Study Skills for Middle School and Beyond

Your child has a better chance of succeeding in college if he masters school survival skills now. Here's how you can help him get organized and learn to study effectively.

"Be sure to study for the test on Friday," one of your child's teachers is certain to say someday soon. Does your child know how?

While many teachers spend some class time teaching study skills, students often need more guidance than they get in the classroom. In middle school, there's more homework, it becomes more difficult and it requires analytical skills your child may not have developed yet.

The study skills your child needs to do well on her test on Friday are the same ones she will need to succeed in high school and college: getting organized, taking good notes and studying effectively. 

As your child moves toward independence, he's less likely to ask for your advice. He will need to go through some trial and error to come up with the strategies most compatible with him learning style. And you'll want to encourage him to take responsibility for him own school work. You can help him by monitoring homework, asking questions and helping him evaluates what works for him — and what doesn't.

Helping Your Child Get Organized

Getting organized is crucial for your child, and the key is parent involvement. Some tips to help your child get organized: 

'Did You Do Your Homework?'

Parents need to ask more questions than this one, teachers advise. How much should you help with homework? Monitor homework but remember it's your child's homework, not yours. You can help by asking questions that help guide your child to his own solutions. Some examples:

·         What information do you need to do this assignment?

·         Where are you going to look for it?

·         Where do you think you should begin?

·         What do you need to do next?

·         Can you describe how you're going to solve this problem?

·         How did you solve this problem?

·         What did you try that didn't work?

·         Why does this answer seem right to you?

·         Tell me more about this part?

Provide a place to study. It doesn't have to be a desk. A kitchen counter is a great place,

especially if mom's in the kitchen cooking.The desk or table surface should be big enough 

so that your student can spread out papers and books. Make sure essential supplies such as 

pens, paper and calculator are close by. Have good lighting and a study chair that's the right

height available.

Help your child develop a system to keep track of important papers. If your child tends to forget to turn in homework or can't quite keep track of how he's doing in a class, it might help to get him a binder with a folder in the front for completed work ready to be turned in and a folder in the back for papers returned by the teacher.

"For me, staying organized meant creating a system — any system — and sticking to it," says G. "I had fun color-coding, organizing and using dividers, but the truth is, all that mattered was that there was a method that I stuck with."

Make sure your child has — and uses — a planner to keep track of assignments. Help your child get in the habit of writing down each daily assignment in each subject and checking it off when it's complete. Some schools provide these to students, and if not, you might want to work with your PTA or parent organization to provide planners at your school.

 Encourage your child to estimate how long each assignment will take. He can then plan a realistic schedule, building in study breaks after subjects that are most challenging, and allowing for soccer games and band practice. Helping your child keep track of time spent studying — rather than staring at a blank page — will help him think about how he's using his time. If he's spending too much time on a subject that might be a signal that he needs extra help or tutoring.

 Help your child break big projects into smaller ones. A big research project will seem less overwhelming and will be less likely to be left until the last minute if it's done in manageable chunks, each with its own deadline.

 Communicate with your child's teachers. If your child is struggling with organizational skills, talk to the school counselor or teachers about what might be causing the problems and brainstorm approaches to solve them.

 Studying for Tests Studying for tests is a skill. For struggling students, it's a mystery. "Unsuccessful test takers don't know where the questions come from," says J. "The kids who don't succeed tend to think the others are lucky."

Parents can help their children manage their time and attention — which means turning off the cell phone, the TV and the iPod, says B.

Help your child de-stress. Good study skills can help reduce anxiety, and so can relaxation exercises and regular physical activity. If your child seems unusually anxious about tests, talk to him about it. If the work seems too difficult for your child or the workload too great, contact the school.

"Have a conversation with the teacher," says W. "Maybe the child doesn't need to be doing 100 problems to practice a concept. Maybe 10 is just fine."

By Great Schools Staff