Best Holiday Reads for Middle School Students

The holiday season is the perfect time for middle school students to get some rest in before the new semester. The weather is cool and they have time to catch up on some fun reading. Here are some books you can buy to encourage holiday reading or add to their festive gift list:

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Students reply to a newspaper advert and have to pass a series of tests in order to qualify for the team which embarks on a mysterious investigation. The students go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened where they discover all manner of secrets.

The Harry Potter Box Set

If your student hasn’t experienced the joys of the Hogwart’s School of Wizardry, then this will make a gift of epic proportions. It doesn’t matter if they have already watched the movies; the books are far more action-packed and intricate and will still be a thrilling read.

The Giver

This coming-of-age novel investigates the world where Jonas lives free of choices, pain or war, until (at the age of 12) he is exposed to these elements by the Giver. This is a great novel and your student will not be able to put it down!

The Hobbit

Try to get your student to read this before going to see the movie. The Hobbit is a classic for good reason as readers are taken on scintillatinly exciting adventures with Bilbo Baggins as he sets off from the Shire with Gandalf the wizard to battle dragons for stolen treasure.

Holes

When Stanley Yelnats goes to Camp Green Lakes for the summer, he is transported to a desert devoid of any greenery at all. As Stanley’s summer takes a turn for the worse, he is accused of stealing a pair of shoes and made to dig holes in the desert sand. He soon figures out that the dastardly camp leader is searching for a hidden treasure…

Twilight Saga

This is a favorite that will have your student sitting on the edge of their seats as they enter the intriguing world of vampires and werewolves and follow the tales of Isabella Swan and her romance with 100 year-old vampire Edward Cullen.

Esperanza Rising

Esperanza lived on her affluent family ranch in Mexico until the Great Depression forces her and her mother to flee to California. Esperanza must learn to face life as a farm worker, as well as overcome the hardships of their new financial difficulties to carve out a life in her new home.

Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl is a twelve year old with a difference; millionaire, genius and criminal mastermind. Artemis bites off more than he can chew when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit.

How to Come Up with a Great Science Fair Idea

A successful science fair project can do wonders for your grade point averages and can even catapult you to stardom in the way that it has for some of our young entrepreneurs. The biggest hurdle for science fair projects is coming up with an original idea. Once you have your idea, you will follow the scientific method for determining the outcome.

What is the scientific method?

A good place to start is to examine the scientific method itself so you can understand where you’re headed.

• Step 1: Based on something you have observed, formulate your question.
• Step 2: Predict the answer you think most likely and formulate this as a hypothesis.
• Step 3: Create an experiment that will show whether your answer (hypothesis) is true or false.
• Step 4: Analyse the results of your experiment and decide if your hypothesis is valid or invalid.

Let’s look at an example: If I observe that the plants in my room grow better than plants in the rest of the house, I can ask the question: “Why do the plants in my room grow better than the plants in other rooms of my house?”

I then formulate an answer or hypothesis: “The plants in my room grow better because I play music in my room.”

Now you design an experiment to test your hypothesis. This will involve two plants who have exactly the same growing conditions where one is exposed to music while the other one is not. You will record their growth rates over the stipulated period.

Analysis of the data should lead you to confirm or reject your hypothesis.

If you have time, you can do further experimentation. For example, you can test whether different kinds of music have different effects on plants.

Formulating a hypothesis

Once you understand the scientific method, you can see how easy it is to ask questions about anything in the world around you. Start by thinking about your favorite hobbies and interests; is there a question you can ask about these? You will be spending a lot of time with your science fair project, so it may as well be about something you like.

Look online: Sure, we know that you want an original idea, but looking at other science fair projects can really inspire you. Perhaps you will look at the experiment above and decide to test whether tap water or boiled water will help plants to grow better, or maybe you will want to test whether yelling at plants or complimenting them has an effect on their growth. You can take an existing experiment and put your own spin on it.

Start thinking about your science fair project now so that you have tons of time to come up with a great idea. Remember that science fair projects are only as great as the original question. Here are some resources that offer ideas for science fair projects. Use these to get inspiration for your original science fair project idea.

Science Buddies

Education.com

Science Bob

Science Kids

Buzzfeed

Scholastic

All Science Fair Projects

5 Amazing Halloween Costumes you can make from a Box

The scary season is nearly upon us and it’s time to start thinking about this year’s unique costume. Homemade Halloween costumes don’t have to take up tons of time or cost a fortune. In fact, making your own costume often earns you extra treats because you went to the trouble to do something original. Making Halloween costumes from cardboard boxes is inexpensive and it’s really great for the environment as you recycle materials instead of using new ones. Here are some of our favorite Halloween box costume ideas from Greenmoxie.com.

The Dinosaur

You can make this costume in an house with a couple of boxes and a pair of scissors. Simply glue (or tape) the boxes together to make the body and the head. Toilet paper rolls work well as the eyes. Open a box and cut out the tail and the spikes for the back. You can paint the box green for a more realistic dinosaur.

