Academic Resources
Study Strategies
Organization:
- Use your calendar, weekly assignment sheet, or Google document to keep track of your daily assignments and remember to record any upcoming assignments in the upcoming week(s).
- Create folders for each subject to keep homework assignments and returned assignments.
- Be sure to include your name and other important information on your assignments.
- Maintain a clean and orderly locker in order to make it to class on time.
- Keep a record of your grades or log onto Skyward regularly to avoid surprises at report card time.
- Have phone numbers of several classmates to call in case you have a question about an assignment or missed work due to an absence.
- Keep your backpack neat.
- Get organized before going to bed. Put completed homework in the appropriate folders and everything you need for the next day in the same place each night.
Time Management:
- Use study halls and permitted class time to get started or complete your homework.
- Review your calendar, weekly assignment sheet, or Google document at the end of each school day to determine the materials you will need to take home.
- Develop a study plan by figuring out how much time you will need to complete your homework and scheduling a specific time in which you will work on it.
- Break larger assignments into smaller assignments/tasks, with allotted time for each assignment/task
- Always allow more time that you think you’ll need.
- Do difficult assignments first, while you’re still fresh and alert. Also, doing difficult assignments first while at school, enables you to ask teachers for help.
- Take short breaks.
Class Preparation:
- Attend school regularly and be on time. When you miss school or class, you miss important information.
- Follow the classroom rules.
- Complete your homework. When you do your homework, you get more out of the class, the material makes more sense, and you can participate in class discussions.
- Preview your textbook chapter the night before class.
- Bring the materials that you need to each class (books, paper, pencils, etc.)
- Be physically and mentally alert by eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep.
- Treat others with courtesy and respect. Be polite, look at your teachers when they’re speaking, and listen when others are talking. Also, be aware of your tone of voice. The same words, in a different tone of voice, can communicate a very different message.
- Participate in class.
- Take responsibility for your grades. If you get a good grade on a test or paper, be proud of your accomplishment. If you receive a poor grade, don’t make excuses. Take responsibility for your grade, and figure out how you can do better next time.
- Involve your family. A good way to involve your parents or siblings is to have them help you with your homework from time to time. Ask a parent or sibling to drill you on vocabulary words, read over a paper you’ve written, listen to you practice a speech, or help you study for a test.
- Well-lit.
- Comfortable.
- Contains a surface to write on.
- Your study area should have the materials (pencils, paper, pens, ruler, dictionary, thesaurus, etc.) that you need, so you don’t have to spend time looking for them.
Note-Taking:
- Be an active listener.
- Take notes to help you pay attention. When you take notes, your mind has something additional to do, and you don’t have time to think about anything else. Taking notes, therefore, helps you stay focused.
- Be sure that your notes are legible. This decreases frustration and anxiety and provides more time for active studying.
- Go over your notes as soon as possible to fill in any missed information.
- Get copies of class notes if you’re absent.
Memorizing Information:
- Use flashcards to memorize vocabulary words, facts, and lists. They are easy to carry and allow you to study on the go (in the car, on the bus, at the dentist, etc.)
- Right before you go to sleep, go over any information that you want to remember. Your brain will commit it to memory while you sleep.
- Use acronyms. For example, the acronym HOMES can help you remember the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior)
- Use the first letter of the words you want to remember to make up a silly sentence. For example, if you need to remember the names of the planets for a test – “My very elegant mother juggled seven ugly neckties.”
- Use images to trigger your memory.
Test-Taking:
- Completing homework plays an important role in test performance. Homework is to a student’s academic success as practice is to an athlete’s game performance. Put forth time and effort.
- Know what the test is going to cover so that you’ll know what to study.
- Pay particular close attention in class the day before a test. This is when teachers often go over information that you need to know.
- If your textbook has review questions, know the answers to all of these questions. Also, go through your textbook and make sure that you know the meanings of all the words in bold and italic print. Review the pictures and captions.
- If a teacher gives you a review sheet, study it until you know everything on it. Then use the review sheet to come up with questions that you think might be on the test.
- Create note cards with any important information such as names, dates, formulas, and/or facts that you need to remember for the test. Take these cards with you the day of the test, and go over it as often as you can before you take the test.
- Review the direction carefully.
- Answer the easiest questions first. Later go back to complete the more difficult ones.
- If time permits, review your test for any careless mistakes before turning it in.
- Unless you are penalized for wrong answers, make an educated guess. Don’t leave any questions blank.
Information obtained from:
O’Brien, L. (1999). How to get good grades in ten easy steps. Dayton, OH: Woodburn Press
Davis, L., Sirotowitz, S., & Parker, H. (1997). Study strategies made easy: A practical plan for school success. Plantation, FL: Specialty Press, Inc.
Academic Tools:
Handout:
TEST TAKING TIPS:
1. Be prepared. Learn the material. Study and review a little each day. If you keep up with your assignments, you will feel much more confident at test time. Above all, avoid last minute cramming.
2. Get plenty of rest. The night before the test, get at least eight hours of sleep. Your brain does a lot of important work while you sleep. Give it time.
3. Eat healthful foods. Fix yourself a nutritious breakfast on the day of the test. If the test is in the afternoon, eat a light lunch. Skip the sugary and salty snacks. Good food aids performance.
4. Watch your self-talk. While preparing for the test, tell yourself that you are ready, relaxed, and confident. Think about how much you have prepared for the test and that you know the material.
5. Do the best you can. Don’t expect perfection. Remember, you are human.
6. Be on time. Get up early on the day of the test. Give yourself plenty of time to get ready so you don’t have to rush. The key is to stay calm and relaxed, which is almost impossible when you are running late.
7. Visualize success. Frequently picture yourself calmly and confidently taking tests, easily remembering what you know and answering questions correctly. Be sure to do this just before any test.
8. Review the direction carefully.
9. If time permits, review your test for any careless mistakes before turning it in.
10. Unless you are penalized for wrong answers, make an educated guess. Don’t leave any questions blank.
Information obtained from:
Davis, L., Sirotowitz, S., & Parker, H. (1997). Study strategies made easy: A practical plan for school success. Plantation, FL: Specialty Press, Inc.
O’Brien, L. (1999). How to get good grades in ten easy steps. Dayton, OH: Woodburn Press
Palomares, S., & Schilling, D. (2010). Less student stress: More school success. Austin, TX: Pro-ed, Inc.
Handout: