TeachersFirst's Study Skills Resources
Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections
This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help students learn their most effective study strategies. The collection includes specific study tools, reading strategies, review ideas, and notetaking methods that students and teachers can try as lessons in themselves or --even better-- as they go about the regular curriculum. Whether you want to use a graphic organizer, create your own electronic flash cards, or simply learn how to approach a test, there is a resource to help. Learning Support teachers and teachers of gifted will also want to share these alternate ways for students to organize and retain concepts, vocabulary, and more.
Make learning how to learn part of your class routine at any grade level and in any subject.
166 Results | sort by:
ShowMe - The Online Learning Community - San Kim and Karen Bdoyan
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Share the site (or individual videos) with your students to access at home for homework help using the Facebook, Twitter, email, or embed link on each video. List the ShowMe link on your class website. View tutorials on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) as a whole class. Encourage students to share links to specific videos they find helpful on a "Video Reviews" page of your class wiki. For a very real challenge, have students create their own simple review videos using the ShowMe app on iPads (if available) then embed them on your class wiki for a year-to-year student-made study guide! For examples of sophisticated topics simplified in whiteboard stick figure videos, see Common Craft, reviewed here.Edge Features:
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Requires download/installation of software
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Spreeder - 7-Speed-Reading
Grades
7 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): reading comprehension (39), test prep (53)
In the Classroom
In this era of high-stakes testing, it is imperative that students be able to read and comprehend at an expected rate in order to complete the tasks within the designated time. Think about the implications for improving state test scores and PSAT or SAT college entrance exams! Demonstrate Spreeder on your classroom projector or interactive whiteboard by copying and pasting practice passages from your state's Department of Education link to state testing. Link to SAT practice sites such as College Board SAT Preparation Center (reviewed here) or Test Prep Review (reviewed here). Provide opportunities for students to try it on individual classroom computers. Provide a direct link to Spreeder from your classroom web page or wiki. This will enable motivated students to take charge of increasing their own reading speed, or you may want to incorporate it with homework assignments and make parents aware of it.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Assessment Websites - Jefferson County Schools
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): assessment (30), grammar review (17), test prep (53)
In the Classroom
Save this site in your favorites on classroom computers and use specific links as a center. Students can focus on areas of strength or weakness on a math game day or practice test taking by answering previously released test questions. Because this site offers multiple levels and activities for many topics, it is easy to differentiate for ability levels within your class. Include this site on your class web page for students and parents to access from home.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Wondermind - Tate Liverpool
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): body systems (31), brain (44), human body (54), logic (162), psychology (28)
In the Classroom
Create a link on classroom computers for students to try the challenges and then view videos on your interactive whiteboard together. Check out the learning resources link to view a video with additional ideas for visual perception games and activities. Use as part of your Alice in Wonderland or Lewis Carroll units. If you teach psychology, anatomy, or health, this exploration will offer a new angle into how the brain works. Use the game and video about memory during a unit on study skills and discovering how students learn best. Teachers of gifted may also want to explore this site as part of a unit on the gifted mind. Learning support teachers may also want to use portions to help students better understand why their minds operate differently -- not "badly." Bright Asperger's students might be fascinated by the portion on the prefrontal cortex and how we learn self-control.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
How To Make Digital Flashcards With Google Docs Spreadsheets - MakeUseOf
Grades
4 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): flash cards (28)
In the Classroom
Create flashcards to share with your students. Students can run them from a computer or download an app that can read the two column format of a spreadsheet to view on the go. All information for using the flashcards is explained in this resource. Use for any subject matter for any age. Challenge students to create their own flashcards to use to study for the big test! This tool can be used in ALL subject areas.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Inside Story Flashcards - Inside Story, LLC
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): dictionaries (22), flash cards (28), vocabulary (251), vocabulary development (41)
In the Classroom
Display the site on your interactive whiteboard (or projector), turn off the definition under the flashcard and have students try to guess the meaning of the word. Split students into teams to see who can come up with the most creative sentence using the vocabulary word. Print out cards on card stock to use at a writing center as a resource for writing. Print out cards and have students separate by nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. Have a word of the day and challenge students to use the word correctly throughout the day in the classroom. Secondary teachers may want to share this site with students preparing for ACT/SAT testing.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Diagram.ly - JGraph, Ltd.
