Helping students prepare for final exams or chapter tests can be frustrating, particularly if the teacher does not provide a study guide and the student seems unsure about what they need to study. Here are some tips on helping students to make their own study guides and test preparation kits.

• Write down key points. While this may sound like just one more thing in the huge list of items that must be completed during your time with a student, it really is quite simple. Encourage the student to either write down or make a note on their computer of key points in their reading. Often this will only take a few extra minutes of time and can be of great benefit to the student. These points are often easy to identify, because they are either in bold or highlighted in student textbooks. Have students make a note of things like key terms, major topic ideas, and other important concepts. 
  

• Keep track of old tests and assignments. Many students get their graded tests back. Help students to have a place to put all completed tests and/or relevant worksheets so that they can study off of them for finals and chapter tests. If the student’s teacher takes graded tests back up, encourage the student to make a copy so they can use it for future studying. Also, most students have to define key terms for each unit, so help them come up with a way to keep track of those key terms for future studying.

• Create a concept map. Before a big test, have the student go through their textbook, graded quizzes/tests, and assignments and make a list of all the key concepts. Then help them to determine how the concepts work together. This can be particularly helpful for math and science, where concepts tend to build upon one another over time. Another way to reinforce concepts is to ensure that the student understands how a new concept is building off of something they already know, so that they can see the connection between the concepts and ideas. Creating the concept map is useful for kinesthetic students and the visual imagery can be useful for students who are visual learners. You can also play a game with the student to connect concepts verbally if the student is an auditory learner. Here’s an example of a concept map.

Combining all these items can help ensure that your student has the necessary resources for studying and preparing for tests and exams. These strategies also serve to teach students note-taking, organizational, and study skills, which are all areas that the Homework Coach method seeks to address.