How to Study Like a TJHS Rock Star!
1. Try to find something you like in every class you take. Face it – we all don’t like the same things, but you can learn something from every class! If you don’t want to learn, your teachers can’t help you!
2. Make some friends in each class. Exchange phone numbers or email addresses. You can text or message them if you have a question.
3. Avoid Autopilot Brain at all costs! Engage in what you are doing! Participate!
4. Suck it up, buckle down and get it done!
Plan of Attack – Phase I
5. Show up to class mentally and emotionally prepared to learn. Wasting time in class only hurts you and your classmates.
6. Take notes by hand. Studies show that doing anything by hand is a way of carving it into your memory. Also, if you get bored you will doodle, which is still a thousand times better than ending up on “Autopilot Brain”.
Phase II: Study Time
7. Make the most out of PAW Period! The fact that you are sitting in PAW doesn’t fill you with knowledge. 30 minutes of Snapchatting in PAW is still just 30 minutes of Snapchatting. Get some homework done, go over your INB notes or read a book!
8. Do a little every day, but don’t spend the whole day on your work! Read a certain number of pages, answer ½ of your science or history questions, do ½ of your math problems, then TAKE A BREAK. You will feel more relaxed when you go back later to finish your work.
9. Allow friends or parents to confiscate your phone if they catch you off task during homework time. Chances are, if you think you need a break, you don’t.
Phase III: Assignments
10. Do all your own work! You get nothing out of copying someone else’s homework. It’s also shady.
11. Actually read the problem – ALL the words in the word problem! Don’t just pick out the numbers and guess which operation to use!
12. Be a smart problem solver. Ask yourself “What is this problem asking me to do?” “What operation do I need to use?” “Does my answer make sense?”
13. Do all of the practice problems – those we work in-class and those that are assigned for homework. More practice = better grades.
14. If you don’t understand the concept, it will be on the test! Solution: get with a friend, come to tutoring, ask a family member, use the internet and look at your INB and/or textbook.
15. Talk to yourself as you solve problems. Saying it out loud helps you solidify the concept in your brain. Remember those friends? Explain how to work a problem to a friend or family member and then return the favor.
16. Ask a friend or family member to quiz you on the vocabulary from each unit. This will help you comprehend the concepts better as well as help you solve the problems.
17. Go for the big picture – most of our math concepts build on each other and are used in different ways in each unit. Try to see the overall picture.
Phase IV: Review and Exam
18. Look through your notes and INB every day so you know what you need help on.
19. Crush the test – Make an A!