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Five Key Skills for Academic
Success
It's never too early or too late to
help your child develop the skills for academic success. Learn how to
build these skills and stay on track all year long. By
GreatSchools.net Staff
It takes a combination of skills: organization, time management,
prioritization, concentration and motivation, to achieve academic
success. Here are some tips to help get your child on the right track.
Talk to your child. To find out which of these skills your child has
and which he can develop further, start a simple conversation that
focuses on his goals. Ask him about his favorite subjects, classes he
dreads and whether he's satisfied with his latest progress report.
Listen for clues. Incorporate your own observations with your child's
self-assessment. Is your child overwhelmed by assignments? He may have
trouble organizing time. Does your child have difficulty completing
his work? He may get distracted too easily. Is your child simply not
interested in school? He may need help getting motivated.
Identify problem areas. Start here to help your child identify which
of the five skill areas are trouble spots.
1. Organization
Whether it's keeping track of research materials or remembering to
bring home a lunch box, children need to be organized to succeed in
school. For many students, academic challenges are related more to a
lack of organization than to a lack of intellectual ability.
Tips to help your child get organized:
Make a checklist of things your child needs to bring to and from
school every day. Put a copy by the door at home and one in his
backpack. Try to check with him each day to see if he remembers the
items on the list.
Find out how your child keeps track of his homework and how he
organizes his notebooks. Then work together to develop a system he
will want to use.
Shop with your child for tools that will help him stay organized, such
as binders, folders or an assignment book.
2. Time Management
Learning to schedule enough time to complete an assignment may be
difficult for your student. Even when students have a week to do a
project, many won't start until the night before it's due. Learning to
organize time into productive blocks takes practice and experience.
Tips to help your child manage time:
Track assignments on a monthly calendar. Work backward from the due
date of larger assignments and break them into nightly tasks.
Help your child record how much time he spends on homework each week
so he can figure out how to divide this time into manageable chunks.
Together, designate a time for nightly homework and help your child
stick to this schedule.
If evenings aren't enough, help your child find other times for
schoolwork, such as early mornings, study halls or weekends.
3. Prioritization
Sometimes children fall behind in school and fail to hand in
assignments because they simply don't know where to begin.
Prioritizing tasks is a skill your child will need throughout life, so
it's never too soon to get started.
Tips to help your child prioritize:
Ask your child to write down all the things he needs to do, including
non-school-related activities.
Ask him to label each task from 1 to 3, with 1 being most important.
Ask about each task, so that you understand your child's priorities.
If he labels all his social activities as 1, then you know where his
attention
is focused.
Help your child change some of the labels to better prioritize for
academic success. Then suggest he rewrite the list so all the 1's are
at the top.
Check in frequently to see how the list is evolving and how your child
is prioritizing new tasks.
4. Concentration
Whether your child is practicing his second grade spelling words or
studying for a trigonometry test, it's important that he works on
schoolwork in an area with limited distractions and interruptions.
Tips to help your child concentrate:
Turn off access to email and games when your child works on the
computer.
Declare the phone and TV off-limits during homework time.
Find space that fits the assignment. If your child is working on a
science project, he may need lots of space; if he's studying for a
Spanish test, he will need a well-lit desk.
Help your child concentrate during homework time by separating him
from
his siblings.
5. Motivation
Most children say they want to do well in school, yet many still fail
to complete the level of work necessary to succeed academically. The
reason is often motivation. Tapping into your child's interests is a
great way to get him geared to do well in school.
Tips to help motivate your child:
Link school lessons to your child's life. If he's learning
percentages, ask him to figure out the price of a discounted item next
time you shop.
Link your child's interests to academics. If he's passionate about
music, give him books about musicians and show how music and foreign
languages
are connected.
Give your child control and choices. With guidance, let him determine
his study hours, organizing system or school project topics.
Encourage your child to share his expertise. Regularly ask him about
what he's learning in school.
Congratulate your child, encourage him and celebrate all his
successes.
Often what holds children back from trying is the fear of failure or
the memory of a time they didn't do well. You can help break this
cycle by celebrating your child's successes, no matter how small, and
by giving him opportunities to succeed academically.
March 2005 |
