Study Skills Toolkit

Study Skills Toolkit

Reading & Writing Assignment: Underline, Circle, Highlight, or Box important information.

You can do this when reading a passage, as you read it you underline, circle, highlight, or box anything that you think is important. Here is an example from the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows By: J.K Rowling.
     On the second landing was the bedroom in which he and Ron had slept last time they had been here; he glanced into it. The wardrobe doors stood open and the bedclothes had been ripped back. Harry remembered the overturned troll leg downstairs. Somebody had searched the house since the Order had left. Snape? Or perhaps Mundungus, who had pilfered plenty from this house both before and after Sirius died? Harry's gaze wandered to the portrait that sometimes contained Phineas Nigellus Black, Sirius's great-great grandfather, but it was empty, showing nothing but a stretch of muddy backdrop. Phineas Nigellus was evidently spending the night in the headmaster's study at Hogwarts.

STEM & Math: Show your work.

You can show your work in math or STEM class by circleing or underlining important information, or working out the whole problem on paper.
Here is an example of using that method.

Note Taking: When note taking you can use the outlining method.

THE OUTLINING METHOD
Page #     Today’s Date
Class Topic: How To Outline Notes
I. The first level is reserved for each new topic/idea and is very general.
     A. This concept must always apply to the level above it (I)
          i. This concept must always apply to the level above it (a)
          ii. This is a second supporting piece of information for the level above it (a) but is equal to the
             previous information (i)
         iii. This information is a sister to (i) and (ii)
     B. This concept applies to the level above it (I) and is a “sister” to (a)
II. You don’t have to use Roman Numerals, Letters, and Numbers – try only indents, dashes, and                      bullets!
III. Outlining requires listening and writing in points in an organizational pattern based on space                             indentation
     A. Advantages to outlining
          i. It is well-organized
          ii. It records relationships and content
          iii. It reduces editing and is easy to review by turning the main points into questions
     B. Disadvantages to outlining
          i. It requires more thought during class for accurate organization.
          ii. It does not always show relationships by sequence.
          iii. It dosn’t work well if the lecture is moving at a quick pace.

Memorizing Facts: Mnemonics.

You can use mnemonics by making up a sentence to remember something, a few examples are:
Every Good Boy Does Fine, that one is for music.
Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants, this one is to remember how to spell because.
A Rat In The House May Eat The Ice Cream, this mnemonic is to remember how to spell arithmetic.

Time Management: Sticky Notes.

You can use sticky notes to remind you to do something, like to stop reading in a book that you are reading for school, or to do the laundry, or to clean your room. You can put sticky notes almost everywhere, in your book, on your bed, really anywhere that you think that you will look before you need to do whatever it is that you need to do.

Organization Tools: Planner

You can use a planner to help you stay organized and on time. Using a planner can help you stay on track. Using a planner for not only school, but also to help you plan your day to day life will help you with keeping your life organized and healthy. Having and using a planner can help you stay healthy by keeping you from going crazy, and not getting anything done.