Strategies for Helping
Your Child with
Organization, Study
Skills, and Homework
Lisa Silkowitz
Christina Sapienza
Assistant Principal
MS Special Education Supervision
Team Leader 7-1 and 7-2
Taking the “Dis”
Out of
Disorganized
Organizational Tools
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Folders – color coded s
Notebooks – color coded
File tabs
Pencil case
What Parents Should
Know
• Tips discussed in classes by OMS
teachers
Tips for Students on
Organizing Your Materials
• Get everything ready for school (backpack,
clothes, lunch, etc.) before going to bed at
night and keep it in a consistent spot.
• Write down assignments in the same
manner every day.
• Check it every night after completing
homework to be sure everything is
completed.
• Follow teacher directions about where to
put files.
Tips for Students on
Organizing Your Materials
• Don’t leave anything in your backpack that you
don’t need for school (trash, old papers).
• Keep all your home study materials in your study
spot
(paper, pencils, calculator, etc.).
• Have a grownup help you stay organized daily.
• Make a special time daily to do your homework.
Keep to that schedule.
Time Management Tips
for Students
• Be ready when you sit down to study
– have all materials in your study
spot.
• Do the hardest assignments first –
save easiest for last.
• If you get sleepy or can’t
concentrate, get up and take a break
– move around or get a snack.
Time Management Tips
for Students
• Study using techniques that match
your learning style.
• Study for a few nights before a test
– review what you learned in the
morning before school.
• If you are absent one day, catch up
right away – don’t get behind!
Study Skills
Learning Styles:
1. Visual – learn by seeing
2. Auditory – learn by hearing
3. Kinesthetic – learn by doing
Everyone learns differently – study in
ways that are most helpful to you!
Visual Learners
• Highlight or underline main ideas.
• Make an outline or map of main ideas.
• To study for a test, do something you can see –
lists, drawing, copying words, etc.
• Use index cards to make flashcards – separate
into “know” and “don’t know” piles, play memory
game, etc.
• Use a computer for additional resources that can
help you study.
• Use IPad to write down assignments daily,
• Never watch TV while you are studying!
Auditory Learners
• Read aloud instead of silently.
• Tape record items to study and play the
information back – recite along with tape.
• Use music to help you learn – put
information to a tune you know or make up
a song or poem.
• Have another person quiz you and review
information aloud.
• Study in a quiet place with no distractions.
Kinesthetic Learners
• Use objects (like coins, beans, blocks, etc.) to help you
understand math.
• Trace spelling or vocabulary words in sand or salt or
use magnetic letters to spell words out on fridge.
• Use maps, globes, puzzles to study history and
geography.
• “Teach” the information you must learn to someone
else using a chalkboard to write or draw the
information.
• Have someone talk through the information with you
while you do something active: shoot baskets, jump
rope, walk around, etc.
• Take breaks often during study time.
• Have adult help you develop a system to stay
organized.
Organizational Skills
• Understand everyone organizes
differently
• Try different supplies
• Employ a filing system
• Color Code Subjects on IPad
Study Environment
(should be comfortable, but not too relaxing)
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Place:
– Choose a place where you are able to write neatly and stay alert.
– Study in the same place every day.
Light:
– Use good overhead lighting that is not too dim but not so bright that
you must squint.
Sound:
– Find a quiet place where you aren’t interrupted by others, the radio or
TV, or other noises.
Temperature:
– Find a comfortable spot where you are not too hot or too cold.
Where is your study spot?
Does it meet the criteria above?
Learning Strategies
• Categorize information by grouping information
into groups of similar ideas.
• Using sequencing skills to put information in a
time order.
• Find the main idea in the paragraph you are
reading. Find details to support main idea.
Highlight main ideas and outline or map out
information read.
• Use context clues to find the meaning of new
words. Use a dictionary if context clues don’t
help.
• “Use illustrations and charts in the textbook to
help you understand information read.
Test-taking Strategies
• Reading Directions
Carefully
• Taking Objective
Tests
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Matching
True-False
Completion
Multiple Choice
• Taking Essay Tests
• Note-taking
Strategies
– Mind Mapping
– Outlining
• Listening Skills
– Verbal cues
– Presentation cues
• Memorization
Techniques
Parents Can Help with
Study Skills
• Help child manage time to complete assignments – discuss
steps needed for longer assignments – help them get
started on big assignments.
