Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Preparing for success
• Part 2 of 4: Being on top of it every day
• Part 3 of 4: Scoring Tienen
• Part 4 of 4: Being an ideal student
• Tips
• Warnings

It's all too easy to get behind in school whether you're smart or not - it's just a lot of work! To be a smart student - someone who knows how to study and how to succeed - you have to be smart from day one. With the right study tactics and a few tricks, too you who can be smart student.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Preparing for success

1. Organize your school supplies. Whether it's two weeks before the start or the end of the school year, make sure you organize your things properly. This means that you have your binders, your paperwork, your inserts and all those other necessities in order. Good organization makes the actual work a lot easier. Here are some suggestions:
   • Buy an insert for each course. Use the syllabus as a cover page. Then organize your homework, stencils, and handouts in chronological order.
   • Organize the specific materials you need (markers, scissors, protractor, etc.) by compartment. By the way, every folder should come with a pen and a highlighter anyway.
   • Throw out some junk! If your locker looks more like a pigsty, clean it up! The less stuff you have to dig through to find what you need, the more time you'll save doing other, more important things.
2. Set up a "study area" for yourself. Have you ever heard that you should never work in bed? That's because otherwise your bed becomes a workplace, and loses its status as a place to sleep - we associate activities with where they perform. To take advantage of this, set up a place at home that is exclusively intended for your studies. When you get to that place, your brain will automatically connect to work, because work is all you do in that place.
   • Have you ever heard of context-dependent memory? That is when it is easier to remember things in the places where you learned them. So if you study at your place of study for one evening, it will be easier to remember what you learned when you go back to work there the next evening.
   • If possible, try to have multiple study areas - such as the library, at a friend's house, etc. Research shows that the more places you have to study, the more connections your brain can make, and the easier it becomes to remember. what you have learned.
3. Pick up your books early on. Most teachers (from first year to university) will give you a book list before the start of the academic year. Use this list to purchase your books. Then scroll through them to see how they fit together. Start reading the first chapters as soon as possible, whether it is required or not.
   • If the teacher doesn't give you this list, ask for it! He / she will be impressed by the initiative you take and how seriously you take the profession. Maybe you will become his / her favorite student!
4. Also ask for additional literature. The teacher probably has a few books that he / she didn't list but wanted to do. These books can be good supplementary reading material, helping you to better understand what you are learning - you will get a fuller picture of the material.
   • This applies to everything from math to history to art. There is always more reading material available, regardless of the topic.
5. Ask your teachers what they are looking for. Start a conversation with teachers about the course they are teaching. What do they value (collaboration, originality, reading, participation, etc.)? What makes it easiest for you to succeed? Are they doing extra credits? Do they do a lot of group work? Will you have to write a lot for this course? Knowing these things will give you a better idea of ​​what is expected of you.
   • You also immediately create a bond with your teacher. You will be the one who cares about his / her grade and really does his / her best. If you then get your grade and you didn't get a nine except for two tenths, the teacher could give you the benefit of the doubt and round you up to a nine!

Part 2 of 4: Being on top of it every day

1. Make sure you enjoy taking notes. If you literally copy every word your teacher says, you'll a) get bored very quickly, and b) have far too many notes to go through at home. Rather stick to the most important information and have fun! Here are some suggestions:
   • Convert sentences into graphs, diagrams or pictures. The Germany of 1941 consisted of 60% Jews? Make it a graph. That way you can also remember it a lot better.
   • Use mnemonics to learn. What is the order of the planets? My father usually ate young Brussels sprouts from Nieuwe Pekela, of course!
   • Use highlighters. The more colors your notes have, the more fun it will be to read them. Develop color coding to help you find information faster.
2. Review the reading the night before. Most students do not read the material at all, or scroll through it a little while the teacher is discussing it. You don't want to be that student! Whether it is important or not, read through the material before the lecture. In class you will then know exactly what is going on if the teacher picks you out.
   • If you don't know which material to read, get the syllabus. There is a reason why you put it in the front of your folder. On the syllabus you will find all the homework and reading work, and the dates on which they are treated. By looking at it for a moment you know exactly what to do.
3. Don't delay your homework! If you really want to understand your homework, do it thoroughly. In order to get the highest possible grade, you cannot do your homework on the bus. When you come home in the evening, sit down for a while - then you'll be done with it. Then you can watch TV, play games, or whatever.
   • If you've been given a lot of time for a particular homework assignment, it probably means that the assignment is bigger and more important than usual. Work on it a little bit every day. That way you spread your work and you don't get overwhelmed by the homework avalanche.
4. Attend lectures every day and pay close attention. Many teachers already award points for your attendance! Why would you throw those points away if you don't have to do more than walk into the lecture hall? Often teachers also give points for active participation. Raise your hand, even if you're not sure - the teacher will appreciate you trying so hard.
   • In addition, the teacher can ask you a question if it seems that you are not paying attention. You will probably not know the answer to that question. The less you embarrass yourself, the better.
5. Set goals for yourself. Everyone needs a certain goal to work towards. If you don't have goals, you won't know what you want to get done. To motivate yourself you have to set yourself concrete goals. Graduating cum laude? Studying for an hour per evening? Read X number of pages in a week? Choose a goal that will keep you motivated.
   • Ask your parents how they can help or reward you. If you all get nines and tens, maybe they can buy you that one computer game? Or maybe you can come home a little later from now on? Any kind of motivation is welcome!
6. Take tutoring as needed. School is difficult, especially when there are many other things in life that need your attention. Sometimes even the smartest kids need tutoring. Ask your teacher, counselor or parents if you can take tutoring - this is how you can increase your grades. Sometimes older students give free tutoring to earn extra points.
   • You can also ask your older sibling or parents to help you. Do that especially if they are good at a certain subject. Just make sure they don't distract you and can actually help you get work done.

