6 Tips for Teaching Teens Successful Study Habits

Successful study habits can make or break our homeschooled kids when they take outside classes, such as electives or dual enrollment, or continue to college. It’s important that we help instill good study habits as a life skill to give them confidence as they get older and go out into the world.

It can be extremely discouraging for students to watch their peers succeed in school when it feels like they are lagging behind. While some students can breeze through classes with minimal effort, this is a rare exception. More often than not, high achieving students rely on good habits and effective study strategies to achieve academic success.

If you have students who are late-night crammers or school project procrastinators, don’t panic! We’ve created a list of approachable and simple tips for any student looking to boost their academic performance. These small, manageable actions are guaranteed to lead to some big student wins this upcoming academic year. Let’s get started!

6 Tips for Teaching Successful Study Habits

Stay Organized

First things first: to be a successful student, it’s important to stay organized. Encourage your teens to keep binders and notebooks for every subject so they always know where everything is at all times. The precious time they spend searching for missing or lost assignments is time that they could spend working or studying.

Every week, teens should clean off their desks or study areas to get rid of outdated, crumpled papers that they no longer need. Staying organized will help students study more efficiently, but it will also help them feel less overwhelmed and ready to tackle the week ahead.

Keeping a planner or calendar is another simple strategy to help students stay organized and on top of things. Writing down the dates and deadlines for all of their assignments will help students juggle daily homework on top of important exams.

Take Advantage of Resources

No one said a student’s road to academic success needed to be a solo journey. Successful students know when to ask for assistance when they are stuck on an assignment or struggling with a school subject. From joining a study group to watching online tutorials, there are so many resources for students to take advantage of, many of which are free. Asking for help from a teacher, a tutor, or your friends, is a foolproof way to ensure you truly understand the material. After all, two heads are better than one.

Every student has different academic hurdles that they need a little extra help with. If your student is facing financial stressors when it comes to school tuition, they should consider applying for scholarships. You can find scholarships for high school seniors, juniors, and existing students readily available on platforms like bold.org. This is free money that they never need to pay back, so it’s well worth the effort of filling out a few applications.

Find a Study Space

Do your students have designated spaces that they study in every day? Helping them find the right study space is a great way for them to maximize productivity. If your students don’t have a study spot already, prompt them to look for spaces away from the television and other potential distractions. If your student is someone who is easily distracted, encourage them to leave their phone and other devices outside of their workspace.

Whether it’s your local library or a desk in your room, students need to create a neat, well-lit study space that has all the essential supplies that they need. Keep in mind that every student has a different learning style. If your student likes listening to music or if they need utter silence while they work, these factors should also be taken into consideration when they select their study spot. If they want to go the extra mile, they can decorate their space with a study schedule and positive affirmation posters to keep them motivated and on task.

Start with Your Most Difficult Subject

Everyone procrastinates, and it’s easiest to procrastinate on your most difficult subjects. Naturally, a student’s most challenging subject will require the most effort and mental energy, which is why they should begin their study session by getting that dreaded task out of the way. By tackling your most challenging task of the day first, it will be easier to complete the rest of your daily agenda. Not to mention, they will carry that feeling of accomplishment and reward with them for the rest of the day.

If you are struggling with a certain subject, consider signing up for one of the many online tutoring resources available. From customized instruction to one-on-one attention, there are countless benefits to online tutoring that will make a drastic difference in your student’s academic performance.

Take Notes

While this may seem like an obvious tip, taking effective notes is a key way to boost a student’s academic performance for multiple reasons. Taking notes will help students stay more engaged during class and truly retain what they have learned. Additionally, taking notes will help students narrow down what they need to study when midterms or end of year exams roll around. Instead of re-reading an entire textbook, a student’s notes will provide them with a far more condensed study guide.

Instead of encouraging students to type out their notes digitally, encourage them to write their notes by hand. While it may be more laborious and time-consuming, studies show that writing notes by hand results in better memory retention.

Avoid Cramming

It’s time to say goodbye to all-nighters and midnight study sessions. Studying is already challenging enough as it is, and forcing yourself through a study marathon definitely doesn’t help matters. Once a student reaches a certain level of exhaustion, their brain will no longer be able to take in more information.

Dividing work into manageable chunks will not only help students retain information better, but it will also make studying (more) fun. Encourage students to give themselves a mini reward whenever they finish a chunk of work to stay motivated. It’s also important for students to take frequent breaks every 1-2 hours to restore mental energy.

These 6 tips for successful study habits should point your teens in the right direction to develop skills that will serve them for years to come.

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Sara

Author/Speaker/Consultant at Heart and Soul Homeschooling

Sara is a homeschool mom to 3 creative girls. She holds a degree in Social Work specializing in early childhood development, which led to her interest in individualized educational options like homeschooling. She believes that learning should be a lifelong adventure, not just a checklist to get through. She is a writer, avid reader, introvert (INFJ), and dreamer of dreams.