Study Skills and Organization
by Diane Spicer, M.A.
Today's schools demand much of our students. Often it seems that students are given large amounts of homework that may overwhelm them or leave them frustrated, angry, or depressed. When a student has the skills to organize and feels in control of his schoolwork, both the student's self-esteem and grades often improve.
The first thing a student in middle school through college needs to consider is his daily schedule. Make a schedule with the days written in columns across the top and the hours of the day down the side. Mark off the paper so that it resembles a graph.
The first thing to put into the schedule is sleep. Students need seven to eight hours of sleep every night.
Second, necessary activities such as school, sports, meals, work, appointments, etc. should be scheduled. Most middle school students will need one to one and one-half hours a day for studying. Students in high school usually need two to three hours a day, while college-age students need 25 to 30 hours a week for studying.
Finally, put in recreation or free time - at least an hour a day. Most students will not have to study on Fridays or Saturdays. Use different colored highlighters to highlight the schedule, using yellow for sleep, school, and necessary activities, pink for study time, and green for rest.
When plenty of free time really is visible, the student will feel more in control of his life. This leads to much less procrastination and more efficient use of available time.
The next important thing to organize, after organizing time in the schedule, is the binder. Binders should not be wider than one and one-half inches. Each binder should contain information for a maximum of two classes. Each class should have dividers labeled for five sections: Notes, Handouts, Homework, Tests, and Quizzes.
Some classes might need additional sections such as lab, vocabulary, or others suggested by the teacher. Every night all work should be filed in the appropriate section. Check the backpack nightly!
Be sure to have a three-hole punch at home to use for any papers not already punched. As soon as the homework is finished, it should be immediately filed in the binder. (If you are not going to turn in your homework, why do it? Go play.)
The next most important thing to keep is an accurate record of your homework assignments in a weekly lesson plan book. I especially like the book put out by Elan Publishing Company, edition W101 (www.elanpublish.com).
First, the student should list three names and phone numbers of students from each of his classes - reliable students who will always have the complete homework assignments. There should never be a problem knowing what the assignment is.
Across the top of the assignment book is the day and along the side is the name of the class. Each day the homework for each class is listed. If the there is no homework, write NW. If an assignment sheet is given, transfer the assignments to the weekly assignment book.
Now look at the assignments and number them, usually easiest to hardest. Next to each assignment, write an estimate of how long you expect the assignment will take to complete. When you finish the assignment, cross out your estimate and write the actual time you needed to finish the assignment.
As each student takes responsibility and begins to feel in control of his schoolwork, life in school will become easier and more rewarding. It is important that the student play the major role in determining when to study and knowing how much time is needed. Success breeds success.
About the Author: Diane Spicer, director of Spicer's Learning Center, is in private practice, and teaches organization and study skills to students in Stanford, California.
This electronic newsletter is a publication of the Northern California Branch of The International Dyslexia Association (NCBIDA). If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please send a message to office@dyslexia-ncbida.org with the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject |
