<p>I've heard of some good books that can help teens with theirs study skills like :"How to became a straight A student" by Cal Newport. Has anyone read this book and can give me some input about it or maybe others suggestions of reading? My son is starting college soon an I think a book that teaches him a method for time management/ study skills can ease his transition into college.</p>
<p>OP- I had the same idea. I bought Cal Newports book for my High school senior a couple months ago. He hasn’t read it yet…</p>
<p>This is not very reassuring, lol.</p>
<p>I have read this book and recommended it on cc many times. It is excellent.</p>
<p>Just bought the book for my graduating senior.</p>
<p>I was reading reviews about it and someone mention that the book recommends not reading assignments in advance just going to class and taking lots of note. @YohoYoho- have you read the book. Is this statement correct? Don’t you think a student can carried away by this statement or I am just nitpicking one line?</p>
<p>Yes, the book recommends NOT reading certain things before going to class. Other study books will recommend that the student preread the textbook on the topic that will be covered in class before going to the class.
Based on my experience with premed and med school, I agree with the book. The reading in college is like trying to drink out of a firehose. I found that if I went to lecture and took lots of notes, then I would get an understanding of the topic. Then I could skim the textbook and detail read the areas that were confusing etc.</p>
<p>Of course, this would pertain to certain classes, not all of them. English/lit books have to be read before class etc. But trying to preread a chem or bio book leads to spinning of wheels, confusion, and wasted time.</p>
<p>Does this book apply to HS students? If not, can anyone suggest some books that will help HS students with their study skills?
Thanks!</p>
<p>The book breaks out reading into 3 types: what you have to do, what you should do, what would be nice to do. And also breaks out study habits by type of subject: stem vs humanities. Again, remember, college is a firehose of reading. You want to read what you personally need to read, but also have some time for a social life (ie not be a grinder)</p>
<p>Yes, the book works for HS. In fact, you want to get your study skills up to par before u start college.</p>
<p>Thank you YohoYoho. That’s the first hand type of information I’ve been looking for.</p>
<p>Our kids’ school taught study skills in middle school. They devoted a whole year on it. They taught kids how to organize their notes and how to write a research paper. It was invaluable. The course also taught time management. D1 tutored kids from other schools on study skills when she was in high school. She was paid 75/hour to help students organize their notes before finals. Many parents felt it was worth it because they didn’t have to get involved and their kids’ grades often went up a grade by having their notes and tests organized. </p>
<p>I think getting a book about study skills is kind of pointless unless the kid would actually read it. I think it would be more productive to pay for a tutor for a short period of time. More school should teach it. I know my kids have benefited greatly from it.</p>
<p>^Not every middle school as yours teaches study skills and not every parent can afford to pay $75 an hour for a tutor. I also believe study skills are more than just organizing notes and tests.</p>
<p>Study skills and time management are something to be reinforced over a period of time. If you can’t afford a tutor and your school doesn’t teach it, then you will need to take the time to teach your kid, if those are the skills you want your kid to have. By giving your kid a book about study skills is not going to do it. Those skills are best learned when they are young.</p>
<p>Time management is a very important part of study skills. We don’t have unlimited amount of time. The skill of spending just enough effort on any particular task to achieve maximum return is hard for many people to do. When a student has 2 papers due and a test at the same time, it is not smart to spend 90% of time on a paper in order to turn in a perfect paper, and get low grades on other assignments.</p>
<p>teach12 has a dvd set on how to become a superstar student. It is pretty good. [The</a> Great Courses® - Audio & Video Lectures from The World?s Best Professors](<a href=“http://www.teach12.com%5DThe”>http://www.teach12.com)</p>
<p>During premed and med, I had to learn to study efficiently, obtaining and retaining necessary info without being overloaded, and prepping for tests effectively. I’ve been trying to impart these methods to my kids. But this cal Newport book presents a global approach and is good for kids who don’t have a parent that had to learn to slog thru a ton of material by trial and error. And save a kid from trying to develop their own study plans by trial and error.</p>
<p>oldfort- I agree time management, prioritization and organization skills are essential skills. Like leadership skills, they do take time to develop. HS students should become better at them during their HS years whether they were taught or learned from hard lessons. Maybe we are confusing study skills with study strategies here. Study strategies, for example, some people use index cards to help with memorization while some create cheat sheets. I dont see anything wrong with reading a book to learn different approaches to help to retain knowledge as well as to study efficiently.</p>
<p>I suggested my son read the book and bought it for him. He did recently read it and found it had several good study tips he plans to try.</p>
<p>I read the book before giving it to him and I thought if I was still in school I would try some as well. It never occurred to me to bring my text book to class and note places to reread that were covered in lecture. Same with some of this study methods. </p>
<p>He says right off that not everything he writes may work for you that if you develop other skills that do, go for it. The book is so concise and written at a student to student level it is a good place to start.</p>
<p>They taught study skills in middle school at my son school too, but at that time he was not ready to absorb the information. He is the type that does well because he understands the material fast but I know that in college the amount of material you need to go over is just overwhelming and you cannot just rely on your memory. In his senior year he has become more interested in finding ways to organize his studies.</p>
<p>It’s worth a try. But often students without good study habits will resist advise books. Let us know how it goes. </p>
<p>Oh, our ms taught study/organization skills in 6th grade. All students had to have the same school planner (some parents balked at the $5 fee - that floored me). DD followed the advise to earn credit for those lessons. But she reverted to her wing-it ways in 7th grade.</p>