Helping Students Who Struggle in School Succeed – Dr. Levy on the Brandon Ramakko Podcast
In the Brandon Ramakko podcast I discuss how parents can help students who struggle in school succeed academically. Many children have difficulty with the rapid increase in academic requirements as they progress through school. Reading, writing, math, and subject area demands tend to increase quickly as students move through grade levels. By teaching your child effective study strategies and academic tools, you can help them succeed in school. Try some of the ideas detailed below:
Set up a regular time for homework
Some students are ready to begin their homework as soon as they get home from school and are still in “learning mode”. Others, however, prefer a small snack before starting their school work. Some need a longer break before beginning their homework, where they might play outside or engage in a non-academic activity. The key is setting up a consistent time for your child to complete their homework based on their individual needs and preferences. You might want to even set a timer that will go off when it’s time for them to begin their homework in order to keep their homework schedule consistent.
Set up a study space
Setting up a study space filled with all of the necessary supplies is key for academic success. This space may be a desk in your child’s bedroom or even a space on the kitchen or dining room table. If your child is working on a desk in their room, make sure it is filled with all of the supplies they need, like pens, pencils, paper, and scissors, so they don’t wander your home looking for supplies they need or run out of mid-way through completing their homework. If they work at a table outside of their room, create a homework bin filled with all of the supplies they need in order to complete their homework that they carry with them to the table when it’s homework time and then bring back to their room when they’re done. Students who continue to struggle with organizational skills may benefit from executive functioning coaching or study skills tutoring.
Remove distractions
When students sit down to begin their homework, they often find that there are many distractions. The phone might be ringing, email notifications may be buzzing, the television may be on, or a sibling may be speaking loudly in the background. It’s helpful for your child to make a list identifying all possible distractions that may come up and list a solution for each one. For example, if your child hears email notifications when trying to do their homework, they should turn off notifications on their phone or computer to avoid this distraction. The television should be turned off during homework time. If their sibling tends to chat loudly, they should make an announcement before starting their homework that they are about to begin and ask everyone to kindly be as quiet as possible during that time. The key is identifying possible distractions before your child starts their homework and coming up with a plan for avoiding them.
Time management
Some children can become overwhelmed by the volume of school work they need to get done along with their other obligations, like sports and after school activities. They may have many upcoming tests to study for and homework to complete, and they can’t fathom how they can get everything done in time. Building stronger time management skills can help your child excel throughout school and life! Encourage your child to chunk tasks into smaller bits. For example, if they have a science test coming up in one week that may involve six hours of studying, have them devote one hour per day to studying for the science test and write this study time into their planner. Then they can devote the night before the test just to reviewing the material they studied. Likewise, if your child has trouble staying focused for long stretches of time or feels stressed about how much work they need to do, have them try setting a timer and working for 45 minutes, then taking a 5 minute break. This strategy helps them set mini goals and breaks their studying and workload down into smaller steps, which may feel less overwhelming. If your child still struggles with time management, executive functioning tutoring may help.
Read more about time management strategies at
https://eblcoaching.com/strategies-for-study-success-time-management/
The demands of school increase at a fast pace, and for many students this rapid rise in demands can feel overwhelming. Teach your child the strategies detailed above and you will help them feel confident and successful in school.
Learn more about study and organizational skills at
https://chadd.org/attention-article/study-skills-for-thriving-with-adhd/