September 2014.

TAKE IN IDEAS. SORT OUT THESE IDEAS IN YOUR HEAD. EXPRESS THESE IDEAS.

KEEPING WELL Cut out rubbish. Drink plenty of water. Eat regularly. Exercise regularly. Sleep well.

CREATE A STUDY-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT Study in the same place and at the same time every day. Get rid of distractions. Have all the necessary supplies at hand.

FORM GOOD STUDY HABITS Start early. Take responsibility. Put together study timetables and subject plans. Reward yourself. Use memory tricks.

Review your work regularly – going over what you learned in class that day each night and again at the weekend. Switch subjects after breaks. Listen to teachers. Leave ‘the best’ for last. Study in 40 minute blocks with 5 minute breaks.

HOW TO ABSORB INFORMATION EFFECTIVELY READING SKILLS Read A. To learn B. To answer questions

A. To read to learn use S.Q.3.R Survey. Question. Jot them down. Read the passage closely – identify the topic sentence/subject line of each paragraph. Use your highlighter. Recite. Review.

B. To answer questions: Skim. Read closely. Read the questions accurately. Scan the passage for the answer. Answer the questions – stick to the questions that are asked.

LEARNING TO LISTEN Build a ‘listening bubble’.

Be on time. Take up position. Be strong.

ACTIVE LISTENING Prepare to listen – review class notes from the previous class and have some questions prepared. Listen for ‘buzz words’ e.g ‘to sum up’, ‘keep in mind’, ‘the two main reasons are’. Take notes. Don’t give up.

THE ART OF NOTE TAKING. Use A4 paper. Have one A4 ring binder per subject. Use dividers to break subjects into topics. METHODS OF NOTE TAKING 1. LINEAR METHOD (headings and list of bullet points) 2. SPIDER DIAGRAM (especially for visual learners)

TAKING NOTES IN CLASS Prep the page the night before (title and date, margin) Don’t try to take everything down. Leave plenty of space.

TAKING NOTES FROM A TEXTBOOK Reduce chapters down to the most important ideas you need to learn. 1. Skim chapter 2. Prepare notes page 3. Turn each section heading into a question and write it in the margin. 4. Try to reduce the answer to the absolute minimum. 5. Use your own words. 6. Use numbered/bullet points.

MEMORY TRICKS Repetition. Review notes quickly and regularly. For languages – podcasts, French/German/Spanish radio, set aside ‘language time’. FOR OTHER SUBJECTS Acronyms Acrostics

Rhyme Pictures Flash cards How to learn a text off by heart: - Use subject lines - Learn first line - Use pictures

WRITING SKILLS Spelling. Use a dictionary. Learn from other writers. Grammar & Punctuation. Know when to use: Full stops Commas Inverted commas Apostrophes Colons & Semi-Colons

Proper English VS Texting English

IMPROVING WRITING STRUCTURE A paragraph always contains ONE main idea or point. In order to help writing to flow from one paragraph to the next and make your chain of thought seem natural use LINKING PHRASES. E.g but, however, on the other hand. A good opening paragraph will sum up the main points you will make in your answer. A good concluding paragraph will sum up the main points again and round off your answer.

Keep paragraphs clear and easy to read. Mix short sentences with long ones. BUILD YOUR VOCABULARY If it’s good, you can easily express your thoughts in interesting ways and furthermore you will avoid repetition. YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR VOCAB. BY USING A DICTIONARY, A THESAURUS AND AIMING TO LEARN ONE NEW WORD PER DAY.