Back to School Tips for Students

With a few weeks of summer left, we are somewhat caught between the last days of our relaxing vacations and the hectic scrambling to prepare for another shool year.  Many parents are bogged down with paperwork, school shopping lists, and the impending fall extracurriculr activities.  In addition to parents organizing and preparing, students should be getting ready for a successful school year as well.  Here are some suggestions to start the school year off right:

1.  Take control of organizing your supplies.  Even though Mom or Dad may be buying your school supplies, you should be making sure that they are put exactly where they need to be.  Notebooks, binders, and folders should be organized according to your specific classes.  Pens, pencils, and other such items should be in a secure pouch where they are easily accessible.

2.  Get an agenda that works for you.  There are many tasks and assignments to keep track of once school starts.  You need to make sure you have a daily and monthly calander to organize short term and long term events.  Whether it is a paper agenda or an app on your phone, keeping track of your responsibilities is essential.

3.  Start adjusting your sleep habits a week or two before school starts.  I know we all enjoy sleeping in on summer mornings, but that early alarm is not far away.  A bit at a time, start going to bed a little earlier and waking up a little earlier.  This will help your body get back into the routine of early school mornings and school nights.  Also, start to get back into your school morning routine.  Whether you shower in the morning before school, eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast, or need to plan for other siblings getting ready for school as well, start to get back into these habits before school starts.

4.  Make a list of goals for this school year.  Your goals can be academic, social, athletic, or many other kinds.  Maybe you want to make the play this year or maintain a "A" average in most of your classes.  Whatever your goals may be, writing them down and developing strategies to reach these goals will give you a good head start for your successful school year.

5.  Learn what type of learner you are.  There are many different ways to learn, and everyone is different.  There are three main types of learners:  Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic.  Knowing what type of learner you are can help improve your study habits and help you become a better student.  Each learning type has specific strategies to help make students more effecient in school and improve studying at home.

Need a little help getting organized for this school year?  Maybe you could use some helpful guidance.  Here at Think Tutoring, we offer a comprehensive Study Skills program.  Our lesson topics include:  Note-Taking, Learning Styles and Memory Aides, Organization, Test Preparation, Test Taking, and more.  Many students benefit from getting a kick start to their school year by reviewing Study Skills strategies.  A prepared student is a successful student.

Developing your Study Skills: Create a Test Attack Strategy

Summer is the perfect time to master your study skills.  Without the stress of school work, homework, sports, clubs, and various extra-curricular activities, summertime gives students the opportunity to come up with a test attack strategy.

5 Strategies to Improve your Test Scores

1.        Know your Learning Style

Think Tutoring’s study skills program allows students the opportunity to find out whether they are auditory, kinesthetic, or visual learners.  When you have found out your learning style, you can create a more effective study session.

 2.       Create a Homework and Study Schedule

Managing your time is necessary to improve your test scores.  Cramming is the worst thing a student can do before an exam.  Creating a 5 day test preparation plan is your ticket to success.

3.       Learn the Cornell System of Note-taking

If it takes you three hours to create flashcards for a test, then you are wasting your time.  Your teacher will not care if you have a stack of flashcards ready before the exam.  Your teacher wants to see if you have mastered the content.  The Cornell System of Note-taking allows you to make instant flashcards with your notes and actively study.

4.       Use Technology to your Advantage

Websites and apps such as Facebook and Twitter are designed to waste a student’s time.  However, apps such as Quizlet, Evernote, and EasyStudy can help you to organize your time and create an effective study strategy.

 5.       Use a Mind Map

The day of the test has arrived and you are anxious.  Create a mind map.  It is one page of making categories and linking the information together.  If you can do this before an exam, then take a deep breath.  You got this!

Think Tutoring offers both study skills workshops and customized study skills sessions.  Summer is the perfect time to work on remembering information, organization, time management, note-taking, and test-taking strategies.  Call 973-593-0050 for more information.  We would love to help!

Building a Strong Vocabulary

Developing a strong vocabulary helps with communication, comprehension, and reading ability.   There are many different strategies parents can use to build their children’s vocabulary, even during common, everyday activities.

• Converse with your child frequently.  Don’t be afraid to throw some “bigger,” more complicated words into your speech.
• Encourage children to ask questions about words they don’t know.  Explain the words with proper pronunciation, definition, and even an example or two.
• Have your children tell stories, and ask prompting questions to foster detailed explanations within the stories.
• Play word games.  There are the traditional favorites like “Scrabble” and “Boggle,” but with the amount of educational technology we have at our fingertips, word game apps are a beneficial way to go too.
• Read! Read! Read!  Read to your children, and have your children read to you.  The more children read and hear new words, the more likely they are to use those words in speech and writing.
• Relate new words to ones your children already know.  This helps put words into groups and helps children make connections in the world around them.
• Correct mistakes carefully.  If children mispronounce or misuse words, correct the children in a positive way.  It is easy for a child to feel embarrassed when making such a mistake, so it is helpful to praise your child for attempting to use expanded vocabulary.

At Think Tutoring, we use many different resources to improve children’s vocabulary.  We encourage students to hear, read, write, and speak newly learned words every day.  We always strive to reinforce an expanding vocabulary, and hope students take it with them into their daily lives.