LitCharts Are Excellent Tools for Pre-Reading

At The Yellin Center, one of our favorite strategies is called “frontloading.” Useful for all students, frontloading is particularly good for those who struggle to identify the most important ideas in a lecture, lesson, or text. The principle is very simple: Students prepare themselves for learning with a preview of the lesson, concept, or reading. Examples include watching a Khan Academy video; a short introduction from an instructor; or a walk-through of a textbook chapter, focusing on the headings, captions, and images, before reading the whole thing. We find that students who frontload are more prepared to learn because they can more easily identify the most important information.

Literature can be difficult to frontload, however. Unlike textbooks, novels don’t have headings, diagrams, and images that can be previewed. Luckily, though, students who struggle with reading comprehension can prepare themselves to take on literature in a number of ways. One is to watch a movie version of the book* if one exists (keeping in mind that these versions often differ from the original book). Another is to use summaries like CliffsNotes or SparkNotes. For students who struggle with reading, though, these summaries can seem intimidating because they take the form of long blocks of text. So the original editors of SparkNotes have created a thoughtful, innovative, and free resource called LitCharts.

LitCharts provides resources for getting the most out of more than 250 plays, novels, and short stories, ranging from contemporary works like A Long Way Gone and The Fault in Our Stars to classics like Henry V and The Great Gatsby. The site (and its accompanying, free app) is interactive, so students can choose the format and content that will help them most. The “front page” for each book is called the Chart Board, which provides a visual representation of the whole book. Themes in each chapter are represented by color-coded rectangles, and by hovering over one of them the user can read a relevant, thematic summary snippet from that part of the book.

Its visual presentation is probably the best feature of LitCharts, but all of the other good stuff we’ve come to expect from literature companion sites is there, too: background information about the author and the story; a plot overview; and analysis of key characters, themes, symbols, and quotes. There is even information about how to cite LitCharts if a student references it in an essay. We also like the chart available for each book, which, once downloaded, presents key information about the author, context, and plot all in one document for easy reference.

LitCharts is not a substitute for the rich experience of reading a wonderful piece of literature, but it can help make that experience both more pleasant and more valuable to students who need support.



*Lots of parents and teachers may bristle at this idea, and we can understand why. A large part of the joy of reading is turning the pages in breathless anticipation of what will happen next. Many people feel that previewing a book in such a way “gives away” the story. For typically developing readers, we agree; we’d much rather read a book first, too! However, for students who struggle mightily with decoding, comprehension, or attention, advance knowledge of how the plot will unfold can actually help them build important reading skills.

Help with Procrastination

Lots of students admit, rather guiltily, that they are procrastinators. They know they shouldn’t wait until the last minute to get going on big projects and papers, but they just can’t seem to get started and can’t understand why. When students still live at home, this frustration is often shared by their parents. Everyone seems to want to change the young person’s tendency, but no one seems to know how.

Procrastination doesn’t just wreak havoc on the quality of final products, grades, or sleep schedules. An article in Observer, the journal of the Association for Psychological Science, explains something that many procrastinators probably already know: Procrastination takes an emotional toll, too. People who know they should get started on projects, but just can’t, seem to feel anxiety and guilt. This drains mental energy and makes them feel even less prepared to get working. Drained, they procrastinate even more. This can be a vicious cycle.

Luckily, there are ways parents can help, and independent students can tailor these suggestions to work for them, too. At The Yellin Center, students we identify as having challenges with sequencing often struggle most with procrastination. It may appear that they are unmotivated, but, in reality, their difficulty with breaking one big project into sequence of steps causes them to be unsure where to begin. They see a large, daunting task, instead of recognizing how every big project is really nothing more than a series of smaller, manageable pieces. Even if the student has never been evaluated to determine whether he has weak sequencing, helping him identify those steps is a great tack for adults to try. Step One should be making a list of steps.

Once the steps are identified, the student needs a game plan, which will vary according to the task. Maybe the goal will be to complete only the first step on the list for now; we find that often just getting even a small start on the work starts momentum that can be surprisingly easy to maintain. Or maybe the student should be helped to devise a schedule so she knows when she should do what.

