When we think about extra credit assignments, my first thought is, “Why would anyone want to do extra work for no credit?” Of course, that’s exactly why a professor gives an extra credit assignment. They know the class is hard, and they hope students will call in a free student to help with some of the work (or just don’t have time to do it on their own). Some professors assign extra credit when they feel students have earned points through quizzes and tests but haven’t quite reached the next level of mastery—above an 80%. These assignments also serve another purpose: as a way for students to test out particular topics to see if they are interested in them.
To get you started with great ideas, we as a best assignment writing company put together a list of extra credit assignment ideas that support student learning. The list includes ideas that can be implemented in any course and at any grade level (yes, even grad students will profit from these extra credit assignment ideas).
What are Extra Assignment Ideas?
Extra credit is a reward given to students who show extra interest in their studies and put in the extra effort. Students can earn extra credit by excelling in their studies, and completing tasks and assignments that are not part of their regular coursework. Extra credit assignments vary from one teacher to another but can include projects, research papers, or presentations.
We all know the importance of extra credit assignments. These assignments are given to students to encourage them to do well in their academics. Even though there are many extra credit assignments, some of them are quite common and easy to understand. However, some of them might be a bit difficult for students to understand and complete. In this article, we will discuss some extra credit assignment ideas that can be used by teachers and parents alike.
11 Extra Credit Assignment Ideas
Students are usually assigned extra credit assignments by their teachers to help them improve their grades. Extra credit assignments are a great way to give students an incentive to perform well in class. However, some students may find it difficult to come up with different ideas for extra credit assignments. Here are 10 extra credit assignment ideas that you can use for your classes:
- If you are looking for some extra credit assignment ideas, we have compiled a list of 10 extra credit assignment ideas that you can use in your classroom.
- Write a book report on a book of your choice. The book should be related to the topic of your course.
- Compose an original poem or song about the topic discussed in class.
- Create a PowerPoint presentation about the topic and share it with classmates, parents, or even teachers!
- Write an article for your school newspaper or local newspaper about what you learned in class and how it applies to real life. This is something that could also get you published!
- Do an interview with someone who is related to the topic and ask them questions about their job, education, or hobbies that relate to your class. For example: if you are taking a math class, then interview someone who works as an accountant; if you are taking a science class then interview someone who works at NASA; if you are taking an economics class then interview someone who is involved in business such as a CEO etc… You could also do this assignment by interviewing yourself!
- Create an advertisement/billboard/advertisement (etc..) related to the topic presented during class
- Create a YouTube channel and upload videos related to your topic or subject from scratch or from existing videos available on the internet or other sources (with proper citations).
- Record yourself reading aloud one of the texts in the book that was assigned during the semester and post it as an audio file on SoundCloud or any other popular audio sharing site such as YouTube, etc., where teachers can access it easily and listen at leisure time later on when they have time off from work/personal commitments after school hours, etc. so that they can concentrate better while grading your work accordingly.
- Make up your own test questions based on what was taught in class and submit them as a quiz or exam question for other students in your class who may need extra help! This can be especially helpful if there is going to be another test soon.
- Write a short summary of what you have learned from this course so far with regards to APA Style writing, citing at least two resources used during your research on each topic discussed. Include headings (in bold), subheadings (in italics), text citations, reference list, and title page (APA format). Your summary should be no more than one page long and must include at least one citation per paragraph or group of paragraphs that refers back to one of our readings or lectures for this unit.
Examples of Extra Credit Assignments
Discuss one of the following topics:
- Write about how you can make a positive impact on the environment.
- Write about how you can help your community become better by volunteering your time and services.
- Write about how you can help improve your school’s image by becoming more involved with its activities and events.
- Rewrite an article in your own voice and style. If you’re teaching English or writing, this assignment can be a great way to practice using active verbs and strong sentences.
- Write a song or rap about something that you’ve learned in class this semester (for example, Shakespeare). This is a fun way for students who enjoy music and/or performing arts to get involved in class!
- Paint or draw something based on what you’ve learned in class this semester (a picture of Shakespeare’s face or a scene from Macbeth). This is another good way for those who love art and performance arts to get involved in class!
