Effective Study Strategies for Every Classroom: Grades 7-12 (With CD-Rom)

Teach your students the study strategies they need to improve academic performance and achieve school success. This book offers 29 easy-to-follow lessons that can correct poor study habits and make learning easier for every student. Use in a study skills course or in a reading class.

The lessons are ideal for any student who was never taught how to learn. Several strategies are presented to master each of four essential skills that every student needs to know; ie. note-taking, summarizing, researching and test-taking. Skills can be taught as stand-alone activities or blended seamlessly into existing curricula. Each lesson follows the same structured format, and the authors offer talking points to help you introduce the skill, explain the objective, and guide students through the activities. Suggestions on how to summarize the lesson and generalize the skill to other academic areas are provided. An enclosed CD has each lesson plan's overheads, worksheets, homework assignments, articles, and other support materials in pdf format. The lessons build on each other.

Examples are:

• Using signal words
• Finding main ideas
• Identifying supporting details
• Creating concept maps
• Separating facts and opinions
• Using different references
• Doing efficient searches on the Internet
• Preparing for standardized tests
• Overcoming test anxiety

Table of Contents

Introduction

• Section 1 Note-Taking Strategies

Lesson 1: Using Signal Words

Lesson 2: Following Note-Taking Guidelines

Lesson 3: Using Abbreviations

Lesson 4: Using Symbols.

Lesson 5: Using the '5W's & How' Note-Taking Method

Lesson 6: Taking Notes using the Cornell Method

Lesson 7: Using a T-Chart

Lesson 8: Creating Concept Maps

Lesson 9: Using a Four-Square

Lesson l0: Using a Vocabulary Tri-Fold

Articles

• Section 2 Summarizing Strategies

Lesson 11: Understanding Topics and Main Ideas

Lesson 12: Identifying Supporting Details

Lesson 13: Paraphrasing

Lesson 14: Using Introductory and Closing Statements

Lesson 15: Using Transitions

Lesson 16: Understanding Compare and Contrast

Lesson 17: Separating Facts and Opinions

Lesson 18: Writing a Summary

• Section 3 Research Strategies

Lesson 19: Using Different Reterences

Lesson 20: Understanding Alphabetization

Lesson 2l : Using Guide Words

Lesson 22: Using a Thesaurus

Lesson 23: Using an Encyclopaedia

Lesson 24: Using an Almanac

Lesson 25: Doing Efficient Searches on the Internet

• Section 4 Test-Taking Strategies.

Lesson 26: Understanding and Taking Different Types of Tests

Lesson 27: Preparing for Standardized Tests.

Lesson 28: Recognizing and Responding to Question Categories

Lesson 29: Overcoming Test Anxiety