Staying in Touch - Senior Students

It is important to maintain a constant link with all of your subjects in the HSC year. You should be ware of when assignments are due, when you need to research and when you need to be writing. By regularly making yourself familiar with what is currently happening in each class and by maintaining an up to date assignment/assessment task schedule you can reduce stress and stay on top of your work.

Here's what you do

You must stay in touch 4 times per week. Nobody chooses to work if they always wait for a day when they feel like it. You must be disciplined and lock in 4 days a week to sit down and do this exercise. Remember Saturday and Sunday are days of the week and are therefore available time. 

The Routine

Write the subjects you have on a list in any order, you must repeat the first subject you choose on the bottom of the list eg:

Day 1

Mathematics                       5 mins

Biology                             5 mins

Japanese                         5 mins

Chemistry                         5 mins

English                              5 mins

English Extension           5 mins

Mathematics                   2 mins 30 seconds

How Much Time

Now you must spend 5 minutes on each subject..... no more. You check the assignment schedule for that subject and ensure it is written on your wall planner (yes... you have one of these). You re-read class notes. You make a mind map of the current topic. Draft some questions to ask tomorrow. Make a flash card. The choices are yours. 

5 minutes of actual time engaged in work. Start your time after you have all your notes ready and are set to go.

The purpose of the 5 minute blocks is to get in touch with what you need to do (Homework and assignments), what you have to do (Improve weaknesses in your knowledge of course material) and what you would like to do. (Activities to expand your knowledge of a course beyond what the curriculum provides)

To finish you now do an extra two and a half minutes on Mathematics.

The next "Stay in Touch" Day

The next day you study you put Biology at the top of your list and shuffle the subjects up one position eg:

Day 2

Biology                             5 mins

Japanese                         5 mins

Chemistry                         5 mins

English                              5 mins

English Extension           5 mins

Mathematics                   5 mins

Biology                              2 mins 30 seconds

How Much Time is Available

Using 5 minutes per subject plus the bonus two and a half minutes means that your total "stay in touch" study session will take around 40 mins. The remainder of your time is available to do homework, extension, revision, assessment tasks making flash cards, revising syllabi dot points... and so on.

The next step is to add extra minutes to your revision time. You might aim to work for 10 minutes per subject each night/morning/day. This would mean just over an hour of study.

Staying in Touch - Junior Students

It is important to maintain a constant link with all of your subjects at school. You should be aware of when assignments are due, when you need to research and when you need to be writing. By regularly making yourself familiar with what is currently happening in each class and by maintaining an up to date assignment/assessment task schedule you can reduce stress and stay on top of your work.

Here's what you do

You must stay in touch once per week. Nobody chooses to work if they always wait for a day when they feel like it. You must be disciplined and lock in a time to sit down and do this exercise. 

The Routine

Write the subjects you have on a list in any order, you must repeat the first subject you choose on the bottom of the list eg:

Year 7

    Mathematics                         3 mins

English. 3 mins

Science                                  3 mins

Ag                                          3 mins

Geog/Hist                             3 mins

TAS                                        3 mins

French.                                  3 mins

PE       3 mins

Art       3 mins

How Much Time

Now you must spend 3 minutes on each subject..... no more. You check the assignment schedule for that subject and ensure it is written on your wall planner (yes... you have one of these). You re-read class notes. You make a mind map of the current topic. Draft some questions to ask tomorrow. Make a flash card. The choices are yours. 

3 minutes of actual time engaged in work. Start your time after you have all your notes ready and are set to go.

The purpose of the 3 minute blocks is to get in touch with what you need to do (Homework and assignments), what you have to do (Improve weaknesses in your knowledge of course material) and what you would like to do. (Activities to expand your knowledge of a course beyond what the curriculum provides)

How Much Time is Available

Using 3 minutes per subject means that your total "stay in touch" study session will take around 27 mins. The remainder of your time is available to do homework, extension, revision, assessment tasks making flash cards, revising syllabi dot points... and so on.