy questions out of the way as quickly as possible lets you spend more time on the trickier portions of your homework, which will maximize your assignment grade. 

(Quick note: this is also a good strategy to use on timed assignments and tests, like the SAT and the ACT !) 

#2: Pay Attention in Class 

Homework gets a lot easier when you’re actively learning the material. Teachers aren’t giving you homework because they’re mean or trying to ruin your weekend... it’s because they want you to really understand the course material. Homework is designed to reinforce what you’re already learning in class so you’ll be ready to tackle harder concepts later.

When you pay attention in class, ask questions, and take good notes, you’re absorbing the information you’ll need to succeed on your homework assignments. (You’re stuck in class anyway, so you might as well make the most of it!) Not only will paying attention in class make your homework less confusing, it will also help it go much faster, too.

What’s Next?

If you’re looking to improve your productivity beyond homework, a good place to begin is with time management. After all, we only have so much time in a day...so it’s important to get the most out of it! To get you started, check out this list of the 12 best time management techniques that you can start using today.

You may have read this article because homework struggles have been affecting your GPA. Now that you’re on the path to homework success, it’s time to start being proactive about raising your grades. This article teaches you everything you need to know about raising your GPA so you can

Now you know how to get motivated to do homework...but what about your study habits? Studying is just as critical to getting good grades, and ultimately getting into a good college . We can teach you how to study bette r in high school. (We’ve also got tons of resources to help you study for your ACT and SAT exams , too!)

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

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Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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3. Writings On Education From Introduction To Tolstoy's Writings by Ernest J Simmons (1968)

After Tolstoy's speech at the Moscow Society of Lovers of Russian Literature in 1859, the president of that organization, devoted to popular views of the immediate social significance of literature, coldly reminded him that, however eternal truth and beauty may be in art, the artist is a man of his own times, and that the present historical moment was one in which self-indictment acquired a special meaning and an indefeasible right and hence must manifest itself in literature.

The time would come when Tolstoy's own views on literature for the people would radically change, but at the moment he had reached a point of despair and thought of abandoning literature forever. To scribble stories was stupid and shameful, he told A. A. Fet in a burst of enthusiastic confidence when he learned that this poet was thinking of settling on an estate near him and subordinating literature to farming. Literary friends, learning of his intention to plunge into educational theory and start a school at Yasnaya Polyana, pleaded with him not to deprive Russia of his literary leadership. He answered that his new endeavours bore a direct connection with his retreat from literature. For whom did Russian authors write, he asked? For themselves and the cultured few. For masses of illiterate Russian peasants literature was useless. If they could not read his writings, then he would teach them. This, he declared, was the first and essential step toward the creation of a "literature for the people." Here was a purpose that would satisfy his thirst for activity and moral influence.

When Tolstoy opened his school in the autumn of 1859 in a single room of his large manor house at Yasnaya Polyana, free education for peasant children did not exist in Russia. Occasionally, a village would boast of a priest or an ex-soldier who taught a few children at so much per head. The subjects were elementary, the method a mixture of blows and learning by heart, and the results negligible. This situation Tolstoy wished to remedy by substituting public education based on entirely original pedagogical methods.

With half a year of highly successful teaching behind him, it was almost inevitable that Tolstoy should find himself bedevilled in a maze of speculation on pedagogy and obsessed with schemes for improving national education. In March, 1860, he wrote to a friend, E. P. Kovalevsky, brother of the Minister of National Education, of his efforts and mentioned that he already had fifty students and that the number was growing.

"Wisdom in all worldly affairs it seems to me," he continued, "consists not in recognizing what must be done but in knowing what to do first and then what comes after."

He boldly questioned the value to progress in Russia of roads, the telegraph, literature, and the arts, as long as only about one per cent of some seventy millions of people were literate. As a remedy he proposed the establishment of a Society of National Education. Among its duties would be setting up public schools where they were most needed, designing courses of instruction, training teachers in suitable educational methods, and publishing a journal devoted to the dissemination of the society's pedagogical ideals.

Tolstoy received no official encouragement for his proposed program, but from the evidence of fragments of pedagogical essays at this time it is obvious that he had begun to think out his own course of instruction. In one fragment, entitled " On the Problems of Pedagogy ," he wrote:

"For every living condition of development, there is a pedagogical expediency, and to search this out is the problem of pedagogy."

