Using your planner!!!

The key to effectively using a planner is consistency: use it well and use it always. If you only use your planner once in a while, or don't use it to write down homework in each and every class, it's probably not going to be helpful to you. But, if you do use it well and use it consistently, you will likely find that you are less stressed about schoolwork, you're getting better grades, and you're enjoying your classes more because you're prepared and more relaxed!

Backwards planning for long term projects, and upcoming tests and quizzes works like this:
1. Start by writing down when the assignment is due, or when the test/quiz is. Write this in on the day it's due/ being given.
2. Count back the days you have to work on it; that is, count backwards from the due date to today.
3. Think about the amount of material you have to produce, or review to prepare for the test or quiz. Divide it into chunks that make sense for whatever the assignment it. For example, if you have a math quiz on chapter 1, sections 1-3 four days from now, maybe you chunk down the material into sections (one per night), then use the fourth night to review all of the sections together. If you have a first draft of a five-paragraph essay due three days from now, maybe you work on brainstorming and outlining tonight, writing the three body paragraphs tomorrow, and then writing the intro and conclusion the next night.
4. Write down EXACTLY what you will work on each night, and how you will "work on" it. Writing "study" in your planner doesn't really remind you of what you should be DOING to study. Instead, write down "make flashcards and play mix-and-match game with flashcards" or "make and complete an active practice on section 1."

The idea behind backwards planning is to get larger assignments or tasks done by attacking it in smaller and more manageable pieces, in the days leading up to a due date or an assessment date. Practicing backwards planning can help you to see a large assignment as more manageable, and it can also help you to not procrastinate on the work! Above is a video that shows an example of backwards planning in practice.

Estimating the amount of time each nightly assignment will take, and writing down that estimation, can help in two ways: first, it can be a goal to then complete the assignment in that amount of time, which may lead you to be more efficient and focused; second, it can help you to get an idea of when you should work on each task. For example, if you think that reading a chapter for English will take you about 20 minutes, and writing a response for History will take you about 30 minutes, and you know that you have only 20 minutes left before having to eat dinner, you could complete English in that amount of time rather than feeling interrupted when working on history. Also, generally speaking, the longer something is going to take, the more brainpower it is going to require. So, it's often a good idea to complete longer assignments before working on shorter ones.

Plan out the order in which you'll complete your assignments, before beginning them. Simply numbering assignments or subjects 1, 2, 3, ... can help you to feel like you have a road map to your nightly homework. Again, for most people, it works best to start with the most difficult assignments first, because that's when they have the most brainpower or mental energy. However, other students report that starting with something they like, or something that's relatively easy, works well because they feel like it's motivating and it gets them on a roll with their work, and gives them confidence in their ability to complete the work (even when the later assignments are more difficult).

Learning a Foreign Language

Today's post is written by Mr. Richie Iskra, a Foreign Language teacher in the Middle School. Thank you, Mr. Iskra, for these fantastic tips for language-learning!

First, I would invite you to consider the truly relative word, “foreign.”  You should realize that each and every language is foreign to somebody, and that those people to whom it is not foreign had to work hard to learn it too.  We all have come into the world in the typical way, and we all were born totally ignorant of language: id est for some time at the beginning of our lives we did not know any language at all.  We communicated when we cried and when we laughed, but for some time we were not speaking a language.  After a while of absorbing the world with our senses and hearing our caregivers speak, we eventually began to comprehend specific sounds and even to replicate specific sounds.  Thus, already we all have learned at least one “foreign” language, and so we all have the ability to learn another one.  Here are some straightforward tips for approaching the acquisition of a new language.

1. Constantly compare and contrast your first language with your new language, for this practice will help you gain a more profound understanding of the two of them.  Your first language can help you more easily grasp both the similarities it shares with your new language and the differences between them.  Think about a plane and a car: the two look, sound and move differently, but they share the common purpose of transportation.  Your first language and your new language can look, sound and work differently, but they share a common purpose, communication.

2. Constantly consider these four actions when you are studying language: listening, reading, speaking and writing.  You should dedicate time to all four.  Listening and reading require us to consume information and then to decide the meaning contained in the information, so these two actions are called interpretive.  Speaking and writing require us to decide what we mean and then to produce information, so these two actions are called presentational.  Spend the most time on the action with which you are least comfortable, but be sure to keep a good balance.  Here are some ways to practice multiple actions at the same time:

• When you are reading or writing, always read the words aloud.  By doing this, you will also practice your speaking and listening skills.

