How to Succeed in
Freshman Year
Developing Good Study
Habits to Last a Lifetime
Xavier High School
2011
The Objective
To provide tips to assist you in developing
strong study habits, note taking strategies,
and study skills in order to become a
successful student at Xavier High School
Setting Goals
•
Setting goals is an important step in becoming a
better student
•
Goals must be challenging and yet reasonable
at the same time.
•
Two types of goals
• Long term
•
• Over longer period of time
Short term
• Be very specific about goal and how exactly how you plan to
achieve it
Freshman Goal Sheet
Think about:
•One long term goal you would like
to accomplish for freshman year.
Write it down on your Goal Sheet and how you
will achieve this goal.
•2-3 short term goals you would like
to accomplish for the 1st quarter.
Write these down on your sheet along with exactly
how you plan to accomplish these goals. Be
specific!!!
Study Skill #1: Stay Organized
Use your student planner every day.
Tip: Write in assignments even if they are posted on a
teacher’s website or assignment sheet. You can see
everything you have to do.
Keep papers and notes from each subject
separate.
Tip: If you put all your papers in one folder, try using an
accordion file to separate by class.
Do not throw away old homeworks, tests,
and quizzes.
Tip: If you have too many papers, leave older papers at
home in a safe place.
If you are unorganized, ASK FOR HELP
Tip: If you have papers all over your book bag and
sticking out of notebooks, you are unorganized.
Study Skill #2: Note Taking
The ability to take good notes will help
you…
• Earn better grades
• Understand the lesson
• Perform better on quizzes
• Have better material to study before
•
tests
Stay focused in class!
Note Taking
Many students take notes, but few take good
notes. How do you take good notes?
1.
Have a designated place for class notes for each
subject. Be ready when class starts.
2.
Always write the date at the top of the page where
you write your notes.
3.
If your teacher puts notes on the board or power
point, remember to LISTEN while you copy notes.
4.
If you miss some notes or don’t finish copying
notes, write a star on your paper or reminder to
yourself to get the notes from a classmate.
Note Taking
Learn how your teacher indicates what’s important.
Listen for key words like:
• main idea, cause and effect, turning point, theme,
important
• Proper nouns and dates
• Vocabulary words with definitions
Take notes on your own when you read your
homework.
• You will read more carefully
• You will have some notes to study before class
and possible quizzes.
• You will have more notes to study before a test.
Study Skill #3: Studying
•
Review your notes from class, homeworks and
quizzes, especially what you got wrong.
•
Go through textbook and do practice
questions.
•
Make a review sheet or flash cards. Writing
reinforces information and you have an quick
way to study before the test.
•
Keep track of questions you have to ask
teacher or classmates.
Study Skill #3: Studying (cont)
• Study with a strategy. Plan breaks. Study
first on your own, then try a study group.
• Avoid cramming. Start studying 2-3 days
in advance.
• Avoid studying in front of a computer,
with your cell phones, or with TV, iPod,
radio…
Test Taking
Low grades on tests and quizzes are caused by…
• Poor study habits:
• Not studying enough – only the night before or day of
• Just reading over notes repeatedly, and not “digesting”
information in a variety of ways (review sheets, flash
cards, doing problems, reviewing homework and quizzes)
•
Lack of preparation :
• Not doing all the homework in weeks before test.
• Trying to learn everything right before the test.
•
Fear of failure; Pressure to get a good grade
•
Low expectations; Comparing yourself to others
Test Taking Strategies
•
Before answering a single test question, read
the directions
•
Be aware of time limits
•
Read all of the answers before selecting one
•
Make sure an essay answers the question
•
Quality not quantity
Study Skill #4: Projects
• If allowed, choose a topic that interests
you
• List steps involved in the project
• Make a schedule of when you will
accomplish each step. Write in your planner.
• Read and Follow all the directions
carefully!
• Do not hesitate to ask your teachers
questions or request advice
• Don’t procrastinate!
Questions?