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): brainstorming (12), concept mapping (17), graphic organizers (30), mind map (20), venn diagrams (4), visual thinking (7)
In the Classroom
Demonstrate creating a mind map or other diagram on an interactive whiteboard or projector, and then allow students to try to create their own. Use this site for literature activities, research projects, social studies, or science topics of study. Use Diagram.ly to create family trees or flow charts. Learning support students could team up to map out the important concepts from a unit visually as a review activity. Use this mapping website as an alternative to a traditional test, quiz, or homework assignment in literature, social studies, or science. Have students demonstrate their understanding by creating a graphic organizer about the main points or map out a step-by-step process (life cycle). Be sure they name their organizer BEFORE they start work with their name --or code name-- so you know who did it (they could EMAIL it to you!) or have them print their results to turn them in. Anonymously share and compare different students' "views" of a unit so students can "see it through someone else's eyes."Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Spider Scribe - spiderscribe.net
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): brainstorming (12), graphic organizers (30), mind map (20)
In the Classroom
Have your class create organizers together, such as in a brainstorming session on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Easily add images to maps for young students, ELL learners, or non-readers to understand relationships and learn vocabulary. Or you can assign students to "map" out a chapter or story or assign groups to create study guides using this tool. Use this site for literature activities, research projects, social studies, or science topics. Use this site to create family trees or food pyramids in family and consumer science. Have students collaborate together (online) to create group mind maps or review charts before tests on a given subject. Have students organize any concepts you study; color-code concepts to show what they understand, wonder, and question; map out a story, plot line, or plan for the future; map out a step-by-step process (life cycle).Edge Features:
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Multiple users can collaborate on the same project
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Ahead - ahead.com
Grades
3 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): graphic organizers (30), images (115)
In the Classroom
Create instructional presentations for students of all ages and levels. Allow students time to explore and learn from dynamic presentations. Share this link with students for creating presentations for class projects and to share what they learn. Do you use essential questions in planning your units? Use this tool to map the information required to answer the question and to move through the different parts of the unit. (This also provides the opportunity to review and revisit needed information.) Embed the presentation for unfettered student access for review. Looking for new ways to assess what students have learned? Students can create a presentation to review material and to "show what they know."Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Premium version (not free) includes additional features or storage
Products can be embedded
Products can be shared by URL
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Trello - Fog Creek Software
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): graphic organizers (30), organizational skills (32)
In the Classroom
Use this site in the classroom for organizing any long term project such as a research report or collaborative projects. Create a board for each group with a timeline and assign parts for each project. Gradually release the responsibility from one project to the next, asking students to create their own task lists so they learn time management. Teachers of learning support and gifted will love this tool as a way to teach organizational skills. Share it with parents to suport their organizationally challenged students. Yearbook or school newspaper advisors may want to consider this site for organizing and assigning tasks. Share this site with your school's PTA as a resource for organizing and planning school events.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Scrumblr - scrumblr
Grades
2 to 12tag(s): bulletin boards (8), organizational skills (32)
In the Classroom
Use this as a place to put web quest links and information. As a project idea, have students create a wall about their summer vacation. They can include links and other information to display. Have elementary students build a class homework board each day, having a different student add the assignment for each subject; then share the link to the board for them to access at home. "writing down" assignments can be fun! Use this tool as a new format for book reports. Do your students have favorites such as music or sports? Create a wall around these favorites or hobbies. Use a wall for grammar or vocabulary words or science unit terms. Create walls of pro/con for debates or high level thinking viewpoints. Post assignments, reminders, or study skills on a wall. Do you use student scribes or reporters? Use the site to create a wall with the goings-on in class. See a similar tool (and more ideas to use either tool) in the TeachersFirst review of Stixy here. Decide which one you prefer!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Faces of Learning - Q.E.D. Foundation
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): communities (18), learning styles (7)
In the Classroom
Encourage students to do a project about learning and post their results here, if policies permit. Share this link on your class web page and/or in a parent newsletter so they can better understand the nature of learning and its challenges. Use the self-assessment with any class -- without joining the site -- as you talk about study skills and finding individual strengths for studying and learning. Consider letting students form study groups based on the results. This is an ideal activity for early in the school year.Edge Features:
Parent permission advised before posting student work created using this tool
Includes Interaction w general public/ public galleries with unmoderated content
Includes social features, such as "friends," comments, ratings by others
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Mr. Vizza's Class - Thomas Vizza
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): charts and graphs (129), equations (73), factors (31), flash cards (28), functions (38), geometric shapes (42), inequalities (10), integers (28), iwb (20), percent (43), probability (68), pythagorean theorem (9), quadratics (7), transformations (6)
In the Classroom
Search this site for lessons and activities to use on your interactive whiteboard. Use this site to review before the SATs. Provide links to various parts of this site on your class wiki or website.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Easy notecards - Easy Notecards
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): flash cards (28)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a learning center or station before a final assessment in your class. Have students create and practice with flashcards based on their most difficult topics, allowing them to better focus their studying. Offer this as one of several study aid options for different learning styles. Have learning support students create their own aids in small groups to test each other. This would also be a great one to post on your teacher wiki or webpage, allowing students to practice both in and out of the classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
ALTs altastic - Altastic.com
Grades
K to 5tag(s): alphabet (56), flags (19), flash cards (28), handwriting (10), iwb (20), numbers (137), verbs (29)
In the Classroom
Display the handwriting flashcards on your interactive whiteboard as a student-operated center to practice letter writing skills. Choose random letters, and have students make a list of words beginning with that letter. The What's This activity would be great vocabulary practice for ELL students or speech/language students. Use the Timekillers on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) for a quick 5 or 10 minute class or center activity.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Visual.ly - Visual.ly Inc.