• When you are listening, write the words.  Doing this will enhance both your writing and reading skills.

• When you are speaking, record yourself.  This will allow you to listen to yourself and pick up on any changes you might need to make to your pronunciation.

3. Finally, be sure to use your new language with another person, id est, interpersonally.  Languages came about for the purpose of communication, so the best way to practice a new language is to use it with friends and family!

Resources for Online Learning

Resources for Online Learning

Need to brush up on some of your academic skills or understanding? Not thrilled with learning some of your classes' content from textbooks or other resources your teachers have provided? Want to continue learning about a subject once the class has moved on, or want to move ahead of the pace of the class? Check out some of these suggestions...

*Special thanks to the magazine All You, and author Jessie Van Amburg, for some of these resources and ideas.


Multi-purpose sites and apps
Quizlet.com allows you to use pre-made flashcards, or to make your own, to review content ranging from science vocabulary to math facts. If you have this app on your phone or tablet, it's a productive thing to use while you're in traffic (as a passenger!), waiting in line, or just have a few minutes of downtime.

The Hopscotch app allows you to practice coding your own games, art, and animation. Coding may not be taught at your school, but this app makes learning about and practicing it fun and easy.

StoryJumper.com allows you to create your own books by writing text and choosing from preloaded illustrations. If you choose, you can also get a hard copy version of the book printed and bound, and shipped to you for as little as $13. While StoryJumper is geared toward younger kids, there are other more mature options for older students. If you're into writing at all, starting your own blog on a free blogging platform like blogspot.com or EduBlogs.com can give you the opportunity to see your writing published online, and to have a real audience!

Audible.com has over 100,000 books and audio resources. If your eyes tire easily, or you're sick of listening to music in the car or while working out, an audio book is a fun (and sometimes free) thing to try. Podcasts (downloadable through the iTunes store) are also a great audio resource, and you can find podcasts on all sorts of topics and in various genres.

FactMonster.com has interactive games (including math facts practice with varying degrees of difficulty) and supplemental materials that could be applied to the content in many of your classes.

Grammar 

The Mad Libs app (free)is a digital version of the old favorite. Play with your friends or alone, plugging in nouns, adjective, verbs, and other parts of speech to create a zany story and to learn some new vocabulary.

Chompchomp.com is a favorite resource among some middle school English teachers, for their interactive and weird games that allow students to practice grammatical concepts independently and at their own pace.



Foreign Language
Watch a foreign language film on Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, or Hulu. Choose to watch it with or without subtitles. Or, watch an English language film (maybe one you've seen before) that has been dubbed over in another language. Already knowing the plot of the film may allow you to focus more on listening to the vocabulary and pronunciation, because you don't have to be trying to figure out what's going on.

The DuoLingo app and website allow you to make learning and practicing any of ten foreign languages, into a game! You can compete with friends, family, or classmates, or you can play as an individual. There are varying levels of difficulty you can work through too, so you'll be able to track your own progress and move at your own pace.



Science 

YouTube has a bunch of channels that focus on science content. SciShow, MinutePhysics, and Khan Academy are some favorites. Khan Academy also has its own full site, with videos, tutorials, and exercises related to science, math, and other content.

Budding astronomers may like the SkyView app, which lets you chart the stars overhead simply by pointing your phone or tablet at the night sky.

iBirdLite is another free app that lets you explore your natural surroundings, specifically plants and animals.

Remembering What You've Read... Audiobooks and other reading strategies

Do you find it difficult to remember what you've read? Or do you find yourself "zoning out" while reading? Try listening to an audio book while you read and visualize, and you might find that you remember more and/or can pay attention better!

Listen to the audio of the book while you read along and take notes! Although this article emphasizes the benefit of audio books for students who have learning differences, studies find that most people benefit from multiple means of representation when trying to encode (learn) new information.

Online resources like Audible.com, iTunes, audiobooks.com, and your public or school library have online audio books or audio books on CDs (or even cassette tapes?!) that you can check out, so you can easily try this strategy to see if it works for you!


Other active reading strategies you can use while listening to an audio book (or not), to better remember what you've read, include:

• End-of-chapter summaries
• Sticky Note summaries
• 3-bullet summaries
• SWBS summaries

• Stop and paraphrase at the end of each page (Stop, Think, Paraphrase)
• Visualizing
• Connecting
• Margin Notes

I'll post more about these other active reading strategies later. Happy reading (and/or listening!)

Starting the New School Year

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

(link to Bowie song)

Welcome to a new school year!

