Junior Study Skills
Toolkit
Table of Contents
How you best learn
How your brain works
There are three parts to you brain, and they each affect the way you learn. They are



The brain stem or reptilian brain (physical brain)
Limbic brain (emotional brain)
Cerebral cortex (thinking brain)
The reptilian part of your brain acts on a subconcious level and controls a lot of our body functions.
It also helps us with our ‘instinct’. In a sense it’s the part of the brain that pushes the panic button.
Look after your reptilian part of your brain, and give it rituals to create a sense of calm, as opposed
to ‘fight or flight’ from study.
Look after physical needs:
-
Eat and drink regularly
Move around at set break
times
If you are tense find a stress
Rituals help the reptilian brain – it likes
things like regular times and places eg.
-
Study in the same place
Play relaxing music
Study at regular times
The limbic brain controls emotions and motivation. It acts as a filter for all the information your
brain receives. People can remember information when they are tuned into an emotion like
happiness, sadness, fear or being interested. If you are bored then you do not remember things!
Think about the last time you retold a story about something that happened to you or a friend, what
parts do you remember the most? Are they linked to an emotion?
The limbic part of your brain will only let information in that you are interested in or feel emotional
in some way about. Sometimes you may need to ‘stir up’ your limbic brain.
Try to draw or collect
images about what
you’re studying
Make notes using colour for
different topics, or by
collecting colourful pictures
that match your notes
Make up a dance or
rhymes, raps, poems,
songs, collages, jokes
about your notes
The cerebral cortex is where your thinking goes on. It is divided into two halves; the left and right
hemisphere.
The different parts of your brain control different abilities. Everybody has the ability to use both
parts of their brains, but people tend to think in different ways.
Left brain
Focus is on:
Logic
Analysis
Fact
Thinking
Language
Math
Sequences
…and music as well 
Right brain
Focus is on:
Creative Thinking
Rhyme
Rhythm
Music
Pictures
Day-dreaming
What half of your brain to you think you use more? Are they linked to subjects you like?
One way you can try to use both halves of your brain is to learn about what intelligences are
your strengths, and what you can look at building on. This will help develop your thinking so
that you can effectively use both sides of your brain. Another way of thinking about this is
thinking ‘what is my learning style’ … the focus of our next unit 
Your learning style
In this section we will look at both:
-
The eight intelligences
The sensory learning styles (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic)
The Eight Intelligences
You may find that you are better at doing some things than others – for example, playing sport,
doing maths, painting, playing music, relating to others. It is helpful to think about what
intelligences are your strengths and use them in you study. You could also look at how to develop
the other intelligences in specific subjects.
The 8 intelligences are:
Which are your strongest intelligences?
The following site has information on the 8 intelligences and the short test you can take to see what
your strengths are:
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/what.cfm
Now that you know what your strengths use the following ideas to help you use
them when studying. If you struggle with other intelligences eg. logical/mathematical, have a go at
the tasks which will help strengthen this intelligence.
Verbal and linguistic
Write about a topic, read it, record on your i-pod
or phone and then listen to it. Use words to
explore proverbs and metaphors. Describe the
topic to yourself inside your mind in different
ways. Use symbols or mnemonics to describe it
to yourself.
Logical and mathematical
Use charts to show comparisons, create
sequences or systems for the way that different
ideas can work.
Visual and spatial
Use colour, symbols and signs, illustrations and
diagrams. List aspects that help develop the
total picture of a topic and then use images to
show what you understand. Visualise solutions
to any problems you face.
Use colours as visual cues.
Bodily-kinesthetic
Do anything active you can with the topic. Do
experiments, make models, draw charts and
graphs. Go for a walk or run and think about or
discuss the topic.
Musical
Use soothing music during reflection and study
times. Record topics with words over music or
make up a song, record it and play it back to
yourself.
Interpersonal
Use partners/buddies to discuss the topic.
Discuss the topic with teachers, other peers and
any experts on the topic.
Intrapersonal
Ask yourself questions about what you think you
understand, and what questions you may need
to be answered. Keep a journal that just has
your thoughts in it.
Try to form your own systems for sorting and
categorizing information.
Naturalist
You learn best by doing—especially if it is
outside and connected in some way to nature.
Sensory learning styles
We use three main senses to learn:



visual (seeing)
auditory (hearing)
kinaesthetic (doing)
To find out which learning style is your strength use the following link, or search for any other online
tests using the key words ‘sensory learning styles’.
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
Below is a list of how you can best learn and study in your subject. Choose a
lesson at school or a test you have to be ready for and try out a couple of the suggestions from the
list that is for your learning style.
Auditory learners
When you have to take in
information (eg in class, from a
book etc)…
How you can learn the
information…
How to do your best in a
test/exam
Regulary attend class
Reduce down your school notes
by taking summaries of the key
points you have studied.
Record yourself saying these
summarised notes.
Before the test/exam spend
time in quiet places and recall
the ideas
Get help from any extra
tutorials that are offered
Discuss topic with your teacher
Explain any new ideas you have
with other people
Record yourself saying notes
you have
Remember and recount to
others any interesting
examples, stories or jokes
associated with the topic
Describe what happened in a
class to someone who was not
there
You may not have complete
notes as you prefer to listen,
expand on any areas you’ve
missed by talking with others
and collecting notes where you
can.
Ask others to hear you talk
about your understanding of a
topic
Find out if you have a friend
who is also an auditory learner
and explain your notes to them.
If old exam questions are given
as practice – practice writing
these out and then speaking
them to someone else.
Visual learners
When you have to take in
information (eg in class, from a
book etc)…
How you can learn the
information…
How to do your best in a
test/exam
Ask the teacher to use a
diagram to help explain a
concept
Watch videos on the topic at
home
Prepare with flashcards
Copy what is on the board
Use colour to highlight main
ideas
Draw a map of events (if it is a
history topic)
Colour code words
Politely ask the teacher to
repeat or explain something if
you miss what they have said
Put sentences that are
exemplars onto paper strips to
learn sequencing and
paragraphing
Look at the person who is
speaking to you; it will help you
focus
Put keywords onto cards and
arrange the words into
sentences
Draw diagrams of processes
you have to remember
Re-write your summary notes –
for a visual learner this can be a
helpful way for you to
remember
Set your goals for your study
and post them in front of you
Kinaesthetic learners
When you have to take in
information (eg in class, from a
book etc)…
Make sure that you participate
in experiments, field trips and
tours whenever they arise.
Use hands on approach when
you can even if this means
using a computer for different
tasks
How you can learn the
information…
Convert your class notes into
summary form.
Put plenty of examples into
your notes especially where
you yourself did something eg
in an experiment.
If applicable visit exhibitions
associated with a topic
Talk about your notes or recall
the experiments or field trip
with another kinaesthetic
person
Take photographs of work
associated with a topic
Use pictures and photographs
which illustrate an idea
How to do your best in a
test/exam
Write practice answers and
paragraphs
Role-play the exam situation in
your own room.
The Best Learning State
You may think that to study you have to sit at your desk for hours without talking … but each
person’s best state to learn in is different, and it may vary for you eg. one day you may feel like
having music playing, another day you may not.
What’s the best learning environment for you? Ask yourself “What suits me
best? How do I learn best?”
Below are some tips about how you can take care of yourself when you are studying 
2. How to organise your time and
energy
The Basic ‘Rules’
Whether you are good at planning or work best when you have a deadline there are certain basic
rules to follow for good time management. They are:



