General Strategies
· STUDY AS YOU GO. Cramming a few days or the night before the test does NOT WORK because there is too much information.
· Do your homework the night it is assigned. MAKE A LIST OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THINGS YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND and ask about them next class. Review your lecture notes and notebook as part of your homework. Incorporate study strategies from the list below as part of your homework. Be prepared for a quiz at any time. Preparing for quizzes on a regular basis helps you learn as you go and build knowledge for tests.
· KNOW YOUR VOCAB! The better you know your vocabulary, the more you will understand.
· CHECK THE CLASS WEBPAGE (https://sites.google.com/opusd.org/graves/home) if you are not sure about the HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT.
· Turn your homework in on time.
· Attend homework club.
· Pay attention in class and take careful notes.
· Ask thoughtful questions in class.
· Find study strategies that work best for you. Use strategies from the options below or develop your own. Engage in your study strategies as a part of your regular homework routine.
· Keep a log of the study strategies you use and the time you spend studying. If you are not making progress and improving your test scores, adjust the types of strategies you are using and/or the amount of time spent studying.
Specific Study Strategies
Many study strategies are listed below. If you know your preferred learning modality (visual, verbal, kinesthetic), choose strategies from that category. If you are not sure, you may want to try strategies from each category to see what works best for you. Often a combination of strategies is helpful.
No matter what strategies you choose, start preparing at least one week before the test.
Visual Learners
(like to SEE things and spatially organize materials/information)
1) Reorganize your lecture notes or textbook readings into a summary OUTLINE.
2) Reorganize your lecture notes into paragraph form so that the information “tells a story.”
3) Reorganize information from your notebook using a VISUAL GRAPHIC ORGANIZER such as a “Bubble Map” or a “Tree Map.”
4) Use index cards to make flash cards of vocab words and concepts from the textbook.
5) Create a CHART or TABLE to categorize information from lecture notes or textbook readings.
6) SKETCH a DIAGRAM or DRAW a picture to reinforce information or concepts.
7) Use the INTERNET to look up PICTURES, ANIMATIONS, or VIDEOS about vocabulary, information or concepts (get parent permission and follow Internet safety rules).
8) Make a POSTER using pictures, graphic organizers and text that summarize main concepts.
9) Find free websites that allow you to create crossword puzzles or games with your vocabulary words and then play the games or solve the puzzles (get parent permission and follow Internet safety rules).
10)Access the online version of your textbook and look through the supplemental materials available online (get parent permission and follow Internet safety rules).
Verbal Learners
(like to SAY things, discuss concepts, and interact with others while learning)
1) SAY your vocab words and definitions aloud.
2) Find a partner to call out the vocabulary terms and then you SAY or EXPLAIN the definitions.
3) Have someone ASK you about concepts that you have highlighted in your lecture notes and you EXPLAIN the concepts to them.
4) Make up a song or a “jingle” that explains a concept or contains important information. SING your song out loud to anyone who will listen (even if it’s just you).
5) Access the online version of your textbook and look through the supplemental materials available online (get parent permission and follow Internet safety rules). You can also access the AUDIO version of the textbook online and have the computer read the textbook aloud as you follow along in your own textbook.
6) Organize a study group of responsible peers. Have each person create a list of 10 potential test questions and answers. Sit in a circle and have a person SAY a question out loud. The person to their right has to try to SAY the answer. If they can’t answer, then the person to their right tries. Once the question has been answered, another person can be chosen to SAY a different question and so on.
7) Organize a study group of responsible peers. Have each person come prepared to PRESENT information to the group about a major concept. DISCUSS and clarify the concepts as a group to make sure everyone understands. Take turns EXPLAINING concepts to each other.
8) Reorganize your lecture notes into paragraph form so that the information “tells a story.” READ the story ALOUD to someone else (or to your pet).
9) Use the Internet to look up VIDEOS about vocabulary, information or concepts (get parent permission and follow Internet safety rules).
Kinesthetic Learners
(like to DO things that are “hands-on” and relate concepts to personal experiences)
1) Use any of the strategies listed above and schedule regular breaks for MOVEMENT (for example: alternate 20 minutes of studying with a 5 minute break for movement or a preferred activity). Also, try to think of personal EXPERIENCES you have had that somehow relate to the concepts you are studying.
2) Use any of the strategies listed in the other categories and add MOVEMENT or MANIPULATIVES (objects used to model a concept or idea).
a) add hand MOTIONS or GESTURES to represent parts of an explanation for a concept
b) use your entire body to ACT out or MODEL a concept
c) find objects around your house to use as manipulatives and MODEL concepts
3) Split concepts up into small chunks of information. Write each chunk on a separate index card. Mix up the cards and then try to PLACE the cards in order to correctly explain the concept (this works really well for events that have a time sequence or happen in a certain order such as the life cycle of a star).
4) Use the Internet to look up pictures, animations or VIDEOS about vocabulary, information or concepts (get parent permission and follow Internet safety rules).
5) Access the online version of your textbook and look through the supplemental materials.
6) Find free websites that allow you to create crossword puzzles or games with your vocabulary words and then play the games or solve the puzzles (get parent permission and follow Internet safety rules).