When high school students enter your classroom, they come with a history of homework, research, and exams. However, have they truly acquired effective study and organizational skills?
Incorporating study skill instruction into high school education is essential for students’ academic journeys, with benefits that extend well beyond graduation. Learn how to teach crucial skills like goal setting, effective time management, and progress tracking to your teenage learners. Access classroom resources designed to support this essential element of their education!
High schoolers often have aspirations such as attending college or securing their dream job, but do they understand the role of short-term goals in achieving those ambitions? Demonstrate the process of goal setting for high school students by guiding them to establish goals that enhance their study practices.
At the start of each week, ask students to document or share their academic goals, including tasks like completing homework or aiming for specific test scores. Include goal-setting assignments, such as “Finish notes on Chapter 5” or “Read for 20 minutes without interruptions.” Encourage them to review their goals at week’s end to assess their performance and identify areas for improvement.
A lesson focused on study skills for high schoolers should emphasize self-regulation and self-reflection. Equip your students with tools to set effective goals, maintain organizational strategies, and take comprehensive notes through guided resources and graphic organizers.
Student Guide to Organization, Note-taking, and Study Skills
By Lifelong Learning
Grades: 7th-10th
Assist high schoolers in overcoming procrastination and setting realistic goals with a detailed resource on study skills and executive functioning. This comprehensive unit includes various organization handouts, self-assessment tools, and goal-setting worksheets to prepare students for success across all subjects.
2. Establishing Priorities
One of the key life skills for high school students is learning to prioritize their tasks effectively. If they’ve always followed a linear task list, this is the moment to show them the importance of prioritization!
Assign hands-on projects with non-linear components, like research assignments that require multiple resources or step-layered book reports. Facilitate collaboration among students to categorize tasks based on deadlines or time needed for completion. Vary your assignments between single-night tasks and multi-week projects, encouraging students to prioritize their homework to ensure that critical tasks are completed first.
3. Time Management Mastery
Are your high schoolers truly aware of how long five minutes feels? How about two days or a week? Educate teens on the value of time using time management resources to enhance their awareness of the time required to complete their assignments.
For the first major project, help students develop their time management skills by implementing mini-deadlines for them to meet throughout the process. Gradually phase out these deadlines as the year progresses, fostering independent project completion. If additional support is necessary, demonstrate effective time management strategies during class, such as pacing during tests and managing short assignments efficiently.
4. Enhancing Focus
In an age overwhelmed by technology and daily distractions, teenagers often struggle to concentrate on their schoolwork. Support them in improving their focus by crafting a distraction-free classroom environment and structuring lessons into manageable segments.
Encourage high schoolers to tackle shorter, timed assignments to strengthen their focus over extended periods. Promote healthy lifestyle habits that contribute to better concentration, including adequate sleep and hydration. Additionally, consider simplifying classroom decorations to minimize potential distractions.
Cultivating Focusing Skills for Student Success
How proficient are your students in maintaining focus on their assignments? Focus on strengthening this pivotal study skill through guided practice, tailored assignments, and resources that demonstrate the link between concentration and academic success.
How to Focus Better Study Skills Lesson-Middle/High School- Google Slides option
By School Counseling Essentials
Grades: 6th-12th
Illustrate to students how distractions affect their study habits with materials that emphasize the concept of focus! This collection includes a learning style survey, worksheets addressing distractions, and visually appealing gallery posters that depict both internal and external distractors, benefiting both high achievers and those facing concentration challenges.
5. Effective Note-taking
While asking high school students to take notes might seem natural, many have never received guidance on how to do it properly. Whether you advocate for outlining notes or employ the Cornell note-taking system, walking students through this process can significantly enhance their learning outcomes.
Before assigning any reading material, engage the class in a note-taking demonstration. Teach students how to identify main ideas, differentiate key facts from minor details, and collaborate on taking notes from a simple reading material. Encourage them to practice taking a variety of notes, such as lecture, technical, and subject-specific notes to improve their overall reading and learning capabilities.
Hone Note-taking Skills Across Subjects
No matter if you teach ELA, social studies, science, or another content-intensive area, the ability to take accurate notes is vital for high schoolers. Integrate resources focused on note-taking into your study skills curriculum to help them realize the significant advantages of well-structured notes!
