Starting the School Year off Right

All grades

It’s normal to be full of anxiety at the beginning of the school year. Students, teachers, and parents feel the stress of new expectations, new material, and new people. Here are a few tips to help stay organized and manage some of the new-school-year stress:

1)    Color Coding. Assign colors to school subjects and keep everything for that subject in a color-coded folder, notebook, and/or binder. At the end of every school day, go through each folder to check for homework and notes to review. Keeping subjects separate helps avoid clutter and missed assignments.

2)    Write Things Down! If you never wrote down your homework last year and want to be better this year, now is the time to start! There is usually less homework at the beginning of the year so even writing “No Homework!” in an agenda or wherever you keep track of your to-do lists will get you on the right track. Also, make sure you write things down as often as you can, not typing them into a computer or phone. Hand writing helps you remember so it’s like doing twice the work in one pencil stroke.  

3)    Gather your Resources. If you anticipate struggling in a subject, ask your teacher for some resources at the beginning of the year. You can supplement work in class with videos, games, reading, workbooks, and other activities to help you catch up, or place into a higher level class. Here are some places to start:

• Your public library has an endless wealth of knowledge. In most cities, you can go online to reserve any book (or DVD or other media) in their catalogue and pick it up at your local branch. (All age groups.)

• Khan Academy offers free, in-depth videos, taught by experts, on a variety of subjects. It’s an especially good resource to focus on tough math concepts. (Most age groups)

• German animation studio Kurzgesagt has a YouTube channel full of colorful animated videos that provide simplified overviews of topics in science, politics, philosophy, psychology, and technology. (Best for middle and high school students.)

• Sites like SparkNotes and CliffsNotes can be helpful SUPPLEMENTAL material for readers struggling with understanding or wanting a deeper look at a particular book. These resources should be used to guide reading, not to replace it. (Best for 8th grade and above.)

• Shmoop.com has a variety of free and paid resources for test prep, homework help, and subject area review. (All age groups.)

4)   Try Something New! It can be stressful to take on new things, but if you look at a new school year as an opportunity for growth, it can be less daunting. I suggest trying a new extracurricular or elective, or even just taking up a new hobby, as a way to get to know people (who can make great study partners!) and to build new skills. I especially encourage this if you are starting at an entirely new school. The beginning of the year is when everyone else is trying new things, too, so you won’t be alone!

Math Tips: How to Do Word Problems

Math Tips: Tackling Word Problems

Best for Grades 4 - 9 

If there’s one thing students like (or can at least tolerate) about math, it’s that it involves very little reading. This might be why word problems are almost universally hated. They seem much harder than other math problems because they require an extra layer of understanding, which is also what makes them so important to master. Word problems are the answer to “when I am ever going to need this in real life?”

In theory, word problems should provide examples of real world applications of math concepts. Problems about compound and simple interest, percentages, and averages are especially relevant.

Many of the problems in textbooks, though, are strange or completely unrelatable to an eighth-grader. The common person probably doesn’t need or want to figure out when two trains will collide or how tall a lighthouse is based on the shadow it casts when the sun is at a 45-degree angle, but until math textbooks get a major overhaul, we have to work with what we have.

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Beyond their (hopefully) practical applications, word problems also help to develop analytical skills.

With a consistent strategy, word problems really aren’t so bad. I like to think of them as puzzles—all I have to do is put everything in the right place.

How do I do a Word Problem? Here are some key steps to get you started. These won’t be comprehensive for every word problem, but they make a strong strategy framework.

1.     Read the problem carefully. Seems obvious, but it’s important.

2.     Underline (or circle, or highlight etc.) all the questions and all the numbers you are working with.

3.     Put the question in your own words. Make sure you understand what it is asking. If you don’t, it’s okay to re-read.  It may help to write a sentence with a blank for the answer you are trying to find.

4.     Now, look for keywords. These are words that indicate operations (addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication) like “more than” (addition), “three times as many” (multiplication), or more obvious ones like “divided by.”

5.     Put it together. Write down all the information you know in a neat list.

-       What are you answering?

-       What operations do you need to do it?

-       What numbers are you working with?

6.     Write an equation. Chances are you’ll have just enough information to write an equation with one variable. But don’t forget to consider things like conversions.

7.     Solve the equation! And don’t forget to include units (feet, miles, square inches, apples etc.)

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Let’s do an example.

Your brother traveled 117 miles in 2.25 hours to come home for school break. What’s the average speed that he was traveling?

•  What will my answer look like?   My brother traveled ____ miles per hour on average.

•  What operation do I need? Well we have miles traveled in an hour. That’s like miles per hour, which means division.

• I know:

  •  ? miles per hour

  • 117 miles

  • 2.25  hours

  • division

• Equation: 117 ÷ 2.25 = X

• Solve: X = 52 miles per hour

Finding the Right Tutor

How do I find the right tutor for my student?