Aware that he was trying, without sufficient knowledge, to handle large abstract concepts of educational theory, which in Russia were entirely dominated by Western European influence, he went abroad in 1860 to study them at the source. A full account of this effort reveals how thoroughly he pursued his objective. He visited schools and participated in classroom work in Germany, France, and England; he talked with teachers and leading educational theorists in these countries; and he collected and studied quantities of textbook samples and read numerous foreign treatises on education. After visiting schools at Kissingen, he jotted down in his diary:

"It is terrible! Prayers for the king; blows; everything by rote; terrified, beaten children."

Another entry shortly after:

"The idea of experimental pedagogy agitates me. I can scarcely contain myself...."

And in still a third entry, after reading Montaigne, he wrote:

"In education, once more, the chief things are equality and freedom."

Julius Froebel, nephew of Friedrich Froebel the celebrated educational reformer and founder of the kindergarten system, has left an interesting account of his discussion with Tolstoy:

" 'Progress in Russia,' he told me, 'must come out of public education, which among us will give better results than in Germany, because the Russian masses are not yet spoiled by false education."'

Tolstoy went on to inform him of his own school in which learning was in no sense obligatory.

"'If education is good,' he said, 'then the need for it will manifest itself like hunger."'

And Froebel also relates that Tolstoy spoke of the Russian masses as a "mysterious and irrational force," from which one day would emerge an entirely new organization of the world, and said that from the Russian artel would develop in the future a communistic structure.

This report reflects the proud, dogmatic, almost arrogant attitude that Tolstoy adopted toward European personalities he met on this educational study trip. While sincerely seeking knowledge, he invariably made it clear that he belonged to no school of thought, had his own point of view on most questions, and that Europeans did not understand the real failings of their civilization.

From his visits to the schools of Marseille, Tolstoy took away a gloomy impression of the futility of the subjects taught and the lifeless, unimaginative methods of teaching them. On the other hand, when he talked with workers and children on the streets, he found them intelligent, free-thinking, and surprisingly well informed, but with no thanks to their schooling.

This situation led him to conclude in a later account of these experiences, in an article entitled " On National Education ":

"Here is an unconscious school undermining a compulsory school and making its contents almost of no worth.... What I saw in Marseille and in all other countries amounts to this: everywhere the principal part in educating a people is played not by schools, but by life."

This is the kind of characteristic half-truth that Tolstoy was fond of deducing from incomplete experience, and it became an important factor in his educational theorizing. But even half-truths that blasted away the hard shell of traditional and erroneous thinking on vital social problems had their value for him.

Tolstoy returned to Russia in the spring of 1861. He erected a three-room schoolhouse at Yasnaya Polyana, and, with several teachers employed to assist him in the instruction, he worked for the next year and a half with self-sacrificing zeal on theoretical and practical problems of education. He expounded his theories and described his practice in twelve extensive articles and a series of notes published in a magazine he founded called Yasnaya Polyana, the issues of which appeared between February, 1862, and March, 1863. Teachers and students also contributed to the magazine. Much of what follows here is based upon Tolstoy's articles, which for that time were quite original in substance but often weakened by perverse and exasperatingly dogmatic reasoning. Though truth was his sole aim, he occasionally forgot that his sweeping generalizations were based on limited experience with his own little school and on the efforts of unique students and a unique teacher. A persistent scepticism was the trade secret of his thinking in educational matters as in other fields of human endeavour.

Over the door of the school Tolstoy placed the inscription: " Enter and Leave Freely ." Perhaps he was thinking, by way of contrast, of Dante's inscription over hell: " Abandon Hope, All Ye who Enter Here ," which he would hardly have hesitated to place above the entrance to most European schools he had visited. Certainly the atmosphere of his own school convinced the children that education was a precious and joyous heritage.

Tolstoy believed that all education should be free and voluntary. He supported the desire of the masses for education, but he denied that the government or any other authority had the right to force it upon them. The logic of things, and his study of the operation of compulsory education abroad, convinced him that in this form it was an evil. Pupils should come to learn of their own accord, for if education were a good, it would be found as necessary as the air they breathed. If people were antagonistic, then the will of the people should become the guiding factor. Tolstoy's faith in the " will of the people ," even though the people might oppose commonly accepted notions of progress, contained the seeds of his later anarchism, and was a direct slap at radical reformers who would uplift the masses against their will.

