Getting Ready for Middle School: Organizational, Time Management and Studying Skills

John Green Elementary School 5th grade teacher Lauren McGovern is passionate about teaching – and getting her students organized for middle school.  Going beyond the standardized test requirements, Ms. McGovern teaches her students organizational, time management and studying skills that will help her students adjust to middle school and beyond.

Ms. McGovern grew up in the East Bay, graduating from Foothill High School in Pleasanton, earned her undergraduate degree at the University of California – Davis (BSc – Human Development), earned her teaching credential at St. Mary’s College of California and later went back to St. Mary’s to earn a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction as well as her Administrative Credential.

Ms. McGovern took a few minutes to meet with OneDublin.org to talk about why she is so passionate about the topic of organizational, time management and studying skills, and to share some idea on what parents can do to help their children succeed with less stress and scramble:

Ms. McGovern adapted the strategies she uses in her classroom from research targeting gifted students with learning disabilities.  One particularly interesting study of high-ability college students with learning disabilities noted: “Many of the participants in this study believed that if they had learned the compensation strategies described in this article when they were in elementary or secondary school, they would have been much more successful students, especially in secondary school.” (read more…)

The benefit of internalizing organizational, time management and studying skills when students are young – creating lifelong habits – is the greatly reduced stress down the road as academic and extracurricular activities compete for a student’s attention (and sleep).

There are numerous practical resources for parents on this topic – here are a few:

• Teach Your Kids a Valuable Life Skill: Organization
• Time Management for Kids (Indiana University School of Education)
• Time Management – You vs. The Clock (PBS)
• Time Management for Kids (Better Homes and Gardens)

More education resources for parents are available here.