5 key skills for academic success

It's never too early or too lateto help your child develop the skills
for academic success. Learn how to build these skills and stay on
track allyear long.
It takes a combination of skills — organization, time management,
prioritization, concentration and motivation — to achieve academic
success. Here are some tips to help get your child on the right
track.Talk to your child.To find out which of these skills your child
has and which he can develop further, start a simple conversation that
focuses on his goals. Ask him about his favorite subjects, classes he
dreads and whether he's satisfied with his latest progress
report.Listen for clues.Incorporate your own observations with your
child's self-assessment. Is your child overwhelmed by assignments? She
may have trouble organizing time. Does your child have difficulty
completing her work? She may get distracted too easily. Is your
childsimply not interested in school? She may need help getting
motivated.Identify problem areas.Start here to help your child
identify which of the five skill areas are trouble spots.1.
OrganizationWhether it's keeping track of research materials or
remembering to bring home a lunchbox, children need to be organized to
succeed in school. For many students,academic challenges are related
more to a lack of organization than to a lack of intellectual ability.
2. Time ManagementLearning to schedule enough time to complete an
assignment may be difficult for your student. Even when students have
a week to do a project, many won't start until thenight before it's
due. Learning to organize time into productive blocks takes practice
and experience.
3. PrioritizationSometimes children fall behindin school and fail to
hand in assignments because they simply don't know where to begin.
Prioritizing tasks isa skill your child will need throughout life, so
it's never too soon to get started.

4. ConcentrationWhether your child is practicing her second-grade
spelling words or studying for a trigonometry test, it's important
that she works on schoolwork in an area with limited distractions and
interruptions.

5. MotivationMost children say they want to do well in school, yet
many still fail to complete the level of work necessary to succeed
academically. The reason is often motivation. Tapping into your
child's interests is a great way to get him geared to do well in
school.