Organizational/ Study Skills

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Organizational/ Study Skills
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Organization Skills

• Goals of organization
• How to become organized
• Time Management

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The Organized Student

• Can find what he/she needs when he/she needs it
• Doesnt carry everything he/she owns in his/her
  book bag
• Can identify everything that needs to be
  brought home and returned
• Can locate completed assignments and turn them
  in on time
• Can study more efficiently because he/she
  knows
• when tests are scheduled and how much time is
  needed to prepare
• can locate class notes/ handouts and study
  guides

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• The Disorganized Student
• Frequently loses papers
• Doesnt hand in assignments
• Has a backpack full of crumpled paper and
  stuff
• Leaves everything for the last minute
• Disrupts home life with frantic searches, late
  night help requests, meltdowns, emergency
  phone calls
• Counts any time spent doing anything related to
  school as study time.

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What are your goals as a parent?

• Working with your child is tricky. Dont make
  the tasks personal and negative. Stay focused!
• Is this the time to introduce some basic
  principles of organizing or to discuss school?
• Is your goal to help your child put papers in
  the correct folder or argue about the grades on
  those papers?

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Where should they be organized?

• School
• Desk
• Folders
• Home
• Place to do homework with supplies available
• Place to file papers/ projects, etc.
• Time Management
• How long an assignment takes
• Planning a schedule for completing tasks

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How do I start?

• This is a PROCESS that will require adjustments
  along the way.
• Allow your child to be the decision maker in
  the process while you guide. Ownership means
  acceptance and enthusiasm.
• They are learning to be organized!
  ReinforceReinforceReinforce! But dont nag! ?

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Bookbag

• Clean it out! Throw it away! Remove anything
  not school related!
• Add a luggage tag with general information in
  case the bag is lost.
• Add a luggage tag with a list of those items
  they MUST bring home every day!
• Go through the bookbag on a regular schedule
  with your child.
• Consistency!!! They will imitate your
  actions!!!

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At Home

• Homework station Have a portable box with any
  supplies your child needs to complete assignments
  (i.e. calculator, dictionary, glue, pencils,
  etc.)
• Filing System Have a portable box where your
  child can file needed papers at home this can
  include extra curricular!
• Portfolio Have a portable box where your
  child can file those special papers
• Regularly sort through your boxes to throw out
  old papers, replace supplies, etc.

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Time Management

• Many children do not understand time
• 750 is 10 before 800 but most children cannot
  tell you this
• Many children do not realize how long 1 minute
  is because they hear In a Minute many many
  times in their lives! ? (guilty)
• Start using a digital clock and an analog clock
  at home
• Use a timer to prove Ill be ready in five
  minutes!

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• Children need to see time move not just flash
  to the next digit. (Timetimer)
• Two weeks of calendar time does not really mean
  14 days to do a project. What about football
  practice? Sunday dinner with grandma? Dance
  recital?
• Have a calendar visible for academic and
  personal events!!!
• Allow them the opportunity to see how to create
  a balanced schedule that allows them to get all
  things accomplished.

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Resources used for Organizational Skills
Training

• The Organized Student
• By Donna Goldberg
• 14 at most stores
• www.organizedstudent.com
• www.timetimer.com

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Study Skills

• Learning Strategies
• Tips for Studying at home

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Recognize that Children Learn in Different Ways

• Visual Learners
• Students learn best when they can see what
  theyre learning.
• Auditory Learners
• Students learn best when they hear what theyre
  learning. They could probably say the answerbut
  cant always write it down.
• Kinesthetic Learners
• Students learn best through their bodies. When
  they have to sit still, their brains seem to go
  to sleep.

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Learning/ Study Strategies for various Learning
Styles

• Visual Learners
• Sit near the front of the class to see the board
• Take class notes to review later
• Add pictures and charts to class notes to help
  remember information
• Reread information
• Create Flash cards to help study
• Write lists of spelling words and post them
• Put up a map of the country with capitals
  highlighted
• Make time lines of important dates
• Draw pictures or diagrams of what theyre trying
  to learn
• Auditory Learners
• Sit in the class where one can hear well and
  focus on what the teacher is saying
• Read notes, study guides, and/or textbooks out
  loud several times.
• Create a poem, song, rhyme, or rap to help
  remember the facts
• Record important information on a tape recorder
  and play back later
• Repeat spelling words aloud

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• Kinesthetic Learners
• Use puppets or other characters to retell the
  important facts in studying information
• Draw pictures, sing, or act out information to
  learn
• Pretend to write the information in the air
• Practice the information by writing it with
  sidewalk chalk, with finger paints, or shaving
  cream
• Move around while studying
• Read while standing up
• Act out a lesson from history

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Learning Styles Inventory

• Mark each answer with either a T (True) or F
  (False)
• ____1. I need to be reminded often to do my
  schoolwork or other responsibilities.
• ____2. I enjoy listening to other people talk.
• ____3. I can appreciate objects or things
  better when I can touch or handle them.
• ____4. I forget to do things I need to do.
• ____5. I would rather read than listen to
  someone tell me about a topic.
• ____6. I need to feel the difference between a
  peach skin and nectarine skin in order to
  identify them.
• ____7. I like to wander around while I study.
• ____8. I like to learn by listening.
• ____9. I can remember numbers better when I
  trace them with my fingers.
• ____10. I learn well when someone tells me about
  the topic.
• ____11. I love to watch T.V.
• ____12. I find it easy to sit in one place for a
  long time.
• ____13. I would rather go to school in the
  morning than in the afternoon, if I could choose.
• ____14. I like people to talk to me.
• ____15. I learn best by looking at things.
• ____16. I dont need to be reminded to do what I
  need to do.
• ____17. I usually cant sit in one place for a
  long time.
• ____18. I study best in the morning.

