Susan Fitzell - Educational Consultant and Speaker » study strategies http://hightestscores.org Practical Strategies for Co-taught, Inclusive, and Differentiated Classrooms! Tue, 22 May 2012 03:39:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Tips to Improve Reading Comprehension http://hightestscores.org/tips-to-improve-reading-comprehension/ http://hightestscores.org/tips-to-improve-reading-comprehension/#comments Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:35:39 +0000 Susan Fitzell http://hightestscores.org/?p=872 The key to improving reading comprehension is using strategies that support working memory when reading. We want information to stay in working memory, and to be processed there, for as long as possible. This is especially important with new material or when students don’t personally relate to the information. There are various methods of doing this that may work for your student:

  • Highlight Important Information
    Highlighting important information tells the brain that it’s unique and significant, so it ‘stands out’ in our working memory. Use highlight tape to have students highlight information when they don’t own the book.
  • Tape Summarizations
    Have kids use a tape recorder, or work with a partner if a recorder is not available, to summarize their reading. When they get to the end of a page, have them stop and summarize what they just read into a tape recorder. Now they’ve read the material and have had to think about it again right away. This repetition keeps what they just read in working memory longer and increases the likelihood they will remember it.
  • Ask Questions
    Another effective strategy is to ask questions at the end of a reading. Have a template with questions like: Has anything like this ever happened to me? Did I ever feel this way?  Does this happen in my neighborhood?  At the end of each reading, have students answer a question in their journal or notebook, or answer a question to a partner.  This strategy can also be used for homework by sending a list of questions home with a reading assignment.
  • Use Storyboards
    To make a storyboard, have students fold a piece of paper into squares and draw about what they read. They might do this while they read a story for the first time, as a review with a partner, or for homework after a reading assignment. The process of turning verbal information into a visual format reinforces the learning and helps keep the information in working memory longer.
  • Teach Each Other
    Research shows that teaching each other, or peer teaching, is one of the most powerful ways to learn. After teaching for seven to ten minutes, give students one to three minutes to share with each other. Talking it out with a partner lets students correct misconceptions and reinforces the material by keeping it in working memory long enough to make an impact.
]]> http://hightestscores.org/tips-to-improve-reading-comprehension/feed/ 2 My daughter's mind-map wall http://hightestscores.org/my-daughters-mind-map-wall/ http://hightestscores.org/my-daughters-mind-map-wall/#comments Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:40:15 +0000 Susan Fitzell http://susanfitzell.edublogs.org/?p=58 Shivahn's mind map

As a parent who has spent my children’s lifetimes trying to teach them how to learn, I was very excited when I walked into my daughter’s college apartment and found mind-maps, mnemonics, color, etc. all over one of her walls. Now, it’s not unusual to find mandalas on her door or on her walls, or flash cards scattered about, but this was a huge mind-map made from recycled 8.5 X 11″ pieces of paper. I had to get a picture and I’m going to attach it to this post so that you can see it. I have no idea what it all means, but I do know it helped her to get an A in the course.As some of you know, Shivahn co-wrote a book with me, Umm…Studying? What’s that?  so it feels good to me to know that she didn’t ‘just’ write the book, she also uses the strategies that she shares with other teens.

 

 

Have a great day. It’s raining here today and I have to finish a book that I’m writing on Co-teaching. It’s a bit challenging to get motivated to write when my energy is in line with the rain.
 
 

 

 

 

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]]> http://hightestscores.org/my-daughters-mind-map-wall/feed/ 0 Good Ol' Fashioned Flash Card Strategy & Resources http://hightestscores.org/good-ol-fashioned-flash-card-strategy-resources/ http://hightestscores.org/good-ol-fashioned-flash-card-strategy-resources/#comments Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:02:51 +0000 Susan Fitzell http://susanfitzell.edublogs.org/2008/03/30/good-ol-fashioned-flash-card-strategy-resources/ I’m testing for my next level in Kung Fu in a couple months and one of the requirements is to memorize quite a bit of information from the Kung Fu Members Handbook. Memorization has never been easy for me. I think that’s why I have so many strategies in my seminars to help students memorize information. I’ve used the strategies myself with tremendous success and have found students surpass all expectations (their own and those of their teachers) when they use memorization strategies.

One of my favorite strategies is using good, old fashioned flash cards. I’ve almost always used standard flash cards for study and have handwritten the questions and answers using color, pictures, and mnemonics to help me or my students remember. This time, I wanted to try doing them on the computer and taking advantage of colored fonts, san serif -fonts, photos, etc. Then I could print them out and enhance them by hand if I wanted to. I believe that many times students don’t create flash cards to study from because they hate to write them out. So, this seems like a motivating avenue to explore.

flashcard_blog1.jpg

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 The first step is finding out if there are any online resources for creating flash cards. I found some that I thought were not only heartening, they were helpful and effective. The first link I came across was written about a daughter who helped her mom remember words and people after a stroke. I had never considered that implementation of flash cards. So, consider how many ways we might use an age old technique like flash cards for study to help others.

Create Flash Cards in MSWord by Dian Chapman (for her mom): http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=289. This site allows you to download a free MSWord Template for flashcards. This is what I was originally looking for on this quest. Sure I could have made one up myself, but how many times would I have to mess with the dimensions before I got it right? I figure, why reinvent the wheel. Someone else must have done it. Well, Dian did.

This next website has flashcards for ESL; however, the flash card instructions are generic and can be used for any subject. If you are looking for ESL flashcards you can make your own or pay for access to their ready made cards. http://www.eslkidstuff.com/flashcard_printing_instructions.htm

Flashcard Exchange dot com is the site that helped my daughter get through her advanced placement courses in high school. One wonderful benefit we discovered was that if you type in the title of a text book, you might find ready-made flash cards made by another teacher or student! This site has a feature that allows you to download flashcards onto a PDA! I might consider this option. Then I can study anytime anywhere discretely with my PDA phone! http://www.flashcardexchange.com/

And then there’s Quia, a site that allows you to create flash cards, games, activities, etc. www.quia.com

And finally, Microsoft’s website has templates for flashcards and designates exactly which Avery product fits the dimensions.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT102530781033.aspx

 Enjoy making flash cards and seeing your students increase their test prep success!

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