keep a timetable or diary
make lists and prioritise
identify time wasters 
Timetables and diaries
When you keep a timetable or diary you can know
when classes are, when assignments are due, and
when exams and tests are coming up.
Keep a diary
You also need to know how everything fits in around
sports practices, trips, tangi, weddings, church, work
etc.
Keeping a diary is really useful – It clears out all that
stuff in your head so you don’t have to waste
precious time and energy worrying about
remembering it.
Lists and priorities
Make a list and prioritise. You may need to only do
this once a week, but in busy times you may need to
do it once a day. Just list all the things you have to do
that day or week. Then decide the things you have to
do immediately and which things can wait. Tick them
off or cross them out when you have done them.
Decide what is
most important
– and do it!
Time Wasters
Identify time wasters that rob you of precious time.
They are the things you look back on and think ‘why
did I spend my time doing that!’
Examples of timewasters could be:
watching tv programmes you didn’t
want to watch
saying you’ll do things that you didn’t
want to do
talking for hours on the phone
Don’t get
robbed of
precious time
Make an active choice and ask yourself “Do I really
want to be spending my time doing this? “ “What else
could I be doing?”
Working to Plans
Establishing routines is very helpful to you making the most of the time you have for studying –
remember your reptilian brain likes routines!
Your planning can take the form of
-
an overall year plan
a weekly plan
daily routines
A template for a weekly timetable is given on the next page.
If you prefer to see if you can find a yearly, weekly and daily one that you like better then have a
look at using Google and typing in ‘study timetables’.
Helpful websites are alsoplaces to look. Examples are:
www.thestudygurus.com
www.studyit.org.nz
Create a yearly plan that has on it holidays, assignments exams etc
Fill in your exam or test times
Fill in the activities that are already scheduled ,e.g. class times, sport commitments
Weekly study planner
Time
6–7
am
7–8
8–9
9–10
10–11
11–12
12–1
1–2
pm
2–3
3–4
4–5
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
5–6
6–7
7–8
8–9
9–10
10–11
11–12
Prepare a Daily Organiser
Each evening before a school day, prepare a Daily Organiser for the next day. Place a √ next to each
thing to do as you accomplish it. Here is what to do to prepare a Daily Organiser.

Enter the things to do for the coming day from your Weekly Schedule.

Enter the things that still need to be accomplished from your Daily Organiser from the previous
day.

Review your class notes for the day just completed to see if you need to add any school
activities.

