Monday, February 24, 2014

Study Skills Test Taking Strategies


Week of:  February 3-7, 2014

Theme:  Study Skills: Test-Taking Strategies

 
     Date                Announcements            Greeting             Sharing                 Activity

 
Tuesday
2/4/14
a.m.
 
 
 
“I find four great classes of students: The dumb who stay dumb. The dumb who become wise. The wise who go dumb. The wise who remain wise.”
- Martin H. Fischer
 
 
 
 
Super Bowl Greeting
 
 
 
Quick Discussion of Today’s Quote: Is this an insult?
Inspiration?
Empowerment?
 
 
 
 
Pico Firme Bago
 
Tuesday
p.m.
 
 
n/a
 
n/a
 
Study Tips & Study Skills
(handout)
 
Spend the Dot
 
Wed
2/5/14
 
 
Grade-Level Meetings
 
n/a
 
n/a
 
n/a
 
Thursday
2/6/14
 
 
It’s meet with the Advisor Day.  Put your name on the list if you need to talk!  If not I will choose my own victims. 
J
Greet 3 people in 3 different ways that a student should address an adult
 
 
 
Advisor/Advisee
1-on-1
 
 
 
Board games or Social Time
 
Friday
2/7/14
 
 
Advisory Breakfasts
 
n/a
 
n/a
 
n/a

 
Tuesday  – a.m.


Greeting:  Super Bowl Greeting - There are four types of “scores” in football: touchdown = 6 points. field goal = 3; safety = 2; extra point = 1.  Students stand in a circle and select someone to begin.  If he chooses a touchdown, he greets the sixth person to his right; the greeted person and the greeter both sit down.  The next person to the right chooses a play (touchdown, safety, field goal or extra point) and play continues until everyone has been greeted.

 Activity:  Pico Firme Bago –

         Materials:  White board and dry erase marker

 

         1.  This is a game of logical deduction (like finding the best study skills for                             yourself). 

         2.  Leader secretly selects a three-digit number.  Leader creates 3 columns (for                     ones, tens, hundreds) on the board. 

         3.  As student guess, leader writes their guesses in the columns.  She then gives                   the group clues as to the accuracy of the guess, using the words “Pico,”                          “Firme,” and “Bago” to do so.

                    Definitions:        Pico – wrong place, wrong digit

                                               Firme – wrong place, correct digit

                                               Bago – correct place, correct digit

          Example:  Leader’s secret number is 357.  First student guesses 691.  Leader                         writes 691 on the chart and responds, “Pico, pico, pico,” indicating that                      the numbers are altogether wrong. 

 
                   Second student guesses 542.  Leader writes 542 on the chart and says,                             “Firme, pico, pico,” indicating the 5 is correct but in the wrong place, the                            others altogether wrong. 
 

                   Third student guesses 785.  Leader writes 785 on the board and says,                             “Firme, pico, firme,” indicating that the 7 and the 5 are are correct but in t                     he wrong places, the eight altogether wrong. 

 

                   Fourth student guesses 375.  Leader writes 375 on the board and says,                             “Bago, firme, firme,” indicating the three is altogether correct, the 7 and 5             correct but in the wrong places.

 

                   Fifth student guesses, 357.  Leader writes 357 on board and responds,                    “Bago, bago, bago!”  That student may then start a new round.

 
Tuesday -- p.m.

 

Share:  Disperse the handout on test-prep skills.  Review.

 
Activity:  Spend the Dot

         Materials needed:  Skills cards and two colored markers (e.g. red and blue)

 

1.      Post the four strategy boxes around the room or on the white board.

2.      Ask students to go to each box and put a red dot beside the skills that they are currently using.  Assess and discuss (asking for examples) the most popular skills.

3.      Ask students to then go around and put a blue dot beside 2-3 new skills that they think might improve their test performance.  Assess the most popular skills.  A good idea might be to write the chosen skills in planners for the next month so that students have a reminder.

  

Thursday

 

Greeting:  Greet 3 ­– Greet 3 people the way someone your age should greet an adult.

 

Share:  Advisors meet with advisees to review Progress Reports and plan for next quarter’s success.

 

Study Tips & Test-Prep Skills

Text Box: It is best to review the material right after class when it's still fresh in your memory. A 10-minute nightly review is easier and more powerful than an hour the night before the test. Space out your studying, you'll learn more by studying a little every day instead of waiting to cram at the last minute. By studying every day, the material will stay in your long-term memory but if you try to study at the last moment, the material will only reside in your short-term memory that you'll easily forget. Take short breaks frequently. Your memory retains the information that you study at the beginning and the end better than what you study in the middle. Students with better study methods and strategies score higher on their exams.

 

Text Box: Everyone is different. Different methods work for different people. Experiment to see how you memorize best – REMEMBER that no one is ONLY visual or ONLY auditory. Combining techniques works best for most people. If you think it’s by seeing the material, flash cards and mind mapping work well for you (as does highlighting, underlining, etc…). If you think it’s by hearing the material, record your notes or study guides on your phone and listen to it. Say it all out loud.

Text Box: Space & Time…. Have all of your study material in front of you: lecture notes, course textbooks, study guides and any other relevant material. Find a comfortable and quiet place to study with good lighting and little distractions (try avoiding your own bed; it is very tempting to just lie down and take a nap). Listening to relaxing music such as classical or jazz on a low volume can relieve some of the boredom of studying. Find your best time. Don't study later than the time you usually go to sleep, you may fall asleep or be tempted to go to sleep, instead try studying in the afternoon or early evening. If you are a morning person try studying in the morning.

 

 

 

 

Text Box: Take notes and write down a summary of the important ideas as you read through your study material. Make sure that you understand the material well, don't just read through the material and try to memorize everything. Test yourself or have someone test you on the material to find out what your weak and strong areas are. You can use the review questions at the end of each chapter, practice tests that the teacher may give out or other pertinent materials.

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: Chunk & Chop: It is best to review the material right after class when it's still fresh in your memory. A 10-minute nightly review is easier and more powerful than an hour the night before the test. Space out your studying, you'll learn more by studying a little every day instead of waiting to cram at the last minute. By studying every day, the material will stay in your long-term memory but if you try to study at the last moment, the material will only reside in your short-term memory that you'll easily forget. Take short breaks frequently. Your memory retains the information that you study at the beginning and the end better than what you study in the middle.

 

Text Box: Space & Time…. Have all of your study material in front of you: lecture notes, course textbooks, study guides and any other relevant material. Find a comfortable and quiet place to study with good lighting and little distractions (try avoiding your own bed; it is very tempting to just lie down and take a nap). Listening to relaxing music such as classical or jazz on a low volume can relieve some of the boredom of studying. Find your best time. Don't study later than the time you usually go to sleep, you may fall asleep or be tempted to go to sleep, instead try studying in the afternoon or early evening. If you are a morning person try studying in the morning.

 

Text Box: Make It Yours: Different methods work for different people. Experiment to see how you memorize best – REMEMBER that no one is ONLY visual or ONLY auditory. Combining techniques works best for most people. If you think it’s by seeing the material, flash cards and mind mapping work well for you (as does highlighting, underlining, etc…). If you think it’s by hearing the material, record your notes or study guides on your phone and listen to it. Say it all out loud.

 


Text Box: Rehearsal: Take notes and write down a summary of the important ideas as you read through your study material. Make sure that you understand the material well, don't just read through the material and try to memorize everything. Test yourself or have someone test you on the material to find out what your weak and strong areas are. You can use the review questions at the end of each chapter, practice tests that the teacher may give out or other pertinent materials.

 
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