Project Plan of Attack
Have an upcoming project and have no idea how to get started? Beginning is usually the hardest part, but once the ball is rolling, you’ll see how easy it is to complete a large task effectively and on time.
Tips:
- Ask ‘Why is this important?’: Take some time before beginning to think of why the project is important to help you get started. Ask yourself what you will learn, why you may have been procrastinating on getting started, and what the consequences of not finishing the project on time will be.
- Develop a Schedule: Grab your agenda and figure out how much time you have between the day the project was assigned to when it is due. Figure out how many blocks of time you have to work on the project (maybe a bit every day or every other day). Doing a bit of work each day until the project is due will help avoid procrastination and a big rush right before the due date.
- Divide and Conquer: Divide the project up into smaller parts (eg. research, first draft, editing, final draft) and give yourself mini deadlines for each part. Breaking a big project down into smaller, more tangible parts, will help you be less overwhelmed by the whole project and help you get started!
- Plan of Attack: Use our handy ‘Project Plan of Attack’ to keep yourself focused and on track. Download and print a copy by clicking on the picture below.
Click to download
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Checklist: Use Your School Agenda Like a Pro
Click image to print off our agenda how-to checklist and start using your agenda the ways the pros do!
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Seven Tips to Make the Rest of the School Year Count!
Want to make the most of what’s left in the school year? Create a Countdown Action Plan!
HERE’S HOW:
- Grab a calendar and determine how many weeks of school are left.
- Pull out your Academic Action plan from the beginning of school and review it. Don’t have one? No problem! You can create one at any time with some simple modifications.
- Take a mental inventory of current academic standing. Refer to the last report card if necessary. Look at past test marks and comments on assignments.
- Ask: “what subjects are the weakest? Where is extra help needed? Where is there room for improvement?
- Talk to teachers and create a plan together to use the remainder of the year wisely.
- Dust off your agenda usage skills.
- Fine-tune organization abilities.
Need extra help? Talk to the professionals at your nearest Oxford Learning centre. They can help you make the rest of this school year count!
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Organization Issues Are The Biggest Homework Challenge Families Face
We asked families what their biggest homework issue was and the majority of parents indicated that their children struggle the most with organization.
Organization is actually a very common school issue for many students–it is the cause of procrastination and it leads to frustration and to problems with time management issues.
So, to help, we complied our TOP HOMEWORK ORGANIZATION TIPS:
- Use an agenda every day, and learn to use it like a pro!
- Write the date and class on your notes. Put all loose pages in order in your binder.
- Before finishing homework for the night, double check that you have completed all tasks.
- Look ahead to tomorrow and gather all the supplies that you need for the next day and out them in the book bag.
- Keep all study and homework materials—pens, paper, calculators, dictionaries, whiteout—whatever you need—in a single spot. Get a clear tupperware bin to keep everything easily accessible. Don’t waste time searching for items you need to have at the tips of your fingertips.
- Use a wall calendar to keep track of after-school activities and chores.
- Make daily to-do lists in the agenda and check off items as they are completed.
What tips do you use to keep your family organized and to combat homework struggles? We’d love to hear them!
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The Top Homework Challenge
The always controversial topic of homework was making headlines again recently as French parents and teachers considered a two-week homework ban.
Most parents of school-age children can sympathize: homework is a common issue in many households.
So we decided to put the issue of homework to a poll by asking what is your family’s biggest homework struggle?
- Disorganization: leaving assignments to the last minute, forgetting work at school, etc.
- Distractions: too much TV, Internet, video games, texting
- Scheduling: lots of extracurricular activities, not enough time
- Comprehension: not understanding questions, which can lead to frustration
What do you think the biggest issue is? You can still vote on our FB poll! We’d love to hear from you! And don’t forget to “Like” us while you’re there!
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HACK YOUR HOMEWORK
Want to make your homework simpler? Check out our 4 tips to take your homework habits from headache-inducing to hassle-free. Homework might be an unavoidable part of school, but it doesn’t have to be the worst part.
Use your agenda.
The brain is capable of great feats, but it’s not perfect. So don’t rely on it to remember every little detail of what you learned in school. When a teacher assigns homework, write it down! Most schools provide agendas to students for free (or for a small charge). That’s because they are the best organizational tools available. The trick is to not just write everything down in class, but also to remember to take it out of the school bag at night, open it up, and remind yourself of what’s on tonight’s to-do list.
More agenda tips here.
Remove distractions.
Computer on, TV on, texts messages incoming…it’s not multi-tasking, it’s distracting. So shut off all the electronics and focus on the task at hand for a set period of time. You’ll find that it’s easier to concentrate and that tasks take less time. Studies have also found that learning isn’t as deep and that retention suffers when kids multi-task.
Think actively.
The majority of the time, simply getting tonight’s homework done is the name of the game. And rightly so, but what happens if you’re struggling with a question, or can’t figure out an answer? Before giving up to frustration, take a small break then come back and take a look at your textbook. Flip to the beginning of the chapter and read what the chapter is all about. Do the same with the next chapter. Move ahead a few questions and see if the next section can help explain a little better. If not, use the Internet. Don’t just stare at the question in front of you; ask yourself how this question relates to what you’ve been learning overall. And keep in mind the point of homework: to reinforce concepts learned in class.
More active learning tips here
Get organized.