No matter which grade you're starting this year, or whether you're new to the school or a returning student, you're probably adjusting to some new things about your school day- the teachers, the classrooms, your classmates, your advisee group, your schedule...

Changes and transitions like this can be difficult, but the good thing is that you're not alone! Changes can be difficult for everyone, your teachers and parents included. Below are some tips for students AND parent, for adjusting to the new school year.

For students:

Get to know your teachers and advisor, and let them get to know you. 

-Ask the adults at school questions, both in class and outside of class time. Your questions can be as simple as, "How was your weekend?" or it can be more focused on the content of the class.

- Tell your teachers what you like and don't like, what interests you, and what you're involved in outside of school. You may learn that you have some things in common!

-Tell your teachers what you're going to need from them in order to be successful. Tell them that you prefer to sit near the board, or that you sometimes have a difficult time listening, participating, and taking notes at the same time. Tell them if you do (or don't) like being asked to read aloud in class, or if you benefit from having all multi-step directions written down. Tell them what your learning preferences are, and if you think you are eligible for accommodations like extended time. Teachers want to help you, so they'll want to know this information about you!

Get started off on the right foot, organizationally.
-Take the time to label your books, notebooks, and binders. Put that loose leaf paper in each of your binders, and put the divider tabs in there too. Make sure you have enough pens and pencils in your pencil case. If you are missing any school materials, Mr. Lanagan's room in the Middle School is full of perfectly good donated/ recycled materials like binders, folders, paper, and notebooks!

-Set up a work space at home where you complete your homework every night. Make sure it has some extra school supplies like paper, writing utensils, and maybe your laptop charger. Doing homework in the same place each night can minimize the chances you'll forget something at home, or lose something that you need.

-As soon as you receive your planner, put your name on it and start to use it! (More on effectively using a planner later on)

-If you're a Middle School student, attend the September 22nd Snack and Study Session on Organizational Strategies! (Sign up outside of the MS HLC; space is limited to 15 students)

Ask questions when you have them!
-Your teachers, advisor, coaches, and other adults in the school building all want to help you figure out what's happening, what's expected of you, and how you can be successful. Just ask someone for some help if you need it!








For parents:

Get to know your child's teachers, and help them get to know your child.
- Learn the names of each of your child's teachers, and his or her advisor. Learn the best way to get in touch with them (i.e. email, phone call, written note).

- Encourage your child to talk with his or her teachers, and share what their home and life is like; do they split time between houses, or do their homework somewhere other than at home? Is there consistent internet access at home, or a printer? Are there outside activities or commitments your child has during the school week or on the weekends? Is there any medication your child is taking that may affect their behavior, performance, or attention in class? This is all helpful information for your child's teachers to know.

Be aware of teachers' expectations and how to access class resources.
- At the start of the year in Middle School, many students will come home with "expectations" sheets for their different classes. These handouts may need to be signed, or maybe they don't, but in either case it will be valuable for you to read through the papers with your student so that you're aware of the different expectations of different classes and teachers.

- Many, if not most, teachers will use a website to disseminate information such as homework assignments, due dates, assessment dates, etc. However, the website or platform used by each teacher could be slightly different. Ask your student to show you how to access each of their classes' websites; if your student can't show you where he or she can find homework assignments or handouts/PDFs, then prompt your child to meet with that teacher immediately in order to figure out how to navigate the online aspect of the class.

- Starting in Middle School, students should be mostly advocating for themselves. Teachers do not want to field inquiries from parents about what the homework is, or what's on a test. Students at this age need to be learning how to ask these questions themselves, and how to problem-solve independently. This is not to say you can't help to problem-solve, but most of the communication with a teacher should be going through the student himself or herself. Role-playing what communication can look like between your student and his or her teacher, and prompting your student to troubleshoot situations (e.g. forgetting to write down a homework assignment, leaving needed materials at school, etc.) to practice these self-direction skills, will help your child to become a more independent and effective problem-solver.



Give it time!
- Everyone is a little nervous when starting a new school year, or when beginning at a new school- yes, teachers too. If there are some bumps in the road during the first few weeks of a new school year, that's normal. If you're trying to figure out how much independence and help to give your student with school work and other responsibilities, you're not alone. Kids, as well as teachers' expectations, change from year to year (and sometimes from day-to-day and class-to-class!), so we all need to be patient with one another, and give it time. I think we'll see that most kids will be able to handle increasing responsibility and independence, if we give them some room and some time to figure it all out.