Reading: 5 Tips for Success

Reading

5 Tips for Success

Tips 3-4

Tip 3: Do Research

Literary critics have written vast numbers of analytical and critical pieces on countless books. It you’re having trouble understanding a particular text, do some research and see what knowledgeable sources have to say about it. In addition to increasing your comprehension, you’ll also be showing initiative, something teachers always like to see. Always use legitimate and scholarly sources, not condensed study guides.

Tip 4: Use a Dictionary

Make sure you have access to a dictionary when you’re reading. You can often figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word by using context clues, but sometimes you can’t. Rather than simply skipping over words you don’t know, tale the time to look them up. The results are well worth the effort. Your comprehension will increase greatly, and you’ll build your vocabulary at the same time.

Choose the Right!!

Reading: 5 Tips for Success

Reading

5 Tips for Success

Reading and writing go hand in hand. The better you understand a text, the more like you are to successfully communicate your thoughts about it in writing. So it’s important to develop strong skills in both areas. With that in mind, here’s how to improve your reading comprehension.

Tips 1-2

Tip 1: Annotate

Be an active reader. Instead of passively reading a text, take notes about important story elements, key factual information and significant ideas in the text.

Tip 2: Note the Author’s Writing Style

Every author writes with a purpose, using deliberate methods to successfully relate specific information to the audience. When you’re reading, look for patterns in the author’s writing. For example, you may notice a repetition of key words, phrases or symbols—or the use of a distinct type of sentence structure. Authors employ these writing strategies to help readers comprehend a central argument or theme, so be sure to explore how these techniques create meaning.

Choose the Right!!

5 Tips for Staying Motivated Tips 3-5

5 Tips for Staying Motivated

Tips 3-5

3. Set Attainable Goals

If you’re having trouble writing a 25-page paper for class because it seems like such a big job, don’t focus on that final number. Break the paper down and consider each section of your paper individually. You can handle any project in small chunks.

4. Find a Social Support Network

Create a group of people around you who want to help you succeed. Mentors can be teachers or family friends who can give you guidance and help you develop new skills. Counselors can help you with planning your courses and starting to explore colleges. You can also reach out to friends and peers who can motivate you by listening and sharing ideas.

5. Acknowledge Your Accomplishments

Give yourself a quick reward when you complete an assignment or task. Take a walk, send an email, get a snack. Then move on to the next project.

Choose the Right!!

5 Tips for Staying Motivated Tips 1-2

5 Tips for Staying Motivated

Tips 1-2

To succeed in high school and college, you have to do your best at all times. But sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated, even when you really care about the work you’re doing. Here are five ways to stay on the track.

1.   Focus on High-Impact Activities

The key to success in schools is staying focused on your course work. Make a list to get an overall picture of your workload before you start to tackle any of it. Then, make a plan. Although it’s tempting to do the simplest assignments first, those that take more time and effort to accomplish are probably the ones that you’ll learn the most from. To determine what your priorities are, rank your assignments in the order of their importance. Then rearrange your time and devote more energy towards those that have the greatest impact on your course work and grades. For example, even though all homework assignments are important, studying for a midterm exam takes priorities over writing a paragraph for English class. As you complete each task, think of it as another step on your way to college success.

2.   Create New Challenges

Changing you approach can help you stay interested in what you’re going. If you've been given an assignment similar to one you've done in the past, think about it in a different way. If you wrote an essay for a creative writing assignment last year try a poem this time. For book reports, pick a history book instead of another biography.

Choose the Right!!

Take Control of Homework Part 3

Take Control of Homework

So It Doesn’t Control You

Part 3

Take Advantage of Any Free Time

If you have a study period or a long bus ride, use the time to review notes, prepare for and upcoming class to start your homework. Flash cards are a great learning tool. They are easy to make, easy to handle, and are a marvelous tool to help you learn and remember anything. Punch a hole in the upper left corner of each index card and connect the stack of your cards with a ring. Then the cards are bound and not flopping around. Flash cards bound like this act like a small book with pages. You can even separate ringed stacks for each subject. WHAT EVER YOU WANT TO REMEMBER, PUT IT IN A CARD.

