Tips from parents!

Many parents can experience nervousness about sending their child to a new school, or are unsure what they- and their child- can expect as they move on to another grade. If you (or your parent) falls into this category, you're not alone!

Although we're now a week and a half or so into the new school year, some parents submitted excellent tips for easing the transition back to school.


"As nerve-wracking as it may be for parents and/or child to send your kid off to a new place for the first time, just remember that it is unlikely that this is the first time that the school, daycare, or institution is welcoming a new face. If you've done your research, you're going to be leaving your child in the hands of well qualified individuals who likely have a seamless process in transitioning new children into a new school year/ program. As a parent, take a deep breath, kiss your kid goodbye, and really try to appreciate the quiet adult time you'll have (whether it be at work, school, or home) while your kids are off socializing."
- Mrs. W., mother of 2


"Build and develop a relationship with your child's teacher(s). Get to know, understand, and have comfort in the person or people who are the experts and are charged with educating your child. Once you have established an open line of communication, trust and development can thrive, for the student and the parent."
- Mr. R., father of 1 


"Try to tour wherever you're sending your child and meet the people who will be working with them, PRIOR to beginning their first day. It will be nice for the child and for you to have a familiar face and sense of the atmosphere, come that first day of school...when those nerves really start to act up!"
- Mrs. D, mother of 3


"In the days before school starts, help your child do some "mental walk-throughs" of the first day of school. This way, when the first day rolls around, your child will have already had an opportunity to mentally rehearse what the experience will be like!"
- Mrs. K., mother of 5

"...Reassure your student that nerves are normal, and that there are many other students who will be having the same thoughts and feelings on the first day of school. This will be the first day for a lot of the kids!"
- Anonymous

"The night before, make sure everything is ready for the morning. For my kids, that means picking our clothes, having their backpacks by the door, and 2 of them shower the night before."
- Anonymous

"Practice your morning routine before the actual first day, so you can start the day by being on time and not in panic mode!" 
- Mrs. F, mother of 3

Any more tips to share? Please email or comment below!

It's (almost) that time again!

I don't know about you, but I'm actually looking forward to the school year starting soon! I have a lot of ideas and plans for how I can make my teaching more effective and engaging, and I'm looking forward to getting to know all of my new students and seeing returning students.

At the middle school, we just finished up a 4-day mini-course for new students, where participants were introduced to a variety of strategies that will help them become more skilled at things like time management, organization, active reading, memorization, note-taking, and self advocacy. We had a fantastic group of students participate, and I want to thank their parents for supporting their attendance too.

Below is part of a letter that was sent home to parents on the last day of the mini-course; these are just some suggestions of how parents might support their student's continued progress once the school year is underway. Parents- you may see something in here that could be applicable to your child, even if he or she is not in middle school. Students- you may see something in here for yourself too! Just throwing it out here in case it can be helpful to anyone...

•  Help your student create and follow routines for homework and organization.

• Talk with your student about the strategies he or she is using to complete tasks; this reinforces the metacognitive element of learning.

• Help your student break down long-term projects or assignments into smaller, more manageable tasks; we call this “chunking” or “breaking big rocks into pebbles.” Then, help them to plan (and write down!) when to complete each smaller task, starting with the due date and working backwards; we call this “backwards planning.”

• Talk with your student about what he or she is learning, both content-wise and skill-wise. Emphasize that different strategies work for different people, and that we all need to figure out how we learn best, so we can be efficient and effective learners.

• Part of a student’s middle school experience should be figuring out how to manage more responsibility and independence. For students to have opportunities to learn and practice this, they need to be allowed to grapple with tasks, attempt to problem-solve independently, and experience natural consequences for their actions and inactions. (The Gift of Failure by Jessica Lahey is an interesting book that builds on this idea.)

• Encourage your child to communicate with his or her teachers and/or advisor, especially if they are feeling confused, overwhelmed or unsure of themselves. You could role-play a conversation they might have, or encourage them to write a note or email the teacher if they’re hesitant to initiate a conversation with them.