Fortune Teller

Use a single box to cut out a front view panel and two side panels as well. Attach straps to the back of the box so that you can wear the costume like a backpack over your shoulders. Paint the outside of the box brightly and write the name of your fortune teller persona on the front. Make a little slot for fortunes in the front of the box. Print out a list of fortunes and cut them out so you can hand out funny fortunes. An alternative to the fortune teller is the claw game costume. Create the same box that your would for the fortune teller, but bend the front of the box up to create a shelf. Fill the shelf with toys from the dollar store and use your hand as a claw machine. This works even better if you have an old joystick from a computer game on the outside so that people can play your claw game. 

Sponge Bob

This is a great homemade Halloween costume when you don’t have a lot of time. Just paint the box yellow with Sponge Bob’s face on the front. Add a pair of brown shorts and yellow leggings to complete the look.

The Lego Block

This is the perfect homemade Halloween costume for the more environmentally friendly student. You will need a cardboard box and eight yogurt containers. Glue the containers to the front of the box and paint. This is a wonderful way to use recycled materials this Halloween.

The Toy Box

Choose any toy action figure or doll that you like and recreate the look with a cardboard box! Gift wrap makes for the best background and you will have to paint the front of the box with the name of the toy. Attach straps to the back of the box so that you can wear it over your shoulders for added comfort.

5 Tips for SAT Test Success

The Scholastic Aptitude Test or SAT is a four-hour long test that most high school students dread. The SAT has a profound impact on your college application and is the test that all your years of schooling have prepared you for. There’s no substitute for hard work here and you will have to study many long hours to get the best results, but knowing how to navigate the SAT test and how best to prepare for it will help you to succeed.

The technicalities
The SAT consists of 170 questions divided into three components: writing, critical reading, and math.
Writing: This consists of a 25-minute essay and 49 multiple choice questions.
Critical Reading: This section is testing your ability to understand and analyse text and consists of 67 questions.
Math: 44 Questions are multiple choice with 10 additional questions.

SAT Test Preparation
The first thing you should do is to decide if you actually want to take the SAT test. Find out if the colleges you wish to apply to accept the ACT test. These two tests are both designed to test your aptitude, but are very differently formulated. Take a practice test for both to see which one fits your style best.

Vivian Kerr from Bloomberg Business Week: “In general, the SAT is the preferred test for schools on the East and West coasts, while the ACT remains popular with schools in the Midwest and the South. Many schools accept both, however.”

If you like books and are an avid reader, then the SAT is definitely for you. The SAT is for students with excellent language, reading and vocabulary skills and the math components are said to be easier than those found in the ACT.

Under Pressure
The SAT is divided into 9 sections and each section has a time limit. So you will go through nine iterations of “Five more minutes” and “Pencils down!” This places enormous pressure on you during the test. The ACT test also has time constraints but here students who work quickly may have time to go back and answer questions that they didn’t get to or check that their answers are correct.

READ the questions
Read all questions really carefully. If you don’t know the answer, don’t guess, leave it blank and try to come back if you have time at the end of the section. There is a penalty (1/4 of a point) for incorrect answers, so it’s best to be safe.

Trick questions may try to catch you off guard, so ensure that you read the questions slowly and carefully before you begin.

Eat, drink and be ready
Your brain needs fuel to function optimally. Avoid living on a diet of candy, fast food and coffee in the weeks leading up to the SATs; it’s time to give your brain the right fuel to get it firing on all cylinders.

Eat brain-building foods in the weeks and months leading up to your SATs. These include wild salmon, acai berries, leafy green veggies, seeds and nuts and whole grains. Get a healthy balance of proteins, omega-3 and carbohydrates on the day of your exam and drink lots of water so that you are properly hydrated.

Practice makes perfect so ensure that you try some practice tests which you can download here. Ask your tutor for help with SAT test preparation well in advance of your test date.

Community Service: Ways in which Students can Give Back

Those of us who stay in bigger towns will feel the loss of a sense of community most keenly. We have become isolated and wary of our neighbors. The more this becomes part of our culture, the more we suffer from depression and other anxieties. Being part of a family, and a community is good for our mental health, our physical health and is crucial to having happy, well-adjusted students. One of the ways in which your students can experience a sense of belonging is through community service.

Community service not only helps your students to meet and mix with the people in their community, it also helps to foster a culture of giving, care for their fellow humans, social skills and organizational skills. There are many ways in which students can help only some of which are listed below.

Environmental Impact

Your student can organize or join cleanups in your area. Keeping garbage out of sensitive natural areas will help to preserve local eco-systems. Students can rally their friends to help in a cleanup, but ensure that gloves and masks are worn for additional safety.

Students can also help the environment by saving energy. This is augmented by energy monitoring systems that are installed by many local municipalities to help residents to monitor consumption. You can also just work off your utilities bills. Consumption can further be reduced by growing vegetables in the backyard, conducting clothing swaps rather than buying new clothing and upcycling old items to keep them from the landfill.