Tolstoy also believed that education should answer the needs of the masses, but his conception of their needs had nothing in common with that of contemporary progressive thinkers. Nor did he have any patience with the widespread pedagogical conviction that education should mould the character and improve the morals of students. These were matters for family influence, he declared, and the teacher had no right to introduce his personal moral standards or social convictions into the sanctity of the home. In public education he was concerned primarily with peasants, the vast majority of the population. But he was not bent on elevating them above their class by the power of education (a definite evil in his eyes); he was concerned with making them better, more successful, and happier peasants.

In this context the individualistic direction of Tolstoy's thought was apparent. The assumption of civilization's progress in Macaulay, Buckle, and especially in Hegel, he firmly rejected. For some time opposition between the good of the individual and the good of society had been troubling him. He was already developing a philosophy hostile to the pragmatic ideal that progress could be achieved only by social education of the people through the medium of democracy. Progress was personal, he felt, and not social. Education must serve the individual and not society, for the individual's capacity to serve humanity was what gave meaning to life. Yet he did not appear to see the contradiction in his rejection of the whole modern concept of progress. He would teach the peasant child what he needed, but what he needed was often conditioned by the social system in which he lived.

In his article " On National Education " Tolstoy defined education as "a human activity based on desire for equality and a constant tendency or urge to advance in knowledge." Education, he asserted, was history and therefore had no final aim. Its only method was experience; its only criterion, freedom.

Tolstoy attempted to realize in practice even the more extreme aspects of his educational philosophy. Since he believed that the functioning of a school must be adapted to the peculiar conditions of the pupils, he conceded that his own village school might well be the worst possible model for those elsewhere. Attendance was non-compulsory and free to all. Classes ordinarily ran from eight o'clock to noon and then from three o'clock to six, but, as Tolstoy proudly wrote a friend, the students often continued an hour or more beyond closing time,

"because it is impossible to send the children away — they beg for more."

During the morning, elementary and advanced reading were taught, composition, penmanship, grammar, sacred history, Russian history, drawing, music, mathematics, natural sciences, and religion; in the afternoon there were experiments in physical sciences and lessons in singing, reading, and composition. No consistent order was followed, however, and lessons were lengthened or omitted according to the degree of interest manifested by the students. On Sundays the teachers met to talk over the work and lay out plans for the following week. But there was no obligation to adhere to any plan, and each teacher was placed entirely upon his own. For a time they kept a common diary in which were set down with merciless frankness their failures as well as their successes.

Originality was the guiding spirit. Freedom ruled, but never to the extent of anarchy. When Tolstoy purposely left the room in the middle of a lesson to test the behaviour of his students, they did not break into an uproar as he had observed was the case in similar circumstances in classrooms he visited abroad. When he left, the students were enjoying complete freedom, and hence they behaved as though he were still in the room. They corrected or praised each other's work, and some-times they grew entirely quiet. Such results, he explained, were natural in a school where the pupils were not obliged to attend, to remain, or to pay attention.

Tolstoy insisted that only in the absence of force and compulsion could natural relations be maintained between teacher and pupils. The teacher defined the limits of freedom in the classroom by his knowledge and capacity to manage. And the pupils, Tolstoy wrote, should be treated as reasoning and reasonable beings; only then would they find out that order was essential and that self-government was necessary to preserve it. If pupils were really interested in what was being taught, he declared, disorder would rarely occur, and when it did, the interested students would compel the disorderly ones to pay attention.

The successful functioning of such a school demanded unusual ability on the part of the teacher. Tolstoy admitted this, and justly claimed for himself a certain pedagogic tact. Always in his mind was the pupil's convenience in learning and not the teacher's in teaching. He argued that there was no best method in teaching a subject; the best method was that which the teacher happened to know best. That method was good which when introduced did not necessitate an increase of discipline, and that which required greater severity was bad. The method should develop out of the exigencies of a given problem in teaching, and it should please the pupils instead of the teacher. In short, teaching, according to Tolstoy, could not be described as a method; it was a talent, an art. Finality and perfection were never achieved in it; development and perfecting continued endlessly.

In this free atmosphere of student-dominated learning, certain traditional subjects were resisted in a manner that led Tolstoy to doubt their ultimate usefulness and to question the desirability of teaching them to youngsters. Grammar was such a subject. Although his emphasis in instruction favoured analysis, the kind involved in grammar put the students to sleep. To write correctly and to correct mistakes made by others gave his pupils pleasure, but this was only true when the process was unrelated to grammar. After much experimentation with teaching the subject, he concluded in an article in Yasnaya Polyana that

"grammar comes of itself as a mental and not unprofitable gymnastic exercise, and language — to write with skill and to read and understand — also comes of itself."

