CONQUERING FINAL EXAMS Help your child make the year a success with final exam tips. Before you and your students can relax for the summer, you have to make it over one last hurdle-final exams. Though that may sound insurmountable, the goal can be achieved with these study tips. Where Choose a spot that is well lit, comfortable and free of distraction-maybe at home, in a park or at a library. Remember that children have unique learning styles. What is best for you may not work for your student. When Experts agree that students shouldn't cram. Prepare as early as possible. First, your child should ask instructors for the exam dates. Next, help him or her devise a study schedule accordingly. Allow approximately one week of studying per subject. Also, study the most difficult material within a subject first. Study for a short period of time; take a break, then return to the study session. Repeat this process until all subject matter has been reviewed. Students will need to review all materials several times before the test. How Study methods vary depending upon personal learning style. For example, visual learners should diagram processes; chart information; review their notes; underline or highlight key words and definitions; and write a summary of the material they've just read. Auditory learners need to read out loud. For instance, an auditory learner might actually say aloud, "The five steps involved in the process of photosynthesis are …" Since most people aren't strictly one type of learner, it's wise to combine approaches, to both 'see' and 'hear' the material. Studying often requires memorization. We usually memorize through repetition, but it's not always the most effective way. Because it's easiest to recall things that are vivid and unusual, encourage your child to make associations between unrelated things by creating a unique story. In the following scenario, your son or daughter has to memorize a grocery list containing milk, eggs, bread and vegetables. Create a story with a bagger at the local grocery store bagging a customer's groceries. He roughly chucks the eggs into the bottom of the bag. Then he throws the milk on top of the eggs, which, of course, break and leak out the bottom of the bag. He then unwraps the bread and uses it as a rag to sop up the gooey mess. Witnessing the catastrophe, the store manager yells at the bagger saying, "Look what you've done! Did you just fall off a turnip truck?" See how this silly story can help you remember the grocery list? Invent other stories to help recall lists in a subject area. Before the Exam Your child should: Relax the night before. Get a good night's sleep. Eat a nutritious breakfast. Show up for the exam prepared. Have extra supplies, such as pens and pencils. During the Exam Advise your child to: Read the entire test over first and decide where he or she is likely to spend the most time. Begin with the easiest questions. Mark the more difficult questions and come back to them. Armed with these study tips, your child is sure to conquer final exams so he or she can relax this summer. - Sharon Jackson