Study with a Friend

Get together with friends and classmates to quiz each other, compare notes and predict test questions. Consider joining a study group.

Communicate

If you have concerns about the amount or type of homework you have, you may want to talk to your family, teachers or counselor. They can help you understand how much time you need to allot for homework and how to manage your tasks.

Celebrate Your Achievements

Reward yourself for hitting milestones or doing something well.

Choose the Right!!

Take Control of Homework Part 1

Take Control of Homework

So It Doesn't Control You

Part 1

Although very few students love homework, it does serve a purpose. Homework helps you:

Ø Reinforce what you've learned during the day.

Ø Build study habits that are essential in college.

Ø Prepare for your classes.

Ø Get a sense of progress.

Here are some tips to help you deal with homework more efficiently and effectively.

Set the Mood

Create a good study area with everything you need (for example, a calculator). If you don’t have a quiet place at home, try your school or local library.

Know Where to Begin

Make a list of everything you need to do, and note all deadlines. Do the more difficult assignments first, so you don’t have to face them at the end.

Study at the Same Time Everyday

Even if you don’t have homework every night, use the time to review notes. If sitting down to work is part of your normal routine, you’ll approach it with less dread. Also, you’ll become a pro at using time productively.

Choose the Right!!

Balancing High School and Part-Time Work Part 5

Balancing High School and Part-Time Work

Part 5

Additional Tips

Although working and going to school is challenging, it can be a rewarding experience if you use some foresight. These tips can help you handle the situation and make the most of your time:

·      Discuss your plans with your family. Balancing the demands of school and work is easier with their support.

·      Start slowly; don’t commit to working a lot of hours immediately.

·      Avoid time conflicts by planning your class and work schedules as far ahead of time as possible.

·      Use your time efficiently. You can use 10 minutes waiting in a line to go over a few pages of assigned reading. If your job has a lot of downtime and your boss has no objection, you can use slow periods to do schoolwork.

·      If you commute to your job on public transportation, bring your schoolwork with you so you can work along the way.

·      Be flexible and willing to make sacrifices. You may have to cut down on some other things you’d like to do because of your school and work commitments.

·      If you have too much on your plate, admit it. Then cut back as needed.

·      Schedule relaxation time. Everyone needs some downtime to stay happy and healthy.

Choose the Right!!

Balancing High School and Part-Time Work Part 2

Balancing High School and

Part-Time Work

Part 2

Voicing your goals to someone else can help you make decisions and figure out your priorities. It can also help you judge whether you can do both—work and study—successfully. To help answer this question, ask yourself:

Ø Am I an organized person?

Ø What kind of study habits do I have?

Ø Do I make good use of my available time?

Ø Will I be able to manage my schedule effectively if I take on a part-time job?

Think about the pros and the cons of working. On the plus side, a job can teach you about commitment, time management and responsibility—and, of course, handling money. On the minus side a job can cut into the time you have for sleeping, studying and socializing.

Choose the Right!!

Selecting your Courses Part 6

Selecting your Courses

Part 6

Success in AP can also help you in other ways. AP helps you stand out in the admission process and offers the opportunity to learn from some of the most inspiring teachers in the world. Learn more about the AP Program.

For More Help in Choosing Courses

Use College Search to look up a specific college’s academic requirements to be sure you are on track to attend the college of your choice.

If you have concerns about your class schedule or progress in school, set up a meeting with your counselor, teacher or advisor. There are many resources to help you with the process and with achieving your personal, college and career goals. Without goals, you meander all sorts of direction. Goals give you purpose, direction, enthusiasm, and passion for that which you really desire. Define your goals deliberately, evaluate your goals often and make changes as necessary, work hard to achieve your goals, and continue working hard until you actually do reach your goals.

Choose the Right!!

Selecting your Courses Part 6

Selecting your Courses

Part 6

Success in AP can also help you in other ways. AP helps you stand out in the admission process and offers the opportunity to learn from some of the most inspiring teachers in the world. Learn more about the AP Program.