• Encourage your student to attend extra help sessions with their teachers, and any other skill-building workshops offered by the school (e.g. the HLC’s Snack and Study sessions are held about 2 times each month, for an hour after sports- so your student would need to be picked up from school when it’s over. Upcoming Snack and Study topics and dates will be posted in the weekly TNN email, and they will be in the daily morning announcements as well.) If you're not sure what resources might be available, have your child inquire!

•  Maintain a growth mindset- that is, embrace the belief that we can grow our “intelligence” in different areas, with strategic practice and perseverance. In conversations with your child about schoolwork, grades, and “abilities,” emphasize that strategic practice of a skill actually changes the brain’s structure by building and solidifying neural pathways; so, they’re not “doomed” to always struggle with one task, skill, or content area because the brain is like a muscle we can exercise to make stronger. (See the work of Carol Dweck for more information on growth mindsets- it’s pretty interesting stuff!)

Enjoy your remaining days of summer vacation, 

and see you soon!

Preparing for Exams (and other tests)

With summer just around the corner, students (and parents) may be starting to think about end-of-year exams. No need to panic though! Keep in mind the following to get through exam season without a hitch...

An organized visual schedule can be
a great cue or prompt
for sticking to your plan

Time Management is Essential! 

• Find blocks of 30-45 minutes in your schedule, and then plan what to focus on during those blocks of time.
• Map out the “what” AND the “how." 
• Doing this in advance can save you time (and stress) later on. 
• Build in a short break (2-5 minutes) for every 45-60 minutes of studying.
• Use a timer so your breaks don't get too long!

• Prepare by first collecting content from which to study; then, create study materials; then, actively engage with and utilize those study materials. (More tips about this are below.)

•  Some teachers will work with you in class, to prepare for exams, and may even give you a timeline and specific tasks to do for preparation. Stick to those recommendations!

Keep a Balanced Perspective

• Keep these tests in perspective.
• Focus on the process, versus the product. 
• This means emphasizing the habits that you are working to develop, and the process of figuring out the sorts of study techniques that work best for you as an individual, rather than solely emphasizing the grade you end up with.
• Focus on HOW you're studying, rather than HOW MUCH you study.
• Maintain healthy habits: eat well-balanced meals, get plenty of sleep, stay active, and continue to participate in the things you enjoy!

Use ACTIVE Study Strategies

“Reading over” textbooks and notes is NOT efficient studying!

“Chunk Down” the Content- Break large amounts of material into smaller pieces. Before setting out to attack your class material, color code or label it. Divide the material into what you know well (green), what you need to review (yellow), and what is unfamiliar (red).
 You can also consider breaking down your material into the categories outlined on a study guide given to you by your teacher, or according to how recent the material is.


Teach Someone Else-You’ll know that you’re really comfortable with the material if you can teach it to someone else. Teach a parent or sibling, encourage them to ask you questions...and then answer their questions.

CREATE Study Materials  

• Using pre-made Quizlet sets is okay, but you may retain more when you’re creating the study materials instead of just reviewing what someone else has done.

A graphic organizer, filled in or entirely created by you,
can be a great way to see the big ideas
and connections in your class material. 

• ŸGraphic Organizers: For many classes, it can make sense to create a graphic organizer or visual that shows the connections between the content/ topics that you have studied this year. Creating a graphic organizer can help you to not only see how the topics are connected, but can also help you to identify “big ideas” to focus on. 

• ŸNote Cards: On the front, write the term, big idea, event, etc. On the back, answer who, what, when, where, why is it significant questions. Does it take longer? Yes, but you will have a more thorough understanding of the material. 

• Create a visual trigger on the front of the note card. This can be a phrase or picture, or some other sort of mnemonic. In the testing situation, the visual trigger may be just the thing that pops into your mind and cues the answer.

• Play with the note cards. Rather than just flipping through and trying to memorize the words on the card, get creative. Make different groups and categories (e.g. leaders and battles; bones and organs; verbs and nouns) then re-categorize them. Compare the cards to one another. How were 2 leaders the same or different? Why was one battle more significant than others? By manipulating the note cards, you are engaging in higher-level thinking…the sort of skills you’ll need to practice in order to answer essay and other open-response questions.

