Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Study skills = life skills

One of the most valuable things you can teach your middle schooler is study skills: listening, note-taking, brainstorming, organizing, outlining and prioritizing. These skills will serve students well not only in academics but also in their professional and personal lives. First, buy your child a planner and encourage him or her to use it. Any day planner, calendar or notebook will do. American Education Publishing offers an engaging planner for students in grades 4 through 8. This student planner fits inside a three-ring binder and provides plenty of space to record class schedules and homework. It also offers study tips and a section containing facts for handy reference, such as US Presidents, branches of government, a map of the US, figures in mythology, Roman numerals, the periodic table of elements, customary and metric measurement and more. During our homeschooling, we also used the workbook Note Taking & Outlining, offered by Frank Schaffer Publications. Aimed at students in grades 6 through 8, the workbook provides activities that reinforce listening and organizational skills. It helps students determine fact from fiction and shows them how to avoid plagiarism. And, as the title suggests, it covers note-taking and outlining. We often used this book in conjunction with Delana Heidrich’s Using the Media: Fact, Fiction, and Opinion, also offered by Frank Schaffer Publications. This workbook helps students identify genre, source, author, intended audience and purpose. It also helps students to assess whether a source is credible--an important skill when researching on the Internet.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

High-flying start

Now in her second week of public charter high school, Allegra is enjoying the experience of learning amongst her peers. The first week was an adjustment, making the transition from the quiet isolation of homeschooling to the raucous atmosphere created by 200 teenagers. But now she loves it, and I don’t think she would opt for homeschooling over attending public high school.

At times during homeschooling, we worried if she were keeping up academically with her peers. We’ve since learned that homeschooling didn’t hold her back. She tested into the top classes offered by the high school she is attending, and she is feeling comfortable in those classes.

One of the most valuable things Allegra learned during homeschooling was study skills: listening, note-taking, outlining, organizing. These skills are serving her well in high school. She has observed that very few students in her classes take notes. I’m guessing these students haven’t learned the importance of study skills--but they're about to. For example, in Latin, half the class failed the first exam, while Allegra aced it. I asked her why she thought this happened. She replied, “I guess they didn’t study.”