What I learned from 7th graders.

Tutoring a smart seventh grader can be interesting, challenging, and educational. Grace wants to make the best grades and get into an Ivy League University, Harvard, to be specific. She studies all the time and does things I wish my other students would do. Joshua lives for basketball and sports and plans to go to Stanford or UCLA. While he does well and is quite smart, he isn't into the minute details of learning. However, he will do reports as long as he can use his computer.

I wonder how many of the differences are about the differences between boys and girls. He attends a private school and she attends a public school.

1. Grace and Joshua actually read the material assigned. She usually uses a highlighter as she reads. I would highlight or underline important words, concepts, dates, definitions, people's names, etc. Joshua doesn't see the need to do these things, but he does study and he will do assignments.

2. She sometimes copies the material in handouts or subject matter things she has to read. I would copy words, sentences, facts, concepts, definitions, people's names, etc., that I think I will need to remember. Hand writing information or typing it, as she sometimes does, puts the information into a person's brain in more ways than one. Joshua is a male and hasn't determined that what he does now can impact the college choices he makes. He isn't into going the extra mile.

Get the picture? Grace goes beyond the usual actions that help us learn new material or study for a test. Joshua studies but usually does what he has to do to get by.

3. I remember doing maps and reports, but some of Grace's teachers' assignments are creative. Students make booklets with information and pictures. Grace writes enough information that she should retain a lot of it for tests. She uses her creativity to make each booklet look as polished as possible. The pride she takes in her work puts her at the top of her class and gets her the good grades! I need to ask Joshua about projects he does. I did the minimum and jumped back into my books.

4. Did I mention that she reads the assignments? She also reads extensively. That I did, too. I read everything.

I still need to get the kids to be willing to listen to explanations, but I can't expect a 7th grader to do that. Funny how smart kids don't like to listen for new information or information they missed. They believe they can learn anything on their own.

Information I didn't get from a 7th grader
Making flash cards for words or facts can be a big help for a student who has a lot of information to learn. Have the student write the information on each card. Writing information helps people remember it. Work with a few cards at a time. Once the student knows that information, go on to the next cards.

Reading material aloud helps, too. A student should read the material aloud. If a parent reads the material aloud as a review, the student can listen and absorb things missed while struggling with words. Hearing the words in two different voices stimulates a person's brain to learn.

1. Read your material silently and highlight what you read, or at least things you believe you might need to remember.
2. Take notes. If you don't know which things to write as notes, start copying entire paragraphs. I suspect your brain will begin to sort things so you will know what you don't need to write.
3. Make flash cards with information or work on reports for extra credit. Illustrate and/or add extra information at the end.
4. Students should read material aloud and have someone else read it aloud. Hearing the words in different voices helps.

These suggestions can help students who learn by reading, hearing, and by writing information.