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Middle School S.O.S.: Success through Organization and Study skills

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Consider work space, lighting, access to computer or supplies. ... It takes 30 days to make a new habit (and less than a week to break it) ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Middle School S.O.S.: Success through Organization and Study skills


1
Middle School S.O.S.Success throughOrganization
and Study skills
  • October 28, 2009

2
Agenda
  • Tuning into your Student
  • Energy cycles (morning larks and night owls)
  • Attention spans
  • Learning styles
  • Motivation
  • Getting Organized
  • Supplies
  • Family and Individual Calendars
  • School and Activity Planning
  • Homework Routines
  • Study Skills
  • Designing a study environment
  • Making studying a regularly scheduled activity
  • Get creative with study techniques
  • Allowing for Independence and Working Together
  • Goal Setting
  • What can your students do alone?
  • When and how often do you need to step in?
  • Family Check-in

3
Tuning Into Your Student
  • Energy Cycles
  • When does your student have the most energy?
  • When does your student crash in the evening?
  • Why do these matter?
  • Explains why performance in some classes may be
    better than others
  • Homework schedules should be worked around these
    times
  • Extracurricular activities can increase and
    decrease energy
  • Helps minimize cramming and meltdowns

4
Tuning Into Your Student
  • Attention Spans
  • The normal adult attention span is 20-25
    minutes.
  • Young students attentions spans vary- but should
    and will increase as they grow.
  • We all tune in more at the beginning and end of
    activities, lectures, assignments.
  • Creating more beginning and end times may help
    with attention
  • Each student is different. You may have to
    monitor your student to identify attentions
    spans.

5
Tuning Into Your Student
  • Learning Styles
  • Younger students should try many different
    learning techniques to find what works best for
    different tasks.
  • By middle school, students will develop some
    preferred learning styles.
  • Students can use different techniques for
    different classes and may have to adapt to
    different teaching styles or requirements.
  • Common categories include
  • Visual
  • Auditory
  • Read/Write
  • Kinesthetic
  • VARK Inventory
  • www.vark-learn.com

6
Tuning Into Your Student
  • Motivation
  • Working with your students interests will make
    learning in all subjects easier.
  • Internal Motivation
  • Students tend to be more learning than task
    focused
  • The grade or reward is not the goal
  • Students will work harder in certain areas even
    if they are not performing at the top
  • External Motivation
  • Students tend to be more task than learning
    focused
  • Students need rewards in order to complete tasks
    (not always tangible)
  • Students may look for less challenging ways to
    complete tasks in order to enhance performance
  • Use your students interests as learning
    experiences and rewards.

7
Getting Organized
  • Supplies may need to be changed throughout the
    school year.
  • The key is to find products that your students
    enjoy using!
  • Calendars
  • Agendas
  • Notebooks
  • Folders
  • Note cards
  • Pens/Markers/Pencils
  • If possible, students should have separate
    binders/folders for each class.

8
Getting Organized
  • Family Calendars
  • Each family should have a shared calendar that is
    accessible to everyone. Every family member can
    have their own color.
  • Birthdays
  • Parties
  • Sporting Events
  • Vacations
  • Days off
  • Student Calendars
  • Students should also keep track of their own
    assignments and activities
  • Homework
  • Tests
  • Projects

9
Getting Organized
  • School Activity Planning
  • Try not to schedule every minute of every day!
  • Be mindful of energy clocks and attention spans
    (especially when organizing around homework
    time).
  • Sometimes having no activity planned is the
    best plan.

10
Getting Organized
  • Homework Routines
  • Select either times of the day or an order of
    subjects to complete homework.
  • Try setting time limits to keep students going
    and not hyper-focusing on one subject.
  • There is always be something to do, even if there
    is nothing due (this is not to fill up down
    time).
  • Homework Checks
  • Middle school is a time for students to learn and
    practice their independence.
  • Students still need to be accountable and may not
    be ready for as much independence as they
    request.
  • Building in routine check times will help
    students build their own skills while keeping you
    in the loop.

11
Study Skills
  • Study Environment
  • Work with your student to find out where he/she
    is most comfortable and least distracted.
  • Consider work space, lighting, access to computer
    or supplies.
  • Have a back-up space ready in case the primary
    space is occupied or not working.

12
Study Skills
  • Studying as an Everyday Activity
  • Distributed learning is the best way to improve
    memory and ensure long-term storage.
  • Practicing some things every day helps will help
    minimize the stress around quizzes and tests.
  • Start reviewing notes daily (this is a huge
    skill to learn).
  • Students will retain up to 80 of information
    learned if they review it within 24 hours of
    learning.

13
Study Skills
  • Creative Study Techniques
  • Relate current school material to personal
    experiences and interests.
  • Work different learning strategies into daily
    studying
  • Use art supplies to make flash cards or study
    sheets
  • Create songs/poems/mneumonics to memorize
    vocabulary/formulas
  • Move around while studying- this is very
    important for kinesthetic learners
  • Make up games, drills, or timed activities to
    practice recall

14
Independence Working Together
  • Goals must include your students input (if the
    goals are yours, theres a good chance they will
    not be reached).
  • Goals should be S.M.A.R.T
  • SPECIFIC
  • MEASUREABLE
  • ATTAINABLE
  • REALISTIC
  • TIMELY
  • It takes 30 days to make a new habit (and less
    than a week to break it).
  • Have checkpoints in place so that goals can be
    modified along the way.

15
Independence Working Together
  • What can your student do alone?
  • Daily homework
  • Routine reviews
  • Starting studying and projects
  • When should you step in?
  • Daily Homework Checks
  • Weekly plans
  • Review for tests/projects

16
Independence Working Together
  • Family Check-Ins
  • A great opportunity to share accomplishments, set
    or re-set goals.
  • Keeps everyone accountable for short-term and
    long-term goals.
  • Allows family members to support one another.

17
Resources
  • Peers
  • Assist with accountability (especially if your
    student forgets to write down assignments or
    bring materials home)
  • Model study skills
  • Promote group learning
  • Teachers
  • Provide tutorials
  • Offer additional study materials/resources
  • Tutors/Coaches
  • Support specific course content
  • Teach skills that can be used across disciplines

18
Resources
  • Assistive Technology
  • AMAC
  • http//www.amac.uga.edu/
  • Inspiration
  • http//inspiration.com/
  • Kurzweil Educational Systems
  • http//www.kurzweiledu.com/
  • Read/Write Gold
  • http//www.readwritegold.com
  • Digital Note cards
  • http//quizlet.com/

19
Contact Information
  • Shari Obrentz
  • sobrentz_at_hotmail.com
  • 404.734.8400
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