For kids who struggle a great deal with procrastinating, a classic experiment from the Sloan School of Management at MIT may provide insight. The results suggest that external deadlines (set by parents if the teacher doesn’t establish them) may be best at first. In the experiment, researchers assigned proofreading tasks to three groups of students. The first group was asked to hand in one paragraph a week, the second to hand in all three paragraphs together at the end of three weeks, and the third was asked to select their own deadlines. In the end, the first group far outperformed the other two groups, with the second group struggling the most to get all of the tasks done at once. Even group three’s self-imposed deadlines were not as effective as the deadlines established by the researchers for group one.

Procrastination can be frustrating for all parties involved, so we hope this post provides some ideas that may work for your student. Go ahead and give one of them a try today – there’s no time like the present.

Frontloading: Getting Ready to Read

Whether you are planning a trip, getting ready to prepare a complicated recipe, or starting on a project for work, preparation is an important first step and is crucial to success. It's the same thing for reading new material for school. Students who take the time to prepare before beginning to read -- a process called frontloading -- will get more from their reading and retain the information better. Frontloading can include scanning the material for main ideas, important details, themes, structure, and tone; researching new vocabulary; accessing or building background knowledge connected to the topic at hand; and creating or locating related visuals.

Here are some of the ways we suggest students engage in frontloading:

• Think about the topic before starting to read, taking time to consider any prior knowledge that you may have about the topic. 
• Do an internet search on the subject prior to reading grade-level material.  For fictional texts, you can read condensed texts like CliffsNotes or SparkNotes. This will provide you with prior knowledge and give you more of a sense of mastery when you try to read the more challenging text. You should also scan the text for any new and challenging vocabulary.
• Before reading the assigned text, review any questions at the end of the chapter or which the teacher may have given out
• Learn how to use information in textbooks, since they already have built-in cues to help determine important points.  For example,  make note of all titles and headings; scan for important information in pictures and captions; and look for key terms, concepts, or people that may be italicized, underlined, or written in bold type.
• Consider developing a written and/or visual time line for historical and narrative events.  This activity can improve your appreciation of time sequences and causal reasoning. 
• Consider using the website WordSift. This site will help you preview challenging text by identifying the key vocabulary, locating relevant images, and using the example source sentence feature to “skim” the text.   

Not all of these frontloading strategies will be helpful for every student, but trying them out and figuring what works for you can be a good first step to mastering challenging reading material.

Memory Strategies: Use Music, Mnemonics, and YouTube to Improve Learning

A frequent issue mentioned by students who come to The Yellin Center for help with school is that they can’t remember information they studied when test time rolls around. They often suspect they have memory difficulties, but we frequently find that poor memory is not the problem. Even the strongest memories in the world can’t handle a limitless number of facts; these students are usually in need of better memory strategies. The more strategically they learn information, the easier it will be to “find” when taking exams.

Testing is particularly difficult for medical or law students, or even high school students in chemistry or history classes, because there is so much material to remember. We often recommend that students use mnemonics to help them recall lists of facts. For example, to remember the taxonomy for biology, if students can remember the sentence “King Philip Cuts Open Five Green Snakes,” they’ll have access to the first letter of each of the taxonomic levels in order (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species).

Another way to recall information is to turn it into song lyrics to go with a catchy tune. We think this is a great idea, and we’re not the only ones. A recent news story tells of a young British doctor doing just that to help the staff at his hospital remember to use the asthma treatment guidelines when treating wheezing patients. When traditional reminders weren't working, Dr. Tapas Mukherjee made a YouTube video  in which he sang his new asthma-related lyrics to the tune of Deep Blue Something’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and crossed his fingers. Within two months, doctors at his hospital reported that they all knew the guidelines. More importantly, they performed much better on measures that tested their knowledge of specifics. For his efforts, Dr. Mukherjee won the British Thoracic Society Innovation in Education Award in 2012 and the National Health Service Expo/Network Casebook II Innovation Award this year.

