THIRD AND FOURTH STEP IN IMPROVING A CHILDREN'S STUDY

3. SPACE / WORK ENVIRONMENT

Children should have their own desk in their room, with sufficient school supplies at hand. Even though the plan is for the child to study alone, it will depend on the child, as some may prefer to work better in shared spaces along with older siblings or parents, however, making sure these are also working, since some children become engaged as they see others work. The work environment must promote studying by being comfortable, well lit, with a good office chair and a tidy desk/table. 

4. TECHNIQUES

Generally, the study performance begins by being normal, (so it’s recommended not to start by giving them the most difficult things to do), after a while, her/his performance will get stronger and towards the final minutes it will get low (this is the perfect time for simple works or systematic tasks). You must avoid distractions, and let the child dive directly into his/her studies. Here are some basic guidelines that might help as your child begins to study:

► Allow them to make a first reading of the topic in the book or of his/her notes from class, but don’t let them highlight things just yet.

► Let them read the text for a second time, and this time in depth and highlighting. They must organize the main ideas in order and differentiate what is relevant.

► Let them come up with a summary or scheme of the main ideas.

► They will learn by reading these several times and/or by reading them out loud.

► Let them set a work plan till the day of the exam. For instance, if the exam is in eight weeks, let them go through the summaries or notes daily.

► Make sure they read and re-read everything, double checking they have included everything important and organized their summaries well.

► They should study with their material (notes, summaries, schemes) as opposed to the actual material, it will allow them to better understand the contents.