This week, fifth graders have been studying for a math assessment (which will take place tomorrow). We routinely take three steps to begin this process:
- Students individually review all the specific skills that were taught in this unit.
- Self-assessment is very important to this process as it encourages students to focus in on the benchmarks, engage with the material, and take ownership of their own learning.
- Students are asked to self-assess their own understanding of these skills to choose where they want to focus their studying efforts.
- Which skill(s) do they need more practice on? Which do they have down?
- It also helps students to plan and prioritize – both highly important executive functioning skills.
- Students have many different options for studying.
- Studying is active!
- For math, students may complete problems on the study guide, watch tutorial movies then practice IXL problems, correct worksheets from earlier in the unit, or make their own practice test.
- Students also have the opportunity to work in pairs, groups, or alone – they are encouraged to find the situation that works best for them.
- Many students use noise-cancelling headphones, instrumental music, or cardboard dividers to help themselves focus.
- We review as a group that the goal of studying is to find those places where students may be less confident in their skills, or, to put it simply, can’t complete a certain type of problem.
- They may ask another classmate, consult their notes, or ask the teacher.
- They may find the tutorial video to watch on IXL.
Tackling these steps helps students to develop stronger, more purposeful, and individually powerful studying skills they can use for years to come.