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STUDY SMART

Your child attends school every day, is well behaved in class, and completes her homework. Why aren’t her grades better?

The answer may lie in how she studies. Guide your middle grader toward developing excellent study skills with these strategies.

Be active
Explain the difference between studying and “active studying.” Reading her textbook is studying; writing an outline as she reads is active studying. Here are other ideas to share with your child:  Jot down facts and dates. Type class notes. Highlight important points. Recite vocabulary definitions, names and math formulas on tape, and play them back. The more senses (Hearing, touching, seeing) your child uses, the more she will remember
Make Choices
Help your youngster decide where, when, and how to study—depending on how she learns best. Does she focus better with her door closed or open? Is she inspired or distracted by music? Can she concentrate more after school or after dinner? Is she more productive studying alone or with a buddy?  Have her try each way to see what works better. Figuring out her own studying style will help her achieve her best.
Stay on course
Have your child write out a weekly study schedule. She can block out times for each subject, quiz, or test. Encourage her to monitor her schedule and revise it as needed. Tell your middle grader, “A schedule is a plan, not a contract.” She’ll see that having an agenda will keep her on the right track.

Source: permission from Middle Years (c) 2007 Resources for Educators, a division of Aspen Publishers, Inc