Teaching 11 Year Old to Study

The tutor might be able to make a suggestion. Or maybe getting a few homeschool workbooks could help. If you don't have a good store for educational supplies there, try www.mardel.com.

11 years old sounds like 6 grade. Many if not most kids at his age have issues with getting use to staying on track at school, switching classes, etc. Then add in any disabilities and forget it. 1. Don't beat yourself up or your kid on this. Its a learning curve. My daughter is the expert at forgetting things at school, turning things in late. To make it worse we are two households. Friday's everything has to come home. Saturday we spend 2 hours doing work. Then we go through for the week. We try to make lists on the day she goes to school and say bring this and this home so we can plan. But even then she forgets sometimes. But I think the most important thing you can do for your son is set the hour half to 2 hour rule every night. That is homework time. And you need to stop by and put him backon task. But do not sit with him. And do not let him come to you with every question. Tell him to skip it and move on. He will fight it but stay strong. He may never be on track and you need to accept that but you can get him as close as you can. Our biggest problem is that the work is done but for somereason does not get handed in or signed off completed. Which frustrates me because I know she does the work.

How about LindamoodBell's Visualization & Verbalization (V&V)?

Check with the school - they may have tutors, or systems they recommend. Also, people learn in different ways, so what works for you may not work for your son. Don't get stuck on what works for you. See if the school can help you figure out what the best direction might be.

I teach high school AP English, and I am extremely organized and good at time management. I often help students with getting organized, managing busy schedules, and studying.

My own 15yo son started high school this year. He is a lot like me, super-organized, and is a very good student. He is in all advanced classes. Well, he began struggling in a couple of classes last semester because he had never had to study before. He had no clue how to go about it.

I sat down with him and had him show me how he was studying in each of his subjects, and then gave him pointers for each class. He was basically reading the material over and over, and ended up just staring at the pages, bored. Obviously that wasn't working.

For Spanish and any courses that required learning vocabulary (English and AP Human Geography), I suggested flashcards, or making lists of the words on one side of a sheet of paper and the definition on the other. This is an area where it also helps to have someone to study with. Quizzing each other is very helpful.

For subjects where he needed to study passages out of a book, either a textbook or a novel, we went over how to PROPERLY annotate text. If he isn't allowed to write in the book, I showed him how to use sticky notes to annotate.

For math, I was at a loss. ;)

Time management is a big part of the equation for many students, but my son doesn't have an issue with this. You may want to address it with your son if necessary.

My son did much better after we went over these things.

Good luck, and good for you for helping him now. So many students never learn to study properly. I didn't learn until college.

When I was a freshman in high school, my parents sent me to a place like Sylvan for study skills. Huge help! They had a curriculum that focused on what to look for in a textbook, how to answer question, how to read directions better to really know what you're being asked to do, etc. For some kids, it's not a matter or trying harder but being more effective in their efforts.

Not sure what credentials your tutor has, so he/she might have some experience in this area. Many tutors, however, have a teaching certificate and might be very helpful in particular subject areas (math, science) but might not have any experience in study skills.

You might want to talk to someone from Sylvan (or another center) to find out what their curriculum is like. This might be a better way to go than a tutor. Or, possibly, you do a Sylvan 1 day a week (rather than the traditional 2 days a week) and use the tutor once a week. Just a thought.

Good luck!

Is he having trouble understanding the materials, or remembering specific answers for tests? Does he have an easier time with some subjects, or is it all subjects? Can he do his homework, but then doesn't do well on the test? If you are able to identify his particular challenges, it will be easier to recommend methods to fix them.

For instance, my older daughter had a heck of a time memorizing her multiplication facts. Someone on Mamapedia mentioned an album on iTunes where a guy sang a song for each number. We listened to that in the car every time we drove anywhere, and pretty soon she was a lot better with her math facts. For her, memorizing things is a challenge. But once she has memorized it, she doesn't forget it, and does fine on tests.

If your son does fine on homework, but bombs on his tests, maybe you could help him by doing practice tests at home leading up to the actual test. If it's social studies and he needs to learn facts about Ancient Egypt, then have him make flash cards with the questions on one side and the answers on the other, and you can quiz him. (Or have siblings quiz him in the car as you drive to soccer, etc.) Or maybe you can find a library book on Ancient Egypt for him to read; maybe presented in a slightly different (or more interesting) way, the facts may be easier to remember. Maybe there's a show on the History Channel on this subject that he could watch. Some kids learn by watching, some by reading, others by listening. What way does your son learn best? Once he knows that, he will figure out how to make the best of his study time.

