Students from grade 5 to grade 9 aren’t particularly fond of doing homework. However, homework is a vital part of education that promotes knowledge retention. If your child is a middle school student who struggles with tackling homework, this article contains study habits for middle school students. Helping your child to implement these study habits will make them better at their overall studies, not just homework.
Good study skills for middle school students
Below are some excellent actionable tips to help students study better.
- Teach them to avoid electronic distractions
Completing homework on time will be challenging when your child struggles between answering texts, replying to comments, and viewing posts on social media. They may spend unnecessarily more time on an assignment when there are too many distractions.
Set your child’s phone aside and ask them to focus on the middle school homework. If they must use a computer for research, ensure their social accounts are not logged in. Also, monitor them to ensure they only visit pages related to the assignment.
- Come up with a personalized study strategy
A customized study strategy will become part of your child’s routine and help them tackle even the most challenging assignments. Organize their daily schedule to set time aside for homework daily. During homework middle school, encourage your child to start with the most challenging tasks before going to easy ones.
If your child handles easy assignments first, they may become overwhelmed. This means they may not be focused enough to tackle the more challenging topics during that study section.
- Limit study time to 1 hour per section
One of the best middle school homework tips you can teach your child is managing study time. No matter how diligent they are, middle schools should not need to spend more than one hour on homework.
Most days, homework comes after a long day at school. If students are forced to sit for too long on their homework, their minds may wander. This will make it more difficult for them to retain knowledge or complete tasks correctly. If your child can’t stay for the entire hour, they can take five-minute breaks after every 20 minutes of studying.
- Identify your child’s strengths
Sometimes, students struggle with homework because they are not interested in the topic and not because they aren’t intelligent. If you notice that homework for middle school students is too hard for your child, research thoroughly to find out their interests. You can meet with their teachers and follow up on their studies closely.
After identifying your middle schooler’s interest, look for ways to help them cultivate it. Find out if they can customize their curriculum by removing unnecessary subjects not part of the core curriculum.
- Offer rewards for a job well done
One of the best ways to keep middle school children motivated is to promise them rewards for their work. You can offer healthy snacks or their favorite treats for each assignment they pass. Rewards do not always have to be with food.
You can reward your child with other things like extra screen time, their favorite gift, or something else they like. If they know they will get a reward, they may put more effort into homework for middle school. However, be careful not to make your child too focused on rewards. You still need to make sure that they are retaining knowledge and not simply going through the motion just to get rewards.
Conclusion
You already know the answer to the question what is middle school. If your child or any other child you are responsible for is struggling with their studies, these good study skills for middle school students can help them improve their grades. They also make homework less of a burden and more of a fun activity. It is not going to happen over night so be patient with them and guide them.