Note-taking strategies

After class

As soon as class ends, review your notes and fill in any blanks. Underline, highlight and use symbols to sort through the information. If you don’t understand something, get help from your teacher or classmates.

After you’re reviewed all your notes from class, in the left-hand area of the page, write a summary of the notes. This helps you digest what you’ve learned. It also improves your memory of the material for the long term and for tests down the road.

Choose the right!!

Distance education: is a virtual classroom for you?

Challenging aspects of distance education

·       Lack of in-person interaction: Some educators argue that both teacher-student and student-student contact are essential to learning. In a distance-learning classroom, you may be able to participate in class discussions online in chat rooms, message boards or Web conferences—but it’s not the same as being with other students in a classroom.

·       Different level of quality: many distance-education programs supply an excellent learning experience, but others may not.

Research any program before signing on to make sure it’s rigorous enough. If you are choosing your own program, look into its accreditation before enrolling.

·       The need to self-start: distance education lets you make your own schedules. If you have a hard time getting motivated, this might not be the ideal educational setting for you.

Choose the right!!

Balancing High School and Part-Time work

Brad MacGowan of the career center at newton high school in Massachusetts thinks that working can be valuable part of student’s life if taken responsibly. “You can derive a great deal from working considerably more than just money,” he says. “In most cases, you can acquire a nice doe of discipline and a whole new set of skills and experiences.” In addition, your supervisor may be willing to write a strong college recommendation for you.

School comes first

Schoolwork, including homework and studying for test, should always be your topic priority. Macgowan cautions students who do decide to work, “if you are rushing through your assignments….. or not studying enough for tests because of work, it’s time to cut back or quit and find a less time-consuming job.”

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Selecting your courses

social studies

You can better understand local and world events that are happening now by studying the culture and history that has shaped them. Here is a suggested course plan:

·        U.S History (two semesters)

·        U.S Government (one semester)

·        World History or Geography (one semester)

·        One additional semester in the above or other areas

Foreign Languages

solid foreign languages study shows college you’re willing to stretch beyond the basics. many colleges REQUIRES AT LEAST TWO YEARS OF STUDY IN THE SAME FOREIGN LANGUAGE, AND SOME PREFER MORE.

LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CAN BE A CHALLENGE BUT its EXCITING  REPETITION IS THE KEY TO LEARNING A LANGUAGE, AND HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHERS SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN THIS NEW LANGUAGE. REPETITION IN A FUN WAY WILL BUILDS YOUR SKILLS THOROUGHLY AS YOU SEEK TO MASTER NEW LANGUAGES.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!

The power of study groups

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

Guidelines for getting a group together

Here are some guidelines for creating and running a study group: how many? Create a group of four to six people. In a larger group, it’s easy to get left out and smaller groups can easily get off track.

Who? Pick classmates who seem to share you interest in doing well academically. Look for people who stay alert in class, take notes, ask questions and respond to the teacher’s questions. Include someone who understands the material better than you can explain the concepts and someone who doesn’t understand it as well, to whom you can explain the material.

Where? Hold study group sessions in a place that is free of distractions and that has room to spread out book and notes. How long? Meet for no more than two to three hours at a time. Having a time limit helps the group focus. If you know you only have an hour, you’re more likely to stay on task.

When? Try to meet regularly, on the same day and each week. Treating the study session as you would other activities helps you to keep to a schedule and ensures that everyone attends.

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How to take on college studying

do the reading

You need to do more than just read the chapters you are assigned- You’re expected to understand them thoroughly. Here are some tips:

·       Don’t skim. Read all the materials carefully.

·        Break up difficult assignments into sections you can digest-chapters, subsections or even paragraphs.

·       Look up any word that you don’t understand.

·       Pause to think about whether you understand the material; ask questions in class about anything that is unclear.

·       Take notes instead of highlighting--- this makes you think through and rephrase the key points.

·       Create a summary sheet of what you learned from each assignment you read.

Choose the right!!!