I understand what you are saying, but to be honest I haven't given it much thought re: amoutn/type of homework. I have not encountered such a problem. My daughter is doing both 1st and 2nd grade work and the level of homework has never been a problem.
Maybe my district/teachers have done something along the lines of your suggestions - my daughter comes home with her spelling and reading assignments for the week on Monday with deadlines for each thing (ABC order, sentences, study for spelling test) and 3 times a week she gets a math homework sheet. Aso on Monday the curricula for the week comes home fromt he 1st grade teacher which has suggestions for family projects to go along with some thing they are going to be working on in class.
Not every child struggles with homework. Some do, some do not. My daughter takes twice as long as her friend to finish homework. It becomes excessive at that point. They're both gifted. It just takes our daughter 2x longer. Is that fair? It's life. BUT, is it reasonable to reduce homework to a level that is do-able for the greater part of the student population? I would think so. Just because your child does not struggle does not mean some do not.
When our daughter was in 1st and 2nd grade, my wife put the words in alphabetical order, then daughter wrote them down. It saved time, and we all kept our sanity. Daughter never would have finished homework if she'd had to alphabetize too. She is in 4th grade now, and CAN alphabetize. She didn't need all that practice.