Lockdown study boredom busters: 3 simple study tasks for your teen while you're stuck at home
Children and high school students are probably one of the most affected groups of the world's current crisis — with thousands dealing with school closures, not seeing friends, no sport, no music lessons... My heart really feels for them having to see the world go through something like this at such a young age.
And for teenagers, particularly those more senior who are in the middle of an important school year — they have the added worry of what's going to happen to the rest of the school year? And exams? And university/college applications?!
Who knows is the answer at this stage, but things will find a way of getting worked out. And in what I think we can call good news, my impression is that schools and universities are cognisant of the uncertainty and pressure students are dealing with and are here to support them.
And ALSO, I do think this is an opportunity (for all of us) to perhaps reassess and take stock. As many are saying (and I totally agree), we have, in all of this mess, been given the gift of time.
This is a rare gift in the student world of jam-packed schedules, rushing from one activity to another while also trying to study and then at some point prepare for exams!
So below, we've set out 3 really simple but really important study activities you can do now. We've chosen these three because they have the best time investment:reward ratio. In other words, having a go at these now will pay off massively when the time comes to start preparing for exams.
1. Look at a past year's exam paper
This one of our all time favourite study techniques, but it’s often not given the priority it deserves.
Having a look at a past year's exam is one of the best indications of what an exam is going to be like. Things like…
How long is the exam?
What type of questions are likely to come up?
What is the format of the exam going to be? (short answers, long answers, both?)
There are two times in particular to look at a past exam:
Right now, before exam prep. This will give your teen a very good idea of what they need to prepare for.
During the week before an exam. The purpose of this is to test your preparedness. Where are the holes in your knowledge? Can you finish the exam in the amount of time you’ll have for the real thing?
2. Make some Subject Maps
Subject Maps overcome two of the biggest obstacles that teens trip up on when they try to study:
Where do I start?
What do I study next?
Subject Maps provide the roadmap through the exam study journey. It’s very easy to get lost without them.
To make a Subject Map all you need to do is write down every topic you need to know for your exam, and do this for each subject you have an exam for. Your teen will hopefully have been given some kind of curriculum guideline document at the beginning of the school year that can help inform what topics should be included.
Making the small time investment now to make Subject Maps will see your teen hit the ground running when it's time to start studying for exams, because they already know what topics they need to cover. Their Subject Maps will also keep their exam study on track throughout their exam study, which is a big win for productivity and lower stress levels.
3. Watch some educational videos of stuff you don't understand
When I was studying I remember the pressure of having so much content to get through that sometimes I felt like I didn’t have the time to sink my teeth into understanding some topics properly. Of course YouTube wasn’t around then and the only thing I used my laptop for was to write essays!
Examiners can see right through you when you don’t understand a topic properly. You might get away with a basic grade, but really good marks come from demonstrating that you have an in depth understanding of a topic.
So with the gift of time upon us, now is a great time to set aside 30 minutes and let YouTube or Khan Academy guide your teen through a topic they are struggling with.
So simple yet so important...
I can't stress the effectiveness of these three exam study techniques enough. They are so simple and yet they solve some of studying's greatest problems.
Stay safe and happy studying,
Clare
Photo credit: School photo created by drbotdean - www.freepik.com
