Socials 8 tutorial 2014

Socials 8 Tutorial

Study Skills

Exam/Test Writing Strategies

Preview of text

Note taking Skills

Are you in the right place?

Room 113January 28, 2014

11:00am to 12:30pm

How to FAIL a course…

BE DISORGANIZED:•Never bring supplies like pens, pencils, notebook, text•Always borrow what you need from others•Being organized is overrated!

DON’T CARE:•Arrive late and unprepared•Waste time in class, don’t listen•Be rude, make excuses, leave the room every class


NEVER PLAN:•Pay little attention to assignments•Leave homework to the last minute•Never set up schedules for work and study•Don’t develop regular study time after school•Find someone to copy from (cheat)


NOTEBOOKS ARE A NUISANCE:•Never take notes neatly or in the same book•Make notebooks messy, disorganized and sloppy•Rarely underline or focus on main ideas•Scribble and draw needless artwork in notes•Keep handouts and assignments in disorder and unfastened•An “I don’t care” message is reflected by lots of incomplete work in your notebook


HATE READING:•Read without thinking•Never learn to read and record notes•Don’t take an interest in the subject•Don’t focus on content overview, main topics or headings

Some Hints on Planning a Better Study Schedule

• Plan a schedule of balanced activities• Plan enough time in studying to do justice to each

subject• Study at a regular time and in a regular place• Study as soon after your class as possible• Provide for spaced review• Start to prepare for final exams the first day of the term

• What are some key words?• How do we do this? • What do we need?


• schedule• enough time• regular time• soon after• spaced review• first day

All the key words and descriptions deal with… time management:


You need to be organized with your time:

•Make use of your school agenda•Make use of your phones and devices intelligently•Check teacher blogs regularly (if your teacher uses it)

•Check Moodle regularly (if your teacher uses it)

•Make “to do” lists•Look over everything you need to create a study plan (notes, review sheets, handouts, text)

(which ones do you do already?)

How to Study #1

Let everyone in your household know the test dates and that you need to study.

WHY let everyone in your household know you need to study? (how many actually do this?)

•Accountability•Family does not schedule you for other things and they can plan around important dates

How to Study #2

Which is the best study plan?

Shorter sessions over several days? or

Long sessions over few days?(which one do you do?)

Remember that your brain needs time to sort, file and process the information that you are inputting (just like a computer)You tend to remember the first and last concepts from a study session

How to Study #3

• Figure out what you need help with and make a list.

• Do not leave this to the last minute!

• You should do this at the beginning of your study time…to give your brain time to process information that has not been making sense

• Ask for HELP!

How to Study #4

Who can you ask for help?

study support personschool tutorfamily memberfriendstudy groupteacher

(do you have someone you can ask for help?)

How to Study #5

Make a study group!

•Plan your study time so you have already studied BEFORE meeting as a group

•Studying with others can help your brain process information that you have already inputted

•Input first study group second

How to Study #6

Always do the harder work FIRST!

Why?

Because your mind is fresher and more able to deal with this harder taskAlso, don’t forget, your brain takes time to process info

How to Study #7

Make sure that you do lots of different study activities remembering your learning styleExamples:Cue cardsQuiz yourselfMnemonics…make up words, poems, songs (rap) to help you memorize info

Why change things up?•Changing activities can help your brain to refresh

How to Study #8

Always review the information you need to memorize the last thing before you go to sleep

Why?

Your brain continues to process it while you sleep…yes you are “studying” while you are sleeping

Effective study methods

• practice with flashcards practice with flashcards • ask someone to quiz youask someone to quiz you• highlight important points in your noteshighlight important points in your notes• summarize; read your notes; read your notes aloudsummarize; read your notes; read your notes aloud• organize your papers so you are working with everything you needorganize your papers so you are working with everything you need• outline or make a graphic version of written work (lists, columns, outline or make a graphic version of written work (lists, columns,

Venn diagrams, etc.)Venn diagrams, etc.)• quiz yourselfquiz yourself• write memory work over and over until you feel confidentwrite memory work over and over until you feel confident• use a worksheet as a quiz by covering over the answers and re-doing

it• look over old quizzes and try to figure out why you're making

mistakes• look over the returned assignments for the unit• answer study guide questions• tell someone else what the topic is about• look up the parts of the assignments that you didn't understand the

first time

How to get ready for the BIG day

• Sleep a full night (do not pull an all-nighter)• Eat about an hour or so before your exam• Layer your clothes to be comfortable

(One year the caf was too cold…the next time too warm)

• Be early• Visit the washroom• Bring all your supplies:

pens eraserpencils watchruler snack? water?special equipment – calculator, eye glasses

During the Test…

What should you do during a test?

Budget your time.Circle key words in the directions.Answer all questions.

DO NOT observe how quick your neighbours are working

During the Test…

• Think only positive thoughts! Relax! Breathe!• Don’t start the test immediately. Look over the

entire test to survey the number and kind of questions.

• Budget your time. Allow yourself time after you finish the test to double check your answers.

• Read all directions twice. Circle key words. Do only and exactly what the directions ask for.

• Ignore your neighbours. Don’t worry if they seem to be working faster than you are (working fast is NOT

a good sign!)

