By Suzanne Burns, Learning Specialist, Congressional School
Imagine if your student no longer lost sleep over an upcoming test, or had more time to enjoy fun activities and not in Study . Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your child could enter the classroom knowing she is fully prepared for class? Would you like her to finish projects ahead of time? If any of this sounds appealing to you…read on. By taking a little time to learn some new study strategies, your child can become more successful in many areas of her schoolwork.
There are a variety of good study techniques and ways for students to become more organized. Look at a variety of strategies, and work together with your child to decide which strategy works best. Working together allows for student buy-in, which is critical in order for any new study system to last.
If your student is forgetting to turn in her homework, you might want to take a look at the organization system that she is currently using. Take a trip together to the store and look for pocket folders or binders that can help her to organize her papers more efficiently. Decide together what the new system will be and keep it simple. This might be a three-ring binder, a thirteen pocket accordion binder or individual color-coded folders for each class. Younger students usually manage better with an accordion binder since assignments are contained in one place, are in the correct location, and can be successfully transported between home and school.
Establishing an assignment tracking system can help students stay on top of work that is due. If the assignment notebook has not worked well, perhaps your student needs to try using just one piece of paper each day to record assignments. Large sticky notes can also be useful. Have your student attach one large sticky note to the cover of a book, binder, or worksheet so she can quickly jot assignments down. The most important part is to ensure the assignment is written on something that will make it home.