A successful tutor will need the right expertise to work with your student, but it’s even more important that they are the right personality fit. Working one-on-one, even for only an hour at a time, requires intense personal attention. If your student doesn’t like the way someone explains things, or finds them “too easy,” or doesn’t get along with them in some way, then whatever knowledge there is to impart will be poorly received.

The “best” tutor and the best-for-your-student tutor are not always the same. To find the right tutor for you, you should define your student’s needs, do your research, and test out tutors.

Photo by Jerry Wang on Unsplash

1)    Defining your student’s needs. Make sure you know what you are trying to get out of tutoring. Tutors and tutoring companies usually specialize in subject areas or grade-levels, so knowing what you need will narrow the pool.

Here are some key questions to ask before you research tutors:

• Why are you seeking a tutor?

• Does your student need support in a single subject area or do they need general study skills help?

• Do you have a child with a learning disability, anxiety, or other barriers to their success?

• Is your student open to being tutored?   

2)    Research tutors and companies in your area. Many companies and tutors offer online lessons, but if you can find someone in your area, I highly recommend face-to-face tutoring sessions. Asking your neighbors for recommendations is a good way to start, but a Google search with subject area key words can be helpful. You can also search on Care.com, Noodle Pros, or post an ad on a college job site. Many undergraduates are looking for tutoring work and may be just starting out, so their rates will be lower.

3)    Speak to potential tutors and have 2 or 3 come to work with your student. Always talk to possible tutors on the phone to get a sense of their experience and to make sure they are clear on what you expect for your student. The number of companies out there makes the process seem daunting, but a quick phone call with any of them will give you plenty of information.

• Always ask their rate. Don’t hire someone you can’t afford.

• Tell them what you need. Be clear about your expectations and the challenges your child is having.

• Ask about their experience. Tutors should be comfortable telling you about their expertise.

Once you have them come to do an initial session, you may want to speak them briefly to get a sense of their experience working with your student. After you have 2 or 3 tutors come, ask your student if they had a preference. Then, make a decision!

When to Hire a Tutor

How do I know when I should hire a tutor for my student?

There are a lot of reasons to consider a tutor for your student—from falling grades to test prep or academic enrichment—but before making the commitment, it’s important to define your student’s needs and goals.

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Tutoring can boost confidence, build knowledge, and provide useful strategies for studying and test-taking, but it is not a substitute for the classroom.

Tutoring is an investment of both time and money. With the exception of things like test prep or high school and college admissions tutoring, it can be a long time before you see consistent student improvement.

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Here are some common reasons parents hire tutors and some key considerations for each:

Standardized test prep.  Test-prep tutoring is very common and is usually short-term, lasting only 2 – 3 months. Most standardized tests are more about strategy than subject-area knowledge, so tutoring (combined with student practice) can be very effective to increase test scores.

Students should take at least one, but ideally two or more practice tests before committing to a tutor. A diagnostic test will help you get the most from a test-prep tutor.

When to get at tutor: If practice test scores are a lot lower than you are hoping, or your student has test anxiety, a tutor can help to familiarize them with the test and provide strategic guidance.

When not to get a tutor: If you have a motivated student who is performing slightly below where they want to be, try out a Kaplan or Princeton Review test prep book. The easiest way to improve scores on standardized tests is practice! 

Falling grades and academic performance. It’s very common for students excel in some subjects and struggle with others. Science and math are frequent challenges and writing skills may be impacting performance in multiple subjects.

If your student has started a new grade, a new school, or even just a new unit in one of their classes, their grades might suffer. Always talk to your student about their grades to make sure the problem is academic and not personal.

When to get a tutor: If a student has shown consistently poor performance in a subject area, a subject-specific tutor can be helpful to provide clarity and further explanation on topics learned in school. If they are struggling across areas, study skills tutors may be the best option.

When not to get a tutor: If a grade suddenly drops, it may be due to a change in what the class is studying. A single bad test is not an indication that your son or daughter  needs academic support. Talk to them about why they are struggling. If your child is feeling anxious about starting a new school or other life change, there will be an adjustment period. A tutor probably won’t be able to help much with non-academic concerns.

Academic enrichment. For high-achieving students, an academic or skill coach may be the best option. Examples of this include: learning a language not taught at school, acting coaching, private chess lessons, or advanced subject tutors to design projects.

When to get a tutor: If a subject area is difficult to learn independently, like a musical instrument, a tutor would be a great bet. This is also a good option for students who need more structure to stay motivated.

When not to get a tutor: If your child tends to jump from hobby to hobby, you may to let them explore things independently so you don’t invest time and money in something they’ll lose interest in. Or, for very independent students, YouTube tutorials, books on the subject, and internet research may be enough.