If he just isn't studying, period, then maybe he needs to scale back his after-school activities until he gets a better handle on academics. Having a lot of things to do after school is pretty common these days, but on the other hand, if it's keeping him from his primary "job" of being a student, then he may need to cut back so he's less overwhelmed.

My suggestion would be to determine what type of a learner your child is--visual, kinesthetic, audio, etc. Then incorporate techniques specific to his learning type. I am a visual kinesthetic learner, so I find making my own flash cards using different colors and at times with illustrations help. Also, study groups have been extremely helpful. I find if I have to read the material and then explain it to someone else I can remember it. Likewise if I have to teach someone something I've learned, it helps me to solidify the knowledge. In terms of materials, day planners are helpful for keeping track of assignments. Teaching your child time management is very important. Also, in terms of materials there are websites where you can locate blank graphic organizers to print. Find one or more that your child can work well with to organize concepts/ideas/thoughts. One last idea I have is for writing papers. Teach your child how to write a 5 paragraph essay. 1) introduction 2,3,4) body, 5) conclusion. A great way to organize the materials is to take a manila file folder, three legal size envelopes and 3x5 flash cards. Cut the envelopes in half, open the file folder and glue the envelopes to the inside of the folder. Place 5 index cards in each 1/2 of envelope. Label the envelopes top to bottom left to right: introduction, body, body, body, conclusion, bibliography. Have your child write the resources on the cards for the biliography and place those cards in the envelope on the lower right hand corner.Then write information on the index cards for the body of the essay first-topic sentence, details, etc. Once sentence per card. Once finished with the body, the introduction can be written--thesis statement on one card, supporting sentences on others. The same can be done for the conclusion. Once the cards are written all your child has to do is take the cards out of the slots and re-write or type to complete the paper. I have used this with children as young as 9 years old. Discuss these ideas with him, his teacher and the tutor. I hope you find what works best.

Can you use flash cards with him?
Is it a particular subject he needs help with or study techniques in general?
I'm not sure any particular materials will help by themselves.
From early grades with my son, we'd go through his homework together and I'd check his work.
If some answers were wrong, I'd tell him he needs to try again on those and if that still didn't help I'd help him with the steps he needed to do to come to the right answer.
No tv or other entertainment till school work is finished.
The quickest way to fun is to get the work done.
It takes awhile but eventually you should be able to get him started on his work then come check on him as he takes on a little more independence with his tasks.
Always go over his work when he's finished.
Tell him how proud you are that he works so hard and puts effort into his school work.
You can also have him study topics that are fun for him - not just school subjects.
An interest in a subject can really help with motivation.
Just learning about anything will help his techniques for school assignments.

I think you are on a good track with the tutor. Some students work well one on one. We used a tutor to help tone up some reading and writing skills and it was worth every penny we spent.

As far as material, we did practice reading tests which helped with comprehension, finding and proving answers and then writing prompts for writing. The writing prompts helped a lot as well because of the writing portion of testing that comes later with SAT, ACT, etc.

I don't know about your school system but ours prefers that you do not use a place of business such as Kumon, Sylvan, etc because they are just that, a place of business which counts on profits. If you are in one of those systems, you "hope" you get someone who is truly there to help the students and is qualified to help the students.

Many of our teachers tutor on the side in whatever their speciality is. The guidance counselors know who tutors and you can meet the teachers to see who works bese with your child. It is a process of matching a good tutor and using the right materials. The teacher tutors also have more materials that the school system itself uses and can be helpful for the student.

Good luck! Time flies and he will be graduating!

It's pretty hard to answer without knowing your son and his specific needs.
For example, I need white noise (like a fan) or at least low level background noise (low music or TV sound) to concentrate. My husband, on the other hand, needs complete silence.
My kids take after me, especially my youngest. She can NOT get anything done on her own in a silent room.
Try to work with your son, talk to him and see if you can figure out what helps him the most.
Some kids thrive with a quiet, dedicated desk space alone in their bedrooms while other kids need to be right there, at the kitchen counter, in the mix.

I, too, suggest that his school is the best place to find ways of helping him. Ask his teacher. She knows how he learns best and what works in the classroom.

If he's having learning difficulties he may have a learning disability. Talk with his teacher about that possibility. The school district is required by Federal law to provide an assessment free of charge. I'd have him evaluated if his teacher also thinks it's a good idea.

You can learn more about the assessment by calling the office that handles this in his district. Call the district office. In Oregon the office is call the -----County Service District.