In the pages of his educational magazine, Tolstoy provides vivid accounts, filled with all the charm of his realistic art, of daily life at the school. On a cold winter morning the bell would ring. Children would run out into the village street. There was no lagging on the way, no urge to play the truant. Each child was eager to get there first. The pupils carried nothing in their hands, no homework books or exercises. They had not been obliged to remember any lesson. They brought only themselves, their receptive natures, and the certainty that it would be as jolly in school that day as it had been the day before.

At the end of a lesson Tolstoy would announce that it was time to eat and play, and, challenging them to race him out-doors, he would leap downstairs, three or four steps at a time, followed by a pack of screaming laughing children. Then he would face them in the snow and they would clamber over his back, desperately striving to pull him down. He was more like an older brother to them and they responded to his efforts with devotion and tireless interest. Their close, even tender, relations are touchingly reflected in one of the magazine articles. He describes how, after school, he accompanies several of the pupils home on a moonless winter night by a roundabout way through the woods, entertaining them with tales of Caucasian robbers and brave Cossacks. The youngest, a ten-year-old boy, furtively clasps two of his teacher's fingers during the most fearful part of a story. At the end of the narration, by one of those quick transitions of children, an older pupil suddenly asks why do they have to learn singing at school? "What is drawing for?" Tolstoy rhetorically asks, puzzled for the moment about how to explain the usefulness of art. "Yes, why draw figures?" - another queries. "What is a lime tree for?" a third asks. At once all begin to speculate on these questions, and the fact emerges that not everything exists for use, that there is also beauty, and that art is beauty

"It feels strange to repeat what we said then," Tolstoy writes, "but it seems to me that we said all that can be said about utility, and plastic and moral beauty."

The ten-year-old was the last of the group to be delivered to his home. He still clung to Tolstoy's hand, out of gratitude it seemed, and as he entered the miserable thatched hut of his poverty-stricken parents, in which his father and the drunken village tailor were gambling, the lad said pathetically:

"Good-by! Let us always have talks like this!"

Tolstoy ended this account in his article by meditating on the age-old question of the moral and practical utility of educating the masses. The cultured, he wrote, would remonstrate: Why give these poor peasant children the knowledge that will make them dissatisfied with their class and their lot in life? But such a peasant boy, concluded Tolstoy, addressing the upper class,

"needs what your life of ten generations unoppressed by labor has brought to you. You had the leisure to search, to think, to suffer — then give him that for which you suffered; this is what he needs. You, like the Egyptian priest, conceal yourself from him by a mysterious cloak, you bury in the earth the talent given to you by history. Do not fear: nothing human is harmful to man. Do you doubt yourself? Surrender to the feeling and it will not deceive you. Trust in his [the peasant boy's] nature, and you will be convinced that he will take only that which history commanded you to give him, that which you have earned by suffering."

The question of art and its relation to his young peasant pupils interested Tolstoy. With his customary freshness, attention to detail, and marvellous power of direct vision he discussed the subject in one of his most remarkable articles, " Who Should Teach Whom to Write, We the Peasant Children or the Peasant Children Us ?" It was inspired by an exciting experience in composition in his school. Themes on the usual subjects, such as descriptions of a forest, a pig, or a table, drove the children to tears. Tolstoy then suggested that they write a story on peasant life, to illustrate a proverb. The pupils found this difficult too, but one boy proposed that Tolstoy write the story himself, in competition with them. He composed several pages and then was interrupted by Fedka, who climbed on the back of his chair and read over his shoulder. Tolstoy explained the plot of the story and the boys immediately became interested. They criticized what had been done and suggested different ways of continuing. Fedka took the leading part in this discussion and surprised Tolstoy by his imagination and sense of proportion, important qualities in every art. Tolstoy set to work to write to the dictation of his pupils Syomka and Fedka, who angrily rejected superfluous details offered by others and eventually took command of the situation. The rest of the boys went home.

Tolstoy described how he and his two pupils worked feverishly from seven in the evening till eleven. Neither hunger nor weariness bothered them. In his account of their collective effort, he gave a number of convincing examples of the artistic rightness and fitness of details, descriptions, and selection that the boys argued and insisted upon. They drew from their experience of village life and characters; and they were nearly always right. Tolstoy was tremendously excited and admitted that he had felt such a strong emotion only two or three times in his life. He was amazed at his discovery of such artistic and creative powers in two peasant lads who could scarcely read or write, and it seemed almost offensive that he, a nationally known author, was virtually unable to instruct these eleven-year-old pupils in his art.