Add any out-of-school activities in which you will be involved the next day.
Your Weekly Schedule should have more detail than your Term Calendar. Your Daily Organiser
should have more detail than your Weekly Schedule. Using a Term Calendar, a Weekly Schedule, and
a Daily Organiser will help you make the best use of your time.
The Ten Study Habits of Successful
Students
Successful students have good study habits. They apply these habits to all of their classes. Read
about each study habit. Work to develop any study habit you do not have.
Successful students:
1. Try not to do too much studying at one time.
If you try to do too much studying at one time, you will tire and your studying will not be very
effective. Space the work you have to do over shorter periods of time. Break your studying into
spells of 25 – 30 mins. Taking short breaks will restore your mental energy.
2. Plan specific times for studying.
Study time is any time you are doing something related to schoolwork. It can be completing
assigned reading, working on a paper or project, or studying for a test. Schedule specific times
throughout the week for your study time.
3. Try to study at the same times each day.
Studying at the same times each day establishes a routine that becomes a regular part of your
life, just like sleeping and eating. When a scheduled study time comes up during the day, you
will be mentally prepared to begin studying.
4. Set specific goals for their study times.
Goals will help you stay focused and monitor your progress. Simply sitting down to study has
little value. You must be very clear about what you want to accomplish during your study times.
5. Start studying when planned.
You may delay starting your studying because you don't like an assignment or think it is too
hard. A delay in studying is called "procrastination." If you procrastinate for any reason, you will
find it difficult to get everything done when you need to. You may rush to make up the time you
wasted getting started, resulting in careless work and errors.
6. Work on the assignment they find most difficult first.
Your most difficult assignment will require the most effort. Start with your most difficult
assignment since this is when you have the most mental energy.
7. Review their notes before beginning an assignment.
Reviewing your notes can help you make sure you are doing an assignment correctly. Also, your
notes may include information that will help you complete an assignment.
8. Tell their friends not to call them during their study times.
Two study problems can occur if your friends call you during your study times. First, your work is
interrupted. It is not that easy to get back to what you were doing. Second, your friends may talk
about things that will distract you from what you need to do. Here's a simple idea - turn off your
cell phone during your study times.
9. Call another student when they have difficulty with an assignment.
This is a case where "two heads may be better than one."
10. Review their schoolwork over the weekend.
Yes, weekends should be fun time. But there is also time to do some review. This will help you
be ready to go on Monday morning when another school week begins.
These ten study habits can help you throughout your education. Make sure they are your study
habits.
An idea to try out. Choose one the 10 Study Tips for Successful Students and
put it into your daily routine. Once you have done this a few times and it feels like a habit, choose
another one to bring into your study routine.
Strategies to use when studying and
revising
1. Memory Skills and Revision
Revision does not mean you have to go through all your notes word for word. To prepare
for revision
- Go through all your notes to make sure they are clear
- Highlight the key points
- Draw diagrams or mind maps of key points, or summarise key points on cards
- Use memory revision strategies
Revision after this involves quickly scanning your highlighting notes, diagrams and/or
summaries. This is when tips for remembering can be used.
Tips for remembering
Apply more than one strategy to help
you remember something
Revise within 24 hours, then after a
week, then monthly
Association a powerful tool. Try
chunking, acronyms, mnemonics (see
below)
Use your sense and your emotions to
help you remember
For each of the memory skills detailed below see if there is an example of one
you can do from something you have studied in the past couple of days.
Tricks of the trade for remembering
Chunking
Putting information you have studied into
groups. Do this using headings, key points,
diagrams. Mind maps are very useful for
grouping things in an ordered way (more on
mind maps to come).
Acronyms
Forming an acronym is a good strategy to use to
remember information in any order. An acronym
is a word that is formed from the first letter of
each fact to be remembered. It can be a real
word or a nonsense word you are able to
pronounce.
Here is how to form an acronym.
 Write the facts you need to remember.

Underline the first letter of each fact. If
there is more than one word in a fact,
underline the first letter of only the first
word in the fact.

