How is Your Organizational System Working for You?

Posted on September 20, 2011 by

Is there already a pile of unorganized or maybe even unknown papers on your desk?  Perhaps it is time to consider how well your organizational system is working for you.  Consider the following questions:

  • Do you feel organized in each of your classes?  For which class do you forget to do your homework for most frequently?
  • Do you keep your homework and handouts next to relevant notes, or do you keep them in separate locations?  Is this working?
  • Do you have to flip around your notes a lot to find information that should be easy to find?
  • If you wrote down a plan for yourself for this school year, which parts have you followed?  Are there any parts of the plan that you haven’t implemented?
  • Did you identify specific goals for the first quarter?  If so, do you remember what they were?

The truth is that there is no one organizational system that works for everybody.  But taking a thoughtful, even systematic, approach can be very powerful.  In any case, your strategy for staying organized should be driven by what you’re trying to accomplish.  Keeping your academic goals in mind, review the following list of suggestions that might make your organizational system work better for you:

  • Daily checklists are your friend, and it can be so satisfying when you cross things off!  If a long list is stressful to you, put each task on a sticky note, prioritize the work in a stack, and work through the stack one task at a time.
  • Color-code:  for each course, match binders, notebooks, and related folders with a single color.
  • Rather than using tabs to separate class notes, handouts, graded work, etc., organize binders by unit (e.g., everything related to the “Ancient Greeks” unit is kept together in a single binder tab).
  • If you habitually lose pages during the year, consider reinforced 3-hole paper.
  • Notebook or binder?  If your teacher has a requirement but you’ve found something else works better for you, try to work it out with him or her.
  • Have a single homework folder that you carry with you to every class – keep finished assignments on one side, and incomplete work on the other.
  • Consider getting a copy of each of your textbooks to leave at home.

You don’t have to do everything on this list, but I invite you to try two or three that you think might help. As always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to e-mail – I’m happy to help you troubleshoot.

Good luck!
Tim

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Taking Good Notes

Posted on September 6, 2011 by

When you finish school, it won’t matter how many stacks of notes you have, but how well you’ve learned the material. So if you’re taking notes that don’t help you learn, it’s time to reconsider how you take them!

With the purpose of note taking—to facilitate learning—clearly in mind, it becomes easier to figure out how to go about taking notes.  Too many students take the court stenographer approach, trying to record every single word the teacher utters.  The result is often frustration (and a lot of illegible notes).  On the other extreme, some students—either because they’ve given up or because they don’t realize how important good class notes can be in the learning processfor their learning, take too few or no notes.  Somewhere between these two extremes is a happy balance.

The key to getting the most out of a lecture or class discussion is to listen well.  Think about how many memorable conversations you have had in your life in which you did not take a single note.  To be sure, part of the reason a memorable conversation is memorable is that we are interested, but another significant reason is that we are really listening.  Seen in this light, making notes becomes a tool you can use to augment your listening.

Here are some keys to listening well in class:

  1. Be ready to listen from the moment class begins.
  2. Know what to listen for.  Keeping the big picture in mind will allow you to stay focused even when teacher strays from the main topic.
  3. Remember, the goal is not to end up with a transcript of every word that has been said.  The goal is to listen carefully in order to identify main ideas and key supporting details.
  4. If your teacher allows it, and if it helps you, ask questions during class.  Being an active listener encourages you to stay focused and gives you a chance to get unlost should you get lost during a lecture or class discussion.
  5. Get in the habit of consistently asking follow up questions, taking time to tidy or even reorganize your notes, and sharing notes with a study partner.

Two-column Notes Revisited

One of the most significant challenges many students have shared with me over the years is how to manage listening to the teacher and writing everything down, all the while trying to do so in a somewhat organized fashion.  One of the best strategies I’ve come across is called the “Cornell method” or what is more commonly called “two-column notes.”  Even if you’ve been required to use “two-column notes” in the past and didn’t love the experience, please, read on.  The Cornell method can be an incredibly powerful note-taking system for use in high school classes that are heavy on lecture and reading.

At the heart of the Cornell method is a habit of noting key points during class without too much concern for organization, and then following up soon after class to review and impose some order on those notes.  This pattern alleviates the stress of trying to manage everything at once, and creates a built-in habit of reviewing notes regularly rather than waiting till the night before a test.  For a more thorough description of the system, with samples of printable notepaper, I strongly recommend following this link.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions.

