Study Skills Syllabus for 8th – 10th graders
WEEK ONE
Block 1
-
Intro to workshop –
Why learn Study Skills / Why high school
success is important.
-
Memorization techniques.
·
Relevancy and its effect on
attention
·
Storage (short term v. long
term)
o
Short term exercise—with and
without “chunking”
o
Long term idea basic
discussion
·
Retrieval (including one
quiz)
Block 2
-
Good Note Taking I
·
Smart habits
·
Tree diagram
·
Lecture with note taking
·
Abbreviations
WEEK TWO
Block 1
-
Good Note Taking II
·
Organization skills
·
The Cornell Method
·
How to use your new notes to
study
·
Organizing for NEXT WEEK
Block 2
-
Better Reading Skills
·
Better Text reading
·
Better Article reading
·
Better fiction reading (for school or, yes, for pleasure).
WEEK THREE
Block 1
-
Exam Preparation
·
Long Term Storage specifics;
Layered Reinforcement
·
Good note-taking in class
à
confidence on tests;
·
Short Digression: smart use
of laptops
Block 2
- Working with YOUR tough subjects (1 – 3 student pods)
WEEK FOUR
Block 1
-
Long Term Assignments
·
Do’s and Don’ts
·
Taking good notes for paper
prep “mind mapping” (optional, funky)
·
Piecing those notes
together/developing an outline
·
Avoiding research paper
grief; avoiding plagiarism
Block 2
·
Basic ideas and techniques
for improving your reading speed AND comprehension
·
Practice (using The
Hobbit or Don’t Know Much About Geography).
·
Digression: good use of
E-readers, good use of internet reading.
Block 1
-
Writing short papers.
·
Getting that first paragraph on paper.
·
Using your research effectively
·
Adding your OPINION (where warranted)
-
Forgetting and Remembering:
The Specifics of Retrieval
·
Why and what we forget
·
Troubleshooting our memory
- Tactics –
work on YOUR current
“memorization needs”
-
Reading Reinforcement
·
Comprehending MORE (while
keeping your speed).
·
Technique review and
practice
·
Applying good reading to
hard texts and difficult pieces (incl SAT)
WEEK SIX
Block 1
- Smart Studying, using YOUR texts for your toughest current classes
- Reading reinforcement
· Dense Articles (including SAT passages, WITH questions)
· Tough texts
Block 2
- Smart Studying, using YOUR texts for an upcoming test or quiz
Recap on what you’ve learned. Planning for the NEXT exams / papers.
BEYOND IVY
BOUND STUDY SKILLS:
Keeping your speed-reading gains
SAT Success
Greatness in school and beyond…