If you answered NO to any of these questions, then, chances are, your child lacks effective studying, reading comprehension, test taking, or writing strategies—strategies which are critical to school success. This lack of effective strategies often leads to frustration, poor grades, weak motivation, and a dwindling self-esteem.

The following is a reading comprehension and study skills technique, one of the many strategies that are important for giving your child an edge in understanding material, studying for tests, attacking text books, and taking notes. It is a strategy that is used by some of the most successful students.

The PPORA method has been proven to strengthen reading comprehension and study skills. The acronym stands for Preview, Post-it, Organize, Review, & Answer.

The PPORA method

Preview — read all headings, sub-headings, picture captions, bold words, and questions to get an overall picture of what you’re about to read. This will prepare you for what is to come.

Post-it — read each paragraph. At the end of each paragraph, stop and describe in your own words what it was about. Then, using small-size Post-it notes, write 2-3 words which summarize what the paragraph is about. Place these Post-it notes on the margins next to the text.

Organize — After you have written Post-it notes for the entire section, create a graphic organizer using the information on the Post-its. There are many types of graphic organizers. You should choose one that best suits your learning modality. A visual learner, for example, would probably benefit from a spider-like organizer. To create this type of organizer, write the main idea of the section in a circle in the center of the page. Next, create “legs” containing the text from each Post-it note. Underneath those legs, list bullet points of the important details, in your own words, from the text.

Review — Review the information on the graphic organizer, including the main points and supporting details.

Answer — Answer the questions that are given at the end of the section. By this point, the answers should be a piece of cake!

I have seen students comprehension abilities improve many-fold using this technique, in just a short time period! It is one of the many structured and systematic techniques that are crucial components of academic success.

The post Effective Study Skills and Strategies for School Success appeared first on EBL Coaching.

For many students, the thought of having to write a well-constructed essay causes a chronic case of the jitters. Adding a time constraint to this task only fans the flame of their already raging anxiety. Unfortunately for many, an increasing number of standardized and in-class tests incorporate timed essay writing as part of an overall academic assessment. Learning strategies for composing a well-written essay in a timely fashion can help students feel relaxed and well-prepared for these types of exams. Encourage your child to try using some of these techniques!

The Prompt

When students are asked to write an essay, they are usually given a prompt, generally a statement to let students know the general topic. Some prompts might include: Discuss your idea of a Utopian world, Describe the advantages of technology. Or, explain how eyeglasses and the sewing machine have had important influences on our lives.

Students should take particular note of directive words such as discuss, describe, and explain. Other directives might include analyze, compare, contrast, compare and contrast, and persuade. Students should always underline the directive after reading the prompt to make sure they answer the question correctly. You may notice that your child sometimes veers off topic when answering an essay question. By identifying and underlining the directive, he or she can avoid making that mistake.

After reading the prompt and underlining the directive, students should rewrite the prompt in their own words. This step ensures that the student is aware of precisely what the prompt is asking and how to correctly write the essay.

Brainstorm

Before writing, students should always organize their ideas on paper, even if they are under a tight time constraint! This step helps ensure their essay will be well-organized and include the necessary information in a structured format. What is the best style for brainstorming? Students may have their own preference for jotting down their ideas, but one useful strategy is to create a web diagram.

For this strategy, students should draw a vertical web diagram with a box on top for the opening and thesis statement, three bubbles beneath it, and a box at the bottom for the conclusion paragraph. They should write their opening sentence inside the upper part of the box for the introduction paragraph, and their thesis statement inside the bottom part. They should then create branches stemming out of each bubble with ideas for the body paragraph.

After completing their brainstorm diagram while practicing, students should write an estimated time (ET) detailing how long they think it will take them to complete their essay. When they have finished writing and self-checking their work, they should write the actual time (AT) it took them to complete the process. By practicing this step, students will develop time management skills and gain a realistic sense of how long it might take them to complete their essay during the exam.

The Essay

It’s time to begin writing! Students should note that the hard part is done, they have already detailed the ideas which they will include in their essay. Now they must translate that information into words to form a well-organized essay.

How do I begin writing? This is a question students frequently ask themselves, and often struggle with. Learning five options for opening their essays can be a helpful tool. To add variety, students can also start their essays with a question (Have you ever wondered how lasagna is made?), quotation (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it), opposite statement (Some people believe that all water is safe to drink), or a story (David decided to go for a hike one day). These alternate choices can help your child add creativity to his or her essay.

The thesis statement is another sentence that gives students trouble when writing, and it can be considered one of the most important parts of the entire essay. A thesis statement should be composed of an opinion and a plan.

When writing, students should remember to use transition sentences at the beginning of each body paragraph. They should also start their conclusion paragraph by restating their thesis statement, and end their essay with a unique thought or idea.

Self-Checking

Self-checking is a step many students love to leave out! Students often lose points because of careless mistakes they could have fixed by self-checking their work. Here’s a helpful self-checking tool:

C
T
O
P
S

C stands for Capitalization
T stands for Tense (students should make sure they use a consistent past or present tense)
O stands for Organization (students should include an opening, a thesis statement, well-organized body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph)
P stands for Punctuation
S stands for Spelling

Students should be sure to re-read their essay five separate times to check for each element on this list. Once they have finished brainstorming, writing, and self-checking their essay, they should look at the clock and record AT, the actual amount of time it took them to complete this process.

