Organizational Strategies November 17, 2015

Transition  Middle school is a difficult transition  Organization  Planning  More teachers each with a different style  Increased academic demands  Increased requirement of independence

Is this your child?

The responsibility for completing their work lies in your child  It is important to remember that the primary responsibility for completing work well is with your child. But it's also really easy for us to believe that when they don't immediately do that well, it's from stubbornness, or laziness, or lack of effort.  Begin with the assumption that it's not. Most kids want to do well. They certainly don't want to get in trouble and don't want to spend more time on their homework than they have to. Giving them the tools they need can improve homework quality while at the same time reducing the time it takes to complete it.

New Focus  Begin focusing on helping them get organized as opposed to helping them with the work  This will take time!!!!!

Baby Steps  Implement 1 or 2 things to start and slowly add in additional steps  It takes a minimum of 21 days to learn a new habit  Organization – like any skill comes easier for some than others

Select a consistent place to study  Free of distractions  Uncluttered work space  Place for supplies (paper, pencil, pen, eraser, ruler, colored pencils, etc.)  Good lighting  Comfortable chair or therapy ball

Routine study time  Study a little every night  Review notes  Break bigger assignments into smaller chunks  Don’t wait until the last minute to do big assignments

Daily Agenda  Agenda is provided by the school  Purchase own  Smart phone apps  Take picture of classroom board/assignments  Check school website

Organize  Dedicated binder or section for each class  Organize papers daily  Family calendar  Clean back packs nightly

Set Goals  Daily “To do” list  Prioritize list – high, medium, low  Timeline to complete bigger projects  Be realistic about what you can get done  Use a timer to stay on track  Be flexible – sometimes priorities change

Study Cards  Old fashioned note cards  Smart phone apps  Chegg flashcards  Quizlet

Ask for help  Encourage students to ask for help

Technology  Let technology help you  Pictures of board in classroom  Picture of worksheet  Picture of completed worksheet  Submit homework on-line/  My homework app

Reinforcement schedule  When you ….. Then you can …..  Computer time  TV time  Activity with parent  Music  Baking/cooking  Read  Arts/crafts  Pokemon card

Text books  Access them online  Extra copy for home

Questions? Suggestions?