Organizational Strategies
November 17, 2015
Transition

Middle school is a difficult transition

Organization

Planning

More teachers each with a different style

Increased academic demands

Increased requirement of independence
Is this your child?
The responsibility for completing their
work lies in your child

It is important to remember that the primary responsibility for completing
work well is with your child. But it's also really easy for us to believe that
when they don't immediately do that well, it's from stubbornness, or laziness,
or lack of effort.

Begin with the assumption that it's not. Most kids want to do well. They
certainly don't want to get in trouble and don't want to spend more time on
their homework than they have to. Giving them the tools they need can
improve homework quality while at the same time reducing the time it takes
to complete it.
New Focus

Begin focusing on helping them get organized as opposed to helping them
with the work
This
will take time!!!!!
Baby Steps

Implement 1 or 2 things to start and slowly add in additional steps

It takes a minimum of 21 days to learn a new habit

Organization – like any skill comes easier for some than others
Select a consistent place to study

Free of distractions

Uncluttered work space

Place for supplies (paper, pencil, pen, eraser, ruler, colored pencils, etc.)

Good lighting

Comfortable chair or therapy ball
Routine study time

Study a little every night

Review notes

Break bigger assignments into smaller chunks

Don’t wait until the last minute to do big assignments
Daily Agenda

Agenda is provided by the school

Purchase own

Smart phone apps

Take picture of classroom board/assignments

Check school website
Organize

Dedicated binder or section for each class

Organize papers daily

Family calendar

Clean back packs nightly
Set Goals

Daily “To do” list

Prioritize list – high, medium, low

Timeline to complete bigger projects

Be realistic about what you can get done

Use a timer to stay on track

Be flexible – sometimes priorities change
Study Cards

Old fashioned note cards

Smart phone apps

Chegg flashcards

Quizlet
Ask for help

Encourage students to ask for help
Technology

Let technology help you

Pictures of board in classroom

Picture of worksheet

Picture of completed worksheet

Submit homework on-line/email

My homework app
Reinforcement schedule

When you ….. Then you can …..

Computer time

TV time

Activity with parent

Music

Baking/cooking

Read

Arts/crafts

Pokemon card
Text books

Access them online

Extra copy for home
Questions?
Suggestions?