September 2013
Vol.1, Issue 2
For This Day
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7 We all deal with how to teach our students to study. It can be abstract and difficult to measure beyond the letter grades. Dr Heitschmidt, 11th and 12th grade instructor of English and History, shares some concrete ways to help your students learn to study and develop their skills in a way that you can see them working. Use this method or develop your own to best fit the needs of your students.
I have often been asked how to study for history or literature exams. Although, the method I use and teach is not the only way to study, it is what I recommend to all my students. So here it is… Helpful Hints for Homework and Preparing for Tests 1.Have three different color pens/pencils. a.One color for all notes you take in class. Make sure anything the instructor writes on the board or says in class, you write in this color. b.One color for your notes. c.One color for comments other students make. (This is used mostly in literature discussions.) 2. Download the chapter homework from the website and read through all the questions. Pay special attention to the “Critical Thought” or “Critical Reflection” questions (or the equiva-
lent in the textbook the student is using), these give you an idea of the main themes of the chapter. Many students find outlines so tedious because they have no idea what is important so they end up highlighting the entire chapter. By reading the big questions first, this will help point them to what is important. 3. Begin reading the chapter. Read 1 hour a day, 5 days a week. Make sure you underline and take notes on the important passages. [Note: If you try and read all 5 hours in one day you will not process most of the information because your reading comprehension goes down significantly after an hour.] 4. After every reading session, work on your outline for the chapter and answer the questions for your homework assignment. This should be a lot easier because you have already marked the important passages. 5. Bring your outlines to class and take good
in-class notes. If the instructor is speaking, you should be taking notes. If you already have the information in your outline, you do not have to write it down but you should highlight that section to indicate that the instructor thought it was important enough to mention in class. 6. When you get home from school, combine your in-class notes with your outlines. Make sure you use different color fonts/pens for your outlines and the notes you took in class. It is always important to have the instructor’s lecture materials in a different color than your own. This way, you can try and figure out “what is important.” 7. Read through your outlines, notes once a week. This does not need to take 5 hours, just a quick read through once a week. 8. Exam time. a.DO NOT: Study 5,000,000 hours for tests. This is not a good idea and will only accomplish a higher frustration level when you still do poorly on the exam. b.DO NOT: “Pop Corn Study.” Other than having some fun with your friends, getting together to ask each other random questions about the chapters is probably not going to help you much. c.DO NOT: Borrow someone else’s notes/ outlines. It is not the outlines that are the magic ticket to getting a good grade on an exam, but the process of making the outlines and taking the notes that will help you. d.DO: Read through your notes/outlines, in chronological order. If you are studying for a literature exam, read through all your highlighted passages, notes, and review the “who, what, where, when and why” of all the authors. If you have kept up with your work all along, you will be fine. e.DO: Get a good night’s rest. I cannot tell you how many times I have had students completely exhausted when they come to school. When asked why, they say they were up until 3am working on their homework, on Facebook or Instagram, texting their friends, or playing video games. They walk through the door with a Monster energy drink and a bag of candy and think that is going to “get them through the day.” Start earlier in the day, turn off the electronics and eat a good breakfast.
photograph on cover courtesy of flickr user helmsp