Students will have difficulty remaining motivated if they do not have the skills or habits for success. One of the recurring concerns about underachieving students is whether they have study skills. Consider some of the following issues before imposing a study skills plan on your child.
Strong students often start to develop study skills in elementary school. However, if a gifted or bright student is able to get good grades in elementary school without studying, she may have trouble developing positive study habits in secondary school. Work with your school to assure your elementary school child is being adequately challenged. The school has tools and options for differentiating the instruction to ensure that there is adequate challenge. Students experiencing a little stress and stretched to succeed is essential to their preparedness for the challenges ahead.
Teaching a child study skills before he needs those skills to succeed appears to have little effect. That is, if a
child is taught really good study skills in fourth grade but does not actually need to use them until sixth grade, there is little chance he will draw on the lessons he learned two years earlier even though those lessons would be helpful at this time. Study skills need to be taught when a child actually needs
them so that when he employs them he can see the positive impact of using the skills.
There are many, many study skills methods. A website with a number of tools to support study skills is http://studygs.net/. You and your child can look over the site to consider which study skill strategies will be most helpful for you. Using this site, or others like it, offers a great opportunity for you to have a conversation with your child about study skills, options, and personal preferences. Use this opportunity for you and your child to focus on developing the study skills most pertinent to her in her present situation. If the timing is right, the long-term benefits will be significant.
Strong students often start to develop study skills in elementary school. However, if a gifted or bright student is able to get good grades in elementary school without studying, she may have trouble developing positive study habits in secondary school. Work with your school to assure your elementary school child is being adequately challenged. The school has tools and options for differentiating the instruction to ensure that there is adequate challenge. Students experiencing a little stress and stretched to succeed is essential to their preparedness for the challenges ahead.
Teaching a child study skills before he needs those skills to succeed appears to have little effect. That is, if a
child is taught really good study skills in fourth grade but does not actually need to use them until sixth grade, there is little chance he will draw on the lessons he learned two years earlier even though those lessons would be helpful at this time. Study skills need to be taught when a child actually needs
them so that when he employs them he can see the positive impact of using the skills.
There are many, many study skills methods. A website with a number of tools to support study skills is http://studygs.net/. You and your child can look over the site to consider which study skill strategies will be most helpful for you. Using this site, or others like it, offers a great opportunity for you to have a conversation with your child about study skills, options, and personal preferences. Use this opportunity for you and your child to focus on developing the study skills most pertinent to her in her present situation. If the timing is right, the long-term benefits will be significant.