Reading

• Survey the reading material beforehand to get the big picture (glance at content summaries, boldface headings, charts, graphs, and key words).
• Read for 30 minutes, then take a 2-5 minute break and resume.
• Ask questions.
• Review each chapter when you are finished. Sometimes you can get bogged down with the details and forget the whole concept.

Organization

• Write specific directions for all assignments in your assignment notebook.
• Create folders that you can clip into your 3-ring binder with labels for each: - Assigned Homework (Homework that you have not done yet)
  - Completed Homework (Homework you have done that needs to be turned in)
  - To Be Filed (Work that has been graded and returned to you by the teacher and needs to be filed in your notebook)
• Do your homework in the same, non-distracting place every night.

Memory Aids

• Use Chunking. This short-term memory trick helps you group random facts like numbers into chunks. A number like 303411650 becomes 303 41 1650.
• Learn Acronyms. The Great Lakes-Michigan, Huron, Erie, Superior, Ontario can be remembered with the word HOMES.
• The Beginning and the End. Studies show that you best remember material from the beginning and the end of a study session. Study 20 minutes, take a 5 minute break.

Time Management

• Create a weekly schedule that shows when you are in school, at practice, at church, doing homework, etc. Map this out beforehand and display it somewhere you can refer to it easily.
• Be specific: Estimate the amount of time you plan to spend on each subject. (i.e. Math problems: 25 minutes)

Test Preparation

• Pay attention to what your teacher writes on the board.
• What types of questions will be on the test? How much from notes?
• Avoid cramming—begin at least a week before the test; reviewing materials, notes and key words, and recite important parts aloud as you read them.

Each hour spent in planning actually saves 3-4 hours of doing!