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): charts and graphs (129), data (92), graphic design (21), graphic organizers (30), infographics (16), visualizations (10)
In the Classroom
Increase visual literacy and greater understanding of concepts and numbers using infographics. Use examples as conversation starters at the beginning of class or at the start of a unit. Showcase this site and provide time for the students to look over the infographics. Brainstorm how they are compelling, show data in a better way, which ones are visibly better, and why certain colors and images are used, etc, Create your own infographic using data and material learned throughout the class to provide a solid framework from which to add new ideas. Focus on showing the patterns and connections between data and including concepts to aid understanding and to tell a story about what the data actually means. Connect curriculum topics and terms such as energy conservation to real world applications, such as graphics of the number of gallons of oil each American uses per year.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Wridea - Octeth Ltd.
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): brainstorming (12), concept mapping (17), graphic organizers (30), mind map (20), organizational skills (32)
In the Classroom
Demonstrate the activity on an interactive whiteboard or projector, and then allow students to create their own Wridea tool. Use this site for literature activities, research projects, social studies, or science topics. Have students collaborate together (online) to create group study guides or review charts before a test. Have students use Wridea as a study guide by brainstorming all the important concepts they remember about the unit being studied in history or science, and then have them share their Wridea with another student who will add concepts that were left out. Build student creative fluency by having them use Wridea to create categories of wonder, question, and answers for research; map out a story or plot line, or map out a step-by-step process (life cycle); map a real historical event as a choose-your-own-adventure with alternate endings based on pivotal points.Comments
This resources looks like it has a wide variety of applications suitable to upper elementary and secondary classrooms. Sign up was quick and easy, but I received a message upon completing those steps that Wridea doesn't support Internet Explorer. It "suggested" using Mozilla Firefox instead. I'm a strong advocate for being comfortable with using several browsers, so, this doesn't throw up any huge roadblocks to me, but if you do not have or use Firefox, you will need to take that extra step as well before actually making use of this tool.Rita, WA, Grades: 6 - 12
Editor's Note: the review has been updated to reflect this new information.
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
Virtual Field Trips - Utah Education Network
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): animals (166), baseball (37), biomes (112), business (42), charts and graphs (129), civil war (80), dinosaurs (32), egypt (53), field trips (8), immigrants (6), immigration (38), japan (56), maps (165), mayans (7), medieval (19), mexico (30), multiple intelligences (6), musical instruments (15), nutrition (102), olympics (38), painting (54), probability (68), religions (27), rocks (31), russia (19), sports (55), statistics (79), tessellations (7), test prep (53), virtual field trips (15), volcanoes (45), water cycle (21)
In the Classroom
Immerse your students into your studies with a close up in depth look through virtual field trips. Visit places where time, money, and mileage inhibit your dreams for bringing your students into wondrous worlds. Find ways to visit where your class has never gone before. Create a personalized field trip to meet your every need with the detailed tutorials given. Find ways to motivate your most reluctant learners. ESL/ELL learners will appreciate the visit. Reach all types of learners through a class visit. Use field trips as a whole class anticipatory guide, a center activity, a home connection, or even as extra credit. Challenge your gifted students to be guides to their own learning. Make your class go global!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).
March 2 Success - US Army
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Use this in junior and senior level courses to help students who are college bound prepare for SAT and ACT exams. It saves time and helps kids, no one can argue with those advantages. Try using this with younger high school (or even middle school) aged students in a gifted program to provide enrichment and early practice for early test takers. Be certain to provide this link on your class website for students to access at home.Edge Features:
Includes an education-only area for teachers and students
Requires registration/log-in (WITH email)
Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
Close comment form