There are plenty of other great examples of students using song to help get troublesome facts to stick. One is a video made by Canadian medical students. (Those unfamiliar with second-degree AV block, a disorder that causes irregular heartbeat, may find it a little tough to follow but will still get the idea). Another winner is “This is Why We Clot,” described on the page as “Drug Life’s hot new single about the use of anticoagulants.” To see a model of how this tactic could work with younger children, watch the silly “Place Value Song” from Teacher Tipster  below to see how Mr. Smith uses a song to help his youngsters learn how to grasp the concept of tens and ones.



The most memorable study song, of course, is the one a student invents himself. So next time your student has to learn a list of prepositions, recall a series of events, or perform a multi-step procedure, help him turn the information into a song. Teachers can try this out in the classroom by putting students in groups; finished songs can be recorded and played or performed live for the class. Turn studying into a rockin’ good time!

Interleaving Can Lead to Improved Outcomes

Here at The Yellin Center we have long suggested that students benefit when their assignments are designed with the concept of "interleaving" in mind -- where no two problems or questions of the same kind appear in order. So, for example, a homework assignment might include newly learned long division problems, but also some multiplication and even addition and subtraction. This is different from more traditional tests or problem sets, where the questions follow the blocks of the curriculum and material from earlier lessons is only reviewed when it is time for year end tests.

Photo: Silenceofnight/Flickr

A recent discussion of this practice was included in an excellent Science Times section of The New York Times which focused on "learning what works" in education. The article looks at research from a team at the University of South Florida which looked at interleaved math instruction in a small sample (140 students in all) in a Tampa middle school. The students found that interleaved problem sets took a bit longer to do, at first, but that when they needed to study for a test they could spend less time reviewing because all the material they had learned was still fresh in their minds.

Furthermore, the results when the students took tests were remarkable. The scores on problems presented in the traditional manner averaged 38% -- but they scored an average of 72% on the material they covered through interleaved problems. The Times discussion included opinions of various psychologists and learning researchers as to why interleaving is beneficial, which ranged from noting that it engaged particular kinds of memory (something we call "paired associate memory"), to opining that since students need more time when they are first working with interleaving, the additional assistance they may get from their instructors makes a difference in how much they learn.

The research team plans to expand its investigation to see the impact of interleaving when it is used more broadly, with a far greater number of students. We will be interested to see the results.

SparkCharts for Previewing and Review

While you are pulling together this year's school supplies (for yourself or your student) you might want to consider adding SparkCharts -- from the same folks who bring you SparkNotes --  to your list.

SparkNotes have long been the love of many a student and the bane of many an English teacher. Their literature summaries and character/plot/symbol analyses are well-written, thorough, and spot on. While reading SparkNotes is never a substitute for reading a book or play, the resources on the site can be great study tools for students who need to preview the information in a text or review it after reading to ensure they understood the critical points. SparkNotes  also offers study tools for various standardized tests and for other academic subjects, like chemistry or U.S. history.

For students in high school, college, and graduate/professional programs, SparkCharts cover topics that go well beyond the offerings of SparkNotes. 

SparkCharts are sturdy, laminated charts that can be stored in a binder or taped next to a desk to display just about all the critical information one could need to know about a subject. Topics are diverse and include the nervous system, art history, C++, organic chemistry, macroeconomics, Latin grammar, civil procedure, and calculus, so older students are almost sure to find a chart applicable to them.

How to Use Them:

SparkCharts are wonderful tools for some of the most effective, but neglected, steps in learning: previewing and reviewing.

Previewing: 

Before attempting to tackle a new topic, students who preview the material are able to set the stage for solid learning. Watching a video about the material to be studied or reading a summary are both great ways to preview, and a SparkChart provides another readily accessible source of information. Before going to class or opening a textbook to their assigned reading, students should find the corresponding section on the SparkChart and read over it, all the while reflecting on what they already know about this topic from other classes or their everyday lives. A quick preview can set a student up for optimal learning by helping them discern which ideas are most important as they listen to a lecture or read a chapter.

Reviewing: 

After finishing class or closing the textbook, students should attempt to answer questions, go over notes, or make a concept map of the material they have learned. A SparkChart would be a great tool for this kind of review, as students can access not only the information they have just learned, but also pertinent, previously learned information. A wise student might make up questions based on the information found on a SparkChart and quiz himself on the material.