• ŸTriple Note Totes: These are useful when you’re working on memorizing material. Fold a paper into three columns. In the first column, list the vocabulary you’re trying to remember. In the middle column, write the definition or important information about that term. In the third column, create and note down a mnemonic device for linking the term to the necessary information (definition, dates, importance, etc.).

Test Yourself- You’ve have had a whole year’s worth of experience taking tests and quizzes for a class, so you can use those old assessments to study from. You can:

• Make corrections to old tests and quizzes, using your notes and textbooks.
• Make up your own practice questions based on the sorts of questions teachers have used in the past.
• Look at chapter titles or section headings in a book, and turn them into essay questions.
• Turn class notes into fill-in-the-blank or short answer questions.
• Make practice tests to exchange with classmates.

Form a Study Group- Study groups can be good for reinforcing material you already know, and provide you with an opportunity to practice and review what you’re not as comfortable with. However, you must keep them structured and focused, in order for group meetings to be useful.

Have additional tips for dealing with exams? Share in the comments below!

Memory Strategy: Triple Note Tote

Memory Strategy: Triple Note Tote

A Triple Note Tote is an easy, fast, and fun way to remember vocabulary for classes like English, Social Studies, Science, and Foreign Language. Once you're done, it can also serve as a practice test, study guide, and/or reference sheet when completing work.

Materials needed:

1. piece of paper, folded into 3 columns
2. something to write with
3. vocabulary you're trying to learn

To make a triple note tote, label the three columns like this:

Vocabulary word	Definition  (in your own words)	Memory strategy or visual trigger

In the first column, you're simply going to write down the first vocab word you need to learn. 

In the second column, you'll paraphrase the definition, or put it into your own words. Not hard, right?

So far, your sheet should look like this:

Vocabulary word (Spanish)	Definition  (in your own words)	Memory strategy or visual trigger
Mesa	table

Now comes the fun part, which might take a little longer but will really help you to learn and remember the words. Think about a visual trigger that associates the vocab word with its definition. For example, I might think of a very messy-looking table, because "mesa" reminds me of "mess." Then, I would draw a messy table in that third column of my paper, like this:

Vocabulary word (Spanish)	Definition  (in your own words)	Memory strategy or visual trigger
Mesa	table

The reason you should have some sort of visual trigger, or image, associating the word with its definition is that images (pictures) and language (words) are stored in different areas of the brain. If the language portion of our brain is having a hard time recalling the meaning of "mesa" or the Spanish word for "table," the picture part of our brain still has a chance to kick-in to trigger that language part of our brain. This isn't the most scientific explanation of the process, I know, but it makes sense, right?

Here are a few more examples of how you could use a triple note tote to help you remember vocabulary for a foreign language (in this case, Spanish and Latin):

Vocabulary word (Spanish or Latin)	Definition  (in your own words)	Memory strategy or visual trigger
Correr (Spanish)	to run

The Terminator says "I will end you."

Terminare (Latin)                          To end, To finish                          
                                    

Following Directions

Many students only skim through, or skip over altogether, the directions for an assignment. 

This can obviously cause you some problems: you may do the work incorrectly and need to re-do it, you may do too much work and be wasting your time, or you may not do all of the work that is required. 

There are a few strategies, however, that you can use to make sure you're paying close attention to all parts of directions, and following them correctly. Those strategies include:

1. Reading the directions twice before starting. Then, re-read the directions when you think you're done, to make sure you followed them correctly.

2. Asking yourself, "How would I explain these directions to someone else, using my own words?" If you're not able to do that, it may mean you don't truly understand the directions. So, ask for help or try another strategy.

3. Highlighting or underlining key words in the directions.

• Pay close attention to words like: 
• (English/ History/ Science) Read, underline, circle, summarize, explain, provide details, write in complete sentences, brainstorm, analyze, compare, contrast, prove, describe, annotate, mark up, support...
• (Foreign Language) Translate, summarize, explain, write in complete sentences, describe...
• (Math) Find the product/ sum/ quotient/ remainder, simplify, show your work, diagram, demonstrate...

Sometimes, teachers will make bold, underline, or italicize the most important words in directions, so pay close attention to those signals too!

