Introduction to Study Skills

These are the skills that you need to do your best work at school:

· Setting up a good home study environment

· Managing your time

· Setting goals

· Actively listening and taking helpful lecture notes in class

· Reading a textbook and outlining important facts and points

· Studying class and textbook notes for an upcoming test

· Successfully taking tests

On your own

Take an inventory of your study skills today by completing this chart.

Home Study Environment:

____I have all the study supplies I need at home.

____I have a quiet study area with good lighting.

Managing Study Time:

____I usually schedule time for homework and other activities.

____I have up-to-date records of all homework assignments and upcoming reports and tests.

Study Goals:

____I have set study, report, and test goals for the next week (month).

School Study Skills:

____I listen carefully to lectures in class.

____I participate actively in discussions and activities.

____I read material before the teacher discusses it in class.

____I take notes on important facts and main ideas talked about in class.

Textbook Study Skills:

____I read and outline important facts and points from textbooks.

____I know how to use the textbook (key vocabulary, headings, index etc.).

Test-Studying Skills:

____I study class notes and textbook outlines for upcoming events.

____I use memory techniques to help me remember important information.

____I study several days in advance to a test and break the main ideas into parts to study in smaller chunks.

Test-Taking Skills:

____I use step-by-step techniques when taking true/false, multiple choice, essay, matching and oral tests.

Testing step-by-step techniques:

It is as simple to remember as TR SB FRD.

· Take 2 minutes to unload your thoughts on the back of your test sheet

· Read the directions carefully.

· Skim the entire test quickly.

· Begin answering the questions.

· Flag the questions you cannot immediately answer and continue with the test.

· Return to the flagged questions when you have finished the last question. Reread the question. Refer to any of the thoughts you wrote on the back of your test to help trigger ideas. If you are still stumped, try to reason out the answer. If all else fails, guess.

· Double-check your answers if time permits.