The next day, and still a third day, they continued the story with equal enthusiasm. Then the work was interrupted because Tolstoy had to go away for a few days. During his absence a craze for making popguns out of paper swept the school and the unfinished manuscript of the story was unwittingly sacrificed to this childish diversion. When Tolstoy discovered the loss upon his return, he was deeply chagrined. Fedka and Syomka, aware of his keen disappointment, offered to reproduce the tale themselves. They came after school one evening at nine o'clock and locked themselves in his study. Tolstoy listened at the door and heard them laughing. Then all grew quiet, except for subdued voices discussing the story, and the scratching of a pen. At midnight he knocked and was admitted. Fedka still had a few more sentences to dictate to Syomka, who stood at the large table busily writing, his lines running crookedly across the paper and his pen constantly stabbing at the inkpot. At last Tolstoy took the copybook. After a merry supper of potatoes and kvas, the boys lay down on their sheepskin coats under the writing table, and until sleep over-took them, their healthy, childish laughter rang through the room.

Tolstoy read the story over and found it very similar to the original draft. Some new details had been added, but the tale contained the same truth, measure, and feeling for beauty of the first version. Under the title of the Russian proverb, " The Spoon Feeds, but the Handle Sticks in the Eye ," he printed it, with very few changes, in his pedagogical magazine.

From this unusual experiment in composition Tolstoy drew some interesting conclusions. He declared that nearly all contemporary art was intended for people of leisure and artificial training and was therefore useless to the masses, whose demand for art was more legitimate. He dismissed with some vexation the stale notion that in order to understand and appreciate the beautiful a certain amount of preparation was necessary.

"Who said this?" he asked in his magazine account of the writing of the story. "Why? What proves it? It is only a dodge, a loophole to escape from the hopeless position to which the false direction of our art, produced for one class alone, has led us. Why are the beauty of the sun, of the human face, the beauty of the sounds of a folk song, and of deeds of love and self-sacrifice accessible to everyone, and why do they demand no preparation? "

Tolstoy's position was no doubt extreme, and there was also considerable exaggeration in his unqualified praise of the literary ability of his pupils, who were unquestionably inspired by his own artistic interests. Yet such schoolboy efforts helped to teach him the fundamental truth that the need to enjoy and serve art was inherent in every human being, and that this need had its right and should be satisfied.

Although the Society for National Education that Tolstoy projected found no support among government officials, his school was not without its influence. After the emancipation of the serfs, the government encouraged them to open their own schools. Peasants in the Tula district, where Yasnaya Polyana was situated, appealed to Tolstoy for teachers, and he willingly suggested a number. By 1862 there were no less than thirteen village schools in his area, and their teachers were all zealous disciples of Tolstoy's pedagogical approach. They caught from him a devotion and enthusiasm in what was essentially a pioneering venture. Living like peasants in the dirty, stuffy huts where they held their classes, and using tables for blackboards, they worked from seven in the morning until late at night. At first, like Tolstoy, they had to overcome the ignorant suspicions of peasant fathers and mothers who distrusted these newfangled methods of teaching and were alarmed because their children were not regularly beaten by the masters. But the fact that they were entirely free to send them to school or take them out overcame resistance. Finally, the happiness of the youngsters and their obvious progress in so short a time eventually won the parent's complete confidence in the system.

In a brief note " To the Public " that introduced his pedagogical magazine, Tolstoy eagerly invited criticism. Much of it was hostile and unconstructive, and particularly that which came from progressive thinkers of the time. He was called a " pedagogical nihilist " and his experiment was castigated as a complete overthrow of educational order and discipline. In a few periodicals, however, several teachers, weary of slavish Russian devotion to foreign models in pedagogy, bravely encouraged the less extreme aspects of his school. But, in general, his efforts failed to inspire enthusiastic acceptance among educators. His principle of freedom for both teachers and pupils was too radical a demand for even the most progressive theorists.