4. Highlighting, underlining, or circling signs and symbols (x, -, +, =,  ÷) in math problems. If you treat something like an addition problem when it's really a multiplication problem, you're obviously not going to get the correct answer. Color-coding signs for addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division, can be another cue to pay close attention to the signs.

5. If there is more than one step to the directions, you should identify each different step you should take. For example, in the following directions, you're being asked to do three things:

Identify three inventions of the industrial revolution, explain how each invention changed the way people lived, and summarize what life would be like today if these inventions did not exist. 

By highlighting or numbering each step, you're going to be more likely to follow each of the three sub-directions and produce a more complete answer.
Identify three inventions of the industrial revolution, explain how each invention changed the way people lived, and summarize what life would be like today if these inventions did not exist. 

Try out one or more of these strategies if you often hear from teachers that you need to pay close attention to the directions, or if you see that your errors are not really reflective of what you actually understand. 

If you have other ideas or strategies for following directions, please leave a comment to share!

Quick Tips for Creating a Space that's Conducive to Studying

It's important to have an organized space where you can consistently complete your homework and studying. Having fewer distractions and knowing where to find necessary materials will help you to complete your work more quickly, and allow you to have time to do the things you want to do! Taking a few minutes to read through these simple tips might just put you on the path to a shorter and more efficient homework time!

I'm going to try to keep this post streamlined and organized, just like a study space should be...                                                                               

Workspace

• Have a set study space and storage space. 
• The storage space should ideally be in the study space, but it could also be a shelf or cabinet or bin in another room. 
• Keep your materials and textbooks in the same place all the time, when at home. Ideally, this place should be a specific location within your study space.

• If you split your time between two homes, or don't always have an opportunity to do your homework in the same place each day, create a "workspace bag/bin" that contains everything you'll need for a mobile workspace. 
• The bag or bin will keep everything together, and is easily portable. 
• Only take things out of the bag or bin when you're using them in that moment. Then, put the item back right away so you'll know where to find it when you need it next.



This is not so good...

• Keep this workspace bag/bin in one place (e.g. trunk of a car).

• Reduce clutter in your work area. 
• You should work on a clear, uncluttered surface. 
• After unpacking your bag, put one subject's materials on the surface at a time. Leave the other materials off the work surface, so you have reduced the "visual noise." 

• Adjust furniture to fit your needs.
• Sit in a comfortable chair (with armrests, if you're working at a computer), that allows you to maintain good posture: sitting up straight with your feet flat on the floor or on a footrest.
• When you're working on the computer, your eyes should be about 1.5 feet from the screen (about arms' length)
• The keyboard should be centered and on a stable surface
• The monitor should be about 5cm above eye level. 
• Zoom in on what you're looking at or working on, and adjust the settings so messages aren't popping up and you're not receiving notifications irrelevant to your task.

Routines

• Unpack everything from your backpack and file away old materials at a routine time. 



I'm pretty sure you don't want your work
area to end up looking like this.

• File old papers and tests. Don't throw away materials or past assessments unless your teacher says to; these materials may come in handy when you're preparing for mid-year or final exams.
• Use accordion folders, separate binders, or a giant binder with dividers to keep old work organized by subject and topic. Put these in your storage space so they're not cluttering up your work space, but they're still available for reference when needed.
• You could do this every day, at the end of every school week, or even on Sundays when you're preparing for another week at school. It doesn't really matter when; the important thing is that you do this at least 1-2 times per month, depending on how many papers you have in your binders or folders.  

• Set aside time at the beginning of each work session to review your planner and to check (using the classroom websites, if possible), that you know what you have to accomplish that night.
• Then, make a plan of approach: What will you start with? What will you do next? When, and for how long, will you take a break? Plan this out in writing, and stick to it.

Environment

• Reduce and/or remove distractors in your work area.



Look familiar? It does to me!

• Put your phone in a different room
• Keep the computer screen turned off unless you're using it for homework
• Pull down the shades/ blinds if you're facing a window
• Turn off the TV or music

• Make sure you have adequate lighting, so your eyes don't have to work as hard.

• Get some fresh air in the room if possible.

Good luck!