Seniors

Loneliness is a huge issue many seniors living in homes face. Most senior’s residences welcome student volunteers who can spend time with seniors and keep them company or help them with everyday tasks. If you have seniors in your neighborhood, your students could help them with more strenuous tasks like cleaning gutters or mowing the lawn.

Animals

If your student is an animal lover, then local shelters are a great place for them to volunteer. They can also help by raising money for shelters or organizing donations of food and other pet supplies. Students can offer to help friends and neighbors who are at work all day by taking their dogs for a walk.

Community Gardens

These are a great way to introduce good nutrition and teach your students about growing plants. Community gardens are a healthy and fun way to grow your own food. They provide communities with a source of fresh fruit and vegetables that can be organic and are definitely locally grown.

Random acts of kindness

These should be done every day. Community means the people around us and your student is sure to find a student at school that needs a little help. Tutoring younger students is a great way for your kids to give back. They can bring lunch for someone who regularly has no lunch at school, they can stand up to bullying, they can help students who are struggling academically and show appreciation to a teacher for all the hard work they do.

Why Students Fail Survey Yields Shocking Results

A recent survey conducted by Tutor Doctor showed that underachieving students did not achieve their academic goals because of a lack of motivation and not getting enough help at home. With bigger classes and working parents, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for struggling students to find the time and assistance they need to succeed.

 Tutor Doctor’s ‘Why Students Fail” Survey Results

Respondents of the “Why Students Fail” survey, estimated that only a shockingly low 2.6% of students reach their full academic potential. There are a number of reasons for this poor academic performance; nearly all of the respondents agreed that students freeze during test taking (96.8%) and cited an ability to handle pressure/stress (56.8%), being unprepared (54.1%) and lack of confidence (45.9%) as the most common stumbling blocks to academic success.

Deep financial cuts to education budgets have meant that many schools have had to cut tutoring programs. Working parents have no alternative but to seek help for their students elsewhere. Tutoring programs like those offered by companies like Tutor Doctor not only help build basic educational foundations, but also help to improve test taking skills and build confidence and self-esteem. In-home programs that offer one-on-one tutoring get the best results and produce marked improvements in very little time.

 Peer Pressure and Academic Anxiety

61.5% of the educators surveyed cite peer pressure as causing anxiety and stress which stirs up an unhealthy competition and ultimately causes poor academic performance. Pressure to get into a good college begins to impact students in their sophomore year, according to 37.1% of respondents, followed closely by freshman (34.3%).  Educators were divided on whether this pressure helps or hinders students’ performance, with 51.7% saying it helps and 48.3% believing it hinders.

As competition for the limited college openings increase, the pressure to excel academically in high school also exponentially increases. Boosting a student’s test taking ability, building confidence and self esteem can help to reduce stress, combat peer pressure and provide an environment where academic excellence is possible.

Another hurdle to academic performance is often the fact that students don’t ask for help. Catching issues before they get too far behind or before bad grades ruin their college dreams is the best route. Regularly meet with your student’s teachers to get a sense of where they are academically and how they are performing.

Tutors are also able to teach valuable organizational and learning skills which help your student to plan their academic years. If your student is active socially and plays a high school sport, they need to have great organizational skills to get everything done.

 Call us and invest in your student’s future today. (720-378-2989)

What's your Student's Learning Style?

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Albert Einstein
Students process and absorb information in different ways. Some students like to see the big picture first and then learn the details and skills of each step while others can’t imagine what the big picture will be until they have learned each little step along the way.

Some students find diagrams and infographics helpful in learning information while others like to listen to the teacher’s lesson to get their facts and figures. Others like to build, measure, mix and experiment when they are learning. Knowing what your student’s learning style is will make it easier for you to present information in a format that they can relate to.

Visual learners
Visual learners like their information presented in an interesting visual format so videos, pictures, charts, illustrations, mind maps, and online presentations are a great way for them to learn. Presenting information this way makes it easier for them to see how things relate to each other. Visual learners should create their own mind maps and graphics when they are studying as this will help them to remember the information and see.

Auditory learners
These students are good listeners. They like teachers and tutors who explain, talk and read aloud. These students learn understand through a more traditional teaching method. When they are learning, auditory learners can benefit from reading aloud or listening to taped lectures and online podcasts.

Tactile learners
These students like to learn through action. They are great with experiments, measuring, observations, field trips, building models and other physically-oriented tasks. Activity is the way to get them to remember information or learn new skills.

Most teachers present information in a number of different formats to accommodate the learning style of all of their students. If your student is having trouble with a subject, ask their teacher or tutor to help you ascertain their learning style and then present the information in a way that they will absorb best. The internet is a great resource tool for finding the information you need to share in a format that suits your student. There is a video, infographic and experiment you can try for just about everything.

If you are curious about your student’s learning style, take a quick online test with sites such as ID Pride or VARK. Tutors and teachers are also great at understanding learning styles and they will be able to not only help your student to understand their learning style, but to convert information into a format that they understand best.

- See more at: http://www.tutordoctorhelpsallages.com