Tips for Test-Day Success

Djenan Kozic

Studying for an exam in the weeks and days before test day is a critical skill needed for successfully completing academic courses. If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out our last post about test preparation. But preparation for a test means more than just studying. Students need to prepare so that they are physically alert and ready to work on test day, and they should have some strategies in mind for taking the test and dealing with pre-test jitters. Here are some of our best ideas to help ensure that a student’s hard work studying translates to a successful test:

• Take care of your brain. To work well, your brain needs to be well rested. Be sure to get a full night’s sleep before the test; staying up late and cramming at that point probably isn’t going to help anyway. We think you should eat breakfast every morning, and it’s particularly important to fuel your brain on test day. Eat something similar to what you’re used to eating. If you usually have a banana and some toast, don’t sit down to a six-egg omelet, which may make you feel overly full and sleepy.

• Have strategies for dealing with test anxiety. Some ideas include talking or journaling about your worries, reminding yourself of all the work you’ve done to prepare, doing physical activity before the test, trying some deep breathing or muscle relaxation exercises, using positive visualization, or repeating a calming mantra to yourself. If all else fails, consider this: stress can actually enhance your performance! For more complete information on test anxiety, see our previous post on exam-based fears, and how anxiety can actually help you.

• Know some good test-taking strategies. For example:
• Flip through the test before you start to get an idea of what you’re up against. If there are different sections, you may want to think about where it’s best for you to start.
• For timed tests, skip hard questions initially. Be sure to circle them and dog ear the bottom of the page so you don’t forget to come back to them later.
• If you’re taking a multiple choice test, cover the choices, answer the question in your head, then choose the answer that most closely matches your idea. If you’re still stumped, eliminate as many answers as you can, then pick the one that sounds best.
• Jot memory aids in the margin of the test before you start working. This will save you from having to keep all that stuff in your memory, freeing cognitive energy to focus on the test content. For example, if you’re taking an algebra test, writing “PEMDAS” or “FOIL” at the top of each page can help you remember to use the right order of operations or guide you through the process for multiplying a binomial.
• Use the margins to plan your response to essay questions, too. Take a minute or two to list some ideas you could include in your answer to center your thoughts before you begin to write. You could even go back and number your ideas so you’ll know what you want to say first, second, etc. Your answer will probably be better, and you won’t have to try to squeeze in all the stuff you realize that you forgot to mention when you proofread your answer. (By the way, don’t forget to proofread your answer!)

We wish everyone the best of luck on finals, though with solid preparation, you shouldn't need much luck!

Test-Prep Tips: Studying for Finals

albertogp123

The school year is winding down, which means shows and concerts, yearbooks, and summer plans. But first, students in middle school and high school need to get through (sigh) final exams. For most students, the prospect of preparing for cumulative exams is a daunting one. Here are some tried-and-true ideas for students to help make their test preparation a success:

• Learn everything you can about the test. If your teacher has given you a study guide, great! If not, find out exactly which chapters or concepts you’ll need to know for the exam. If you don’t already know, ask how much time you’ll be given and whether your teacher will be allowing students extra time to finish if they choose to stay longer. It can also be helpful to learn the format of the test; ask your teacher if she will share the test directions with you before test day. Students who are slower workers can study the directions before test day so they don’t need to take time to read them while testing. 

• Devise a study schedule. Sit down with a blank calendar and your study guide and start planning. Figure out exactly which days will be devoted to covering which classes and which specific topics/chapters. Don’t be vague or general - really spell it out. Be sure to plan some “padding” so that your schedule isn't completely thrown off if you need an extra day here or there to cover a topic in more depth. Planning your schedule should be the first step you take outside of class. Do this before you start studying.

• Give yourself study breaks as you feel your mind starting to get tired. Taking breaks is not a waste of time, but studying when you’re mentally exhausted is. Your brain can’t absorb material when it’s worn out. Give yourself some time to recharge, preferably by moving around – just be sure your break doesn't last more than 10-20 minutes. When you return to hit the books, cover your notes and summarize for yourself everything you learned before your break. Then check your summary against your notes to make sure you didn't forget anything. This will help you get back on track, and will give your memory an extra workout. 

