Why do 4th & 5th graders need study skills?
When students are taught study strategies early, they develop a mindset that “learning and stretching” is what makes us smart vs. never making mistakes.
The 3 Types of Strategies Students Need to Learn:
– Mindset:
The belief that we can work
hard and improve.
– Organizational:
The ability to manage
their time, materials
and assignments.
– Academic:
Awareness of varying
techniques to approach work,
e.g. memorization, taking notes,
or writing.
Together, these strategies help students learn to plan, manage and complete their work; and to know that if they hit a roadblock, they can work through it vs. giving up.
What Happens in The Growth Strategies Class?
The Skills….
Students learning to…
Manage time:
Students learn to take ownership of their schedule and to prioritize time for their homework. They learn how to make a calendar-based plan and ensure there is adequate time each day for their work.
Manage work:
Many students don’t know how to break down more complex assignments or to manage that work against other assignments. Students practice breaking down real assignments and putting the daily steps into their calendars.
Monitor Attention:
Self-monitoring is the ability to check-in with yourself to measure your own behaviors, attention, and emotions. Everyone gets frustrated, tired, distracted, or bored while working. We help kids to identify when they are in the “learning zone” and are ready to work and what strategies to use if they are not.
Use Academic Strategies to Approach Work:
Embracing different study strategies, e.g., how to:
- organize your writing,
- take notes,
- read and understand directions,
- check work,
- paraphrase, and
- take tests
is critical to help students become independent learners. By learning these strategies early, students avoid the “shutting down” that often comes when they get an assignment that they simply don’t know how to do.
