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Does your child spend a lot of time studying only to get mediocre grades? Does he or she struggle with hard-to-read text books and note-taking? School may be letting out for the summer, but now is the perfect time for your child to master those all-important study and organizational skills necessary to tackle next year's most challenging classes . . . and Student Organizational Services ("SOS") can help!
SOS's summer Coaching Programs and Workshops provide your child the tools he or she needs to get a head start on next year's classes.
See below for information on our summer offerings as well as information and tips on verbal learning styles, optimizing study spaces, and learning languages.
1:1 Summer Coaching
Your student can make great strides in a short time with our highly skilled coaches. SOS's "1:1 Summer Coaching" is customized to your child's needs. Read more about it on our Web site at: http://www.sos4students.com/summercoaching
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Summer Workshops
SOS's acclaimed "Summer Workshops" are now open for registration. Check out our terrific offerings for all grade levels:
Nailing Ninth: All the skills to make your freshman's first year of high school a success. Includes a parent workshop and a "first final exams" preparation seminar.
Mastering Middle School: Ensure a smooth transition to middle school with note-taking, organizational skills, and a tool box of take-away strategies.
Writing Rx: An expository writing "all you need to know" training seminar for grades 9 to 11. Instructors demystify the expository writing demands of high school, providing students with terrific foundation for the SAT.
Middle School Blitz: A veritable study skills bonanza in this intensive workshop for grades 7 and 8. Middle school students learn to work smarter, not harder.
High School Blitz: Time management and higher level note taking strategies to make it through those tough courses in grades 10 to 12.
All of our programs feature small classes, supportive and highly-trained instructors, and terrific take home materials students can use and refer to for years to come. Learn more on our Web site at:
http://www.sos4students.com/studentworkshops/
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Verbal Learning Styles
How does your child learn best? Why can't he seem to outline the way you've explained it to him a million times? Why does she always want to talk about her ideas but it takes her forever to turn them into essay form?
Understanding how we learn best is important and most adults have some sense of their own learning style, even if they've never put a name to it. The same cannot be said of what they understand about their own children. When I ask an audience of parents how many of them know their child's learning style, most shake their heads and profess ignorance.
Howard Gardner of Harvard University identified the following learning styles: Verbal, Visual, Kinesthetic, Logical, Social, Musical, Solitary, and Natural. Many people are a combination of styles. In this and subsequent newsletters, we'll provide an overview of some common characteristics for a particular learning style and tips for study strategies:
Verbal learner traits:
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Processes ideas aloud
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Lauded for participation in class discussions
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Articulates with a strong vocabulary
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Makes sense of non-verbal information by converting it into words
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Often clever with creative writing
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Operates well in classes focusing on text, literature, and oral analysis
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Enjoys books
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Quick-witted and enjoys humor
Study tips:
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Allow student time to "think aloud" as a brainstorm/idea organizing session prior to writing an essay; act as secretary to take down ideas.
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Ask student to talk through his/her organizing process. Which ideas might go first? Why? Let student take the lead verbally by asking leading questions.
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Teach students how to take notes from textbooks using paraphrasing and condensing techniques. Have student make sense of diagrams and charts by explaining them aloud and writing them down in notes to ensure retention.
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For verbal students with math difficulties, teach student to be sure and "talk through" the problem solving with the teacher listening; write steps down in both numeric and text form. Writing problem solving techniques in prose as opposed to just numbers makes retention in active working memory easier.
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Study Space Makeovers
Students need a study place that fits their personal style and is highly functional. Take time to find out why your teen studies on the floor of his bedroom even though he has a lovely Danish Modern desk you bought him when he was in third grade (and it still looks good)! What's working and what's not working? Is it time to rethink and revamp the study space?
Questions to consider:
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Is my teen studying all over the house?
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Does the computer take over the whole desk?
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Is there a filing system? Is it being used?
Why not?
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How would the student design the room?
Invite SOS to your home to work side-by-side with your student to create a cool and functional "student office." A two hour evaluation includes a redesign plan, recommendations, a list of priorities, and a step-by-step schedule to make it happen.
If you're interested in scheduling an "SOS Study Space Makeover," call 510-531-4767 or send email to: marcie@sos4students.com.
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Learning New Languages
(Tips from Beth Samuelson)
Middle school and high school students find many challenges in learning a foreign language:
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A new "grill and drill" style of learning
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Not enough emphasis on conversation for auditory learners
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Textbooks laden with images and poorly organized for temporal sequential learners
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Not understanding how to utilize a textbook for review
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Passive test preparation (i.e. no review until the night before tests which require that the student have learned the vocabulary and grammar points over a period of time; and a tendency for beginners to merely read over the vocabulary lists and claim they've "studied").
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Not understanding why to review nightly or how. Only doing what is specifically assigned as homework.
Helping students understand their own learning styles is a critical aspect of academic support.
Language Tips
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Make content relevant to every day life for a teenager.
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Help the student generate real world examples of the same grammar point in English.
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Block in nightly review for vocabulary and grammar review.
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Create vocabulary flashcards or chart/color code nouns, verbs, and adjectives, etc.
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Plan a trip to a region where the language is spoken. Do an immersion course over a summer so the student can have real life practice or advance in the language more quickly.
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Teach students how to take notes in a language course and how to study. Learn what textbooks do well and how to make the best use of them as resources.
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Make studying active and engaging. Buy supplemental materials that are multi-sensorial. Ask the foreign language teacher for recommendations.
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Spanish Tutoring
Could your son or daughter use a review of Spanish grammar? Perhaps your teen would really benefit from conversation practice one-on-one to build confidence and competence. You may have a teen entering high school with a weak foundation in Spanish and summer tutoring could provide an edge.
Contact Steve Hobbs at "Spirited Spanish" for information about his services. A talented teacher and psychologist, Steve has taught all levels of Spanish and understands how to engage teenagers and inspire them. His passion for Spanish is contagious. Call 925-283-2787 for more information.
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Hire Beth Samuelson to Speak to your School or Organization!
SOS's Beth Samuelson conducts workshops and presentations for students, parents, and teachers. Past speaking engagements include the U.C. Davis Mind Institute, the Parent Education Network in San Francisco, and the Northern California Spina Bifida Association. Beth is frequent presenter at schools around the Bay Area and beyond and is also available for media interviews.
For information and bookings call 510-531-4767 or send email to marcie@sos4students.com. You can also send us a request through our Web site at:
http://www.sos4students.com/signupform/
Regards,
Beth Samuelson
Director, Student Organizational Services
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