This page is especially helpful for parents!
10 Tips for School Success
1. Encourage reading in any way you can.
2. Treat your child as though he's an author.
3. Make math part of her everyday life.
4. Teach your child how to listen.
5. Support your child's teacher and the school
rules.
6. Tell the teacher everything.
7. Make sure your child is ready for school.
8. Spend time in your child's classroom.
9. Encourage responsibility and independence.
10. Ask your child about school every day.
from GreatSchools.net
Five Key Skills for Academic Success
1. Organization
Whether it's keeping track of homework, or remembering to
bring notes to and from school, children need to be organized to succeed in
school. For most, academic challenges are related more to a lack of
organization than to a lack of intellectual ability.
Some Tips...
.
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Make a checklist of the things your child needs
to bring to and from school each day. Post the list in a prominent place.
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Find out how your child keeps track of homework
and assignments, and develop a system that works.
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Use systems that are already in place: like this website.
Check it nightly.
2. Time Management
Learning to schedule enough time to complete an
assignment may be difficult for some students. Even when students have a week
to do a project - and perhaps, especially - many won't start until the night
before it's due. Learning to organize time takes practice and experience.
Some tips....
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Track assignments on a monthly calendar. Work backward
from the due date of larger assignments and break them into nightly tasks.
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Help your child record how much time it takes to complete
homework assignments, so he can figure out how to divide this time into
manageable chunks.
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Together, designate a time and place for nightly
homework. Be consistent.
3. Prioritization
Sometimes children fall behind in school and fail to hand
in assignments because they simply don't know where to begin. Prioritizing
tasks is a skill your child will need throughout their life....It's never too
soon to get started!
Some tips....
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Have your child write down all the things he needs to do,
including non-school-related activities.
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Ask him to label each task from 1 to 3, with 1 being most
important.
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Ask about each task, so that you understand your child's
priorities. If he labels all of the social activities as 1, then you know
where his attention is focused.
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Help your child change some of the labels to better
prioritize for academic success. Then suggest he rewrite the list so all of
the 1's are at the top.
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Check in frequently to see how the list is evolving and
how your child is prioritizing new tasks.
4. Concentration
It's important that students work on schoolwork
in an area with limited distractions and interruptions.
Some tips....
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Turn off access to email and games when your child works
on the computer.
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Declare the phone and TV off-limits during homework time.
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Help your child concentrate during homework time by
separating him from his siblings.
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Talk up the value and importance of concentration at
school.
5. Motivation
Most children say they want to do well in school, yet
many still fail to complete the level of work necessary to succeed
academically. The reason is often motivation. Tapping into your child's
interests is a great way to get her to do well in school.
Some tips...
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Link school lessons to your child's life. If she is
learning percentages, ask her to calculate the price of a discounted item the
next time you shop.
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Link your child's interests to academics. If he's
passionate about music, give him books about musicians or musical styles.
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Give your child control and choices. With guidance. let
him determine his study hours and organizing systems.
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Encourage your child to share his expertise. Regularly
ask him about what he's learning in school.
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Congratulate your child, encourage him and celebrate all
his successes.
Some Study Strategies
1. Beat procrastination! Teach your child, by example,
not to put off tasks.
2. Instead of denying them privileges for not studying,
offer rewards or incentives for getting schoolwork done.
3. Get organized!
4. After class or in the evenings, encourage your child
to write a review of key ideas from each class that day. Or, discuss it with
you verbally.
5. Teach your child to be an active reader.
6. Encourage your child to read through textbook sections
before they are reviewed in class.
7. Encourage your child to keep an organized, neat and
complete notebook in each class (as required).