Does your child have trouble with planning, time management, or misplacing assignments? You know that your child is smart and capable, but disorganization can make academic success difficult to attain. It can be challenging for students to stay motivated throughout the school year, so here are some healthy habits to make the year go more smoothly and yield better results.
1. Tackle That Backpack!
Your child's school bag should not cause a groan and sigh every time it is lifted. Lightening the physical load does wonders for the emotional burden not to mention a healthy spine. Leave textbooks, literature, and other materials not required in class at home. If your child does homework during study hall, the building likely has extra copies in classrooms. Limit personal items brought to school. Keep items infrequently used in a locker or cubby. Only bring to school what is needed that day. Don't have Spanish on Wednesdays? Leave those materials at home. Make sure to discard any trash or recycling as it is used.
2. Purchase, Prepare, and Maintain a Planner
Advise your child to place a class schedule front and center on the planner. This schedule should be color coded by subject and include teacher names and room numbers. Not only is this helpful information for the first week of school, but it also shows how to spell the teachers' names and get to class if your child struggles with the layout of the school. Make sure your child's planner has a calendar for major assignment, test, and project deadlines. Use color coded pens/fine markers (the same colors as on the schedule) to write out assignments in the daily section. Reserve black for miscellaneous notes and checkmarks. Your child should always check off tasks rather than crossing them out because it may become difficult to decipher them later. Also, put due dates next to assignments placed on the day they were assigned as well as on the calendar. Students should record homework assignments immediately. Include a brief descriptive phrase, due date, and any chapters, pages numbers, or problem sets needed for that assignment.
3. Use a Binder
It is very easy for loose papers to fall out of a folder. Avoid the mess with a 3-hole-punch binder. Choose a large one with plenty of room to grow. Ask your child to create a master binder with tabs for each course color coded corresponding to the schedule and planner. Make sure it is consistently stocked with lined and graph paper in the back for notes. Graph paper is the best for math notes and homework to stay aligned and legible. Students should write their first and last names and dates on each handout or sheet of notes. This way, they can keep the most recent content to the front section of each subject. Maintaining chronological order helps to make retrieval of relevant worksheets and notes quick and easy. The exceptions are the course syllabus then any guides or formula sheets that need to be frequently accessed on top of each section. With the syllabus on top, you know who to contact regarding any questions about your child's behavior or performance.
4. Don't know where to start with note taking?
When taking down definitions, dates, and main ideas, it may be helpful to use the following note-taking style. Divide your lined paper into two columns. Label the left column, "Main Ideas/Questions" and the right column, "Definitions/Answers." For example, in the left column, you might have "When did Christopher Columbus sail the ocean blue?" and in the right one, "1492" or "What is the purpose of DNA?" on the left and "It is in the nucleus of the cell. It is the genetic code, and it is the blueprint for protein production" on the right.
5. Visit Office Hours!
If your child needs clarification or more practice with a concept, do not let them wait till right before a test. The course syllabus has the teacher's contact information, office room number, and hours open to students. Before or after class can feel too rushed for in-depth answers to your child's questions. Instead, take that time to confirm a meeting with the teacher during office hours. Direct your child to write down specific questions or problems so that they can use the time wisely if other students are present.
Need some extra help developing proper executive functioning skills such as organization and time management? Schedule a Learning Checkup with Academics Plus. Our assessment will inform our learning specialists how to best focus your child's one-on-one sessions.
Written by Lauren Ribner