Ms. Worob / 8th Study Skills

April 10-13

This Week's Agenda (Tuesday through Friday) --

1. Create your own GOAL poster (due end of class Friday; for a double grade)

2. BrainPop -- do 2 on research skills (due end of class Friday)

3. Study Hall

5th Grading Cycle (six-weeks)

This is the beginning of the 5th grading cycle.  This grading cycle will include Spring Break, MoY testing, and the STAAR Math and Reading tests for 8th graders. This cycle actually has 7 weeks of school.

During this cycle Study Skills students will --

Week of Feb. 21-24  

Learning Styles and individual learning preferences; how to adjust your own learning for academic success.

Week of Feb. 27-2 

On Tuesday Period 1 will be lead in a debate by members of the Anderson Debate Team.    The topic this week is Active Listening.   Math and Science MoY tests will be given Thursday morning and the Reading and Social Studies tests will be the afternoon on Friday.

March 5-9   A full week of learning!   Students will learn some Memory tips and Note Taking techniques. 

March 12-16    SPRING BREAK

March 19-23   This week's topic will be Test Taking Tips and Strategies specific to Math and Reading tests.

March 26-30      STAAR Math test is Tuesday and STAAR Reading; The Study Skills topic for this week is dealing with 'stress'

April 2-6   Topic:  Research--plagiarism, identifying resources (especially on-line resources); digging DEEP to find the really good stuff!!

April 9-13 End of the 5th six weeks grading cycle!!!   Think Globally--diversity; stereotypes, prejudice, etc.  What affect will this have on YOU?

Time Management

One of the most difficult tasks for us all is "time management". Last week students discussed what they have no control over and what they can control. They learned they only have control over their actions, attitudes, behaviors, and how they use their time. As we discuss time management, students will realize they CONTROL much of their free time.

How they MANAGE their "free" time is often the difference between success and failure--as students.

Of the 168 hours in a week most students spend 56 hours sleeping (8 hours a night) and 40 hours at school. This leaves approximately 72 awake and non-school hours during which they can "juggle" many different activities. Activities such as -- homework, chores, reading, eating dinner and snacks, sports practice, exercise, watching tv, texting, video games, and more. Many students are beginning to recognize that they waste a lot of time doing NOTHING.

Students completed a couple of hands-on activities to help them visually see how they spend their own time. We will continue to address this topic as we discuss PRIORITIES and classifying their activities as URGENT, IMPORTANT, and Not-Important.

Students will be asked to track how they spend their after school time for one full week beginning Thursday, January 9 or Friday, January 10. This will be due the following Wednesday or Thursday. There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, January 17.

Week of January 23-26

Study Skills students have been busy this week learning about Paradigms (perceptions) and how negative self-paradigms can negative affect their ability to learn and be successful students. We have also investigated Proactive and Reactive Students. Reactive students are more likely to NOT take responsibility for their own learning -- blaming others for their bad grades, etc. The purpose of discussing these topics is to help students become aware of how their thoughts and actions can help or hinder them as students. The final lesson of the week was accepting that they cannot control many aspects of their lives but they can control their own thoughts, actions, attitudes. Students also had 30 minutes of Study Hall on A and B days.

Explanation of grades in Study Skills -- the only homework assignment for the entire semester was to write an essay on New Years Resolutions. This paper was due the first full week of classes. Each week students also complete the Weekly Checklist. More recently they were asked to complete 4 BrainPops (on-line lesson and graded quiz) on each of the four core curriculum areas -- English, History, Science, and Math. Students will have the entire six weeks to complete all 4 lessons. If students complete each assigment they should easily make an A in this class. Any lower grade simply reflects a lack of effort and participation in Study Skills.

Many students do not have homework to work on during Study Hall time on Fridays. To encourage good classroom behavior and participation in lessons, I would like to reward students with 20 minutes of outdoor physical activity on Fridays. However, I need some "sports" equipment -- frisbee, football, kickball, soccer ball, hula hoops, etc. If you would like to donate any of these items please just send them to class with your child. If you want them back at the end of the semester, please put your last name on the item. Thank you -- Susan

My "wish list" -- frisbees, football, kickball, soccer ball.