- Write an essay about why Shakespeare matters today (why should we study him?
- Write an article on how to use Excel spreadsheet software to solve business problems.
- Write an article on how to make money from home without a job.
- Write an article on how to write a good essay for college admission with tips about not doing an extra credit assignment. It’s important to make sure that you are writing something that will be useful to the reader. The key here is to think like the person who will be reading your paper and determine what they need from it before they actually get their hands on it.
- You get a free weekend and you decide to go to the beach or a park. Write about it in as much detail as possible.
- Explain the process of planting a tree from start to finish.
- Describe how to make a delicious cup of hot chocolate for your friends and family on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve.
- Explain the steps needed to create a website for your business, school, or other organization that needs one. Include all pertinent information like domain names, hosting companies, etc.
15 Tips for Assigning Extra Credit
If you are a teacher and want to assign extra credit to your students, then you will have to be very careful. You need to follow a number of tips that can help in making the assignment more interesting for the students. Here are a few tips that will help you with this assignment:
- Make sure the assignment is relevant to the course materials. The extra credit should be something that relates directly to the subject matter being covered in class, such as a lab experiment or an essay on literature or history. If your course requires students to read certain books or watch films, then assign extra credit for writing book reports or movie reviews.
- Ask your students to read a book or an article related to your class assignment and write a summary of it. For instance, if you are teaching English literature, ask them to read a book on Shakespeare’s works or Dickens’ novels and write a summary of them in a one-page essay form.
- Ask them to choose their favourite movie based on the theme of your course and watch it with their parents or friends who have not taken this course yet (if possible). Then, ask them to prepare a five-minute presentation about what they learned from this movie or why they liked it so much and present it in class for everyone else’s enjoyment
- Ask them to watch a documentary about the topic of interest that has been covered in class and discuss its content during your next class session.
- If you want your students to do something extra for the class, then make sure they do it during their free time. It should not clash with their schedule or homework assignments. This way they will have no problem completing it on time and also make sure that they enjoy doing it as well.
- Include some fun activities such as drawing or colouring so that they don’t feel like they are doing something boring and they enjoy doing it at the same time.
- Provide links to other sources that will help your students understand more about what they are learning or researching more on their own time.
- Make sure that you assign this extra credit at least two weeks before it is due so that students can have enough time to complete it properly and submit it on time without rushing through it at the last minute just because they forgot about it or didn’t see it posted until later in the semester when there were too many other assignments due at once for them to be able to finish it all before it was due.
- Use appropriate examples to support your opinions or ideas. You can use real-life examples, stories, or fictional characters. Incorporate quotes from famous people or books if needed to support your ideas and opinions.
- Include at least five references/sources in your work so that readers can refer to them easily and learn more about the topic from these sources.
- Consider using extra credit as a motivator for students who need some encouragement or motivation to get their work done on time and complete it correctly.
- Maintain consistency over time by offering the same amount of extra credit each time it is assigned unless there are extenuating circumstances that warrant an increase or decrease in value.
- You can also write an article about an event or person that has made an impact on the world. This can be done in a magazine-style format or a news article format.
- Write an essay on why you should receive extra credit for this class. This is usually done by students who have already received all A’s in their classes but want to boost their GPA just in case they need it later on in life.
- You can also write a short story or poem about yourself or someone else’s life experience that relates to the course material. This will allow you to express yourself in different ways than typical essays do not allow for.
Wrapping Up
There are various types of extra credit that impact students’ learning. However, extra credit assignment is neither a learning process nor a reward for studies. It can be used as an incentive to enhance the learning process. Typically, what goes with extra credit is a better grade from the teacher. This in turn can incentivise students to take up the assignment and get better grades for studies.
The key to turning in high-quality extra credit assignments is to make sure all directions are followed, and that the student has taken the time to truly research their topic. What really matters is that your extra credit assignment aligns with what they are going over in class, or what they will be learning about in the future. The teacher will know if you have done your research and know the topic, which can help them trust you a little more in class, and other students may want to follow your lead.