Objectives
By the end of the session, the students would be expected to:
- Identify weaknesses in the study skills that they currently apply during their studies.
- Discuss the impact of poor study skills on their performance.
- List at least five study skills that would help them to improve their performance.
- Apply different and effective study skills during their studies.
Materials
For this session to be successful, students would be required to have reading materials such as textbooks. It would also be important for them to have notebooks to take short notes during discussions. This would be important because different subjects require unique study skills. The students would, therefore, be shown how to study various subjects by using distinct study techniques. They would be required to use the textbooks during the sessions and take short notes.
Procedures
Explain to the students that it is vital for them to develop good study skills. It is because there is a difference between studying and studying effectively. Effective studying can only be achieved once students acquire the right study skills. The difference between students who perform well in school and those who do not perform well is the study skills applied by individual students. Discuss with the students some of the best study skills that they can apply in their studies and study skills that they should avoid.
For instance, a student should have a good study place where he/she can spread papers and books. Students should also use planners to ensure that they do not forget to do essential assignments. It is because it is easy for students in their sixth grade to forget assignments given by teachers. Students should also be told about the importance of breaking complex projects into smaller components. It is an important study skill that would ensure that they do not experience major difficulties as they do their assignments. Besides, the importance of keeping track of important reference materials should be emphasized as one of the most essential study skills that sixth-graders should adopt (Ohara, 25).
Discuss some of the bad study skills that students should avoid during their reading. These include sleeping on their reading tables, listening to music while reading, or reading so many subjects at the same time. This should be discouraged because it reduces the concentration span of students and distracts them completely. Ask students how often they find themselves using some of the bad study skills mentioned, whether they plan their reading time and how often they listen to music or watch television while reading.
Then, explain to the students that it is important for them to understand study skills because it is a critical area. As a result, in the next 5-10 sessions, discussions would be on how to improve their study skills. Although the first session would be an introduction to study skills and their importance to sixth graders, the following advisory sessions would explore the topic in detail. The comparison would be made among different study skills to identify the most appropriate ones for sixth graders. Subjects would also be handled individually to single out study skills that are appropriate for particular subjects (Manning & Bucher, 72).
- Divide the students into three small groups. Assign each group ten study skills and tell them to differentiate between good and bad study skills.
- Allow each group to choose one representative who would present their findings to the rest of the students. Then, conduct a review based on the responses of the students and the list of study skills on the board.
- Ask each group to plan a brief role-playing session in which some of the students should portray good study skills while other bad study skills. This should not take more than three minutes. Students from different groups would identify those practicing good study skills and clap for them while those practicing bad study skills would be guided on what they should do to improve their study skills.
- Once again, explain to the students that ways of improving their study skills are the topic that would be focused on for several weeks. Students should therefore think of how they can improve their study skills by applying the skills discussed in class. They should also try to come up with more skills, which would assist them to perform better.
Evaluation
There would be no formal test to determine whether the students have improved their study skills. However, it is the responsibility of the advisor to observe the students determine whether there is a change in their study patterns. The level of understanding that the students would have acquired by the end of the sessions would be determined by observable changes in their study patterns. For instance, it would be possible to observe students reading in a spacious place and making short notes while reading. This would be an indication that the concepts on how to improve study skills have been internalized (How to Improve Your Study Skills, 4).
Works Cited
How to Improve Your Study Skills 2012. Web.
Manning, Lee, and k. Bucher. Teaching in the Middle School, New York: Allyn & Bacon, Incorporated, 2011. Print.
Ohara, Shelley. Improving Your Study Skills, Washington: Wiley, 2005. Print.