Getting Organized for Midterm Exams (Checklist)

(Reminder: We have past blog posts about how to study for and take a test/exam!)

This week, the midterm exam schedule will be sent home in Friday folders. In addition, in the coming weeks, most of the content area teachers will be distributing study guides and other resources to begin preparing for January’s tests.

On one hand, there’s no one “right” answer regarding how students should organize themselves for exams. However, there are commonly-used strategies that work for most students, which are listed below.

Students: Feel free to print this checklist and go through all the steps!

Using Concept Checklists in Math Class

In both seventh and eighth grade math, a tool called the “concept checklist” is one of the most valuable pieces of information for both students and parents.

When used well, the concept checklist is the best way for...

• Parents to know how their child is doing
• Students to track personal progress toward mastery
• Students to visualize the path of learning: what already happened, what’s happening now, and what will be learned next

So, what is a concept checklist? This convenient at-a-glance form lists the standards covered in a unit and breaks them down into a checklist of the mathematical concepts that students need to master, written in student-friendly “I can” statements.

Here’s how the routine works:

Balancing Reading with Homework & Class Novels

(Reminder: Check out our old post about pacing AR to find out more about what the middle school expectations are and how to use a pacing bookmark!)

The biggest struggles that ELA teachers hear from students are that they either “don’t have time to read” or don’t know how to read for AR and read the assigned class novel at the same time.

While we teachers never want students to be overwhelmed or dislike reading, the reality is that heavy reading is in most of their academic futures; for example, a typical high school or college student might balance several fiction, class textbook, and/or article texts every week, if not nightly. For many people, the struggle to find time for reading doesn’t get easier. Therefore, ELA teachers would rather help students learn strategies NOW to help balance reading, homework, and life.

How to Use the School Planner Effectively

Writing down homework in the provided planner every day is more than just a school rule - it’s an organizational tool that many students could probably use more regularly... or more efficiently.

In a student survey, 51% of seventh and eighth graders admitted that they “always or sometimes” need help with using their planners better, and we teachers are finding that not everyone fully uses this resource well. (This skill is a great organizational habit to build before high school as well!)

Below are several tips for students to try daily, as well as some weekly or situational strategies. We ask that parents encourage their students to find the combination of strategies that works best for them!

Tips for Organizing Binders, Folders, and Papers

Does your child sometimes (or always) lose papers? Does she seem to have an exploding binder, or a folder with contents in disarray? Does he hesitate about where to put a piece of paper, or need to re-organize more often?

In a survey taken during the 2015-16 school year, 58% of students said that they “sometimes or always” struggle with organization. Therefore, we teachers surveyed our students to get advice about what works best for them. Our hope is that both students and parents will gain some valuable ideas from this list.

Ultimately, every student learns differently, and we fully accept that students need to build an organizational system that works for them. Each student may also adjust his or her methods over time, which is normal. But if organization skills are a challenge for your child, encourage him or her to browse these ideas and pick a few to try!

Understanding the New YA Books Policy in Grades 5-8

At our fall Student-Led Conferences this year, students introduced their parents to our school’s updated YA book policies for grades 5-8. In this post, we want to reinforce what’s changing and why.

“Choose Your Own Adventure” Options in Social Studies, explained by Mr. Mazon

Many parents have come up to me recently to ask about the choose your own adventure (CYOA) activities and the secret agent game that we play in my seventh and eighth grade classes throughout the year.  Since  the 7th grade students will be creating their very first CYOA soon, today’s post will focus on this part of the social studies curriculum.