Worse still, in the eyes of critics, was Tolstoy's conviction that his educational ideas amounted to a revolt against established opinion in the name of healthy common sense. More-over, he scorned scientific exposition in his articles and used the simple and forceful prose of which he was a master. If he had elected to write treatises on experimental pedagogy in the accepted trade jargon, buttressed with elaborate footnotes and well-chosen citations from approved authorities, he would doubtless have gained a hearing, even if an unfavourable one.

As a matter of fact, certain government officials regarded Tolstoy's activities in education with dark suspicion. In October, 1862, the Minister of the Interior wrote to the Minister of National Education to complain about the harmful aspects of the pedagogical magazine. He pointed out that its general direction and spirit perverted the fundamental values of religion and morality, and he suggested that the censor's attention should be specifically directed toward correcting the situation.

In part, the fears of the Minister of the Interior were correct: Tolstoy's educational articles did call into question the whole contemporary concept of morality. His extremely radical position represented a danger not only to the whole foundation of educational practice, but to the authority of the State. The freedom that he advocated seemed to verge on rebellion, and children educated in this spirit would hardly grow up with proper reverence for those institutions of tsarist government that had been infested by corruption and oppression. His educational philosophy would place the human worth and well-being of the individual above the well-being of the State. In short, the spirit of Christian anarchy that Tolstoy was later to preach so openly and eloquently had already crept into his thinking. For in his educational articles he condemned the false morality of government and society, their despotism, the use of force, and the belief in the legality of punishment. And he frankly stated his belief that the masses could exist without the educated classes, and hence without government, but that the educated classes could not exist without the masses.

Because of his marriage, various discouragements, and a suddenly renewed interest in fiction writing, Tolstoy abandoned his school and the pedagogical magazine at the end of 1862. But his concern for the education of the young, which soon revived when his own children came along, remained with him for the rest of his life, as frequent references to it in letters and in his diary indicate. For example, in 1872 he published his first ABC Book, in which, he said, he had put more work and love than in anything else he had done. It contained a complete curriculum for beginning pupils. There are sections on reading and writing, with drawings, exercises, and various typographical devices to aid in spelling and pronunciation; there are also sections on natural sciences and arithmetic. He realized the importance of effective examples and exercises, and his selections are original and often reveal rare artistic taste. The frame of reference is restricted by the limitations of the students and their daily lives.

"From the natural sciences," he wrote a friend, "I did not choose what may be found in books or anything that I by chance knew or what appeared to me necessary to know, but only that which was clear and beautiful, and when it seemed to me insufficiently clear and beautiful, I tried to express it in my own way."

Several of the stories used as examples in the ABC Book are entirely Tolstoy's own; others are drawn from various folk sources.

The ABC Book, based upon pedagogical theories that Tolstoy had developed and put into practice in his village school was designed, as he said, for the teacher who loved both his calling and his pupils. The work firmly eschews useless or erudite knowledge, or facts beyond the comprehension or experience of beginners. For the chief significance of teaching, he maintained, was not in the assimilation of a known quantity of information, but in awakening in students an interest in knowledge.

Tolstoy was sadly disappointed at the reception of the ABC Book, in which he had deliberately tried to avoid extremes in his theorizing. However, the innovations infuriated pedagogues, and a deluge of sharp, even vicious, reviews resulted. The reviewers charged that the work was an attack on accepted methods of instruction, that he had opposed to a pedagogical system of reason one of faith, to a system of science one of instinct and imagination, and to a system of conviction and ideas one of moral principles. Stubbornly he turned once again to teaching peasant children in his district, in order to demonstrate the methods he advocated in his ABC Book.

In 1873 an invitation from the Moscow Committee on Literacy to explain his educational system to them again aroused Tolstoy's conviction that he had a national public service to perform in education. One result of the meeting was a request to test his ideas on teaching, in several subjects, against the conventional methods employed in the schools. Two groups of Moscow children of similar ages and social backgrounds were provided. One of Tolstoy's experienced Yasnaya Polyana teachers instructed a group, and a teacher designated by the Moscow Committee on Literacy the other. At the conclusion of seven weeks of teaching, six members of the committee examined both groups of students. Although there was no unanimity among the examiners, a majority decided that the pupils taught by Tolstoy's opponent had excelled in all three subjects — reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Tolstoy felt that the test had failed to prove anything because it had been conducted under the worst possible conditions. And he submitted the article previously mentioned, " On National Education ," to the popular magazine, ' Notes of the Fatherland '. It is in the form of a letter addressed to the head of the Moscow Committee on Literacy. The article (September, 1874) is largely a reaffirmation of the views Tolstoy expressed in the pages of his own pedagogical magazine twelve years before. With ruthless dogmatism he condemns outright the phonetic and visual methods of teaching then used in Russian elementary schools. And those native teachers who burned incense to German pedagogical theory he sharply criticized for failing to understand or respect the educational needs of the Russian masses. All a teacher has to know, he declares, is what to teach and how to teach. To find out what to teach, one must go to the people, to the students and their parents. At present, he asserts, the people demand that their children learn how to read and write and to cipher. Until they demand something more, teachers have no right to teach more. As for how to teach, he sums it up in his old phrase: the only criterion for pedagogy is freedom, the only method is experience.

