ACT is this Saturday, SAT is 3 Weeks Away, PSAT is 5 weeks away.

High School Juniors and Seniors, it’s a new school year and a whole new Standardized Test schedule.  Its time to focus.  The summer is over and as sad as this news may make you feel, I guarantee you that you will feel a lot worse if you don’t start to refocus on killing these tests!

Just to motivate you I have found an interesting article called The Top 5 Reasons To Take The SAT Just click on the link and read it.

Preparing for this test is not a waste of time!  Diligent preparation will leave you with lifelong skills and habits.

Eliminate Before You Calculate!

In this fast paced, video game, text messaged world, the desire for instant
gratification has never been greater. I have witnessed many students fall into
this speed trap, especially when it comes to answering the Math SAT questions.
The need for speed often leads to misread questions, sloppy set ups and silly
mistakes.

Important Tip:

Before coming up with the answer, read the question as many times as necessary, until it is
fully understood. Next, eliminate the obvious incorrect answers. For example–if the
answer calls for a positive slope, eliminate the answers with negative slopes;
if the answer must be less than 90 degrees, get rid of all those answers greater
than 90 degrees. This method allows you to enjoy more accurate calculations
while avoiding the “sucker answers” which are designed to catch the careless
speed demons

The Voice and Tone of A Reading Passage

Voice and Tone are two similar but subtly different concepts in critical reading. Learning to “feel” the writer through his or her voice is an important SAT Critical Reading skill. Many times a student will answer questions about a passage incorrectly because he or she will incorporate his or her world view into the passage. Hint–Your opinion does not count! The questions will start off with language such as “According to the author……” Not “According to Jim Smith…..

Once again Grammar Girl has an excellent discussion of voice and tone, please read or listen to the audio version by clicking here.

Crunch Time H.S. Seniors!

Its two months and counting for the October SAT. For most H.S. seniors who are college bound, its time to start your SAT Test Prep.  Summer is a lazy time and its easy to let your mind turn to mush. Don’t let this happen to you!  Pick up a test prep book and start allocating some time to the exam. Before you realize it, school will start and you will be inundated with classes, college application essays and after school activities.

During the summer, there is no such pressure.  So start now! Get into the habit!  After a few weeks this new habit will be as common as brushing your teeth.

How Do I Solve an SAT Math Problem?

Many times there will be multiple methods for solving a given SAT Math problem. Which way is best?  The fastest way.

The SAT is a multiple choice test (for the most part). There is no partial credit for the math problems. You either know the answer or not. The math sections are also time sensitive. In a typical math section you will only have 25 minutes to answer 24 questions. There is no time to ponder, there is only time to act.

How does a student confidently deal with this pressure? By tackling every possible question type from any practice test he or she has. After all, if you have seen every type of math question, they can’t fool you!

Happy July 4th!

The following is an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence.  How many words can you define in bold?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,  — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.  — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Attention Parents: The Best Thing You Can Do for your HS Junior or Senior This Summer Is ………

Buy a home delivery subscription to the NY Times. Have your child flip through the newspaper each day and pick out 2 articles he or she finds interesting.  Buy some index cards as well. Have your child read the articles, pick out some vocabulary words and place them on the non-lined side of the index cards. Then have your child go to www.thesaurus.com and find five synonyms of  each new word.  Have your child write  the synonyms on the opposite (lined) side of the index card.

When the summer is over your child will have read at least 120 articles, defined 300 words and grouped those words with 1500 synonyms.  This should take no longer than 45 minutes per day.  This activity will become so commonplace with your child it will be as natural as brushing his or her teeth.

In addition to the increased word power, your child will become more worldly and have a new and broader knowledge about  a range of topics.  When your child sits for the PSAT or SAT this fall, his or her mind will be sharp and reading comprehension will be much better.

Jerry Rice–SAT Philosopher?

NFL Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Jerry Rice once said: “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.”

During his playing days, Rice’s off-season conditioning regimen was legendary. He worked out incessantly in preparation for the grueling NFL season.

I have said many times that the “game” is often won in practice. What will you do with your free time this summer?

How does this quote apply to your studying?