During the Test…

• Never change an answer unless it is clearly wrong.

• Your subconscious mind will continue to “work” on questions you’re not sure about. Sometimes a questions/answer later in the test will trigger recall for another question/answer.

If you get stuck…

reread the questionsearch the question for “cue” or “clue” wordsperuse test looking for “clues” or “answers”

that may be embedded in other questionsvisualize the part of the textbookmake an intelligent guessdo something else and come back to it later

How to write a MC Test

Cover up the answers and predict the answers before Spend time on the question – read carefully and make sure you understand the question

looking at alternativesCarefully read all the possible answersEliminate wrong answers… if two answers seem equally

appealing chose the answer that answers what is asked and is the “best” fit

Review your answers after completing the testCHANGE if you are absolutely sure the answer is wronghttp://www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/exams/multiple-

choice.html

Overall, the crusades were important because they:

A. allowed Rome to gain permanent control of Jerusalem.

B. were such a terrible military failure.C. stimulated trade and expanded European's word knowledge.D. allowed Europeans to make contact with China.

The group which knights were seldom chivalrous towards was: A. other knightsB. church officials.C. serfs.D. their vassals.

Towns emerged as trading centres because A. fairs were not held in the winter.B. travel to fairs was often dangerous.C. fairs were often located far away.D. all of these.

What to do BEFORE you start a chapter!

PREVIEW the chapter!!!

WHY?just like in the movie theatres…

…you have an idea of what the chapter is about before you actually start it

PEVIEW Step #1

Read the Learning Outcomes

WHY?You find out what you are supposed to learnYou find out key vocabYou find out what you will be able to do and what you will know by the end of the chapter

You get a general idea of the content

PREVIEW Step #2

Read the Introduction

WHY?You learn about some big general concepts about the chapterYou find out key vocabyou find out what you are about to learn

PREVIEW Step #3

Read the Conclusion

WHY?You find out about key concepts in the chapterYou find out key vocabyou find out what you are about to learn

PREVIEW Step #4

Flip through the chapter

WHY?The headings give you and idea of what will be coveredTake a look at the vocab presentedTake a look at some of the pictures, graphs, read the captions to see what you will be learning aboutyou find out what you are about to learn

Preview done!

What do you know from doing the preview?

You know what you will learn in the next chapter…there should be no surprises

What do you do next?READ the chapterTake notes on the chapter

(Preview Chapter 5)

Note taking

Why take notes?

•It is a useful record•It helps memory•It help understanding•It is a shorten version of the text – a summary…so you don’t have to rely on the textbook•It helps you study!

Note taking

What makes a good set of notes?

Notes should be:•Clear and easy to read•Easy to understand and follow•Not too wordy•Key points stand out•Visually appealing and well structured •Well organized and easy to access (does this describe YOUR notes?)

Outline method of taking notes

I. Use Roman numerals for major headings in text (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X)A. Capital letters for sub-headings

1. number each paragraph…this is the main idea of the paragraph

(where do you find this information in a paragraph?)

a. supporting pointsi. small roman numerals for

further detail (examples)

I. Knighthood and Chivalry

1. Knighthood reaches its peak during this time

a. quick decline due to new tech: i. longbowii. Firearms

b. archers become important2. Chivalry = code of honour = personal honour

a. ideally – need to be brave, generous, truthful

i. protect women and childrenii. strengthen Church

b. in reality – no…especially towards serfs

3. all knights practice fighting/war = their trade

a. amusements war relatedex) jousting, hunting

b. better the knight = the more value to their lord and so keep their socials status and land

i. also will survive battlefieldA. The Education of a Knight

1. takes many years…start at age 7/8 -- son of noble

Helpful websites

For note taking:•http://www.mdc.edu/main/images/Social_formal_outline_note_taking_system_tcm6-32373.pdf•http://www.las.uh.edu/lss/handouts/Note%20Taking/Format%20Outline%20Method%20Of%20Note-taking.pdf•http://www.redlands.edu/docs/StudentLife/1Five_Methods_of_Notetaking.docx_UPDATED_7-09.pdf•http://www.qmu.ac.uk/els/docs/Making%20effective%20notes.PDF•http://lsc.cornell.edu/LSC_Resources/cornellsystem.pdf•http://coe.jmu.edu/LearningToolbox/cornellnotes.html•http://www.uhv.edu/ac/study/pdf/cornell.notetaking.pdf•http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/pdf/notetake.pdf•http://www.study-skills.ca/blog/2008/04/29/the-importance-of-note-taking/

Helpful websites

For Study Skills:http://www.middleboro.k12.ma.us/MHS/StudySkills/Study%20Skills.pdfhttp://www.greatschools.org/students/homework-help/60-five-skills-for-academic-success.gs?page=allhttp://www.coedu.usf.edu/zalaquett/Help_Screens/study_skillsMHS.htmhttp://www.cbcurtis.net/SlausonMain/SlausonMain/Orientation_Meetings_files/Improve-My-High-School-Study-Skills.pdfhttp://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdyhlp.html

Helpful websites

Test taking:•http://www.testtakingtips.com/•http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/school/teststress/article10.html•http://www.teachervision.fen.com/study-skills/teaching-methods/6390.html•http://www.studygs.net/tsttak1.htm