• Test yourself. The biggest mistake we see students make is to read over their notes and believe this prepares them. It doesn't. To be truly ready for a test, you need to practice retrieving the information from your long-term memory. Instead of reading over your notes, cover them and ask yourself questions, answer the questions in your head or on paper, then check your answers against your notes. Flashcards are another great way to test yourself. You could also plan a study session with a friend and take turns quizzing each other. One of our favorite study strategies is to make your own practice test! Make up questions like the ones you predict will be on the test, copying the test format, if you can. Do this about a week before the test. Wait a day or two and take your test without looking at your notes. When you check your answers, you’ll be able to tell what you've learned and what you need to review. You may even want to trade your practice test with a friend for a little extra practice.

With these tips in mind, students should be ready to put in the kind of studying that will have them prepared for even the most comprehensive finals! Stay tuned for a future post about test-day tips and test-taking strategies.

Fun with Math Facts – Really!

It is widely accepted that drilling with flashcards is an effective way to get children to memorize math facts. It is also widely accepted that flashcards are hardly a fun way to spend time. Try motivating kids to do math by making a few minor adjustments to games that are already family favorites, however, and kids won’t be able to get enough (and may even want to keep playing on their own)!

Math War

Works for: addition, multiplication

In this version of war, each player lays down two cards at once instead of one and, depending on the skill being targeted, has to either add or multiply the numbers on their cards together. The player with the higher total gets to keep all four cards. Face cards and aces can be removed from the deck, or you can add an extra twist by assigning them other values (they can be 1’s, higher numbers, wild cards, or negative signs for older students). Note: If there are more than two players, shuffling two decks together might be best to avoid running out of cards too quickly.

Math Checkers

Works for: addition, subtraction, multiplication

This game requires a bit more preparation. Cut post-it notes so that they are small enough to stick onto the black squares of a checkerboard, and write random numbers on each. Then use tape to affix more numbers on each of the checker pieces. If you are targeting multiplication or addition, the numbers can be random, but be sure that the numbers on the pieces are higher than the numbers on the board if you are targeting subtraction; the exception is if you want the student to practice negative numbers as well. Then play checkers as usual. Each time a player moves to a new square s/he must combine the number on the piece with the number on the board. This game takes jumping to a whole new level, as students will have to perform several operations for each square they hit!

More-Math Monopoly

Works for: addition, multiplication

Monopoly already provides lots of practice with addition and counting money. You can easily add another layer of math practice by requiring each player to add or multiply the numbers on the dice together each time s/he rolls. The whole family can play this game if younger players need only add while older players are required to multiply. Note: This concept can be adapted to any game that is played with two dice.

Blackjack

Works for: addition

It’s no secret that addition skills are needed for this game, but it’s not one parents typically think about playing with their children on a wholesome family game night. Blackjack is fantastic for improving math fact knowledge, however, and it teaches children about probability, too. Remove the gambling aspect by playing a best-of-ten series and keeping score, or else bet with pennies, M&M’s or poker chips that can be cashed in for additional minutes of video game time, choice of dessert at dinner, or some other treat.

Foldable Flashcard Alternative

Out of index cards? Worried that your child will lose his flashcards after he takes the time to make a stack? To study for tests that require paired associate memory (the part of memory that links two pieces of information together, such as a Spanish vocabulary word to the English translation), try this fun foldable flashcard alternative:

1) Fold a piece of notebook paper in half vertically.

2) Unfold the paper and cut along every third printed line until you get to the fold. You should have a series of tabs on one side of the fold and solid paper on the other.

3) Fold the tabs back down. Write one of the element symbols/vocabulary words/math facts to be memorized on each one.

4) Lift the tab and write the corresponding element/definition/answer so that it is positioned underneath the tab.

5) Quiz your child, or show them how to do it themselves.

6) Pass the test with flying colors and celebrate!



For more resources for parents, teachers, and students, visit www.yellincenter.com/resources.

Photo: Jeremy Koren