....The Chalkboard....
**a special publication for parents**





Help Your Child With Study Skills

We live in an increasingly complex society in which getting a good education is no longer an option, but a necessity. It is important that children do well in school. The difference between children who do poorly in school and those who do well often relates to what their parents do at home.

When parents take the time to help, it can influence school success as much or more than a child's intellectual capacity or the quality of the school he or she attends. Good study skills will provide your child with a basic tool needed to succeed in school. This issue will look at what you can do to help.

Help with a Study Schedule

The time arranged for study should occur at the same time each day. Most children, like adults, are creatures of habit. When they get used to doing something at the same time each day, it becomes easier to remember and do it rather than if it occurs at different times each day.

Find times when your child is most alert to study. Involve your child in making the schedule. Children are more likely to accept a study schedule that they have been involved in setting up rather than one they had no choice in planning.

Help with Study Goals

Develop goals based on homework assignments. Three or four small goals that your child can attain one by one work better than one large goal. Check off each goal as it is achieved in order to make your child feel a sense of accomplishment.

Promote studying for understanding. When children understand what they are studying they remember much better. Begin each study session with the assignments that are most dificult to learn and understand. Use the "survey and read" procedure. Tell your child first to survey for the main ideas in the chapter. First, read the introduction and summary to the chapter and study any questions that might be at the end. Then have your child read more carefully. Finally, have your child look back through the chapter and try to further understand and remember the main ideas and important details. This will be much more effective than just "reading" the chapter.

Underline or highlight important key ideas, facts, and details. Organize important facts and information into categories whenever possible. The processof putting things into categories can help your child to recognize, understand, and remember essential information.





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