JUNIOR CERT STUDY PLAN/TIMETABLE

Emotioncu

Hi all, my twin boys are doing their Junior Cert this year, I'm finding it very difficult to support them in their studying, I need to set up a study plan and timetable, get them into a routine, motivated, I would be so grateful if someone can assist.

dee_mc

General tips: at that age kids will study best in a similar structure to that used in school: 35-40 minutes per subject, 5-10 minute breaks preferably outside, with a basic objective for each session.
What I mean by this is, instead of saying 'I will study geography from 4:45pm to 5:10pm', you would set an objective such as 'Geography Week 1: Rocks. 3 study sessions. By the end of this week I will be able to list the 3 types of rocks, give 2 examples of each type, explain how each type is formed, give example of where they are formed, and examples of uses each type can be put to'.
Rather than just reading and rereading the material, they should be making notes and testing themselves, either using the questions at the end of each chapter in the text-book, or using the headings on www.skoool.ie (which is a great resource for both Junior and Leaving cert students), or using the subject syllabi, or the past exam papers and marking schemes (available at examinations.ie).
Encourage them to make lists of the areas in each subject they find the most difficult, and try to tackle the subjects they find easy on the evening of an hard school day and the bits they find hard on the evening of an easy school day, or on the weekend.
If they get on well together it might be good for them to test one another on subjects they have in common: this could benefit both of them, as we tend to remember material we 'teach' to another person, so this could reinforce learning for both of them.
In my experience, as well as completing written and learning homework each night, Junior Cert students should be able to fit in 1 or 2 35-40 minute study sessions at least 3 nights a week, and around 4 study sessions per weekend. Depending on the student ye might find shorter sessions more helpful; if you observe them studying this will become clear pretty quick!
I'd advise getting involved with checking on their learning by either asking them the set questions on whatever section they were revising, or informally asking them about it.
Hope this helps and if you've any questions feel free to ask, good luck to them both! Dee x

BulletPoints

Here is a link to a study timetable http://geography.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/StudyTimeTable2.doc It's in word format so you can change the times to suit your twins

A lot of students ignore the fact that the contents page of the textbook is a revision list. Prioritise areas of difficulty.

They should read paragraphs, underline key words, learn key words and attempt past questions from exam papers. Most teachers are happy to correct extra questions