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Get Your Game Face On

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

As the new school year begins, I invite to consider making “Get Engaged” your mantra this school year.  The best learning happens when you are engaged with the material – it’s not about going through the motions of class, homework, and tests, and it’s definitely not just about what grade you get at the end of the year.  Real learning is about taking charge of your education, connecting the material in your classes together, and applying what you learn to other aspects of your life.

What does engagement look like in school?

  • Engaged students ask questions – before, during, and after school
  • Engaged students read actively and take notes either in the text or in a notebook
  • Engaged students look to connect new material to the world around them

You’ll never find a checklist that gives you everything you need to be successful student, because what’s really important is your mindset.  One of the best things you can do for your mindset is to realize that your mind is flexible and constantly developing.  Intelligence is not fixed, but rather your abilities are related to the focus and effort that you put into your work.  Research has shown that “great accomplishment… is typically the result of years of passion and dedication and not something that flows naturally from a gift.”

So over the next week or two, spend some time envisioning how you will engage with your classes and put in the necessary hard work.  Think about what helps you to focus, and start to picture what your afternoons and evenings will look like so that you get all of your work done on time.  When you can teach yourself focus and engagement, you’re well on your way to school success!

 

Checklists for the New School Year

While there isn’t a checklist of everything you need to be a successful student, consider these possible steps:

 

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“Pick up a book!”

Posted on August 9, 2011 by

I came downstairs one morning last week and saw my son on the couch playing a video game on his iPod.  “Turn that thing off and read for a while first,” I ordered instinctively, handing him the book he was currently into.  He proceeded to read for the next 45 minutes without complaint.  Imagine the impact of this small gesture, this tiny intervention, if it were to be repeated over and over again throughout childhood.  Cajoling a kid to choose reading over screen time even once a week, every Saturday morning, for example, could easily lead to almost 40 hours—about five books for an average reader—more reading time per year.

In his discussion of the achievement gap between high performing readers and low performing readers in his most recent book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell points out that summer vacation seems to play a crucial role:  Even though measurable gains made during the school year are fairly even for the high achievers and the struggling readers, by the end of 5th grade, what started as a modest gap when students entered school has more than doubled.  For me, this is a powerful argument for giving our kids incentives and motivation to read this summer.

With just a few weeks left before school starts, I’m more concerned that our kids are reading that I am about what they’re reading. Do your part to make sure that your child is reading or getting read to every day:

  • Don’t forget the benefit of reading aloud to your kids (or with your kids by taking turns)—even for 12-year olds;
  • As my anecdote points out, getting started is often the hardest part.  The most powerful strategy I use for getting my family reading is sitting down together and reading the first few pages aloud.  Especially if the opening of a book is intriguing, a little bit of momentum can be all that’s needed;
  • Consider audio books as a hook into reading:  during car trips, before bedtime, or during hot, muggy Cleveland days when no one wants to move.

Happy Reading,

Tim
Recommended Reads
Click on each book cover for a review

         

The Egypt Game – Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Ranger’s Apprentice series – John Flanagan
Regarding the Fountain – Kate Klise

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Summer Reading Reminder

Posted on August 2, 2011 by

You probably looked at the calendar sometime this week and thought to yourself,  “It’s August already?!  How is that possible??”  Summer is indeed coming to a close, so consider this an early, friendly reminder to finish your required summer reading.  Try some of these suggestions for summer reading and you’ll be that much more prepared when school starts!

As you read:

  • Make a list of major characters and summarize any changes that they go through over the course of the book.
  • Make notes as you read.  Some readers find it helpful to jot a few words at the top of each page after finishing it, others find it helpful to write down a few bullet points at the end of each chapter.
  • Split the book into two or three sections (if it isn’t already divided by the author into bigger chunks) and at the end of each section reflect in a journal on your opinions of the book.

After you read:

  • Write down two or three themes from the book, and pick out 5 or 6 pages/passages that demonstrate each theme.
  • Does this book remind you of any other stories that you’ve read or heard recently?  Write a page in your journal or create a concept map connecting these various stories.

Just before school starts:

  • Find a review – it will remind you of major plot points and give you the opportunity to compare your observations with someone else’s.
  • Find information about the author and see how this book fits into his or her other writing.

