Try to assess your plan every week as you move toward test day.. 8 Saturday Class None None SAT STUDY PLAN VERBAL Take practice exam.. Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P... SAT STUDY PLAN VERB
Trang 1HOW TO STICK TO YOUR STUDY PLAN
Sticking to your study plan may not always be easy, and it will require
a commitment Your success is going to be directly related to the level
of commitment you are willing to give Share your study plan with others Let your parents, older siblings, or a trusted teacher in on the contract, so that they can help get you back on track if you begin to slip Again, posting your basic study plan in a place where you can see
it every day will help remind you of the commitment you have made
to yourself
Some tips that may help to keep your study plan on track include the following:
• Always refer to your study plan and attempt to stay on schedule.
Stick as close to your plan as possible If you find that you are con-sistently spending more time on a task or subject than you expected, perhaps you need to reassess your plan Remember, adjusting your plan is fine: It is a guideline; it is not written in stone
• Practice, practice, practice.
Do not try to reinvent the wheel when studying; use old practice tests and class work assignments Rework past assignment problems and tackle sample problems from the test sponsor Visit testing websites and practice skills online
• Keep a list of key topics and major concepts.
While in class and studying, write down the important items that you need to learn for your exam
• Selectively review your texts.
When studying, do not completely reread your textbooks and assigned reading Skim them, use the notes that you have taken in class, and refer to your lists and index cards containing key topics This will keep your studying free of mental clutter, allowing you to focus on the important concepts that will most likely be found on high stakes exams
S T U D Y A E R O B I C S
Avoid procrastination by creating a study incentive plan Every time you stick to your weekly study schedule, reward yourself with
a favorite activity or meal
Trang 2Helpful Reminders:
• Post-It Notes come in an assortment of colors and sizes, which
makes them perfect for writing out short To Do lists and notes Stick them on your computer monitor, TV screen, bedroom door, or in other easily visible places to remind yourself of daily tasks
• Palm Pilots (electronic pocket organizers) work like
mini-computers and help keep you organized and on schedule no matter where you are
• Day planners also keep you organized and don’t require
batter-ies Keep one in your backpack and remember to write down important dates and assignments throughout the day
• If you are extremely forgetful, leave yourself an answering machine or voicemail message as a backup reminder.
MAKING ADJUSTMENTS
Reassess your progress on a regular basis You will undoubtedly find that your study plan needs a few adjustments here and there Ask yourself if you reached your goals If not, where did you fall short and why? Try to assess your plan every week as you move toward test day The more you assess your plan, the better you will be able to hone it
to your actual needs Here is Janine’s SAT exam study plan
Creating and Implementing a Study Plan 85
February 1
Week 1:
Feb 2–
Feb 8
Saturday Class
None
None
SAT STUDY PLAN
VERBAL
Take practice exam.
Target weakness:
criti-cal reading Review reading
com-prehension strategies.
Start running
vocabu-lary list for sentence completions and analogies.
JANINE SALAZAR
MATH
Take practice exam.
Target weakness: algebra
Review quantitative comparison strategies.
Practice quadratic equa-tions and formulas.
Review geometry theo-rems from last year.
Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P M
Trang 3Week 2:
Feb 9–
Feb 15
Week 3:
Feb 16–
Feb 22
Week 4:
Feb 23–
March 1
Week 5:
March 2–
March 8
Week 6:
March 9–
March 15
Week 7:
March 16–
March 22
Saturday Class
None
None
None
Start Saturday program.
9:30–11:30 A M
9:30–11:30 A M
SAT STUDY PLAN
VERBAL
Practice main idea
and specific detail questions.
Create analogy
ques-tions from vocab list.
Review vocab with
Jessica.
Practice vocabulary in
context questions.
Create sentence
com-pletions.
Create flashcards for
Latin roots.
Practice inference and
reference questions.
Review Latin roots
flashcards.
Practice process of
elimination with Jessica.
Take practice test.
Re-evaluate strengths
and weaknesses.
Review vocab
flash-cards.
Practice critical reading
questions.
Create practice analogy
questions with Jessica.
Spring Break
Create flashcards for
common prefixes and suffixes.
Review parts of speech
(for analogy questions).
Create more vocab
flashcards.
JANINE SALAZAR
MATH
Practice word problems.
Review fractions.
Create flashcards for geometry formulas.
Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P M
Review square roots.
Review exponents.
Review geometry flash-cards.
Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P M
Practice quantitative comparison ques-tions.
Review factors and multiples.
Review probability.
Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P M
Practice geometry questions.
Review order of opera-tions.
Create flashcards for math laws.
Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P M
Take practice test.
Reassess plan.
No tutor—Spring Break
Review math laws flashcards.
Review perfect squares.
Practice geometry problems.
Trang 4Creating and Implementing a Study Plan 87
Week 8:
March 23–
March 29
Week 9:
March 30–
April 5
Week 10:
April 6–
April 12
Week 11:
April 13–
April 19
Week 12:
April 20–
April 26
Saturday Class
9:30–11:30 A M
9:30–11:30 A M
9:30–11:30 A M
None
Exam Day!
SAT STUDY PLAN
VERBAL
Review flashcards for
prefixes and suffixes.
Review vocab
flash-cards.
Practice sentence
com-pletion with Jessica.
Review common types
of analogies.
Review antonyms.
Practice critical reading
questions.
Review Latin root
flashcards Review all vocab
flash-cards.
Evaluate study progress
with Jessica.
Start overall review.
Continue overall review
and taper all week until test day on Saturday.
JANINE SALAZAR
MATH
Review absolute value.
Review decimals and percentages.
Review mean, median, and mode.
Practice graph and tables problems.
Review polynomials.
Practice system of equations problems.
Review coordinate geometry.
Practice word prob-lems.
Review ratio and rate problems.
Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P M
Start overall review.
Algebra tutor Thursday 4–5 P M
Continue overall review and taper all week until test day on Saturday.
No tutor.
J u s t t h e F a c t s
• A personal study plan is a contract you make with yourself to help you succeed on each high stakes test
• You make the important decisions about who, what, when, and
where as they apply to your study plan
• Include an adult, teacher, or mentor in your study plan to help
pro-vide support
• Refer to Secret #1 for tips on managing your time.
Trang 6Getting the Most Out of Class 89
Secret 7
G ETTING THE M OST
O UT OF C LASS
Eleni knew she was shy, but she felt it was simply
something she would have to live with
The problem was that her shyness was interfering with her favorite class—geometry Eleni envied her
class-mates who could throw up their hands during class or
hang around after class to ask Ms Hartick a question
The tricks Eleni relied on for her other classes were not
working She couldn’t ask for help from a friend because she had no friends taking geometry She couldn’t find
answers to some questions by studying her textbook
because she didn’t understand some of the textbook’s
explanations When Ms Hartick was discussing a new
concept or reviewing a difficult problem, Eleni needed an explanation on the spot
Eleni explained her problem to her boyfriend and was surprised by his response “I bet other people have the same question you do,” Alberto said “You’d be doing
them a favor by asking your question.”
The next day, Eleni gathered her courage and raised
her hand Ms Hartick seemed pleased, and her answer prepared Eleni for the rest of that day’s material
When class was over, Ms Hartick approached Eleni
and said, “Welcome to class.”