--Subjects--

English

Math

Social Studies

Science

Physical
Education

Planning

Information
Technology

Foods

French

Dance

Band

Mandarin

Core Subjects

Here, you'll find homework and study tips for the core subjects, such as Math, Science, and Social Studies.

English

In English, you're likely to be doing a unit on poetry, Shakespeare, grammar and vocabulary, writing, and/or some kind of book/story one.

Poetry

When writing (or at least attempting to write) poetry, have the image/message that you want the reader to get in mind. Then, well, write it. Poetry is a form of art, which is bound only by the limits of the artist's mind and creativity. As a result, I can't really give much advice that will help consistently with writing poems.

For any tests on poems you may write, just remember whatever you need to, like poetic devices or the kinds of poems. If you need to write a poem during the test, then calm down, get an idea, and write it.

Shakespeare

You'll probably have to perform a scene from one of Shakespeare's plays as well as read a few plays. When it comes to memorizing lines, give yourself a lot of time to do so. It takes quite a bit of effort to be able to memorize lines, especially if your character is supposed to do a dozen lines in a row. Read all the lines you have to memorize several times, reading out loud while you do. Then (without looking at the lines, of course) say what you can remember out loud, starting from the beginning. When you can't remember a line, look at it, then say what you can again. Simply repeat this line-by-line memorizing until you memorize all of the lines.

Grammar and Vocabulary

I'm pretty sure that simply knowing your stuff will get you through the homework and tests you'll do. Just look at examples and write some sentences involving the testable material. Look at dictionaries or other references if need be.

Writing

When writing, whether it be for homework or a test, you have to understand what it is you're writing about and why you're writing it. Is it to state an argument? Perhaps to express an idea? Maybe it's simply to state some facts. Whatever the reason, try to make your writing flow, with smooth transitions from idea to idea. It makes it easier to read and more appealing to readers. Also, try to make your work legible. If no one can read it, all the work that was put into the composition would be for naught.

Books/Stories

The most important thing to do is to actually read the story! If you don't know the story, you can't expect to be able to give an opinion on or answer a question about it. You should be able to outline the story, with major events in mind. You should also be able to step into a character's shoes so that you can better understand that character and his/her thoughts and feelings. After reading the whole story, reflect on it.

Math

Many people seem to have trouble with math, but it's only just a bunch of rules on how to figure out values of things. Once you learn the rule, you should be able to do anything requiring said rule.

Since math is a bunch of rules with numbers, just looking at examples of finished problems isn't going to do much for your studying. You have to practice doing them over and over (that's what homework is, so do your math homework) to really become good at math. Any examples of problems being solved in your notes or textbook are best used for review and a reference when needed.

Homework and notes in math class comes nearly every day, so get used to it and actually do your work. Everyone needs the practice. It's important that you show your work on problems, so that you can figure out how you did the question later. Also, if you don't show your work on a test, you'll probably lose marks!

It's also important that you don't miss class often, as topics in math build upon the previous topic. Imagine how hard math in high school would be if you missed the multiplication class in elementary school!

This may be an odd tip, but try to visualize the problem. Picture how the numbers move and react with other numbers, and how they relate to the problem. This visualizing helps especially in word problems.

Social Studies

SS is all about human actions. Wars, rebellions, unions, alliances, politics, etc. There's also stuff on economy and the like. Maybe a little on geography. Whatever the subject, in SS, it really helps if you can put yourself in their shoes. You'll understand what the feel and why they did that they did, and more understanding equals more marks.

Like in math, you get notes almost every day. Take them down. The notes provide a valuable outline of the section, so you don't have to read the textbook (as much). Of course, you should read the book too, as the notes are merely an outline of the main points. It never hurts (not your chances of doing well, at least) to study a little more!

Remembering important events and people is critical. They'll tie in to many other things, so if your understanding of the main thing is poor, your understanding of the other things will be poor too.

You'll probably do SS tests with multiple choice sections, matching sections, and short answer/essay sections. When studying, keep in mind that the multiple choice is based on your knowledge of facts, matching is based on knowledge of people and terms, and short answer/essay is based on a bit of both, but mainly an understanding of the topic.

Science

Science is all about how everything in the universe works and the discovering of how things work. When we learn how things work, we can then learn how to manipulate things to our advantage. If not for science (and math), you wouldn't even be reading this website.

You will take lots of notes in science class, along with quite a few diagrams and drawings too. It's extremely important that you take and understand your notes, because, like math, information builds upon the previous topic.

Visualizing really helps in science. A picture is worth 1000 words, right? Visualize what the cells are doing in an organism. Visualize how the chemicals react with each other. Visualize the transfer of energy from one point to the next. Just try to visualize everything. Your understanding will skyrocket! (Well, mine did, anyway.)

When studying for tests, you'll want to make sure that you know just about everything. Terms, diagrams, processes, everything. You should know the facts and understand the topic to ensure nothing catches you off-guard on a test.

There are a few tips which are more or less specific, so I've organized them below.

Biology

The study of life. Biology is heavy on terms. So, memorize the terms, and understand what everything does!

When doing work with the microscope, work fast unless you have a microscope of equal or greater quality at home. If you take too long, you won't be able to complete any drawings that you may have to do. Also, take care when handling microscopes and slides. If it breaks, you can't do the work, and you'll have to watse time cleaning it up.

If you have to do a dissection, don't drop the dissectee, and try not to be too squeamish. If no one in your group does any dissecting, then you can't really do the work.

Chemistry

In chemistry, you'll be doing things like memorizing terms, mixing chemicals, naming chemicals, drawing molecules and atoms, and balancing chemical reactions. It shouldn't be too difficult, as long as you pay attention and take notes.

It always helps to have a periodic table of the elements handy in chemistry. It gives important information about an element that you will need, like the atomic number, chemical symbol, and combining capacity. Never be without one in chemistry!

Balancing chemical reactions can be a long and tedious task, while some people will be able to balance simpler equations by eye. It helps to visualize and keep track of the numbers of atoms on each side of the equation while you balance it, even if you decide to balance it in your head.

In higher levels of chemistry, you will be doing many calculations, especially as the mole is introduced and used, so bring a calculator!

Physics

Bring a calculator to this class, because physics class will often feel like a math class due to all the calculations that you have to do.

You must remember your formulas in order to do calculations, or else you'll end up calculating wrong. Always remember your units and symbols so that you can keep track of what's going on. Also, you'll probably lose marks for forgetting them.

Again, visualizing really helps, especially during studies on electricity and magnetic fields.

Earth Science

This class invovles a lot of memorizing, so terms are important, like in all science courses. It also has a lot of diagrams, so understanding and being able to read them is essential.

Physical Education

In this course, the only written homework or tests you'll have to do will be on muscles (weight training) or rules. You'll probably do some skills tests though, and the only way to improve physical skills is to practice!

When practicing a skill, be sure to go through all of the movements, especially if you don't do it much. If you need to, take it slow first, then gradually take it to full speed.

Planning

(Ok, I know this is the core subjects section, but at my school, Planning is something of a required elective. Since it's required, I put it in here since you'd have to take this to graduate anyway.)

When I took this course, there weren't many tests, just a few on guest-speaker presentations. The homework assignments vary, but follow the theme of planning your future, so the work shouldn't be too hard.

Make sure you save your work in this course, as it may be useful later, not to mention there'll be an assignment towards the end of the semester involving much of your assignments and work.