My fifth graders love homework passes.  They are their “get out of jail” ticket.  If they forget their HW, they can use their HW pass and not get a “date.” A date is when I write down their late HW and that is how I keep track of late assignments. The HW pass allows them an extra day to get their HW completed and not get a “date.”  Up until this year, I used to give HW passes for holiday (Halloween, Christmas, Valentines) but not this year.  I shifted my thinking and now my students earn their HW pass during the holidays.  I allow my students the opportunity to choose a wonder at Wonderopolis that must be connected to something that we are learning about in school.  They must leave a STRONG comment and on our first day back from a break or for example our 4 day weekend this week, we begin our day with students sharing their comment on the Smartboard. It is a great way to build community after a long break and most importantly students are learning over break and making connections with what we have been discussing in class. I am excited that they are learning to earn their HW pass and not just being given their HW pass. Wonder homework is a fun way to allow students to interact with new learning and also make family connections.  Try it I think you will like it!