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Promoting study skills
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[FEB.
15, 2005]
Q:
My son is in middle school. He loves
sports and is a really good athlete. Academically, he's an average student. He
tells me that he just isn't very smart and the grades he gets are the best he
can do. I'm wondering if there's anything we can do to help him do better in
school.
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A:
Success takes more than just being
smart. Intelligence is certainly one of the factors that lead to
school success. But we know that success also comes from doing smart
things. You are right to be concerned about your son at this stage.
Middle school demands that students have good study skills to help
carry them into high school and to succeed later in life. If you
feel that your child doesn't have them already, now is the time to
help him learn them.
Have him
keep in mind these four A's that teachers say are essential:
Show up for class unless there is a
valid excuse.
Attention.
Come to class with the right books
and other tools and be "ready to learn" -- don't spend the first
10 minutes fooling around.
Assignments.
Hand in assignments when they are
due.
Assistance.
Know when you need help and ask for
it.
Check with your son's teacher at
your next conference or by phone. If your child needs to work on any
of the above, ask the teacher for suggestions. Then sit down with
your son and work out a plan.
Here are
some strategies you can encourage your son to work on to help him be
more successful in school:
Kids in
school spend a good part of the day listening -- to instructions,
assignments, lectures, readings and announcements. Here are some
tips he can use to improve his listening skills:
Words like "read," "work," "study,"
"tell," "remember" and "fill in" signal that something important
is coming up.
Listen for
numbers too. Are you
supposed to read Chapter 11 or Chapters 11 and 12?
Listen for
repeated words or facts.
The teacher will often repeat the most important information.
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- Study and review every day.
Ask your son what he thinks professional athletes are doing when
they're not playing a game. Practicing! The best basketball
players shoot 100 or more free throws every single day. It's the
same for school. The best students are the ones who work at it
every day. Students who spend a few minutes every day reviewing
the main points the teacher covered in each subject are more
likely to remember that information when test time comes.
Help your son put these ideas into
practice, and watch his school grades improve!
* * *
For more information about helping
children learn or to submit your own question to The Learning
Advisor, go to
http://advisor.parent-institute.com. All questions will receive
a prompt answer by e-mail.
© Copyright 2005, The Parent
Institute.
"Ask the Learning Advisor -- Ideas for Raising Successful
Children" is a free syndicated column available through
The Parent
Institute.
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Life Sentence, No Parole
If we tried to invent the
cruelest punishment for dogs, we probably couldn't come up
with anything worse than "solitary confinement" on a chain or
in a kennel.
Dogs are pack animals who
crave the companionship of others. Scratches behind the ears,
games of fetch, or even just walks around the block mean the
world to them. Curling up at your feet while you watch TV is
their idea of heaven.
Many dogs left to fend for
themselves at the end of a chain fall prey to attacks by other
animals or cruel people, and many others are injured or hanged
or choke as a result of getting entangled or caught in their
tether.
If you have a backyard dog,
please, bring him or her inside. They don't want much--just
you.
A
public service announcement from Lincoln Daily News and
helpinganimals.com |
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