Organizational/ Study Skills

1. Organizational/ Study Skills

2. Organization Skills Goals of organization How to become organized Time Management

3. The Organized Student • Can find what he/she needs when he/she needs it • Doesn’t carry everything he/she owns in his/her book bag • Can identify everything that needs to be brought home and returned • Can locate completed assignments and turn them in on time • Can study more efficiently because he/she knows: • when tests are scheduled and how much time is needed to prepare • can locate class notes/ handouts and study guides

4. The Disorganized Student • Frequently loses papers • Doesn’t hand in assignments • Has a backpack full of crumpled paper and “stuff” • Leaves everything for the last minute • Disrupts home life with frantic searches, late night help requests, meltdowns, “emergency” phone calls • Counts any time spent doing anything related to school as “study time.”

5. What are your goals as a parent? • Working with your child is tricky. Don’t make the tasks personal and negative. Stay focused! • Is this the time to introduce some basic principles of organizing or to discuss school? • Is your goal to help your child put papers in the correct folder or argue about the grades on those papers?

6. Where should they be organized? • School • Desk • Folders • Home • Place to do homework with supplies available • Place to file papers/ projects, etc. • Time Management • How long an assignment takes • Planning a schedule for completing tasks

7. How do I start? • This is a PROCESS that will require adjustments along the way. • Allow your child to be the decision maker in the process while you guide. Ownership means acceptance and enthusiasm. • They are learning to be organized! Reinforce…Reinforce…Reinforce! But don’t nag! 

8. Bookbag • Clean it out! Throw it away! Remove anything not school related! • Add a luggage tag with general information in case the bag is lost. • Add a luggage tag with a list of those items they MUST bring home every day! • Go through the bookbag on a regular schedule with your child. • Consistency!!! They will imitate your actions!!!

9. AtHome • Homework station – Have a portable box with any supplies your child needs to complete assignments (i.e. calculator, dictionary, glue, pencils, etc.) • Filing System – Have a portable box where your child can file needed papers at home; this can include extra curricular! • Portfolio – Have a portable box where your child can file those “special” papers • Regularly sort through your boxes to throw out old papers, replace supplies, etc.

10. TimeManagement • Many children do not understand time • 7:50 is 10 before 8:00 but most children cannot tell you this • Many children do not realize how long 1 minute is because they hear “In a Minute” many many times in their lives!  (guilty) • Start using a digital clock and an analog clock at home • Use a timer to prove “I’ll be ready in five minutes!”

11. Children need to see time “move” not just flash to the next digit. (Timetimer) • Two weeks of calendar time does not really mean 14 days to do a project. What about football practice? Sunday dinner with grandma? Dance recital? • Have a calendar visible for academic and personal events!!! • Allow them the opportunity to see how to create a balanced schedule that allows them to get all things accomplished.

12. Resources used for Organizational Skills Training: • The Organized Student • By Donna Goldberg • $14 at most stores • www.organizedstudent.com • www.timetimer.com

13. Study Skills Learning Strategies Tips for Studying at home

14. Recognize that Children Learn in Different Ways • Visual Learners • Students learn best when they can see what they’re learning. • Auditory Learners • Students learn best when they hear what they’re learning. They could probably say the answer…but can’t always write it down. • Kinesthetic Learners • Students learn best through their bodies. When they have to sit still, their brains seem to go to sleep.

15. Learning/ Study Strategies for various Learning Styles • Visual Learners • Sit near the front of the class to see the board • Take class notes to review later • Add pictures and charts to class notes to help remember information • Reread information • Create Flash cards to help study • Write lists of spelling words and post them • Put up a map of the country with capitals highlighted • Make time lines of important dates • Draw pictures or diagrams of what they’re trying to learn • Auditory Learners • Sit in the class where one can hear well and focus on what the teacher is saying • Read notes, study guides, and/or textbooks out loud several times. • Create a poem, song, rhyme, or rap to help remember the facts • Record important information on a tape recorder and play back later • Repeat spelling words aloud

16. Kinesthetic Learners • Use puppets or other characters to retell the important facts in studying information • Draw pictures, sing, or act out information to learn • Pretend to write the information in the air • Practice the information by writing it with sidewalk chalk, with finger paints, or shaving cream • Move around while studying: • Read while standing up • Act out a lesson from history

17. Learning Styles Inventory Mark each answer with either a “T” (True) or “F” (False) ____1. I need to be reminded often to do my schoolwork or other responsibilities’. ____2. I enjoy listening to other people talk. ____3. I can appreciate objects or things better when I can touch or handle them. ____4. I forget to do things I need to do. ____5. I would rather read than listen to someone tell me about a topic. ____6. I need to feel the difference between a peach skin and nectarine skin in order to identify them. ____7. I like to wander around while I study. ____8. I like to learn by listening. ____9. I can remember numbers better when I trace them with my fingers. ____10. I learn well when someone tells me about the topic. ____11. I love to watch T.V. ____12. I find it easy to sit in one place for a long time. ____13. I would rather go to school in the morning than in the afternoon, if I could choose. ____14. I like people to talk to me. ____15. I learn best by looking at things. ____16. I don’t need to be reminded to do what I need to do. ____17. I usually can’t sit in one place for a long time. ____18. I study best in the morning. ____19. It is easy for me to sit for a time and study. ____20. I love to act out parts of stories or plays. ____21. I like to read. ____22. I remember better when I study in the evening. ____23. I usually do what I’m told. ____24. I remember what I see. ____25. I find it easy to listen to people when they talk. ____26. I usually can’t sit in one place for a long time without fidgeting a lot. ____27. I like to build models of animals, cars, and other things. ____28. It is hard for me to sit still and listen to someone explain something. ____29. I would rather go to school in the afternoon. ____30. I usually do what others expect me to do. ____31. I remember better if I study.

