November 2013
Madison Public Schools
Matthew Mingle, Director of Curriculum
Help your teen develop criticial
thinking skills at home
Today’s companies are looking for employees who are able to think critically.
Good critical thinking skills help employees meet the advanced demands
of the workplace. To give your teen a leg up on the competition, help him
strengthen his critical thinking skills through:
• Coversations. With your teen, imagine
you’re explaining local customs to someone
from another culture—or even another
planet. Think about sports teams, for
instance. Why is there so much focus on
winning and losing? Why do fans care
which team wins when they’re not
actually part of the team? Questions
beginning with why, how and what will
get your teen’s creativity flowing.
• Evaluating websites. Your teen may not even realize it, but he uses
critical thinking skills when he is choosing websites as sources for a
research paper. He has to decide which website is the most useful, the
most credible and the most up to date—and with the wealth of information online, that can be difficult to determine.
• Reading books. Ask the librarian to help your teen locate books of
logic puzzles and brainteasers. Or start out more simply—encourage your
teen to read a mystery book and try to solve the mystery before the main
character does.
Sources: “Thinking Skills for the Workforce Project,” Berger Institute for Work, Family, and Children at
Claremont McKenna College, www.cmc.edu/berger/research/thinking.php; G. Fleming, “Critical Thinking
Exercises,” About.com: Homework/Study Tips, http://homeworktips.about.com/od/paperassignments/a/
Critical-Thinking-Exercises.htm.
Time management is key for teens
Researchers have found that students who take part in organized activities,
whether they are sports, clubs or Scouts, do better in school. Their grades are
better and they have fewer disciplinary problems.
All of these activities take time and teens need to learn how to manage
their time. Here are some ways your teen can make the most of those 24
hours each day:
• Make a to-do list every day.
Writing down what needs to get
done will help your teen focus.
• Break big jobs into five-minute
tasks. With flash cards in his book
bag, he can review vocabulary
words before the bus arrives.
• Get enough sleep. Many teens
skimp on sleep so they can do
other things. But this is a time
when your teen needs his rest.
Source: J.L. Mahoney and others, “Organized
Activity Participation, Positive Youth Development,
and the Over-Scheduling Hypothesis,” Social Policy
Report, Society for Research in Child Development..
Boost your teen’s vocabulary
To help your teen be successful on college
entrance exams, strengthen his
vocabulary by:
• Using flashcards.
• Declaring a “Word of the Day.”
• Texting him vocabulary words
and their definitions.
Teach your teen three ways
to improve note-taking
Taking good notes involves much more
than the ability to write fast. Good notetakers are also listening or reading carefully.
To improve your teen’s note-taking,
remember:
1. The more notes,
the better. Studies
show that including more
information is helpful.
2. Notes are a work in progress. Your
teen might take notes on a chapter. She
can add information that she learns in
class. Finally, she can go back to review.
3. Notes are study guides for tests.
Teachers often give hints in class about
what will show up on tests.
Source: R.J. Marzano, Classroom Instruction that Works: Researchbased Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, ASCD Books.
Statistics could convince
your teen to stay in school
On average, high school graduates earn
about $10,000 more each year than high
school dropouts. But if money alone isn’t
enough to motivate your teen to stay in
school, share these interesting facts. High
school graduates are more likely to:
• Live longer.
• Give back to their communities by
voting and volunteering.
• Raise better-educated children.
Source: “The High Cost of High School Dropouts,” Alliance
for Excellent Education, http://tinyurl.com/df7vmh.
Copyright © 2013, The Parent Institute®, www.parent-institute.com
Create a plan for success
November 2013
How can I make sure my
teen is on track for college?
Q: My daughter is a junior this year. She wants to go to
college, but her grades aren’t very good and her study skills
are terrible. How can I help change her study habits before
it’s too late?
A: Junior year can be a good time for students to make changes in their
study habits. To get into and stay in college, they need to make these
changes as soon as possible.
Take your teen to visit some colleges.
See if she can sit in on a class. Walk
through the library to see students
studying. Later, ask your daughter
about what she saw. Get her talking
about how she thinks college life will
be different from high school.
Then ask how you can help her
study for these last two years of high
school. Keep the talk low-key. But focus
on your daughter’s goal—to get into college.
Developing better study skills is important now,
and will be even more important when she’s on her own in college.
Talk to your daughter’s teachers and counselor. See if they can help her
develop the study skills necessary to do well.
You’re right to stress this subject. Teens who get to college without study
skills either learn them in a hurry—or don’t last.
Are you ready for academic struggles?
For many teens, there is one class that is a real challenge. Whatever the issue,
their grades begin to suffer. If your teen is struggling in a class, do you know
how to handle the problem? Answer yes or no to each question:
___1. Have you talked with your
teen about why this class is
challenging?
___2. Do you tell your teen that
minds are like muscles? They
get stronger with practice.
___3. Have you set up a time to
talk with the teacher and your
teen together? The goal is to
come up with a plan to help
your teen improve.
___4. Have you asked about
resources like a homework
club or tutoring?
___5. D
o you keep your teen from
getting overwhelmed? Celebrate
every sign of progress.
How did you do?
Each yes means you’re taking positive
steps to help your student. For each no
answer, try that idea from the quiz.
When your teen struggles with homework,
remind him to:
• Maintain a good attitude. Research
shows that positive thinking has a
big impact on motivation.
• Break it up. It’s easier to
complete problems five at a
time than all 30 at once. Take
short breaks.
• Read each problem at least twice.
Looking at sample problems can help.
• Go back if he hits a snag. Carefully
check his work.
Source: E. Jensen, Student Success Secrets, Barron’s Educational
Series, Inc.
Help your teen get organized
Helping teens get—and stay—organized can
help them do better in school. Share these tips:
• Clean out your backpack and locker
once a week.
• Keep a large calendar where you
study. Write down due dates.
• Take time each night to get ready for
the next day.
Source: “Time Management for Teens,” Glencoe Health,
http://tinyurl.com/mxt3pgy.
Parents can influence their
teen’s choice of friends
When teens have a warm relationship with
their parents, they are likely to choose friends
who earn high grades, plan to go to college,
and are involved with school activities. But
if teens are in constant conflict with parents,
they choose friends who are less positive.
To build a positive relationship:
• Do things together.
• Keep the lines of communication open.
• Show your affection.
Source: C. Knoester and others, “Parenting Practices and
Adolescents’ Friendship Networks,” http://tinyurl.com/lqmzttn.
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Copyright © 2013, The Parent Institute®, www.parent-institute.com
Helping Students Learn®
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