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Resources used for Study Skills Training

• Creative Approaches for Counseling Individual
  Children
• www.parent-institute.com

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Motivate your kids to want to Study and get
Organized!

• 25 Tips of ways to Motivate your children

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25 ways to Motivate Children

• Teach children to set goals for themselves.
• Celebrate each success. Rememberkids who feel
  successful in one area are more willing to try to
  learn something else.
• Talk about schoolwork every day.
• Ask your child questions about the school day.
  Try to be specific What was the funniest thing
  that happened in school today? What story did
  you read? Then really listen to the answers.
  When parents show an interest in schoolwork, kids
  pay more attention so they can share their
  experiences.
• Recognize Success.
• Store awards, ribbons, honor roll certificates
  and photos of school events in photo albums.
  When you put something in the album, talk with
  your child about how proud you are of their
  accomplishment. Occasionally, take out the book
  to show grandparents or other relatives. When
  your kids are having a bad day, encourage them to
  look through their books to remember past
  successes.

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• Remind your child that he/ she can.
• Post success papers in the home visible for the
  entire family to see.
• Reward your child with your time.
• If your child has done something special, let her
  choose an activity for the whole family to
  enjoya picnic, a favorite video, etc.
• Motivate your child to write more.
• Use an inexpensive chalkboard or a dry erase
  board to motivate your child to write more. Have
  them use it to write tasks and check off when
  tasks are completed.
• Catch your child being good.
• The most powerful motivator you can give your
  child is your undivided attention. The time you
  spend listening and talking with your child will
  make him feel good about himselfand encourage
  him to do his best.
• Help your child learn to set long-range goals
• Studies show that unmotivated children tend to
  live in the present. They ask, Why are we
  learning this? When will we ever use it?
• Motivated students know that present actions
  affect their futures. They are willing to work
  hard nowto enjoy success later.

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• Help your child learn to break large jobs into
  smaller, achievable tasks.
• When kids feel a task is impossible, they wont
  be motivated to try. Have your child write the
  steps down to achieving a goal, post the list and
  check them off. As your child completes each
  step, shell gain confidence and motivation.
• Show your appreciation.
• Children try harder when they know their parents
  appreciate their hard work.
• Teach your child positive self-talk.
• Take a tip from the Little Engine That Could,
  who repeated, I think I can, I think I can.
  When your child has his own mountains to climb,
  teach him to tell himself over and over that he
  can do it.
• Encourage your child to take part in an
  after-school activity.
• Research shows that kids who see themselves as
  successful in other areas also feel motivated to
  be a success in the classroom.
• Help your child see the progress hes making.
• Get out an old favorite book and say, Remember
  when you had trouble reading this book? Engage
  your child in the conversation. Ask him to tell
  you what hes learned that he didnt know
  yesterdayor last weekor last month.
• Encourage your childs creative problem-solving.
• Help your child come up with a list of problems
  that need solutions. Choose one problem from the
  list. Brainstorm solutions. List everything (no
  matter how silly it may seem). Choose one
  solution to try. Ask questions that may help
  solve the problem. Just a little encouragement
  can motivate your child to see problems as
  stimulating challenges, and to learn to use
  creativity, too.

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• Keep track of every book your child finishes to
  motivate reading.
• Write the name of each book on a card, and
  display them on your childs bedroom wall. Cut
  out circles and have your child create a reading
  caterpillar. Or, write book titles on small
  strips of paper, and make a paper chain.
• Point out role models to your child.
• As your child learns about the traits that made
  others successful, he can begin to adopt those
  same success patterns in his own life.
• Play Beat the Clock.
• For any task that causes your child to stall.
  Give your child a reasonable time limit to
  complete the job. (Ask him for his thoughts on
  how much time he thinks hell need). Then set a
  timer and encourage him to see if he can finish
  before it rings. Be sure to praise your child
  for a job well done.
• Help your child compete against herself.
• Use a stopwatch to see how much time it takes for
  your child to perform a specific task. Post that
  time on the refrigerator. The next day, see if
  she can set a new personal record.
• Teach your child to create positive mental
  pictures of success.
• For example, say, Imagine your teacher saying
  its time for the spelling test. See yourself
  feeling confident because youve studied all the
  words. Hear her pronouncing each word, and see
  yourself writing it correctly. Then see the A
  on your paper.
• Focus on success.
• List 10 of your childs successes this week.
  List 10 of your own. Post the list where your
  both can see it.

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• Listen to the messages...
• You pass on to your child. If your attitude
  about work is, I hate Mondays, dont be
  surprised if your child isnt motivated to get up
  for school after the weekend. If you say, Ill
  do that later, your child will probably put
  things off until the last possible second.
• Teach your child to save dessert for last.
• If he has a school subject thats especially
  challenging, have him begin his homework with
  that subject, saving his favorite for last.
• Share your own excitement with your child.
• Tell your child about what makes you happy. Let
  your child share your love. Parents who get
  excited about learning new things have children
  who get excited, too.
• Help your child see something he can be proud
  ofeven in defeat.
• If your child got a poor grade on a spelling
  test, compliment him for a difficult work he did
  spell correctly.
• Praise your child.
• The best praise is deserved, specific, and
  sincere. Instead of just saying, Youre a
  wonderful kid, try talking about specific things
  your child does especially well.

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• Parents should always follow the Motto,
• BE HERE NOW
• when you are with your child.
• Dont worry about the bills that have to be paid.
  
• If the dirty dishes in the sink bother you, look
  the other way.
• Give your child the same undivided attention you
  would give your boss or a co-worker!
• Your job as a parent is the most important job
  you will ever have in this lifetime!

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The End