For More Help in Choosing Courses

Use College Search to look up a specific college’s academic requirements to be sure you are on track to attend the college of your choice.

If you have concerns about your class schedule or progress in school, set up a meeting with your counselor, teacher or advisor. There are many resources to help you with the process and with achieving your personal, college and career goals. Without goals, you meander all sorts of direction. Goals give you purpose, direction, enthusiasm, and passion for that which you really desire. Define your goals deliberately, evaluate your goals often and make changes as necessary, work hard to achieve your goals, and continue working hard until you actually do reach your goals.

Choose the Right!!

Student Success Tips

Student Success Tips

1.   Attend New Student Orientation at the beginning of the fall or Spring Semester. Brenda

2.   GEN 101S, First Year Experience, provides excellent content and resources to be a successful student. It is likely that this class will be part of your first semester at Edison.

3.   Be sure to attend all classes, and be on time.

4.   To reduce distraction, sit near the front of the class.

5.   Keep a copy of the syllabus for each class so that you will know what is going on, what you should be doing, and how soon you need to get it done.

6.   Be a good listener. Focus and concentrate on main points.

7.   Take good notes in class, and review your notes within 24 hours. Then, review your notes periodically to help you retain information. Index cards with the key information are also a helpful way to review.

8.   Study! To be a successful college student, study at least two hours a week for every hour you spend in class. This is a minimum.

9.   Determine an ideal space, and plan study time when you are at your best to retain information.

10.                     Maintain a student planner to keep track of important dates and projects.

11.                     Apply additional time management strategies, including planning, setting goals, and prioritizing schoolwork and your additional responsibilities.

12.                     Avoid marathon study periods. Instead, study for short intervals with a break in between. For example, study for 30 minutes, take a 3-minute break, come back and review, then repeat the process.

13.                     Get to know other students in your classes for added support and to study together when possible.

14.                     Participate in class, and ask your instructor questions when needed. Meet with them during office hours for additional support and guidance.

15.                     See your faculty advisor every semester to register for classes.

16.                     Make use of the Library and Learning Center for study help and free tutoring services.

17.                     Being a full-time student is your 40-hour-per-week job, and like many full-time employees, you probably will not finish the job in 40 hours.

18.                     Be sure to allow time for physical activity as well as class and study time. This will help you to focus on your studies. Locker rooms and a work-out room are available on campus.

19.                     (TAA only) Plan Ahead! When you have more than a 30 week-day break in classes you will not be paid unemployment. Be sure to put aside money each week so you have money on the weeks you do not get paid.

Choose the Right!!

        

Selecting Your Courses Part 5

Selecting Your Courses

Part 5

The Arts

Research indicates that students who participate in the arts often do better in school and on standardized tests. The arts help you recognize patterns, discern differences and similarities, and exercise your mind in unique ways, often outside a traditional classroom setting.

Many colleges require or recommend one or two semesters in the arts. Good choices include studio arts, dance, music and drama. Many students have talents and extraordinary abilities in the arts. Students should look within their own repertoire of talents and identify their artistic abilities and take college class to develop their talents.

Advanced Placement ProgramÒ (APÒ)    

To be sure you are ready to take on college-level work, enroll in the most challenging courses you can in high school, such as honors or AP courses. Research consistently shows that students who score a 3.0 or higher on an AP Exam typically experience greater academic success and college graduation rates than students who don’t take AP.

Work hard in your righteous pursuits, and you will reap the benefits of self-fulfillment and job satisfaction. Don’t take shortcuts just to “get by,” instead, take challenging and difficult roads (courses) and reach higher mountain peaks of achievement.

Choose the Right!!

The Power of Study Groups Part 2

The Power of Study Groups

http://www.collegeboard.com/students/plan/high-school/50432.html

Part 2

The Benefits of Study Groups

Group study offers other advantages in addition to gaining a deeper understanding of class material. These include the opportunity to: Reinforce note-taking. If your APÒ  Biology notes are unclear, you can ask a member of your study group to help you fill the gaps. Share talents. Each person brings different strengths, such as organizational skills, the ability to stick to a task or a capacity for memorization.

