How to maximize the best organizational tool available

We know why using an agenda is important, right? Short-term memory is imperfect, kids forget their homework assignments, organization skills are important to academic success: these are just some of the great reasons that schools to provide agendas and/or planners to students.

But one major shortcoming of being given an agenda at school is that students are rarely taught how to use it.  Of course, there is the general knowledge that it’s purpose is to write down homework and assignments so they are not forgotten, but an agenda does so much more than that.

AGENDA USAGE FOR BEGINNERS:

1. Bring the agenda to school every day
2. Bring the agenda to every class
3. Write down all homework and assignments
4. Bring the agenda home every night
5. Take it out of  the schoolbag and open to today’s page
6. After all work is done, put it back in the school bag
7. Repeat every day

Following these  seven simple tips will help students avoid the ubiquitous “I forgot my homework!” scenario. However, agendas can actually be used to take time management to the next level and can even help transfer organizational skills into other areas of life.

ADVANCED AGENDA USAGE:
For students who have the Agenda Usage Basics locked down, and want to take their organization abilities to the next level.

1. Prioritize Workflow. Use your to-do list to your advantage by starting with the most important task.

• Look at everything on the list—all the homework and assignments for the night.
• Determine what’s most important/ needs to be completed first.
• Highlight or underline that task.

2. Put it in Order. Use A,B,Cs to assign importance and order of completion.  If math is due tomorrow, but history isn’t due for 2 days, assign math an A, and history a B.  If you have time to complete both, great, if not, then at least the most important task is done

3. Tick Tock. Keep track of how long each task takes to complete. This is a good way to learn to estimate how long future tasks might take to complete.

4. Write Your Thoughts. Keep track of questions to ask the teacher during the next class, ideas for projects, add-ins for notes, musings about school subjects…

5. Countdown to Tests. It’s one thing to write down that a test is happening on a given day, but without a countdown, it’s easy to forget about it until you turn the page to that day, then OH NO! Avoid this by keeping a test countdown

• Write the test day in the agenda on the day of the test
• Turn to the previous date’s page, and write something such as TEST IN 1 DAY
• Repeat on every preceding day until today’s date, counting up as you move backwards
• Schedule in study time every night between now and the test.

6. Check off Completed Tasks. When an assignment is completed, check it off.  If time ran out, draw an arrow then flip the page and write the task on tomorrow’s to-do list.

7. Keep track of extra-curricular activities. Agendas are not just for school.  They’re a great place to keep track of all the to-dos in a day, including extra-curricular activities, chores, sports, even parties and get-togethers.

8. Double Up with a Wall Calendar. Sometimes it helps to see all upcoming projects and homework at a glance. Write down regular activities and upcoming events and projects calendar to get an idea of how busy the month is and to keep priorities and projects top-of-mind.

Have any agenda tips that you’d like to share?  Let us know in the comments and we’ll add them to the list!

You asked. We answered!
This question comes from our archives…

Question:
How do I help my four-year-old son to develop a love of reading? He struggles to sound words out, and doesn’t seem to be interested in reading on his own. How can I help him learn to love reading?

Answer:
Books can be our best friends. But to struggling children, they can also be the enemy. Children are aware of our expectations, and they recognize our desire for them to read. To avoid disappointing us, children with reading issues may just push books aside for activities that don’t require so much effort.

Strong reading skills are the foundation for learning, so they are a critical skill to develop early on. Luckily, an aversion to reading at a young age can easily be overcome.

Sometimes different approaches are the solution to getting reluctant readers to embrace books and reading. Our Little Readers program is developed to help children as young as three learn to become strong, competent readers who love books! We help kids learn the sounds that make up the building blocks of our language. Kids become able to sound out words and develop confidence in their ability to try to read new words.

Remember that learning to read can be a struggle for many children, but if you give your son the skills that he needs to be a successful reader, a love of reading will follow eventually. Continue to make an effort to share reading time with your son, and encourage him every step of the way!

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We already know why it’s important to make learning part of your holidays, so, with the holidays fast approaching, we compiled 12 ideas to keep your kids mentally engaged over the holiday season. Check in often for new ideas, and if you have your own idea, we’d love to hear it!

Day 3: Take a Hike
Studies have shown that physical activity isn’t just good for the body, it’s great for the brain as well. Increased blood flow to the brain helps increase memory function as well as a whole host of other complicated science-type stuff. Basically, if you get the blood pumping, you get the wheels turning.

So, why not take advantage of the holiday weather—whether it’s blistery cold or balmy and beautiful—and take a family hike? Chase the kids around. Have a snowball fight. Walk around the neighbourhood and look at the lights. Whatever you plan for the holidays, include physical activity and your kids will stay sharp for the entire festive season.

Tip 1: Get Crafty Together
Tip 2: Snuggle Up With a Book

Take 10 minutes to watch this great video that looks at how our current education model is outdated, and how it’s failing to teach today’s children.

“Today’s kids live in the most intensely stimulating period of the history of the earth. They’re besieged with information…and we’re punishing them for getting distracted.”–Sir Ken Robinson.

We already know why it’s important to make learning part of your holidays, so, with the holidays fast approaching, we compiled 12 ideas to keep your kids mentally engaged over the holiday season. Check in often for new ideas, and if you have your own idea, we’d love to hear it!

Day 1: Get Crafty Together.

Crafts are a great family holiday activity because they reinforce many important school skills such as attention-to-detail, following instructions, and maintaining focus, as well as encouraging creativity and imagination. Plus, kids have a great take-away that they can feel proud of!