Focused Note-Taking Lesson/Templates/Graphic Organizers-High School Study Skills
By Jenn Liu — Engaging to Empower
Grades: 8th-12th
Subjects: English Language Arts, Informational Text, Reading Strategies
Standards: CCSS RI.9-10.1, 2; CCRA.R.1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10; CCRA.W.4, 5; CCRA.SL.1, 2, 3
Need your students to grasp the fundamentals of note-taking? Use a CCSS-grounded resource that offers a Google Slideshow, editable class discussion topics, and note-taking templates in print and digital formats to teach focused note-taking.
6. Organizational Skills
If you’ve ever glimpsed inside a typical high school student’s backpack, you understand that organization is a skill many struggle with. Assist them in appreciating the significance of being organized by establishing a classroom framework that fosters individual organization and accountability in their overall academic endeavors.
Begin by maintaining a list of upcoming deadlines and assessments to introduce organization as part of their study skills education. Regularly collect assignments and monitor student planners to ensure they record their tasks. Consider implementing periodic backpack checks as part of classroom routines, providing incentives for students who keep their materials neat and orderly.
Transforming Organization into an Engaging Learning Aspect
Keeping organized doesn’t have to be a burdensome task! Use incentives and constructive feedback to embed organizational skills into diverse learners, regardless of their reading levels or grades. You may discover that this promotes a more orderly classroom environment!
Study Skills Curriculum, High School SPED BTS Organization Activities, Counselor
By Angie Kratzer
Grades: 6th-12th
Empower high school students to maintain their work in an organized manner well before deadlines arrive. This valuable study skills guide features a learning style inventory, informative tip sheets, a scavenger hunt for obstacles, and additional resources to help students understand the value of enhancing their organizational abilities.
Organization Skills Activities and Study Skills for Middle and High School
By Informed Decisions
Grades: 6th-12th
Standards: CCSS W.9-10.1, 2a, 3, 4; CCRA.L.4, 5, 6
How organized are your high school students? Allow them to self-assess and enhance their organizational skills through a resource that includes a handout on organization and study skills tips, facilitation guidelines, an educator guide, and a reflective activity handout, available in both color and black-and-white formats.
7. Progress Reflection
The reflection process may be the most critical element in a study skills curriculum for high schoolers. It empowers them to evaluate which strategies are effective, identify personal growth areas, and correlate their study habits and organizational skills with their success in class.
Task them with taking a self-assessment on study skills during the initial week of school, and establish a routine to periodically reassess these skills throughout the academic year. You might also consider assigning a final presentation project where students showcase the study skill they improved the most, utilizing improved grades or enhanced learning experiences as proof!
Additional Study Skills for High School Learners
After covering the essentials of study skills, shift your focus to supplementary skills that can help students achieve their goals. These may encompass:
- Seeking assistance from teachers or adults
- Test-taking techniques
- Organizing their study space
- Utilizing flashcards or digital study programs
- Reviewing their work or finding peer editors
- Participating in peer tutoring
- Creating collaborative study groups
The most effective study skills for high school students will be those that resonate with their unique learning styles. Therefore, recognizing their learning preferences and needs should be the foundational step in any study skills lesson, followed by tailored strategies.
Integrate Study Skills into Your Curriculum with TPT
Even though your high school students may be teenagers, they might not fully grasp how to approach their academic responsibilities. Teaching study skills equips them with the knowledge to better understand their learning preferences and instills habits they can apply in and out of the classroom. Explore more high school study skills resources to reinforce these important concepts and assist your students as they embark on the path towards future success.
Jennifer Gunner, M.Ed.
Jennifer Gunner is an experienced educator and writer with over fifteen years in classroom instruction and educational writing. She holds a BA in English and creative writing, along with an M.Ed. Her teaching experience spans ELA for grades 7-12, including reading intervention, college preparatory, and creative writing courses. Jennifer especially enjoys leading students through literary exploration and sharing insights into grammar. In her free time, she loves to travel to new destinations, participate in timed writing contests, and enjoy coffee while watching her kids play soccer.