Cover for ground Group members may be able to solve a calculus problem together that none would have solved alone.

Benefit from the support system. Members often have common goals, such as good grades. Each person’s work affects the other members, which results in making members supportive for one another. Socialize. It’s more fun to study with others; the give-and-take makes it more interesting. And because it’s more fun, you spend more time studying!

Choose the Right!!

Successful Students 9

Successful Students 9

9. …don’t cram for exams. Successful students know that divided periods of study are more effective than cram sessions, and they practice it.

There is one thing that study skills specialists agree on, it is that distributed study is better than massed, late-night, last-ditch efforts known as cramming. You’ll learn more, remember more, and earn a higher grade by studying in four, one hour-a-night sessions for Friday’s exam than studying for four hours straight on Thursday night. Short, concentrated preparatory efforts are more efficient and rewarding than wasteful, inattentive, last moments marathons. Yet, so many students fail to learn this lesson and end up repeating it over and over again until it becomes a wasteful habit. Not too clever, huh?

When you cram, you are taking a shortcut, and shortcuts never produce any real worthwhile results. Also, when you take shortcuts, you feel rather rotten knowing that you could have done better but didn't  Shortcuts cut you short. You can’t plant watermelons seeds and harvest fresh watermelons the next day. It takes time. Cramming for the test or project and expecting to make a high score the next day is like planting watermelon seeds and expecting to harvest and eat fresh watermelon the next day. Plus cramming for the test or project doesn't help you academically, so why even do it. Plan ahead, prepare ahead. Give yourself plenty of days and weeks to prepare for upcoming accountability opportunities.

Choose the Right!!

Study for Multiple Exams Part 3

Study for Multiple Exams Part 3

English, math, foreign language tips: PRACTICE--especially foreign language. It is hard to succeed in a foreign language class if you are just showing and doing the work. But if you are in your room and look at objects and try to say them in the language you are learning it actually helps. Or if you send a simple text to a friend think about it, can you transfer that to German or Spanish? These are little things that will help.

Here are my final words of wisdom for students who want to get better grades in college: Time management and organization are critical key factors to success in college. And never be afraid to go and ask you teacher for help. They have office hours for a reason-use them!

Choose the Right!! 

Study for Multiple Exams Part 2

Study for Multiple Exams Part 2

My strategies for written assignments: Everyone has their own writing styles. I generally come up with an idea and do massive amounts of research before I ever think about writing. I then organize my research then sometimes prepare an outline before actually writing. I always print out the paper and come back to it the next day and reread it. That is the easiest way for me to catch my own mistakes. I have to give my eyes a break from it, and if I just wrote it I think it looks perfect. But if I look at it a day later I almost always find grammatical errors or phrases and sentences I just want to reword.

How I succeed in team projects: Never assume someone is doing what they are supposed to be doing. Have regular meetings and have each member show their work, not just give you or the group their work for it.

Choose the Right!!

Study for Multiple Exams Part 1

Study for Multiple Exams Part 1

How I study for multiple exams, deal with multiple projects: Really this is my time management that I explained above. If I see I have multiple things due or to study all the same time I spread out my time beforehand. For example, if I have a test Monday, and 2 tests on Tuesday then I will study for my Monday test Thursday and part of Friday. Start studying for my next test on the second half Friday and part of Saturday, then my second Tuesday test on Saturday as well as part of Sunday. Then Sunday night I can review for my Monday test because I already studied for it. When that test is all over I can begin reviewing for the other tests.

My overall method: I try to break it up over several days or at least two. I get bogged down if I try to pull an all-nighter.

How I've overcome an initial bad grade: if I received a low grade I probably knew it was coming because I didn't prepare properly or I didn't use the right study habit for that class. I usually try to go over what I did wrong and sometimes discuss with the teacher what I can so differently on the next exam or what they suggest I do for studying for the next exam.

Choose the Right!!