Organizing homework, assignments, reading materials and other items related to classroom instruction mark the beginning of good study activities for sixth-grade students. Good organization helps students spend less time looking for assignments, asking questions about homework and getting confused about when assignments are due and helps them focus on the work at hand. This also includes helping students organize their time and make time for studying; this way, students can take part in after-school activities, such as sports, music and community groups, and create enough time for studying. Good organizational skills help greatly at this level, but also encourage good habits that will take students through high school and college.
In some cases, memorizing lists, numbers and dates help students score well on tests; students must memorize certain dates such as July 4, 1776 and events such as the Gettysburg Address. Consider using such techniques as "Roy G. Biv" to help students memorize the colors of the rainbow. At first glance, it looks like a name but really it's an acronym for the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Using these types of activities encourages students to develop their own system to make learning fun.
Group together several students in a small setting (such as three to five students) and encourage them to study together to help them build good study habits. Students can gather together to talk about what problems they face with a particular assignment or questions that arise. They can work independently to develop their own test questions and even work to answer them as a group. Here, students will lead the discussion and learn from their peers in a relaxed environment. Depending on the group of students assembled, some students may take charge while others might show passivity. An adult can help lead the group to make sure balance and order remain a constant so students can achieve the learning objectives.
Many schools integrate a study hall or study period within the school day to give students the opportunity to study before they get home from school. Study halls work based on how teachers supervise the activity. Rather than just unorganized time in a classroom when students talk, teachers need to set ground rules and create a quiet environment. To create an effective study hall, teachers can split up students into small groups (based on the subject matter), use peer tutoring for those students having trouble with a particular subject and even use the expertise of a teacher to address the problems or the concerns of a student. Some schools may choose to create a study hall based on the subject, such as a math study hall, English study hall or science study hall, to put a larger number of students in one room.