Study Skills
Working with Upper Intermediate Students
Despite what older siblings say, high school is not the big scary place it is sometimes made out to be! However, there are some realities about how things work there that Gr 7 students, parents, and teachers have to keep in mind if the students are going to be successful at that level. Depending on the specific schedule of the high school your child will attend, each of their teachers will see anywhere from 90 – 180 students a term, for around 75 minutes, once every two days. High school students cannot rely on teacher supervision to be successful. They must be able to:
- track their own assignments
- organize their books and supplies for each of their 8 courses
- and actively seek out help when they need it.
My classroom routines and expectations are set up with this in mind. I want to help each student develop the habits they will need to be successful when they move on to high school. How this happens depends on the student, but one key part is to avoid routines that will not transfer to high school. When a student is struggling with study skills, parents and teachers need to find ways to support them without taking over things that are the student's responsibility.
What you can do is know what to look for.