18. Resources used for Study Skills Training: • Creative Approaches for Counseling Individual Children • www.parent-institute.com

19. Motivate your kids to want to Study and get Organized! 25 Tips of ways to Motivate your children

20. 25 ways to Motivate Children • Teach children to set goals for themselves. • Celebrate each success. Remember—kids who feel successful in one area are more willing to try to learn something else. • Talk about schoolwork every day. • Ask your child questions about the school day. Try to be specific: “What was the funniest thing that happened in school today?” “What story did you read?” Then really listen to the answers. When parents show an interest in schoolwork, kids pay more attention so they can share their experiences. • Recognize Success. • Store awards, ribbons, honor roll certificates and photos of school events in photo albums. When you put something in the album, talk with your child about how proud you are of their accomplishment. Occasionally, take out the book to show grandparents or other relatives. When your kids are having a bad day, encourage them to look through their books to remember past successes.

21. Remind your child that he/ she can. • Post success papers in the home visible for the entire family to see. • Reward your child with your time. • If your child has done something special, let her choose an activity for the whole family to enjoy—a picnic, a favorite video, etc. • Motivate your child to write more. • Use an inexpensive chalkboard or a dry erase board to motivate your child to write more. Have them use it to write tasks and check off when tasks are completed. • Catch your child being good. • The most powerful motivator you can give your child is your undivided attention. The time you spend listening and talking with your child will make him feel good about himself…and encourage him to do his best. • Help your child learn to set long-range goals • Studies show that unmotivated children tend to live in the present. They ask, “Why are we learning this? When will we ever use it?” • Motivated students know that present actions affect their futures. They are willing to work hard now…to enjoy success later.

22. Help your child learn to break large jobs into smaller, achievable tasks. • When kids feel a task is impossible, they won’t be motivated to try. Have your child write the steps down to achieving a goal, post the list and check them off. As your child completes each step, she’ll gain confidence and motivation. • Show your appreciation. • Children try harder when they know their parents appreciate their hard work. • Teach your child “positive self-talk.” • Take a tip from the “Little Engine That Could,” who repeated, “I think I can, I think I can.” When your child has his own mountains to climb, teach him to tell himself over and over that he can do it. • Encourage your child to take part in an after-school activity. • Research shows that kids who see themselves as successful in other areas also feel motivated to be a success in the classroom. • Help your child see the progress he’s making. • Get out an old favorite book and say, “Remember when you had trouble reading this book?” Engage your child in the conversation. Ask him to tell you what he’s learned that he didn’t know yesterday…or last week…or last month. • Encourage your child’s creative problem-solving. • Help your child come up with a list of problems that need solutions. Choose one problem from the list. Brainstorm solutions. List everything (no matter how silly it may seem). Choose one solution to try. Ask questions that may help solve the problem. Just a little encouragement can motivate your child to see problems as stimulating challenges, and to learn to use creativity, too.

23. Keep track of every book your child finishes to motivate reading. • Write the name of each book on a card, and display them on your child’s bedroom wall. Cut out circles and have your child create a “reading caterpillar.” Or, write book titles on small strips of paper, and make a paper chain. • Point out role models to your child. • As your child learns about the traits that made others successful, he can begin to adopt those same success patterns in his own life. • Play “Beat the Clock.” • For any task that causes your child to stall. Give your child a reasonable time limit to complete the job. (Ask him for his thoughts on how much time he thinks he’ll need). Then set a timer and encourage him to see if he can finish before it rings. Be sure to praise your child for a job well done. • Help your child compete against herself. • Use a stopwatch to see how much time it takes for your child to perform a specific task. Post that time on the refrigerator. The next day, see if she can set a new personal record. • Teach your child to create positive mental pictures of success. • For example, say, “Imagine your teacher saying it’s time for the spelling test. See yourself feeling confident because you’ve studied all the words. Hear her pronouncing each word, and see yourself writing it correctly. Then see the A+ on your paper.” • Focus on success. • List 10 of your child’s successes this week. List 10 of your own. Post the list where your both can see it.

24. Listen to the messages... • You pass on to your child. If your attitude about work is, “I hate Mondays,” don’t be surprised if your child isn’t motivated to get up for school after the weekend. If you say, “I’ll do that later,” your child will probably put things off until the last possible second. • Teach your child to “save dessert for last.” • If he has a school subject that’s especially challenging, have him begin his homework with that subject, saving his favorite for last. • Share your own excitement with your child. • Tell your child about what makes you happy. Let your child share your love. Parents who get excited about learning new things have children who get excited, too. • Help your child see something he can be proud of—even in defeat. • If your child got a poor grade on a spelling test, compliment him for a difficult work he did spell correctly. • Praise your child. • The best praise is deserved, specific, and sincere. Instead of just saying, “You’re a wonderful kid,” try talking about specific things your child does especially well.

25. Parents should always follow the Motto, “BE HERE NOW” when you are with your child. Don’t worry about the bills that have to be paid. If the dirty dishes in the sink bother you, look the other way. Give your child the same undivided attention you would give your boss or a co-worker! Your job as a parent is the most important job you will ever have in this lifetime!

26. The End