Homework is as much a part of the daily routine as waking up in the morning and going to bed at night, but it’s often the most disorganized part. So streamline the process: keep all the homework-related accessories you need in a bin or a bucket so you don’t waste time searching for pens or for a calculator, pick the same spot to do your homework in every night, and (when possible) do your homework at the same time every night to get your body’s clock into the a natural homework rhythm.
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Pro Tips for Better Organization and Better Grades
Organization is a critical skill for school success, yet it is one of those skills that is cannot be easily point to, as if to say: THIS is organization!
So, what IS organization, and how do you go about moving from it as a abstract concept to implementing it as a workable skill set that benefits students in and out of the classroom?
We all know what organization is not: it’s not sloppiness, disorder, rushing, forgetting, or procrastinating.
Organization is both a set of habits, and a systematic way of thinking, categorizing, sorting, prioritizing, arranging, and approaching different aspects of life. That includes everything from in-class learning to keeping the sock drawer neat.
The physical, hands-on ability to organize transfers into organized thought. If students can organize their sock drawer, they can organize their study and learning habits—both these activities draw on a similar set of skills.
Tips for being organized in—and out of—school
- Use your agenda like a pro!
- Write the date and class on your notes. Put all loose pages in order in your binder.
- Before finishing homework for the night, double check that you have completed all tasks.
- Look ahead to tomorrow and gather all the supplies that you need for the next day and out them in the book bag.
- Keep all study and homework materials—pens, paper, calculators, dictionaries, whiteout—whatever you need—in a single spot. Get a clear tupperware bin to keep everything easily accessible. Don’t waste time searching for items you need to have at the tips of your fingertips.
- Use a wall calendar to keep track of after-school activities and chores.
- Make daily to-do lists in your agenda and check off items as they are completed.
- Get in the habit of asking what needs to be done today. A mental overview of what’s coming in the day ahead primes the brain
By making these actions part of the daily routine, organization becomes a hands-on skill that students can use in and out of the classroom.
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USING AGENDAS 101
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:
- Bring the agenda to school every day
- Bring the agenda to every class
- Write down all homework and assignments
- Bring the agenda home every night
- Take it out of the schoolbag and open to today’s page
- After all work is done, put it back in the school bag
- 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!
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A Guide For Parents on Getting Involved in Kids’ Education
Studies show that when parents are engaged in education their children perform better in school. All parents want their kids to be successful in school and sometimes that means rolling up your sleeves and lending a helping hand.
The ultimate aim of education is to have children who are organized, independent thinkers, both responsible and capable of taking academic risks. The majority of children need a little support from Mom and Dad to get to that point. But how much help is too much?
Somewhere between seeing grades on the report card for the first time and scheduling weekly phone conversations with the teacher is the perfect amount of parental school involvement. Parents should be involved and aware of what is going on at school, but not actively completing work for their kids.
HERE ARE SOME IDEAS TO HELP PARENTS GET INVOLVED IN THEIR CHILD’S EDUCATION
Communicate. Talk to kids about school every day. Ask specific questions about classes. Rather than asking, “how was school?” ask, “how was math class? What did you learn?” Parents should know their kids schedule and teachers’ names, and stay abreast of upcoming projects and assignments.
Don’t Wait for the Report Card. One of the biggest mistakes parents make is waiting too long to correct problems. Rather than waiting for the first report card or progress report to come home, parents should follow up with issues that come up when and if they come up. If there’s a quiz on Friday, ask how it went on Monday. If marks are not what they should be, arrange a talk with the teacher and make a plan. And don’t be afraid to simply call the teacher just to check in and make sure that everything is going smoothly.
Help with Homework. There are a lot of DOs and DON’Ts when it comes to homework help. It boils down to two basic rules: Help, but don’t do the work for them. Parents should help create a homework-friendly atmosphere where children can focus and get the work done without getting stressed out or losing motivation.
Organization. Morning, after-school, and evening routines all require organization skills to run smoothly. Whether it’s emptying book bags right after school, picking out school clothes the night before, or enforcing bedtimes, an organized routine teaches kids consistency, which pays off in school. If disorganization is a problem at home, it’s likely a problem at school. Kids who demonstrate consistent organization skills at home transfer those skills with them to the classroom. Help kids get organized at home, and you’re helping them be organized in school.
Set Goals Together. Part of the communication process involves setting academic goals for the school year. Help kids learn to think about long-term outcomes by discussing personal and academic ambitions, big or small. Be sure to keep goals realistic, achievable, and measurable. Use calendars, planners, agendas, or use our Academic Action Plan to keep goals on-track.
Do you have great tips to share on how you get involved in your child’s education? We’d love to hear them. Leave us a comment…and don’t forget follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
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Agendas vs. Staying Organized
What’s the best way to stay organized? School gives us a planner (well, we pay for it, but we get one) but nobody ever really teaches us how to use it. I write my assignments and homework in it, but I somehow still wind up finding it easy to miss an assignment or a test. I even have a little calendar on my phone too. There are calendars on my computer at home, and there is Google Calendar too. Even with all the calendars around I can sometimes find it tough to stay on top of school work, and I end up working all weekend on a project.
Lately I have started digging into projects right away instead of waiting. I find that this way, the project stays on my mind, and I can work away at it over a week or two. I can polish it and improve on it as I go, and I have more time and don’t worry about missing any deadlines. The same goes for studying. If I review my notes each day for even a few minutes I don’t have as much trouble reviewing when it’s time for a test. And, I don’t need to rely on my agenda to remind me.
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.
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