• Give practice tests. Check out teacher’s web pages for
additional practice tests. Castle Learning
• Help avoid last minute cramming – review nightly with your
child.
• Talk with your child about how to take a test.
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Read instructions carefully
Keep track of time
Do easy ones first
Don’t spend too much time on one question
Parents Can Help with
Study Skills
• Talk about assignments.
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Do they understand what to do?
Do they need help in understanding the assignment?
Do they have everything needed for assignment?
Does the answer make sense?
• Watch for frustration.
• Give constructive criticism.
• Praise and encourage!!
Homework
Purpose of Homework
• Review and practice what was taught
• Prepare for next day’s class
• Learn to use resources – library, websites,
reference books, etc.
• Explore subjects more fully than class time permits.
• Applying skills learned to new situations.
• Integrate different skills learned into a single task
(project/book report).
• Teach students to work independently.
• Encourage self-discipline and responsibility.
• Create understanding between families & teacher.
• Provide opportunities for increased communication.
Homework Amounts
7th – 8th
approx. ½ hour per subject.
amount may vary from night to night
Look nightly on teachers’ web pages for
updates
Homework Tip
1. Schedule daily homework time – same
time each night
Homework Tips for
Parents cont.
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Allow your child to let you know when homework is too
frustrating – be sure they’re not just trying to avoid doing work.
Encourage your child to do homework independently – this will
teach them develop independence skills such as how to follow
directions, begin and complete a task, manage time. Monitor
that homework is being done – only give help if child has shown a
real effort to do the work first.
Motivate your child with praise. Each night praise your child
about some specific accomplishment – focus on a goal they have
set.
Use a long-range planner with your child to help them
successfully complete longer projects. Teach them how to
break the assignment down and distribute it over the period of
time given for the project.
Homework Tips for
Parents cont.
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Have your child take necessary breaks – study 20
minutes, take 5 minute break.
Limit homework time to the amount the teacher says it
should take to complete.
Never give a child more than a few answers on any
assignment – if they still don’t understand, write teacher
a note letting them know child is having difficulty. Don’t
do homework for them.
Talk with the teacher if child struggles with homework –
arrange for tutoring if needed.
Step back if you feel yourself losing your temper or
patience. Don’t let your frustration make your child feel
stupid for not understanding.
Homework Summary
Show that you think education and
homework are important.
Monitor assignments.
Provide guidance.
Talk with teachers to resolve
problems.
Homework Related
Problems
• What to do when….
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Children do not do their best work.
Children refuse to do homework.
Children fail to bring assignments home.
Children take all night to finish homework.
Children will not do homework on their own.
Children wait until the last minute to finish
assignments.
– Children will not do homework if parents are
not home.
Work With Teachers to
Resolve Problems
• Talk with teachers early in the school year
before problems arise.
• Contact teacher as soon as you suspect a problem.
• Request a team meeting with teachers to discuss
concerns – explain what you think is going on.
• Let teachers know if our child finds assignments
too hard or too easy.
• Work out a way to solve or lessen the problem.
• Keep communication open and clear.
• Follow up to make sure plan you set-up is working.
Talk With Teachers to
Resolve Problems
• Tell teacher when you have concerns.
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Child refuses to do homework
Instructions are unclear
Can’t help child get organized to finish assignments
Can’t provide needed supplies/materials
Can’t understand purpose of assignments
Assignments are too hard or too easy
Homework is assigned in uneven amounts (none one night,
to much another)
– Your child has missed school and has assignments to
make-up
Resources
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Nat’l PTA - www.pta.org
US Dept. of Ed. – www.ed.gov/pubs and www.nclb.gov/parents
Nat’l Info. Center for Children & Youth with Disabilities –
www.nichcy.org
Nat’l Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Clearinghouse – www.nichd.nih.gov
ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education –
www.ericec.org
No Child Left Behind – www.nochildleftbehind.gov
Office of Special Ed. And Rehabilitation Services –
www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS
Math/Reading sites – www.aplusmath.com; www.AAAmath.com;
True success comes
only when you make a
commitment to be
excellent.
Comments /Questions?