1. Study Skills Lesson Plan Elise, Chelsea, Brent, Britt and Andrew

2. Lesson Objectives Allow students to examine their own study habits Provide students with suggestions that will help improve their ability to study Force students to reexamine their own study habits and decide if they need/want to incorporate any skills mentioned in the lesson into their own study routine Part I

3. The Lesson Plan Assessment Tools: 1.) Prior to lesson: Questionnaire regarding individual study habits that students will complete prior to class. 2.) Post lesson assessment: Exit slips asking students to provide feedback on information they obtained during the lesson. This activity will help students reevaluate their current study habits and decide if they need/want to modify them. Activities: Initiation/Opening/Hook: -Youtube clip about studying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFjLMrI5hZIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFjLMrI5hZI -Collect short questionnaire students filled out prior to class Time: 3-4 minutes Teacher’s Activities: -Ask students questions regarding individual study habits. The room will be split up into two halves and students will move to one side or the other in regards to their answers. -During the activity, the teacher will ask one or two students to explain his or her reasoning for taking their position on each question. Students’ Activities -Students will listen to questions asked by the teacher and then move to the side of the room that correlates to their answer. -During the activity, students will be asked to explain why they took their respective position on each question. Time: 10-15 minutes Closure: Debrief about activity and a short teacher led discussion outlining beneficial study habits. Time: 5 minutes After Lesson Assessment: Exit slips asking students what they learned from the lesson. Also ask them to write down any study habits that were explained in the lesson that they would like to try or incorporate into their own study habits. The before lesson questionnaire and the post lesson exit slips will help students recognize areas that they may need to improve on or incorporate into their own study habits. Part I

4. The Lesson Plan Hook – “Study Rock Anthem” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFjLMrI5hZI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFjLMrI5hZI Part I

5. The Lesson Plan According to Instructional Strategies Chapter 2, “Diagnostic assessments usually occur prior to instruction, and attempt to determine students’ strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and skills.” (p. 41) Questionnaire (students filled this out while watching the “Study Rock Anthem” hook video) – Do you study? – What does studying mean to you? – Do you take breaks while studying? – Do you study with distractions (music, TV, pets, friends) or in silence? – Do you study right after school or late at night? – Do you study in the same place every time? – Do you start studying several days before a test or the night before? – Do you study more from your class notes or the textbook, or a combination of the two? Part I

6. Activity Britt and Chelsea asked students the questions from the questionnaire regarding individual study habits Students moved to the front or the back of the room based on their specific response Brent facilitated the classroom discussion with the students’ opinions in the back of the room and Andrew facilitated the classroom discussion in the front of the room (improvised the students in the middle) Part I

7. Questionnaire Do you study? – 6 kids answered “No” – Some of the kids were not embarrassed that they do not study – Improvised- “Do you have homework?/How much time do you spend doing homework per night?” “Well, if you DID study would you…” (mentor teacher noted that this improvisation is key to successful lesson plans-do not let students have the options not to answer questions because they do not study) According to Instructional Strategies, p. 141, “Don’t be Afraid to Depart from Your Written Questions while Staying with the Plan” this was essential in keeping the lesson under control as 6 kids would not have been able to participate Part II

8. Questionnaire What does studying mean to you? – “It means practicing for success because you get closer to an A.” – “Practice because it’s good for the brain” – “It means you can work harder for a better education” – “It means to review” – “Hard work that I don’t like.” – “Something people do if they slack in class, and miss the teachers instruction” Part II

9. Questionnaire Do you take breaks while studying? – Majority said yes Get bored – 1 undecided – 2 said no Explained that while cramming they didn’t have time to take breaks Wanted to get it done/out of the way as quick as possible Part II

10. Questionnaire Do you study with distractions (music, TV, pets, friends) or in silence? – Majority said with distractions Music helps keep them motivated Some kids don’t have a choice about distractions (loud siblings, pets, etc.) – 3 said in silence Helps them stay focused Music gets them off topic – 4 in the middle Depends on what they are studying (if it is easy material they will listen to music/watch TV but if it is challenging material they will study in silence) Part II

11. Questionnaire Do you study right after school or late at night? – 1 said afterschool Still in school mode, might as well just get it done – Majority were in the middle Not specifically always one or the other Depends on what they are studying for (if it is a big test they will start studying after school and go late into the night but if it is a small test/quiz/assignment they will not spend a lot of time on it, might be right after school or late at night) – 6 late at night Relax/personal time between school and studying If they forget about it right after school they stay up late working on it Part II

12. Questionnaire Do you study in the same place every time? – 2 said yes More convenient – Majority said no Hard being in the same spot every time because of siblings and rest of household Two different houses (parents are divorced) Part II

13. Questionnaire Do you start studying several days before a test or the night before? – 10 said several days before Study a little bit at a time – 4 were in the middle Depends on how big/small the test will be and how challenging the material is – 5 said they cram the night before Study guide is given out the day before the test Part II

14. Debrief with students Elise asked students if they knew why we had them fill out survey and explain why they preferred particular ways to study – “So we know how we study and what’s good and bad” Went over outline of good study skills Part II

15. Exit Slips Asked students to write down one thing they learned/wanted to try or change on the back of their surveys and hand them to us as they left the classroom – A lot of students wrote they want to try studying several days before, instead of cramming the night before a test – Some wrote they want to try taking small study breaks – A few wrote they want to try studying in the same place Part III

16. What we observed We probably should have introduced ourselves Need to pull up video before class Students did not seem to be very enthusiastic about hook video Did not account for students talking the entire time Did not think about the logistics of students moving back and forth – They were confused on which side of the room to go to – One girl tripped in the middle of the room – There was a group of girls that did not separate almost the entire time We started running out of time – Had to cut last questions Part III

17. What our mentor teacher observed Very good eye contact with kids “Well if you DID study what would you do?” Good that there was not a choice of “I don’t…” reinforces negative, makes them choose We should restate the answers Keep bigger groups quite while others are talking Don’t say “If you guys don’t mind…” tell them. Comment on why some study habits are good and some are bad – i.e. “I study where I sleep because I usually fall asleep” Part III

18. What we learned Students study/learn in many different ways (including those students who do not study) Writing the lesson plan was far easier than implementing the lesson plan – Kids answered “no” to if they study, were not enthusiastic about hook – we did not stick to time frame, had to skip a question, did not account for logistics of activity Part III