Helpful Hints for Study Skills and Overall Freshman Year Success

Developed by Mrs. Hart

 

1. Get organized! “A place for everything, and everything in its place” – have dedicated notebooks for each separate subject, and have dedicated folders (or sections of your binder) for each separate class’s handouts. Nothing raises a teacher’s red flag like the sight of a student rummaging through a backpack full of loose papers…
    

2. Pay attention. Seriously. In class and out of class, you have to take responsibility for your own success.
    

3. Take notes that are clear and easy to read. Consider bullet point format or two-column notes. You should be able to scan your notes and easily spot key terminology and ideas. You do not need to take notes in complete sentences – get in the habit of writing down big ideas in brief words and phrases that will make sense to you at a later date.
    

4. Make it a point to know what the big ideas are in each of your classes, and then takes notes accordingly (see my previous point). Your teachers are not secretive people – we tell you, on a regular basis, what you need to know (see my second point).
    

5. In English, for example, you should listen for, and take notes on, the following big ideas: characterization, conflict, symbols and motifs, and theme. Sure, there are other things you’ll need to know, but as a general rule of thumb, when any of these things are being discussed, you should be listening and jotting down some notes.
    

6. Be an active reader! In any subject, take brief notes while, and after, you read. At the end of each section or chapter (or, at the end of each page if you need to), take notes. Ask yourself, “What happened in what I just read? What was important?” If you read for English, you should consider anything that happened that revealed characterization, illustrated conflict, mentioned symbols or motifs, or hinted at theme. This takes 2-5 minutes and is well worth the time and effort.
    

7. When studying for a quiz or test, you must do more than just read over (stare at) your notes. That is not studying. If you need to, make a review sheet. You should ask yourself questions and see if you can answer them without looking at your notes: “What are the major events in this story? How would I describe the main characters? Why? What are the major conflicts? How are they resolved? What do these things tell me about the theme of the story?” For vocabulary, you should be studying these words more than just five minutes before the quiz. Ideally, you would begin studying a few days before the quiz. Look over the words – words that you know, you can stop studying. Then, you continue to focus your efforts on learning the remaining words each day thereafter. Consider notecards and dedicate three piles to what you know, what you don’t know, and what you kinda know.  Spend extra time with the words you can’t identify readily.
    

8. If you have trouble with any of the previous points, you should make an appointment to see your teacher for help. We are nice people. Really. We want you to succeed, and we are happy to help you do that. We just expect you to put in some effort too.