Academics

5 Tips for Success in Western Civ from Blue Wave Anchors

1. Western Civ covers everything from Ancient Greece to WWII: it’s very content-heavy. Give yourself a lot of time to study. Never cram.

   • Your teachers will usually give you broad questions that you should be able to answer by the end of a unit...pay attention to those!!

2. Take organized notes in class! You can get a really good understanding of what your teacher will actually test you on based off of what they say in class. If you don’t understand something that they spend a lot of time talking about, ask!

   • Do NOT write everything down word for word. Organize your notes so that the content makes sense to you later.

3. Try your best to understand concepts and ideas, not just dates/facts. It will help you so much on tests. Your teachers want you to understand the significance of an event. Bigger exams will test your understanding of connections, themes, and concepts.

4. Figure out what study strategies work for you. Always make your own study guides. Someone else’s is not going to help you!

   • On that note: remember that tests in high school are challenging. You will usually have some combination of multiple-choice, short answer, and essay questions.

   • Here are some study strategies that might work for you: Writing out your class notes again by hand, making a list of the most important vocabulary words and concepts, explaining an event/concept to another person, making timelines, and/or watching Crash Course videos.

5. The writing you do for this class will be VERY different from anything you wrote in middle school. Ask your teacher for feedback! Put thought into your thesis; it is the most important part of the essay!! A good thesis statement sets you up for success.

Contact Department Chair Francis Janosco at fjanosco@darienps.org or x. 2203

5 Tips for Success in English 9 from Blue Wave Anchors

1. Back up every single point with good evidence. Read over your essays and think “is this enough to convince someone who never read the book?”

   • There should ALWAYS be more analysis than quoting. Quotes are a way to prove a point, not the point itself.

   • Do NOT quote multiple sentences. Find the most important few words, integrate it into your writing well, and then ANALYZE & EXPLAIN.

   • Be Creative with your thinking! Take risks (as long as you can support your claims)!

2. Always, Always, ALWAYS, annotate as you read. I highly recommend buying your own copy of the book so that you can mark it up! Some teachers might even check for annotations.

   • Do NOT rely on Sparknotes. There is so much important information in the actual text, it will make it more difficult to write the essay, and you will struggle during class discussions. If anything, do the reading, THEN skim the Sparknotes to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

3. Participate, ask questions, and take notes during in-class discussions! Most English teachers will give you a significant grade for participation. It will also help you to understand the books.

   • If someone makes a good point, write it down!

4. Provide only the most important plot points in introductory paragraphs. Make sure your “background information” is relevant to your argument and always triple-check your grammar; these are the easiest points on the rubric.

5. Remember that your teachers are going to start grading you a little harder. It is okay to struggle. Ask questions, go in for help, and read the rubric if you are given one.

5 Tips for Success in Biology from Blue Wave Anchors

1. The biggest challenge in Bio (especially 400) is the amount of content on each test. Read the textbook as many times as it takes to truly understand the material.

   • Give yourself a lot of time to study. Figure out what strategies work for you and in what order.

   • Do you like to memorize vocabulary, then learn the concepts, or do you want to understand concepts first to know where vocabulary words apply?

   • The process of elimination will be your best friend on tests! If you know something is wrong immediately, cross it out.

   • Never leave a question blank. Try your best, or if you really don’t know the answer, guess. You have a 25% chance of getting it right as long as you put an answer down.

2. Graphics are usually useful! If you don’t understand something, look up a diagram or try to make one yourself!

3. Your teachers want to help you! Always go in for extra help. However, don’t wait until the morning before a test. Go in for help before you start studying.

   • Remember that science teachers’ offices are usually in their classrooms.

4. Memorization is really important in science classes, but so are concepts. Try to understand how systems work, how they influence the organism, and what role they play in life.

5. Always take notes and do every worksheet you are given; they are usually helpful!

   • Especially in 400, there will probably be some things that are mentioned in the textbook readings, but not in class. You may still be held accountable for these. Read very closely.

5 Tips for Success in Math from Blue Wave Anchors:

1. Do your OWN homework! Whether or not your teacher checks, a lot of your class time will usually be spent going over it, and you’ll be behind if your worksheet is blank. Writing down the numbers on someone else’s worksheet will not help you do that problem on your own.

   • Some teachers may randomly collect homework or give pop quizzes!

   • Math teachers are really big on partial credit. Always attempt a problem, even if you don’t completely understand how to solve it!

Example: If a question is worth 5 points, and you begin solving it correctly but make a mistake and get the wrong final answer, you will probably get 2,3, or even 4 of the points.

2. Do your study guides! Remember that your teachers choose what is on the study guide. The questions usually resemble the types of questions on the test. If there is something on the study guide that you don’t understand, go in for help ASAP.

3. If you do badly on a test, ask your teacher about their policy on corrections (some teachers may give you a chance to earn credit back). If they don’t allow corrections, ask if they can go over the questions you got wrong with you.

   • This is especially important on quizzes! Remember that in math classes you may have 2 or 3 quizzes leading up to one larger “unit test” with all of the previous material on it.

4. This may seem obvious, but always ask if a calculator will be allowed on the test. If not, don’t do your homework/classwork with one.

5. For geometry students: spend time studying the theorems you learn in class (flashcards may help). Proofs will be nearly impossible if you don’t know them.

5 Tips for Success in World Language from Blue Wave Anchors:

1. Conjugations are difficult, but they will get you far. Spend time studying those before a test.

2. You’re going to be tested on grammar, writing, speaking, reading, and listening, so don’t limit your prep to just one.

3. Speak as much Spanish/French/Mandarin as you can in class! This will help gain participation points and, more importantly, will help you learn.

4. Don’t be afraid to be corrected! Your teachers know that learning a language is hard and will appreciate the effort you put into speaking it.

5. Always think about how to get around words you don’t know. Don’t say it in English. There is almost always a way to say something in a different way.

Physical Education & Health

Contact Department Chair Chris Manfredonia at cmanfredonia@darienps.org or x. 2263