Study Skills

Homework Help

Sometimes students need a little extra help understanding their assignments or just a quiet place to concentrate and work.  That is especially true this year.  With the increase of in-person instruction time comes more opportunities to receive help.  Ripley High School will once again offer FREE after school tutoring! There is a math teacher and one other teacher there everyday.  This is a great resource for our students!  Please try to take advantage of this opportunity if you find your child could use a little extra support.   They do not need to sign up.  They simply make their way to the library after the dismissal bell rings.  

There is also an excellent free online “tutoring” website I would like to share with you called www.hippocampus.org.  On this site you will find free video tutorials explaining key concepts in core subject areas.  For example; in math you can select “Geometry”, then “Lines and Planes”, and it will show you an 8 minute video explaining this concept.

                                                Study Skills

Homework has always been an issue, and this year students are having to do more school work at home than ever before.  This has not been easy to say the least.  Probably the biggest reason is because there are so many distractions at  home.  It is important to try and eliminate as many distractions as possible when trying to do school work.  Turn off the tv, turn off music, place your phone across the room on “Do not Disturb” or even in another room.  However, it is still so easy and tempting to pick that phone back up.  Well, guess what….there’s an app for that! Or rather several apps for that!  Unplugged, Block Distracting websites, Self-Control to Focus, and Screen Time Self Control just to name a few.  Actually, iphones have an option built in for this as well.  Under settings there is a section called “Screen Time”.  There you can schedule “downtime” and select what functions of the phone will or will not be available during the designated time. 

Time management and Organization

These are important life skills for all people to learn.  They also play a huge role in effective study habits.  Encourage your child to section off their study time into chunks of time.  Then it is time for a 15 minute break. Repeat until all of their homework is finished.  Also, it is recommended that they start with their most difficult class.  It is tempting to put off the more challenging classes until later, however, that is usually not the best option.  Why make something that is hard even harder by doing it when they are tired?  Instead encourage them to work on that difficult class first when they are fresh, rested, and focused.  Of course, what works well for one does not work well for all.  If completing easy or short assignments first gets them motivated to begin then that is fine, as long as they keep working.  Another helpful strategy is to make a to do list.  Have your child make a list, by class, of all their assignments for the week and their due dates.  Once they have made the list they will have a better idea of how much time they will need to spend in each class.  After they complete an assignment they can check it off their list.   This gives them the good feeling of accomplishment! It is also helpful to make sure an assignment is not forgotten or overlooked.