5 Resources to Organize as a High School Freshman

Tips from an Irvine Back-to-School Tutor: 5 Resources to Organize as a High School Freshman

Organization is one of the keys to being successful during the first year of high school. During middle school, students are organized by their classroom teacher and parent but, in high school, they will be expected to take on a more independent approach. A 9th-grade teacher will encourage students to ask questions if they are confused or need clarification as opposed to asking each student if they understand the assignment. Students will be expected to do more homework and study for more challenging exams during the 9th grade as well. Once students get off track, it can get very difficult to reorganize, and they may feel overwhelmed and behind for the remainder of the year. As a result, prevention is the best cure when it comes to high school level organization.

1. A Weekly Schedule

It’s important for high school freshmen to take a look at their weekly schedule and make sure they have enough free time to complete all of their self-studies. They will have classes from around 7:30 in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon and should expect to spend at least a couple hours at home completing assignments. Students are not yet old enough to work, but they may be participating in sports or other after school activities that take up a lot of their time. Students should also leave time to schedule in working with a tutor if they need help in a particular subject (READ: 4 Ways to Adjust to Back to School).

2. A Reasonable Number of Extracurricular Activities

Elementary and middle school children often have a large number of extracurricular activities to keep them busy in the afternoon. After students start high school, they will need quite a bit of time to manage their homework assignments. As a result, it’s a good idea to set a reasonable number of extracurricular activities that still allow students time to work on the self study. Some sports leagues meet a couple of times a week while others meet every day after school. Students may be in art, music, and ballet classes in middle school but should pick their favorite as they adjust to their first year of high school. Each student is an individual, so it’s important they think about what works for them and their goals.

3. Reorganizing During Break

Holiday breaks are a great time for students to sit down and reorganize. Backpacks and study desks can overflow with out-of-date assignments and crumpled up pieces of paper. It’s a good idea for students to sit down with their parents or with an Irvine private tutor during a break and make sure they have only what they need. Old assignments should not be thrown away but rather filed into a drawer where they can access it later if they need to study for the final exam. Basic reorganization a few times a year is essential to maintaining a successful high school career.

4. Academic Support

Many students will need academic support during their first year of high school due to the increased amount of difficulty. Basic science is now chemistry and English, and language arts is now 18th-century poetry. These more complicated subtopics can be confusing and difficult to a new student. Thus, the organization often falls by the wayside and students need help both with their assignments and staying on top of things.

5. Breaking up Assignments Into Smaller Parts

Another way students can stay organized is to break larger assignments into smaller parts. For instance, perhaps a research paper is due two weeks from today. That means it will probably take students a week and a half to two weeks to complete it. It’s important to break up the assignment into smaller parts such as writing an outline tomorrow, conducting initial research on Saturday afternoon, and writing the final draft three days before the due date. Students who can organize the timeframe of their assignments are more likely to be successful because they will have extra time to fix mistakes when necessary (READ: 4 Reasons to Multitask While Studying).

The best way to get back into the swing of school is with the help of a private Irvine Tutor from TutorNerds. Our tutors work with your busy schedule. Call us today for more information.

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