Part 3 of 4: Scoring Tienen

1. Work with a study group. Research has shown that students who work in groups of three or four achieve better results than students who work alone or in larger groups. So recruit two, three friends and create your own study group. That will also be a lot more fun than studying on your own!
   • Make sure that the members in your study group are also good students who care about their academic careers. You don't want to work with people who mess up.
   • Ask everyone to bring snacks and to think about possible topics of conversation. Make a rough outline of what you will cover, and assign someone to fill the role of group leader that week - so you can help each other keep up.
   • If it's Friday night and you have a test next Monday, get some classmates together to test each other. If someone knows the right answer, he / she gets two points; if someone gives the wrong answer, one point is deducted. The person who has the most points at the end of the session can choose the movie!
2. Start studying or doing homework well in advance. Whether it's an important test or project, you don't want to postpone the work until the night before. Start a week or so in advance to make sure you have plenty of time should something go wrong. Be on the safe side.
   • When it comes to tests, you should start a week or so in advance with learning a little bit each day. The more days you spend on the material, the better your brain can bring it to mind - making the connections in the brain stronger and more reliable.
3. Ask about extra points. Some teachers have a certain policy in which extra points can be earned. You can do a little extra work with them to boost your grade for that test or project. If you can use a helping hand, ask your teacher if you can earn extra points with an additional assignment. If it does not help, it does not harm!
   • Sometimes these extra points will not count towards your final grade, but they will appear on your final list. And that's good too! Extra points are always good.
4. You don't have to stomp! It is certain: by stamping dust in your head you even get lower Numbers. Why? Your brain does not function when you sleep little or no sleep, making it impossible to remember what you learned all night long. So don't do it! You can study a little bit in the morning if you really need to.
   • Your body needs sleep (seven to nine hours, depending on your specific preferences). An important part of a good student is that he / she also takes good care of himself. Stay up all night to stomp, but just go to sleep and have a healthy breakfast. Research shows that a good breakfast can boost your brain, so you can get higher grades!
5. Take breaks more often. If you want to learn something, it is not at all crazy to think, "study, study and study until I understand everything correctly". But in reality it doesn't work that way. Your attention and memory are even improved if you take more breaks (ten minutes per hour). So if you're learning for that important exam, take breaks! You will do your grades a huge service!
   • During your break, grab a handful of blueberries, nuts, broccoli, or even dark chocolate to boost your brain. Snacks give you extra energy when you are a little tired.
6. Always keep your school supplies with you wherever you go. Do you remember those ten minutes you waited for the bus this morning? Those few minutes you were in school early yesterday? These are all opportunities you can use to learn. And all those minutes pile up! So always keep your things with you, such as memory cards, so that you can always learn.
   • This works especially well if you have a friend with you who you can learn with. You can exchange memory cards and test each other. If you read and talk about the information, it will be better stored.

Part 4 of 4: Being an ideal student

1. Volunteer. To be a "smart" student you also have to be smart with your choice of school and your CV! These days you need to have the whole picture, and you can improve your resume by volunteering. It shows future schools and employers that you are not only smart, but also a good person! Here are some places to consider:
   • Hospitals
   • Nursing homes
   • The homeless shelter
   • A stay-away-from-my-body
   • The shelter
   • The soup kitchen
   • The church
2. Play sports and drama, music or art. In addition to volunteering and getting good grades, the ideal student is also involved in extracurricular activities - whether in sports, drama, music or art. This shows that you can do everything and that you are balanced. Most kids can't!
   • You don't have to excel at everything. If you are a great soccer player, audition for the school band or play. If you sing in the choir but can't kick the ball, try to get on the soccer team. It's only for a year!
3. Join a group or club. In addition to everything else, consider joining a group or club that appeals to you. Is there an environmental group in the school? An LGBTQ club? A writers collective? Sign In! This shows that you dare to take an active role when it comes to things that matter to you.
   • Moreover, it is often not that difficult to find a managerial position at these types of clubs. Being able to say that you are "the chairman" of something is very impressive!
4. Take different types of classes. By doing this, you will not only show the outside world that you have many interests and are good at many things, but it will also provide some welcome variety! Imagine taking eight math courses and nothing else - then you will automatically go nuts. Try to combine important subjects such as English and economics, then add interesting subjects such as art history or robotics, as well as some fun subjects such as cooking or engineering.
   • If your school does not offer courses that you would like to take, you can probably also take classes at other schools in the area.
5. If no activities are organized at your school, get started! There are plenty of small (but also large) schools where no activities are organized. This could be because there is no money available or because it simply never came up. If you see a gap in the extra-curricular offer of your school, ask the rector or dean if you can start something yourself. The fact that you have set up an entire organization is incredibly impressive! Here are some ideas:
   • A recycling program at school
   • A theater, chess, or writing club
   • An LGBTQ group
   • A study group
   • A technology club
   • Whatever!

Tips

• If you think you have a little extra time to have hands, don't waste it. Start learning in advance so you know what's going on.
• Meditate before learning to clear your mind.
• Take tutoring if you have a lot of trouble with a particular subject.
• Don't forget to rest between learning.
• Don't get distracted during class. Keep your focus.

Warnings

• Don't cheat.
• Do not say answers during tests.