What is an Art Homework Menu and how does it Boost Engagement?
Let’s face it, students often groan when you set homework. Even when you’ve planned something you think is enjoyable. You’re eating into their personal time, and even if they actually enjoy it when they get down to it, their ‘do we have to face’ is demotivating even for the most enthusiastic, resilient teacher.
Art Homework Menus aren’t a panacea, but giving choice does engage learners.
What is an Art Homework Menu?
An art homework menu gives students a list of homework tasks so they can choose what best suits their interests, the materials they have at home, and their confidence level. Menus can focus on a theme (e.g., Natural Forms, Portraits, Landscapes) or a skill (e.g., Drawing, collage, Photography). In my experience, students respond well to the format because it feels playful and empowers them to make their own choices. Teachers love it because it supports differentiation, student voice, and improves homework completion. (I’ll place links to my menus throughout this post so you can see if they are right for your art department.
Why Student Choice Lifts Engagement and Learning
Choice isn’t just nice to have—it’s proven to aid motivation. As teachers, we know this, but it’s always reassuring to find evidence that tells us we are right! A large meta-analysis found that giving learners choice increased motivation, effort, task performance, and perceived competence across ages and settings. In an education-specific study on homework, when students were allowed to choose their homework, many findings were the same: higher motivation and more was completed. This was in comparison to those who weren’t given a choice.
This aligns with Self-Determination Theory (SDT): students are more engaged when their basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—are supported. Classroom approaches that increase autonomy (like menus) tend to lift interest, effort, and engagement. Recent reviews and studies continue to show positive links between SDT-aligned practices and student engagement.
Is Homework Worth It? What the Evidence Says
In the UK, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) summarises the evidence on homework as positive overall, especially in secondary, with an average impact of around five months’ additional progress when implemented well—particularly when tasks are clearly linked to classwork and include feedback. This evidence reinforces the menu approach: give choice, a clear purpose and tasks that are linked to classwork.
Why Menus Work Especially Well in Art
- Autonomy with guardrails. Menus offer freedom within structure—students feel ownership, but you still steer content, skills, and assessment focus.
- Differentiation without stigma. Students can quietly choose a stretch task or a confidence-building option.
- Home-friendly. Tasks can be designed for limited materials and varied home contexts (crucial for equity).
- Curriculum alignment. Menus can map to elements of art, assessment objectives, or GCSE/A-level skills (observational drawing, experimentation, contextual understanding, reflection).
- Feedback that is feasible. A consistent rubric—e.g., process, risk-taking, technical skill, reflection—works across multiple task choices, making feedback more efficient.
How to Launch Art Homework Menus (Tomorrow)
You can download my art homework menus here, but if you want to make your own, here are some tips:
- Pick a focus. Start with a theme you’re already teaching (e.g., Natural Forms).
- Curate 8–12 tasks. Offer a spread to appeal to different students: drawings, photography tasks, collage, artist research, whatever you feel is appropriate.
- Design Your Menu You can have fun with this bit. How are you going to make it look like a menu? Are you going to have fun menu-like titles? Is it illustrated?
- Ensure material-light options. What materials do your students have at home? Pencil, biro, scrap paper, packaging, phone camera—make participation possible for everyone.
- Connect to classwork? How will the homework extend learning? As I write that, I’m also thinking ‘don’t overthink it’. If you get your students making art in their own time and really engaging, it’s a win. You could reference the same artists or techniques that you’re using in lessons or let students go off at a creative tangent. (EEF evidence favours linked homework). EEF
- Build reflection in. This could be a nice starter activity. Ask for a 2–3 sentence log: What did you try? What changed? What will you develop next?
- Time Scale. How many tasks do students have to complete from the menu in a given period? It might just be one, or if it links to a term-long project, it might be a couple.
What to Watch For
If students were all completing the same task for homework, it would be easier to show them and tell them exactly what you want. You might have a WAGOLL (What a Good One Looks Like) that you have made or student examples. With a menu, this is trickier.
Are some students going to go for the easiest option and not put in enough effort? Probably.
Are some students going to really fly, engage, and produce amazing work? Possibly.
Make clear the time and quality expectations and be ready to say ‘That’s not good enough, make these improvements…’
Ready-to-Use Menus
I’ve designed a range of art homework menus that you can drop straight into your existing projects. They have themes such as ‘Insects‘, ‘Natural Forms‘ and ‘Portraits‘, and I have many more planned.
Wouldn’t it be lovely to have an art homework menu for every project you teach? Students would get used to making their own choices, and this would be a step towards independent learning – ideal in the run-up to GCSE.
Why not drop me an email and let me know what art homework menu you would like me to create?
If you try a menu, I’d love to hear how your students respond—and which choices were popular or sparked real creativity.
If you arrived via search—welcome! This article is designed to help art educators looking for: art homework ideas, art homework menu, creative art homework, choice-based art, choice-based curriculum, student engagement in art, increasing creativity in the art classroom, homework for art students, secondary art homework, and GCSE/A-level art homework.
Ready to Use Art Homework Menus
My art homework menus are designed to save your hours of planning time. You can purchase them individually or through my great value subscription.
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