There are many great craft sites available. Check out Oxford Learning guest blogger Secret Agent Josephine’s many great crafts on Alpha Mom. This one for holiday wreaths is budget-friendly and uses many supplies that you have around the house. Families with older kids might like her recent holiday artwork project.

Do you know the five most common signs that your child might be struggling in school?

Here they are:

5.  Your child frequently makes comments such as, “The teacher picks on me,” or ” Do I have to go to school today?” or ” This assignment is pointless.”

4. Daily homework is not being completed .

3.  Assignments and projects are missed completely or submitted late.

2. There are poor tests scores and poor grades on projects and assignments.

1. Your child is uninterested in school and school-related activities.

Not all of these signs of school trouble have to happen at the same time, but when one or more happens frequently,  it’s a sign that things may be getting off track.  The sooner that parents and students get help, the easier it will be to get back on track and put and end to school troubles.

The Canadian Council on Learning recently published a report that says that comic books can help close the reading gender gap.

When it comes to reading, studies have shown repeatedly that boys trail behind girls. This is not a new idea. The gender gap in school success has been on educators’ radar for quite some time.

There are multitudes of resources that speak to the issue, and even websites that are geared just to help boys improve their reading performance in—and out of—the classroom.

According to the CCL, comic books are just the tool to spark boys’ interested in the written word. But just what is about comic books that hold boys’ attention? And, are comic books enough to help boys close the reading gap?

According to studies, comics appeal to boys’ more visual nature. The graphic images help to dynamically add dimension to the story. Even though the amount of space allotted for actual words is limited, the narrative is not hindered by a minimal word count.

A Science Daily article says that boys are not just looking at the pictures, and that comics impart the same benefits of reading any other books.

Websites such as Getting Boys To Read say that comic books are very important educational tools. Not only do they appeal to boy’s visual nature with bright images, and male-geared story lines, they teach literacy devices such as metaphor, tension, and tone.

But, in order for comic books to help boys close the reading gender gap, they have to be available and recognized as school-worthy reading material.

The facts are:
• Reading and literacy skills are critical to a successful education.
• During the early and middle school years, boys trail behind girls when it comes to reading.
• Boys tend to have a greater affinity towards comic books.
• Comic books can help boys increase their reading skills.

It’s important that the experience of reading comics is not too easy for readers, which is quite often the concern, given the limited text and the eye-catching images. Young readers need to be challenged to think actively about what they are reading, and to develop the skills needed for deep, sustained reading.

While gender differences in reading abilities exist, it’s important to not create gender-based reading stereotypes. Boys should never be told that they wouldn’t enjoy a text-only book, or girls that comics are just for boys. Reading skills are very individual, and either sex can defy gender-based learning challenges despite genetics(I.E. girls are bad at math; boys lag in reading), and become successful students.

Comic books in the classroom can provide a dynamic reading experience for girls and boys alike. And for boys who are lagging behind in their reading aptitudes, comic books could be just the ticket to spark a love of reading that helps them take the next step in their reading journey.

One very important thing that you should know about high school is that if you don’t care what your marks are, it’s very likely that your teachers are not going to care either.

And why should they? They teach three to four classes a day with at least twenty students in a class. It is rare for a teacher to ask you to stay after class to discuss your bad marks, or help you better understand what you are learning.

 This year I was struggling in two of my classes: French and math.

In math class, I didn’t ask for any extra help, and my teacher didn’t offer any—even when my grades started to drop. But, my French teacher was great. She allowed me to stay after class for help, gave me tips on how to better take tests, and she even said she would allow me to take my written tests orally.

My point is that high school is very different from elementary school. You are given more freedom, and teachers start treating you more like an adult. If you are getting low grades, it is up to you to improve them. You have to learn to help yourself. You are guaranteed to succeed as soon as you learn this fact.

My Mistake: Rushing.
It is common to rush during a test, exam, or a project. All I can say is: DON’T! This causes your work to get sloppy and inaccurate. You can loose marks very fast. Just take your time and, whatever you do, do not rush!

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my  posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

Download our summer learning newsletter—it’s packed with tips to help your family make the most out of the summer vacation!

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Ah, Summer! For many students, summer is the perfect time to chill out and relax.

It’s the perfect time to catch up with friends.

It’s the perfect time to lounge by the pool and hit the beach.

It’s also the perfect time to develop bad habits, to get off track, and to lose academic standing.

In summer, one of two things can happen to the average student:

1. They can lose learning momentum, fall behind, and end up starting the new school year at a disadvantage.
2. They can catch up in trouble areas, and get a head start on the new school year.

Enter summer learning. Summer learning is not a new concept, but it is becoming increasingly important. Education is becoming more competitive. Students don’t have time to slack off…not even for a couple of months.

Summer school is no longer a punishment for under-performing students; it’s an opportunity for students to improve their learning abilities and get a jump on their classmates. In fact, statistics show that summer school enrollment is up—and not just for students who need extra help: students looking to get ahead and make the upcoming school year easier are choosing summer school in lieu of traditionally popular summer activities.

While there are many ways to keep the brain active during the summer,(see the ABCs of Summer Learning) the best way to avoid the summer learning slide is to engage in some type of formal academic learning all summer long.

After all, the brain never stops learning, so why should students?

In terms of a child’s education, summer is just as important as the rest of school year. Oxford Learning has many great summer programs available to help students avoid the summer learning slide. Contact your local Oxford Learning centre for more information.