The article created a great stir among the public, infinitely more so than all of Tolstoy's publications on educational themes in the past. To be sure, the work was attractively written, but now it had also come from the pen of the famous author of ' war and peace ', and he had had the good sense to print it in a widely read periodical. In a real sense the effort suddenly made the public pedagogically minded and inspired a surprisingly large number of articles and letters in a variety of magazines. Although the experts, with few exceptions, vigorously attacked him, his views elicited widespread sympathetic response among laymen. After years of striving he at last had the satisfaction of knowing that his theories had reached the general public.

With such encouragement, Tolstoy felt impelled to try for further success. In February, 1875, he published his New ABC Book. It was shorter, cheaper, more practical, and as he remarked in the foreword, adaptable to any method of teaching. Here, too, he now won success, for the Ministry of National Education recommended the work. It was widely adopted by schools and ran into many large editions (100,000 copies were printed for the 1900 edition).

At the same time, Tolstoy published four children's Readers, which contained material taken mostly from his first ABC Book. The excellence and variety of the selections, the artistic simplicity of the narratives, and no doubt the inexpensive price gained an enormous market for these little books, and over the years they sold in tens of thousands.

Tolstoy's old dream seemed on the point of realization — he was beginning to exercise a pronounced influence on the course of elementary education in Russia. And the dream expanded. He wanted to take a prominent place in the larger field of national education, and he wrote to the minister to inquire whether the government would consider a detailed program that he was contemplating on instruction in the schools and another for training teachers. Although the reply was favourable, it was delayed so long that the impatient Tolstoy had already charged off in another direction. Breaking a rule he had set up for himself, he accepted election to the County Council and an appointment to its Education Committee.

One naturally thinks of the poet Matthew Arnold, inspector of schools in England at this time. With Arnold, however, the post was a means of livelihood and a most unpoetic business. Tolstoy, in his more restricted sphere, found a world of poetry in the work of inspecting local schools. He agitated with some success for inexpensive instruction in the district, and he launched his pet project of establishing at Yasnaya Polyana a teachers' training seminary, for he wished to train peasant teachers to take their place in the milieu in which they had grown up and to provide the kind of education for peasant children that would not instill in them alien desires or render them unfit for the performance of duties to which they would be called by their position in life. This was to be, he remarked, a " university in bast shoes ."

In 1874 the Ministry of Education approved Tolstoy's carefully prepared plan for a teachers' training seminary. And his request to the Tula government for financial assistance in return for a certain number of tuition teaching scholarships was granted. But for some unexplained reason, perhaps because educational centers in the Tula government did not favour the idea, only twelve candidates applied for the program. This poor showing discouraged Tolstoy and he refused to open his " university in bast shoes ." It was his last constructive effort to improve formal education in Russia. A long and arduous chapter in the history of Tolstoy's civic conscience had come to an end.

Despite hostility to Tolstoy's educational practices and writings during his lifetime, since then there has been a tendency to acclaim him a brilliant innovator and one of the most significant of educational reformers. Experimental schools in America and abroad have profited from the full accounts he left of his own experiences. His methods of teaching the alphabet and reading, his insistence on self-reliance by obliging students to do manual labor, and his belief that the child should be allowed as much freedom as possible in the classroom — these features of his system have had their influence in later progressive education. And one of his principal theses, that the school should always remain a kind of pedagogical laboratory to keep it from falling behind universal progress, has found wide acceptance as an educational premise.

In one respect it may be said that his first absorbing educational experiment between 1859 and 1862 fulfilled another purpose: the school at Yasnaya Polyana contributed as much to the historical development of Tolstoy as it had to the education of peasant children — it brought him back to the career of fiction writing. It was as though a kind of catharsis had been effected that once again left his mind and spirit free for artistic work.