In addition to finishing your summer reading, now is a great time to watch a movie or two related to what you will study this fall.  Having prior knowledge of a topic dramatically increases your comprehension when you see it again, and watching some great movies like the ones recommended below is a fun way to prime the pump for learning this fall.

Happy reading & watching,

Tim

 

Movies to Watch – Click on the poster or title to watch a trailer.

             
US History

Amistad – a powerful movie about a slave-ship rebellion
Gettysburg – an epic film about the famous battle

World History

Mongol:  The Rise of Kenghis Khan – the early life of the conqueror.
The King’s Speech – a recent award-winning WWII-era film

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Teach Peace? @#*% That!!!: “The Hunger Games” Best Teen Book I’ve Read in Years

Posted on July 28, 2011 by

One of the great pleasures of my first teaching position, during the First Gulf War, was making the acquaintance of a history teacher named Joe Chilbert. Joe liked to talk about growing up on the rough streets of Camden, NJ, and he liked to ruffle feathers by talking tough. I remember one conversation especially well.

A popular bumper sticker at the time urged “Teach Peace.” “Screw that!” Joe said. “If you want to end war, you’d better teach war. Show these kids what it’s really like.”

A recent teen series that is appropriate for anyone 7th grade and older—and perhaps especially important for adults who have become immune to the news about U.S. casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan—does a better job of penetrating the horrors of a government sending its kids off to die than anything I’ve read in a while.

The Hunger Games, the first book in Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, depicts a dystopian future America in which, in order to keep rebellion at bay, an overfed and pampered Capital requires each of the twelve outlying districts to send two “tributes” to the annual Hunger Games, a nationally televised fight to the death from which only one winner may emerge.

Pretty grim premise for a novel, right? True enough. But the result is a very powerfully rendered story, which (as Arthur Miller did with the The Crucible) demands that we take a closer look at our own troubled times.

Not for the faint of heart, The Hunger Games is nonetheless guaranteed to lead to some powerful, meaningful conversations about matters that affect us all.

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Summer Movies, Sports Can Motivate Summer Reading

Posted on July 15, 2011 by

This weekend promises a lot of satisfying screen time for sports fans and movie buffs alike.  Sunday at 2 p.m. the U.S. women’s soccer squad takes on Japan in the World Cup final.  The much-anticipated second installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows premiers today.  And for those in the mood for a double feature, Mr. Poppers Penguins featuring Jim Carrey offers 95 more minutes of air-conditioned bliss in a theater near you.

Why am I—a non-cable-subscribing English teacher practically obsessed with encouraging parents to “turn off the TV” and get their kids’ noses in a book—excited about all the screen time available this weekend?

Well, for starters, it’s a whole lot of fun, and even confirmed bookworms enjoy a little screen time now and then.  But I’ve got an ulterior motive in encouraging you to take in the World Cup, Potter and Popper with your kids:  These highly engaging visual events offer parents excellent opportunities to build a bridge from the interest they inspire to—you guessed it—reading!  Here’s how:

Sports

  1. If your family has been caught in soccer fever, take a few minutes to read the Plain Dealer article reporting on Wednesday’s semi-final victory over France.
  2. Have a middle or high school French student?  Why not read this article from a French newspaper?  Even if she doesn’t catch every word or phrase, if your young French scholar watched the game, she’ll have fun picking out some of the details en français!
  3. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter just became only the 28th player (and the first Yankee) in Major League history to get 3,000 hits in a career.  Jeter is a class act, and getting 3,000 hits is a testament to hard work and staying power over decades.  Why not read the New York Times coverage together?
  4. Here’s a list of the 27 others who did it before Jeter.  Many of them are featured in age-appropriate biographies available through the public library system, like the biography of Roberto Clemente, reviewed by my 11-year-old son at left.

