7 rules for effective study

Posted September 24, 2005

Category High School, Homework, Middle School

1. Use the Power Listening process in class for listening.

2. Enter all homework, assignments and exams in your planning calendar as soon as your teacher assigns the work.

3. Begin each study or homework session by making a plan.

4. When reading, use SQRCRC to make sure that you understand.

5. Spend 10 minutes per subject each night and summarize the day’s lessons into study notes. Break the information down into main idea (the main concept); supporting details (each one different but all linked to the main idea); and sub-details (which explain, modify, or give examples so you better understand each supporting detail. Make these notes short in point form and in your own words.

6. Review these notes 48 hours later. Put a * and date in the right hand corner of the page every time you review. When you review, don’t memorize, just make sure you fully understand your note. Make the note into a story or a complete picture – use visualization if possible.

7. Make sure that each study note has five *’s in the right hand corner before you have to write an exam. If you review your notes five times, you will remember them

Brandi

My question is my 6yrs. old daughter reads at 2nd and half grade level but has a hard comprehending what the story was about. What do I do to make it better? We read everyday and I will ask questions after each story and she sometimes is still lost. It is so hard not to just give up. Thanks, Brandi
Administrator

Thank you so much for taking the time to ask us about your daughter and her Reading. I went through a similar problem with my daughter so I understand what you are going through. Many times, a six year old can read the words very well, with expression, but they don’t think actively about the context of the passage. In our centres, we do an assessment to discover if there is a problem, how the child comprehends and then set a unique program to help that individual. We teach students how to get the main idea of a passage. This article refers to SQRCRC (Survey – Question – Read – Cover – Recite – Check). That’s just one of the tools our programs use. With your six year old, try to break up the story into smaller pieces. At the end of every page, you might ask her to explain in her own words what she read. As she begins to succeed with one page, you can go to more pages. I would encourage you to visit one of our centres to see how we might help your daughter.
Administrator

You do not specify who is actually doing the reading; you or your daughter, so I will give you some strategies to deal with both. You indicate that she ’sometimes’ is still lost. Can you think of any commonalities between the stories she understands and the ones that she gets lost in? Does she get lost in the longer stories? Does she do best with topics that are of particular interest to her? Perhaps some stories have too many new vocabulary words. She may be spending so much energy trying to decode or understand words that comprehension is lost. Perhaps she is just too tired or the reading has gone on too long. My best advice to you is to remember that she is just six years old and comprehension skills take a long time to develop. Don’t get discouraged and certainly don’t try to push your daughter too hard or too fast. Keep it fun and let the learning move at her level. You will be pleased with the results and no one will feel like giving up! Specific strategies when you are reading 1) If you are reading larger chapter books, stop frequently and do a comprehension check. Ask specific content questions as well as higher order thinking questions. These are questions that invite the reader to draw conclusions or make inferences about what was just read. “How does the main character feel when her friends don’t invite her to the birthday party?” “How would you feel if that happened to you?” “What do you think will happen next?” “What would you do in the same situation?” 2) Have her pretend she is telling a friend or a favorite stuffed animal about the book. She has to tell them as much of the storyline as she can remember. This can make simple retelling a lot more fun. If she likes drama, let her act out parts of the story for you or other family members. Specific strategies when your daughter is reading 1) Let your daughter pick the books. Kids are always more interested in anything when they are allowed to choose. Kids spend so much of their lives being told what to do that having some control is always empowering. 2) Allow her to respond to stories in writing and with pictures. Purchase a journal that has blank paper on the top half of the book and lines at the bottom. She can then draw a picture and write a sentence or two about what she has just read. 3) Stop your daughter’s reading to do comprehension and vocabulary checks. Ask her questions about what she has just read and make sure she understands every new word. Start a “Word Bank” book. Every time she meets a word that she does not know, print it in the book, look up and write down a dictionary definition, and then write a sentence using the new word.
okorie lola

i will like to ask Brandy, at what times does this study take place, is it when the child is tired or relaxed. Th state of our mind be it adult or child affects how we comprehend our reading. Who does the reading the child or you. For a 6 year old often the reading is done by the teacher in school, with all expressions and sounds to go with it, is that hw mummy reads too. As you go along ask her questions.