Tag Archive for ‘students’
Essay Exams
I love these college sites that offer study skill tips along with test taking strategies. Check out UNC’s Writing Center for great techniques on how to write an essay for an exam. Many students I work with, have difficulty formulating their ideas and then putting it on paper. If only they could dictate their answers!
Unfortunately, many schools will not let students take tests orally. ( That’s another topic to discuss in the future…)
Anyway, check out [...]
Disorganized College Students
Recently I’ve had an influx of calls from parents of college students looking for help for their child. It seems that their college student failed a few classes, couldn’t get assignments into the professor on time, and waited til the last minute to start studying for finals. Though disappointed, not one parent I spoke to was surprised by what happened to their child during the semester. From my conversation with the parent, the student has [...]
Index cards and tests
When your disorganized child is taking a test, especially a long one, encourage him to use a 5×7 index card to cover up the test questions below. As your child answers questions, move the card down to show each question at a time. Covering up the other questions will make the test seem visually less overwhelming and will help him to focus on one question at a time.
Brain Dumping
Before your child starts a test, tell her to turn the test over and do some ‘brain dumping”. What? Yes, brain dumping. This strategy instructs the student to write down the information she has been storing in her brain about the test topic before the test. This will reduce the student’s anxiety about remembering certain material for the tests. Explain to your child that by brain dumping, she is giving her memory some free space [...]
Study Guides on the Web
One of my clients showed me the way to classzone.com. This is a great study guide site for kids in middle school and high school. McDougal Littel publish text books and offer additional study guides and interactive study programs for students who use their books. Don’t worry if your school uses different text books; you can always use this site as a study resource in addition to your text.
Also for all the NY [...]
Study Breaks
“Ma, just 5 more minutes, the show is almost over!” Break times…moms cringe at the thoughts of bringing their child back to task after a break. Negotiating a realistic break time with your child give him a sense of responsibility in the decision making process. Here are some guidelines I use with my clients
Type of Student
Minutes / work session
Minutes/break
Elementary
15
3-5
Elementary school with learning/attention issues
10
3-5
Middle School
20-30
3-5 (a few more if needed)
Preparing for exams- Flash Cards
For some students, final exams are here. A great way to memorize facts, names, dates and foreign language is to use index cards. I always recommend using colored index cards. For example, use pink cards for feminine words and blue cards for the masculine words when studying foreign languages. Using the colored cards will also act as another cue to recall the word. Remember to use a different color for each subject.
A great technique in [...]
Essay Exams
I love these college sites that offer study skills along with test taking strategies for their students. Check out UNC’s Writing Center for great techniques on how to write an essay for an exam. Many disorganized students I work with, have difficulty formulating their ideas and then putting it on paper. If only they could dictate their answers! Unfortunately, many schools will not let students take tests orally. ( That’s another [...]