Movies

  1. There’s something truly magical about Rowling’s fantasy world that makes its biggest fans read these books over and over again.  I work with high school sophomores who read nothing for pleasure whose faces light up when they recall reading the entire series in middle school.  Can’t get your kid interested in a new book?  Invite them back to Year 1 at Hogwarts.
  2. Remind your kids how much they loved reading the Potter novels, then hand them the first book of any of a number of well-written and engaging series in the “If you loved Harry, try these” category.  In our house, the Percy Jackson series was the go to.
  3. The Plain Dealer just featured an article about the increasing popularity of “fan fiction”—stories posted online by fans for fans.  This phenomenon is both a neat way to keep reading about favorite characters and a cool new venue for creative writing by kids.  But keep your eyes open:  Some of this stuff will be inappropriate for younger readers.
  4. Concerned that Book 7 and the films it’s inspired are a little too mature younger kids?  Fair point.  But don’t forget that when your teenage niece who’s going to the midnight showing tonight first met Harry, she was in second grade.  Why not capitalize on all the buzz about Harry and his friends to get your younger readers turned onto the series?
  5. Your kids don’t enjoy magic and wizards?  J.K. Rowling forgives you.  Take the kids to see Mr. Popper’s Penguins instead!  It really is cute.  Before you go, place your request at the library for the Newbury-honor winning novel that inspired it.

Happy Reading,

Tim

 

Book Reviews

    

Another kids book recently turned into a movie is Mr. Poppers Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater.  The movie was very funny but nothing at all like the book.  It was not the same in any way except that the main character was Mr. Popper and that there were penguins.  Readers who like funny books and penguins will enjoy Mr. Poppers Penguins.
-Daniel Tibbitts

Roberto Clemente:  Baseball Legend, by Carin T. Ford, tells about the life and career of Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente.  Readers will be fascinated to learn that Roberto was born in Puerto Rico to a very poor family, Roberto was always bouncing balls against the walls of his house (much to his mother’s chagrin), and Roberto worked three years just to buy a second hand bicycle.  What I enjoyed most about reading this biography was learning how much Roberto cared about other people. I don’t have any criticism of this book except the fact of a sudden abrupt ending.  I think readers who like baseball and history will enjoy this biography.
-Daniel Tibbitts

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Summer Foreign Language Fun

Posted on July 5, 2011 by

I recently returned from a brief getaway to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, where I enjoyed the opportunity to use French to order meals, ask for directions, and chat with the innkeeper (the Quebecois are very proud of their French heritage and are therefore more than happy not to switch to English).  Perhaps the highlight of my visit was breakfast with a young couple from southern France. I had assumed they were being politely patient with my halting French, and was pleasantly surprised to learn instead that they found it easier to communicate with my French rather than use their own English skills.

This trip reminded me once again of the excitement that comes from using a foreign language in the real world.  As hard as classroom teachers work to create a conversational environment, no classroom exercise can replicate the satisfaction of having a real conversation, of conducting a real transaction.  If you’re lucky enough to be traveling this summer to a place where the foreign language that you study is spoken, I strongly encourage you to make every effort to use the language.  Read every sign.  Listen to the radio.  If nothing else, greet and thank people in their own language.  And don’t be afraid to ask:  En français, s’il vous plait.  Auf deutsch, bitte. En español, por favor. 在中国，请.

Here are some others ways you can enjoy applying your foreign language skills closer to home:

  • Listen to music with foreign language lyrics.  It is a fantastic way to practice listening to and translating from a language.  Try finding the lyrics to a song, then following along with the words in front of you.
  • Watch a film, television show, or online videos.  Watch it the first time through with subtitles, then choose a favorite scene and watch it two or three times without subtitles.
  • Find a book in the language at any level.  Don’t be afraid to read picture books or comics – remember that you didn’t start reading English with the classics.
  • Listen to a free podcast – there are dozens available! You may search the language of your choice in iTunes or look through this listing for many options.
  • Practice speaking with a friend!  This will give you a chance to learn from someone else and more confidence speaking in front of others.
  • Play foreign-language Scrabble.
  • Join a conversation hour in the area.  The website Meetup.com has groups in Spanish, French, Chinese, and more in the Cleveland area.

Bon été!
Tim

 

More Foreign Language Fun

LyricsTraining.com
Fill in missing words (or all of the lyrics) from a foreign language song as it’s played – it’s a great challenge.

Wikipedia
Read about a topic that you already know well in a foreign language, and you might be surprised how much you understand.  There are 100′s of thousands of articles in many languages!

Scrabble
More for fun than anything else, check out this extensive list of Scrabble games in other languages.

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Read Every Day!

Posted on June 28, 2011 by

While Read, Read, . . . Succeed! is primarily focused on helping reluctant readers to get into the reading habit, I’ve become increasingly aware of late of how our kids’ busy lives can make it hard for even the most passionate readers to find the time to read.  Perhaps the most important way parents can help make sure their kids read this summer is to help them to carve out and prioritize the time for reading.