The more students practice these strategies, the easier and less daunting the essay writing process will become. With these tools, students will be well on their way to writing a good, well-organized essay for any timed exam.

The post Effective Writing Strategies for Students appeared first on EBL Coaching.

For many students, the thought of having to write a well-constructed essay fills them with a chronic case of the jitters. Adding a time constraint to this task only adds flame to their already raging anxiety. Unfortunately for many, an increasing number of standardized and in-class tests incorporate timed essay writing as part of an overall academic assessment. Learning strategies for how to compose a well-written essay in a timely fashion can help students feel relaxed and well-prepared for these types of exams.  Encourage your child to try using some of these techniques!

The Prompt

For starters, when students are asked to write an essay, they are usually given a prompt. The prompt is often in the form of a statement and lets students know what the essay should be about. Some prompts might include: Discuss your idea of a utopian world, Describe the advantages of technology, or Explain how eyeglasses and the sewing machine have had important influences on our lives.

Students should take particular note of words in the prompt such as “discuss,” “describe,” and “explain.” These words are called “directives,” or words which direct students on how to answer the prompt. Other directives might include analyze, compare, contrast, compare and contrast, and persuade.  Students should always underline the directive after reading the prompt to make sure that they answer the question correctly. You may notice that your child sometimes veers off topic when answering an essay question. By identifying and underlining the directive, he or she can avoid making that mistake.

After reading the prompt and underlining the directive, students should rewrite the prompt in their own words. This step ensures that the student is aware of precisely what the prompt is asking and how to correctly write the essay.

Brainstorm

Before writing, students should always organize their ideas on paper – even if they are under a tight time constraint! This step helps ensure that their essay is well-organized and includes the necessary information in a structured format. So what is the best style for brainstorming? Students may have their own preference for jotting down their ideas, but one useful strategy is to create a web diagram.

For this strategy, students should draw a vertical web diagram with a box on top for the opening and thesis statement, three bubbles beneath it, and a box at the bottom for the conclusion paragraph. They should write their opening sentence inside the upper part of the box for the introduction paragraph and their thesis statement inside the bottom part. They should then create branches stemming out of each bubble with ideas for their body paragraph. Look at the following model as an example for an essay on a prompt that reads: Compare and Contrast Living in the Country verses Living in the City:

After completing their brainstorm diagram, students should write an estimated time (ET) detailing how long they think it will take them to complete their essay. When they have finished writing and self-checking their work, they should write the actual time (AT) that it took them to complete the process. By practicing this step, students will develop time management skills and gain a realistic sense of how long it might take them to complete their essay during the exam.

The Essay

It’s time to begin writing! Students should note that the hard part is done – they have already detailed the ideas which they will include in their essay. Now they must translate that information into words to form a well-organized essay.

How do I begin writing? This is a question that students frequently ask themselves, and often struggle with.  Learning five options for how to open their essays can be a helpful tool for them. Note the opening sentence that was used in the above brainstorm web: While some people prefer living in the country, city life has much to offer. Here, the student chose to start his essay with a general statement. To add variety, students can also start their essays with a question (Have you ever wondered how lasagna is made?), quotation (“If it ‘aint broke, don’t fix it”), opposite statement (Some people believe that all water is safe to drink), or  a story (David decided to go for a hike one day…). These alternate choices can help your child add creativity to his or her essay!

The thesis statement is another sentence that gives students trouble when writing, and it can be considered one of the most important parts of the entire essay! A thesis statement should be composed of an opinion and a plan. Note the thesis statement from the diagram above: City life is more exciting than country life because of its fast-pace, nonstop entertainment activities, and financial opportunities. The opinion here is “City life is more exciting than country life.” Note that the student did not use words such as “I think,” “I feel,” or “In this essay I will prove…” The plan, which sets the stage for the organization of the essay, is: “because of its fast-pace, nonstop entertainment activities, and financial opportunities.” The three body paragraphs of the essay will each be about one of these ideas.

When writing, students should remember to use transition sentences at the beginning of each body paragraph. They should also start their conclusion paragraph by restating their thesis statement, and end their essay with a unique thought or idea.

Self-Checking

Self-checking is a step that many students love to leave out! Students often lose points because of careless mistakes that they could have fixed by self-checking their work. A helpful self-checking tool is:

• C
• T
• O
• P
• S

C stands for Capitalization, T stands for tense (students should make sure that they use a consistent past or present tense), O stands for Organization (students should include an opening, a thesis statement, well-organized body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph), P stands for Punctuation, and S stands for Spelling. Students should be sure to re-read their essay five separate times to check for each element on this list. Once they have finished brainstorming, writing, and self-checking their essay, they should look at the clock and record AT, the actual amount of time it took them to complete this process.

The more students practice these strategies, the easier and less daunting the essay writing process will be come. With these tools, students will be well on their way to writing a fantastic, well-organized essay for any timed exam.

The post Top Writing Strategies to Master Timed Exams appeared first on EBL Coaching.