Study Skills are skills that students use to help them learn and remember information for quizzes and tests. 

Effective studying is an essential component of academic success, as it enables students to absorb and retain information, understand complex concepts, and perform well on assignments and assessments.

1. Your student gets anxious or nervous a lot right before tests or quizzes.

2. Your student doesn't feel very confident when it's time to take the tests or quizzes.

3. Your student doesn't remember much information after they spend time studying.

4. It's hard for your student to stay focused when they are trying to study.

5. Your student doesn't do as well as they think they should on tests or quizzes.

Students can use index cards to make flashcards. Students can make flashcards for any content-specific information. On one side of the card has the word, and the other side of the card has a definition and examples.

For Tests/Quizzes: Students can use the flashcards they make to quiz themselves or their peers. A couple of ways we do this are:

• Match-up: Using 2 index cards, one having the word and the other card having the definition, students play a match-up game to match the word to the correct definition.

• Word/definition recall: One student asks their study peer(s). What is the definition of this word…? Or give the definition or an example, and the study peer must say the word that matches the definition/example.

Make studying FUN! Kids LOVE playing games. There are so many apps that students can use to review and practice learned concepts in all subject areas.

Kahoot is a fun platform to create quiz games, or you can play already created quizzes to review content. It’s really engaging, encourages all to participate, involves teamwork, and critical thinking.

Kahoot: https://kahoot.com/

If you don’t have the devices for digital games, get some hands-on games for students to play in different subject areas. You can play these games during a study session in class. Better yet, you can even have students design and create games that review learned concepts to present and play with your class.

Encourage your student to keep papers from one subject separate from those in other classes. Multiple folders or binders that are different and/or color-coded are helpful when students have multiple subjects and/or classes.

Students should be encouraged to have all of the supplies they may need (pencils, erasers, glue sticks, crayons, etc.) all in one place, such as a pencil box. Many teachers encourage students to keep these supplies at school. If that is the case, make sure that these same supplies are available at home.

Encourage your student to write down homework assignments and upcoming tests. This allows you and your student to stay on top of when things are due and gives plenty of time for preparation and completion.

• Privacy: A space where students can focus without interruptions from others.

• Minimal distractions: Avoid areas with loud noises, television, or high traffic.

• Comfort: A comfortable chair and desk to prevent physical discomfort during long study sessions.

• Organization: Keep your study area clean and organized with designated storage for supplies.

• Lighting: Good quality lighting, ideally with natural light if possible, to reduce eye strain.

Potential study spaces at home:

• Home office

• Bedroom corner

• Library nook

• Kitchen table

Potential benefits:

Fidget toys can provide tactile stimulation, helping some students channel energy and improve focus by providing a quiet, non-distracting movement to engage with while studying.

Important considerations:

• Disruptive behavior: Using a fidget toy should not be disruptive to others in a study environment.

• Individual needs: Not everyone will benefit from fidget toys, and it's important to assess if they are aiding focus or becoming a distraction.

• Teacher approval: Check with your student's teacher or principal before using fidget toys in class to ensure it's permitted at school.

Encourage students to ask for help. If students start falling behind, they may be afraid or embarrassed to ask for help, and then only fall further behind. Teachers are generally available through ClassDojo, school email, or school phone calls. Let them know if your student is having difficulty with certain subjects or assignments. Make your student's education a cooperative process.

If students "learn by seeing", then...

• Students learn best by watching a demonstration.

• Students like it when people show them how to do something instead of just telling them.

• Students like colors and pictures.

• Students close their eyes and picture things when they are trying to remember.

Example: Montana learns how to tie her shoes by watching her older brother show her how to do it.

Visual Learner Study Skills...

• Use flashcards when they are studying.

• Use different colored pens/pencils/highlighters to take notes.

• Doodle or draw pictures of what they are studying.

• Read from their textbooks.

• Sit in the front of the class so that they can see what the teacher is doing.

• Study someplace where they won't be distracted by things that they see.

• Watch videos on the subject they are learning.

If students "learn by doing", then...

• The easiest way for students to learn is by doing things for themselves.

• Students might rather work on creating a project than having to write a paper.

• Students become good at things after only doing them once.

• It can be hard for students to sit and listen in class for a long time.

Example: Asher learns how to tie his shoes by doing it himself.

Tactile/Hands-On Learner Study Skills...

• Do something active while they are studying.

• If students can, stand up while they work or study.

• Create fancy flashcards.

• If possible, ask the teacher if students would be able to demonstrate for them.

• Study someplace where they won't be distracted by things that they can touch.

• Write and act out a play about the topic they are learning.

If students "learn by listening", then...

• Students learn best by listening to others' instructions.

• It is easy for them to remember things that they said out loud.

• Students work through problems by thinking and saying things out loud.

• Students like joining class discussions.

Example: Kara learns how to tie her shoes just by listening to her brother tell her the steps she needs to take.

Auditory Learner Study Skills...

• Work out problems out loud.

• Make-up songs to help them remember the information that they are learning.

• Find someone to study with them, and study the information together out loud.

• Sit in the front of the class so that they can hear the teacher.

• Study someplace where they won't be distracted by things that they hear.

Email: emilyarmentrout@burke.k12.nc.us

Phone: 828-437-5785

You can also message me on ClassDojo 

Website: https://sites.google.com/burke.k12.nc.us/mull-school-counselor/welcome