Breaking the Stress Cycle at Exam Time – Part One

Whether students are in elementary or high school, preparing for standardized tests or writing final exams, they need successful study skills and habits to help them focus and stay on track. Oxford Learning recommends the following effective study skills to help students get through the last few months of the school year with confidence and success:

Study Effectively for Tests

• Make a plan. Set goals for each session. Divide your material into units and assign one unit per day. Give yourself a three-day break before the test and make sure that you’ve learned all the units by then.
• Study in short bursts. 15 minutes at a time is excellent. After 15 minutes, take a five-minute breather. Do some exercise. Stick your head out the door. Get refocused.
• Use the Oxford Learning proprietary SQRCRC method to study for tests:
  • Survey the headings, introductions and summaries in order to get the main idea.
  • Question yourself. ”What do I hope to learn by reading this note?”
  • Read carefully for detail.
  • Cover the work.
  • Recite what you have just read, trying for main ideas and details.
  • Check to see how well you have done.

Be Prepared

• Every day counts. Do a little review and studying each day. Schedule time for your homework and study. Have a plan and work toward your plan.
• No homework? Work on assignments; review and correct mistakes from class or tests; plan your study schedule for next week; work on the “tough” stuff.

Support Tips for Parents

• Help your child prepare an accurate study schedule and review it together every morning.
• Create a ‘study stadium’ a very special work environment that supports and encourages best efforts and successes and makes it easier for your child to get into the “study mode”
• Get involved. Your interest shows that school is important.

Stay Sharp Throughout the Summer

• Once students complete their school year with success, carry the momentum through summer. Summer is an opportunity for children to develop new skills, make new friends and experience new challenges. If parents blend both recreation and academics, students will be prepared physically, emotionally and academically for a successful return to school in the fall.
• For maximum benefit, Oxford Learning recommends supplementing summer activities with a core program of education — 60 to 90 minute sessions three times a week. Whether it’s to brush up on areas that might need improvement or to get ahead so school is less stressful and more manageable, Oxford Learning summer programs are designed to meet each child’s needs and to provide opportunities to keep their minds active. To find out more, please click here.

Breaking the Stress Cycle at Exam Time – Part Two

Exams on the way? Is your child facing anxiety, stress and frustration? Are you beginning to feel the same way?

The game of catch-up at year’s end can take a toll on a student… and his or her parents. Falling behind can also lead to discouragement that results in the same problem year after year. Whether students are in elementary or high school, preparing for standardized tests or writing final exams, they need successful study skills and habits to help them focus and stay on track. Oxford Learning recommends the following effective study skills to help students get through the last few months of the school year with confidence and success:

Listen and Hear

• Start every class by making an effort to pay close attention. Whisper a reminder to yourself that you want to understand everything that the teacher says.
• Every five minutes or so, quietly summarize the lesson to yourself.
• Jot notes of the main ideas as you listen. Underline or highlight key words.
• When you don’t understand something, make a note and ask someone to explain it to you later.
• Notice what distracts you in the classroom. Take steps to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. If you find that you’re daydreaming, bring yourself back to task and try to fill in the parts you’ve missed.

Remember What You Hear

• Everyone has a good memory…if it is used properly.
• Take your main idea class notes home every evening and summarize them into point form. At first you may have to use a text or your classroom notes. Eventually, with practice, you’ll be able to remember these details.
• Review these notes to make sure that you understand them within two days and once more before you begin to study for a test.

Ace Your Homework

• Carry a homework planner with you at all times, to every class. Enter homework, projects, tests and assignments as soon as you’re given them. Don’t trust your memory – write it down as soon as the teacher assigns it!
• Choose a comfortable place to do your homework and study. Sorry, lying on the floor, listening to loud music or having the TV on in the background doesn’t cut it!
• Check your homework planner and begin by asking yourself the following questions: What am I supposed to do? When is the assignment due? Where can I get the necessary information? How do I do the assignment?

In our next post, we’ll outline more ways for families to cope by arming students with the tools to succeed through proper exam preparation and simply knowing how to study. Oxford Learning has personalized programs to help any student. To find out more, please click here.

Breaking the Stress Cycle at Exam Time – Part Two

Better studying begins by being able to take good notes in class to study from in the first place. Here are 11 tips to make your child a more efficient note taker.

Sit front and center

Encourage your child to sit near the front and middle of the classroom or lecture hall. Fewer distractions occur here which means your child will be more likely to stay focused on what the teacher’s saying.

Use a binder

Make sure students keep their notes in a binder rather than a notebook. This allows them to add, rearrange, or rewrite pages of notes, insert handouts and assessments in the proper chronological order and review materials covered in the chapter/unit much easier.

Use headings and dates

Have your son or daughter write a heading and date on every page so he/she can organize the pages in chronologically order in a binder.

Use loose-leaf paper

Take notes on loose-leaf paper. Make sure that students hole punch and add all of the handouts, assignments, quizzes, tests, etc. to their binder. Keep everything they’ve collected from the entire chapter/unit in chronological order.

Think before you write

Before your child writes anything down, encourage him/her to think about what the teacher is saying. Rather than writing everything the teacher says, choose only important phrases, terms, and concepts that your child needs to focus on when he/she studies.

Save examples and stories

Have your child write down the stories and examples that teachers use to illustrate points during lectures. These examples and stories are very important in creating connections in your child’s brain. They help jog your child’s memory while studying and writing tests and exams.

Look for clues

Help your child recognize cues that teachers give to indicate that something is important. For instance, they may repeat something several times, change the volume or tone of their voice, write it on the board or overhead, and/or creates lists for students. If your child misses the initial cue but later realizes that he/she should have writing the material down, just ask the teacher to repeat what he/she just said.

Leave spaces

Students should leave spaces between sections of notes, so they can add comments as they review, study or re-read notes.

Re-write or re-type

Students should be encouraged to re-write or even re-type notes to make them more organized and make studying easier. Re-writing notes also gives them a second chance to think about the material as they write or type it again. The more time that passes between taking the original notes and re-writing them, the less effective this strategy is, so prompt your child to do his/her re-writing soon after he/she takes the original notes. If your child’s handwriting is messy or difficult to read, typing will help the legibility of his/her notes when he/she is studying.

Read and review

Students should review their notes often. The more times they read them, the easier it is to commit their notes to memory and the less time they’ll spend studying them prior to a test or exam.

Get some professional help

If your require more assistance with paying attention in class, taking notes or studying, contact your nearest Oxford Learning location.