Though I’m all for efficiency and its cousin multi-tasking, all of these forces competing for our kids’ attention limit their ability to actually assimilate information. The outcomes are consistent: kids who are clicking around while doing work create choppy, incoherent writing, have limited comprehension, and are often unable to synthesize information. Their ideas are half-formed.

The greatest gift my parents gave me that yes, I hated them for and did not really understand, was structured unplugged time. Granted, all that meant at the time was no phone, no television, and no CD player. But they were strict about it: it happened nightly under their supervision until it was automatic.

It was the single greatest habit they forced upon me that paved the way for a lifetime of focus and follow through.

Unplugging provides relief from the endless invitations to engage. Kids can just do what is most imminent, without distraction. Minus buzzes and clicks, they have an opportunity to think clearly. Furthermore, they have a fighting chance to figure out whether or not they actually understand the material because there is enough mental space available.

I know, this sounds archaic-technology is a part of life now. How can we possibly monitor all that is distracting? Isn’t this the world they inhabit? Why don’t you just ask them to write with a quill and inkwell?

Though I would LOVE to see a middle-schooler with a feather by candlelight, this is far simpler than that. Start when they are young and make it a household rule. Since every home runs differently, you can choose when to implement this-after dinner, right after school-and for an hour, everyone unplugs. It’s a distraction-free zone in which quiet is the norm. Kids can do their homework or read and the same goes for parents. Any work that needs to be typed is permitted, but it should be done in a common space to prevent “researching.” If there is no homework, no problem. Be prepared with books (link to book list) and magazines that are of interest and age appropriate.

Unplugging might sound like Little House On the Prairie, but it is a powerful tool for parents to give their children. Try it for a month or two and see if there is a difference in both your child’s grades and attitude about school. And please share your findings with us.

1.  Flashcards – Flashcards work best to help you learn key terms (definitions, events, people, etc.)  Whenever you use flashcards you should:

• Keep it simple.   You should never be filling up the entire card with information.  The front should have a vocab word, date, or name of a key person, and the back should be no more that two phrases about it.

• As you practice, keep shuffling them.  You don’t want to just memorize the cards in order because you might get confused on a test when they are not in the same order you studied.  Keep shuffling your cards to ensure you really know each term.

• Know your cards backwards and forwards.  When you study, don’t just look at your vocab words and try to remember the definitions.  Sometimes, look at the definitions and try to remember the word.  This will make sure that you truly remember each term.

• Make them as soon as you can.  Don’t make your flashcards the night before your test.  Your brain only has so much capacity to absorb information at once.  You should be making them throughout your unit.

2.  Timelines – Timelines are useful when studying history.  For visual learners, they can really help put events in perspective and help you understand the chronology.

• Again, just keep it simple.  If you’re only trying to visualize a few key phrases for each event, you’ll have a better chance of remembering them.

3.  Outlines – Outlines are very useful when studying more in-depth concepts and             information.  They are especially helpful in studying history and science.

• Outlines organize your information from the entire unit starting at the beginning; they show connections between ideas.
• Visually, outlines organize information by keyword, topic, and importance.
• Words that are the farthest to the left are the key concepts/main ideas, while the information each step below and to the right are the specifics.

4.  Talking it out – Reviewing your information aloud can be very helpful for some       learners.  Hearing information can help you retain it.  Whether you are talking with another person or by yourself doesn’t matter.  Don’t be afraid of sounding crazy.

5.  Make up rhymes/tricks/silly stories

• Oftentimes, the sillier the rhyme, the more likely you are to remember it.  If a ridiculous rhyme works for you, it’s good.

When your teacher hands back assignments, how often have you lost points for something not even related to your ideas and writing, something silly that you could have easily avoided?  Use the following checklist before you turn in any written assignment to catch some of these common mistakes.

☐      Make sure your name, the date, and the rest of a proper heading are on your paper.  This may include:

• Your teacher’s name
• Your class
• Your assignment
• The subject

Headings can change depending on the school, class, or individual teacher.  Make sure you know what your teacher expects beforehand.

 ☐     Read your work aloud.

• You know what you intended to write, and oftentimes that is what you will see on the page, whether it is there or not.  When you read aloud, your ear will often catch mistakes your eyes won’t, such as missing words, extra words, mixed up tenses, and run-on sentences.

 ☐     Staple!

• Stapling/clipping your work together before you get to class will help you ensure that you have all the papers you need and that they are in the correct order.  It is better to do this at home, when you have time, than to rush in class and possibly lose part of your assignment.

 ☐     Add a catchy title.

•  Besides often being a necessary component of an assignment, a catchy title will spark interest in your work.  Remember, your title cannot just be the name of the text you are writing about.

 ☐     Make sure your work is properly formatted.

• Indent your paragraphs.
• Don’t play with the margins, font size, font, or spacing. Teachers always know.
• Add page numbers to each page.

Grades 5-9

As an English teacher, one of the questions that I am most often asked is “what can I do to help my child write better?”  The answer is simple.  Read.  Reading is the best way to improve all of your child’s communication skills: speaking, reading, and writing.  The more exposure a child has to language, the better his/her own skills will become.

In today’s world of video games, television, and texting, it is often difficult to get a child to sit down and read a book. The most important thing to remember is to get them started early.  Here are some ideas that will help to nurture reading:

1.  Reading Together:

One way to help your child is to read with him/her.  That does not necessarily mean reading aloud, but reading the same book at the same time.  This way, you can discuss the novel together and in showing your own interest, hopefully pique your child’s as well.

2.  Book Clubs:

Forming a book club is also a great way to encourage reading.  Showing your child that not only you, but also other friends and family are interested, can provide great motivation.  Book clubs also incorporate a social element to reading.  If it’s possible, organize a parent/child book club with some other families that meets once a month or every other month and make it something fun that your child looks forward to.

3.  Family “Read Alouds”:

Whether you read aloud or you switch off readers, family “read alouds” are a great way to bring your family together and encourage reading. These work best for children under the age of 11.

4.  Movie Connections:

So many books today are made into movies.  Reading the book and then going to the movie is another way to pique your child’s interest.  Once you have done both, you can compare/contrast the two.

5.  Books On Tape

Many libraries carry a huge selection of audio books, which are wonderful for middle-school students who aren’t naturally readers.  Listening to books, they still get the benefits of vocabulary and the use of imagination, as well as hearing the subtleties of language like intonation and expression.