Remember, reading is like smoking, swearing or texting while driving—kids who see their parents do it are much more likely to pick up the habit themselves.

  • Make regular trips to the library part of your summer routine.  Even if kids are busy with camps and sports, they usually don’t have HW in the summer, so regular trips to the library can support the reading habit by gathering new reading possibilities.
  • Sign up at the library programs, and find other ways to celebrate reading accomplishments.
  • Purchase a couple of good summer reads for each child—and stop at the library for some good books on tape—as part of your pre-trip packing routine.
  • Read together:
    • Make an event out of it!  Some of my favorite memories from recent summers are of the days when we headed all hot and sweaty for the A/C at Starbucks (they happen to have the best A/C in my neighborhood) and plunk down with some good books.
    • Read a more advanced book out loud to your kid, to improve his or her vocabulary and story sense.
    • Read the same book as your child and make an event out of going out to discuss it.  You could even start a mother-daughter/father-son book club tailored to your interests with a small number of friends.
    • Use the news and talk about what’s going on in the world – read the sports page together at breakfast or share an occasional headline.
    • Read next to each other – what some people like to call make some DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time.

    Does your family have any summer reading plans?  I’d love to hear about them!

    Happy reading,
    Tim

    Reading Recommendations

    Get your personalized reading recommendations!
    I’m looking forward to your e-mails, and in the meantime don’t forget about…

    Summer Reading Programs

    The theme this summer across many of the libraries in the area is “One World, Many Stories.”  Almost all of them offer prizes for dedicated readers!

    Cuyahoga County Public Library:
    Read Around the World

    Cleveland Public Library:
    Summer Reading Club

    If you live in Shaker Heights, CH-UH, or another suburb that is not served directly by the Cuyahoga County Public Library system, sign up in person at your local library!

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    Summer Reading – Your Ace in the Hole

    Posted on June 21, 2011 by

    When you were younger, the library tried to entice you to read in the summer  by rewarding you with drawings and prizes for every so many hours spent reading.  Now that you’re in high school, your teachers try to force you to read in the summer by requiring certain books.  Nonetheless, the average teen will spend 847% less time reading [1] this summer than she or he should.  Why all the fuss about reading?  Why is summer reading so important?

    1.  Reading is awesome! You’ve seen the posters at the library—reading is fun.  Reading allows you to travel to amazing places—and times—without spending a dime or an ounce of fossil fuel.  Reading is a window on the world.

    If you agree with all that stuff, you’ve probably closed this newsletter and put your nose back in your book.  If you need another reason, read on.

    2.  Reading makes you smarter and helps you to cultivate your gifts, empowering you to reach your full potential and to do your part to make the world a better place.

    OMG, enough with the kumbaya stuff, you say?  GET TO THE BOTTOM LINE–WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

    Fair enough.  Here goes:

    3.  There is simply no more powerful tool available to you for training your mind for an excellent school year—and improving your standardized test scores—than reading every day this summer. Read easy stuff and hard stuff.  Read about what you love most in the world, and (in small doses) stuff that doesn’t interest you much at all.  Read fiction and non-fiction, books and periodicals, classics and thrillers.  Most importantly, read every day.

    Given the 173.46 bazillion books [2] available to you, it would be impossible for me to offer recommendations here to satisfy every reader, which is why I am offering free personalized reading recommendations all summer.  Click the “Reading Recommendations” link below, e-mail your answers to the four questions, and I’ll send back a few specific recommendations of books I think you’ll like.

    Happy Reading!
    Tim

     
    Reading Recommendations
    Get your personalized reading recommendations!

    I’m looking forward to your e-mails, but in the meantime, here are a few parting thoughts to guide your summer reading choices:

    Graphic Novels
    There are many fantastic graphic novels out now, representing a full range of genres and experiences.  Here are two I especially loved this year:

    Blankets, by Craig Thompson

    Safe Area Goražde, by Joe Sacco

    Blankets by Craig Thompson Safe Area Gorazde by Joe Sacco Smithsonian Magazine

    Magazines
    Pick one or two articles a month from Smithsonian and Scientific American.  Subscribing to both of these magazines costs less than signing up for a Princeton Review SAT/ACT prep course, and may be just as effective!

    Read the Newspaper
    It’s that simple!

    1 — Completely fabricated statistic designed to get your attention.  It worked, right?
    2—Did it again.  Sorry.

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