Arrange the underlined letters to form an
acronym that is a real word or a nonsense
word you can pronounce.
How you could apply it
"HOMES" is an example of an acronym that is a
real word you can use to remember the names
of the five Great Lakes: Michigan, Erie, Superior,
Ontario, Huron: In HOMES, H is the first letter of
Huron and helps you remember that name; O is
the first letter of Ontario, and so on.
Sometimes two or more of the facts you must
remember each begin with the same first letter.
For example, the acronym "capp" can be used to
remember the following fruits: pear, apple,
peach, cherry. You can use the first letter "p" in
the acronym to remember either "pear" or
"peach" and the second letter "p" to remember
the other.
Use the acronym strategy as a way to remember
information.
Mnemonics
This is another form of association in which you
make up rhymes, chants or images to help
remember.
The first letter of each key word is used to form a
new word or saying. For example, you have to
remember eight organs in the body: heart, lung,
kidneys, liver, spleen, pancreas, brain, stomach.
Take the first letter of each word H L K L S P B S
and make a sentence or rhyme: He Likes Kittens
Licking Salty Peanuts Before Sleeping
Using your sense and your emotions to help you remember
As we have seen earlier, the limbic part of your brain controls your emotions. It also controls the
information you receive. If you are emotionally interested in something your limbic brain will pass
the information through to your thinking brain and you will remember it.
Think of an event that your remember well. Did you feel strongly about it?
People usually remember things that are connected with a emotion in them: love, hate, anger,
laughter, fear.
Unfortunately you may find some parts of your study boring. How are you going to remember
something that is boring? Here are some tips 
 Use your preferred learning style
 Use rewards; give yourself a treat when you’ve achieved something, or done some work.
 Use interesting colours, shapes, patterns or pictures in your work.
 Try out slightly different ideas eg. Talk to your pet about your study, pretend you are reciting
your work to an audience, dance and sing about it – sometimes if it is weird the way you studied it
can help you remember.
 Link it with a good experience. For example, make up a story about something you like. In the
story, use the things you have to remember.
 Draw pictures of what you have to learn and stick them places you see a lot: on your mirror, your
ceiling …. In the fridge!
Mind maps, learning guides, and working with notes
from class
There are some tried and true ways of studying using such tools as mind maps, concept diagrams
and note taking strategies. Here are some useful ways that you can study using these tools.
Mind maps
Mind maps look how your brain works. Each time a brain cell sends or receives a message, a
pathway is cleared. These pathways form maps inside your brain. A mind map looks like how your
brain works.
Here is an example that show a mind map. Notice how it includes words, pictures and colour.
Choose a topic you have recently studied and create your own mind map. Here
are some tips:
A mind map has a main body (Main idea) and lots of other ideas branching out from it.
-
Think of the main idea
-
Think of the key points or ideas within the main idea
-
Think of the points or ideas within each of these.
-
Link things which relate to one another. You could use arrows, lines, colours or shapes.
-
If you are using mind mapping to write an essay or prepare a speech, number the
different branches in the order you want to present them.
Learning Guides
A Learning Guide: this is a page set out like this
Use pictures, symbols
and colours to show
illustrate key points
that are described in
the right column
Use text to explain
information
It can also be used to help you remember important information and would be useful if you have
discovered you are a visual learner.
Note Taking
Sometimes you have to read through information and take notes on it. This occurs a lot in certain
subjects, but is a useful tool to learn overall, especially when doing research.
Here are a couple of tips.
-
-
When researching a topic with questions start by writing the questions at the top of
pieces of paper. Then when you read information you can add it to the relevant
question.
Develop your own shorthand eg using abbreviations and symbols.
Use different layouts to record the information: boxes, numbers, pictures, highlights,
underlining, colours.
When you go back over your school notes, rewrite them on one side of a column, use
colour for key words, and then write a summary of that point in the column next to the
first one. Then when you revise before a test or exam read the summary notes.
Notes (could highlight key
ideas)
Summary
Other useful study strategies
What I need to learn
Possible activity to use when studying
New words and definitions
Flashcards. Use pictures if this will help as well.
How something changes, or a process
Flow diagram
When you have to ‘compare and contrast’
Venn diagram
If studying with a friend
- Friendly quiz. Write 5-10 questions from
your notes and quiz your friend, and vice
versa.
When something you have to learn has many
parts
Make a jigsaw. Cut up and then give to a study
buddy to put back together.
When studying a character
Complete a Role on the wall which describes the
inner and outer features of a character from a
play/book etc.
A Role on the wall is where you draw the outline
of a person (doesn’t have to look like the
person!). Around the outside you list or draw all
the ways this person could be described
(physically and/or how others describe them).
On the inside you list their emotions, thoughts,
hopes etc.
To show events that happened over time
Create a timeline of events
Tips for tests and exams
Before the test/exam
-
Find out what is going to be covered
Use the strategies given in this booklet to help you put the subject matter into your own
words
If you have more than one subject to study for then vary your study schedule. Spend half a
study session on one subject then switch to another
Plan to go over the material more than once
Frequently test yourself on material you are learning
Do study requiring memorising as early in the day as you can
Have confidence! Tell yourself you can remember and you are going to remember
The day of the test/exam
-
Get up in plenty of time
Eat a light healthy breakfast
Check you have everything for the test/exam
Arrive at the place where the test/exam is with time to spare
The test/exam
-
Once in the test/exam room
Listen carefully to instructions
Get out everything you need
Read instructions on the paper carefully
Read over the exam and decide which questions you are going to answer if you have a
choice
Determine which questions you will answer first
Allow time for each question
Always attempt all the required questions
If you have to write an essay, make a brief essay plan
Try to have some time at the end of the exam to read over your answers.