Week of January 16-20

Monday -- Holiday

Tuesday -- 1st and 3rd periods will be introduced to Philosophy and Philosophical Chairs -- a form a debate we will participate in throughout the semester. Today's topic is taken from the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This type of lesson should encourage students to "think" outside their comfort zones and to ask questions.

Wednesday -- Periods 2 & 4 will not meet as all 8th graders will tour Anderson High School during the morning. Period 6 & 8 will do the Philosophy lesson and debate mentioned above.

Thursday and Friday classes -- Students will check grades and complete the Weekly Checklist. Students who have missing or zero assignments in their four core classes will be required to attend after-school tutoring next week. We will also discuss HABITS; especially study habits.

 

Week of January 9-13

Welcome to Study Skills! Study skills include organization, setting priorities, goal setting, time management, project management, learning what your learning style is and learning to adapt to other forms of instruction, taking responsibility for one's grades, breaking bad study habits and learning new ones, how to study, test taking tips, and so much more. Your child should have brought home a handout describing this semester course -- ask him/her.

All students must have a composition book or 70 page spiral to leave in class, an agenda, and must be able to log in to GradeSpeed.

The ONLY homework assignment all semester long is due January 10 or 11.

January 5-6 Intro to Study Skills, Student Information worksheet, New Years Resolutions and Essay.

January 9 Binder Organization -- many students need a new 3" binder as theirs are falling apart.

Intro of the Monday Checklist

How to Really Use Your Agenda

January 10-11 New Years Resolutions Essay DUE

How to Really Use Your Agenda continued

Reviewing Last Semester's Grades and Understanding GradeSpeed

Study Hall

January 12-13 Habits

Last "week" of the year --

8th grade Study Skills has covered a lot of information this semester and from the student comments given on the "end of course" questionaire, the students learned more than they had expected to learn! Most thought this class was just going to be study hall for the entire semester but instead they learned "how" to learn. A huge majority of the students claimed to have learned a new study strategy that will continue to help them in school -- even after this semester course.

We will follow the C-day schedule on Monday, Dec. 19 and Tuesday, Dec. 20. During the final two classes we will watch The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. His topic is Achieving Your Childhood Dreams (and Overcoming All Obstacles).

Last Full Week -- December 12-16

Everything we've done in Study Skills comes together in the packet the students received this past Thursday or Friday. The completed packet is not due until the end of class on Tuesday, Dec. 13 or Wednesday, Dec. 14. The packet itself culminates our study on "power reading" (reading for the purpose of studying). However, the un-structured class time to complete it will test each student's ability to --- manage their time; make appropriate choices during study skills class; break "bad" study habits; and set priorities.

The packet is not overly long and can be completed easily within an hour. By giving them 3 full classes to work on the packet students are given flexibility. Students can chose how much time they want to spend on it during each of three classes. They can chose to work on assignments from other classes; catch up on Study Skills computer assignments (assigned over three weeks ago); study for six-weeks tests; or totally waste their time.

This is my version of a final exam --- :) For the last three class periods (Thursday/Friday of this week and Monday and Tuesday next week) -- I will discuss setting and achieving goals. I will show "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch.

 

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams ...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo -

Week of November 28 - December 2

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving Break as much as I did!

We only have 3 1/2 weeks left in this semester and in Study Skills. During this time we will focus on Reading Comprehension; Studying and Test Taking Tips; and will revisit Priorities and Goals.

Monday -- Checklist

Tuesday/Wednesday -- Power Reading

Thursday/Friday -- Turbo Charge Your Reading Comprehension

There will be a 30 minute Study Hall on A and B-days.

After-School Tutoring sessions will be held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Week of November 21-25

Happy Thanksgiving!

On both Monday and Tuesday we will follow the C-day schedule so I will see all of my students on both days. Students will continue to work on their presentation projects (for a grade). When they finish they will work on Brain Pop on-line lessons on Research Skills.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving break with family and friends.

Week of November 14-18

This is the beginning of the 3rd grading cycle (six-weeks) and for most of my students their last six weeks in Study Skills. 

We are beginning the Learning for the 21st Century unit.  Murchison's wonderful librarian, Mrs. Cochran, introduced students to Prezi and Animoto; new presentation tools.  Students will work on their own presentation projects this week.  I will post the winners on TypePad next week.

Study Hall time will still be given during each A-day and B-day class.