Are You Getting Enough Exercise?

There is a solid link between overall health and classroom performance. When you feel great, you are more alert, awake, and aware. Physical activity is important for good health, but some studies suggest that high school students tend to avoid in-school physical education, even when it is a school requirement.

There can be many good reasons why students avoid physical education classes (like jobs and family responsibilities), but it's important for those students to find ways to get active outside of school. Your health and your grades depend upon it!

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Group Writing Project

If you choose to add group members to the project now (which will enable them to access the writing project) select the link for "Collaborate," which is located on the top right of your screen.

This will take you to a page called "Collaborate on This Document." There you will see a box for inputting email addresses.

If you want group members to have the ability to edit and type, select As Collaborators.

If you want to add the addresses for people who can view only and cannot edit select As Viewers.

It's that easy! Each of the team members will receive an email with a link to the paper. They simply follow the link to go straight to the group paper.

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Types of Test Questions

Teachers don't really like to hear the question "What will be on the test?"

I'm sure you know why: teachers think all of the information they've presented is test-worthy. A better question you might ask is "What will be the format of the test?"

Teachers might be more open to this question, because they know that different types of questions pose different kinds of challenges. You don't study for an essay question test the same way you'd study for an open book test, for example.

Feel free to do some detective work before you tackle those upcoming midterms. See if you can find out which type of test formats you'll be facing, so you can study in the most effective way. You might want to brush up on the following:

• Oral Exams
• Fill In the Blank
• Multiple Choice
• Blue Book Tests

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Leading a Group Project

Assess time needed for every task.

Some tasks will take a few minutes, while others will take several days. For example, choosing a person to draw the cartoon will take a few minutes, while buying the tools will take a few hours. Some tasks, like the process of researching the history of political cartoons, will take several days. Label each task with its projected time allowance.

On the display board, draw the first stage of a diagram for the project path to demonstrate this first meeting. Use circles to indicate starting and finishing points.

The first stage is the brainstorming meeting, where you are creating a needs analysis.

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Interview Tips

There are many reasons why you could find yourself sitting in an interview chair during your high school years. In most situations, these interviews will take place when an adult is making a very important decision about your future.

• Judge's Interview: Science fairs, debates and other competitions normally involve an interview with a judge or panel of judges.
• Teacher/Professor Interview: If you apply for a special program like independent study, work study, or college credit program in high school, you may find that an interview is part of the application process.
• College Interview: There are many types of college interviews, and it's safe to say that you'll want to spend some time preparing for one of these important events.
• Counselor Interview: You may need to visit your high school counselor to talk about future plans, to determine which diploma type is right for you, or to talk about choosing a major.
• Scholarships: Many companies, organizations, and clubs offer scholarships. Part of the selections process is a personal interview.
• Job Interview: Many students take on part-time jobs to help with high school expenses, to pay for dorm room trimmings, or to earn pocket money. Even part-time jobs require an interview.

Find out how to ace an interview with tips to help you keep your cool before and during the important event.

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Visual Organization Tools

Visual organization tools are simply charts and drawings that you can use as you study any topic. As you sketch out and review your information in these visual tools, you will reinforce the information and perhaps recall it more readily during an exam.

1. T-charts

A T-chart will help you compare and contrast. The process of creating this visual aid helps to sort and divide things like strengths and weaknesses and other contrasting traits. This is a good tool for analyzing books and characters.

2. Fishbone

A fishbone chart is a good tool for brainstorming causes and effects for a certain problems. Place the problem you are discussing on the right side of a paper in a box (the head). Draw a line to the left and create branches (bones) to indicate possible causes.

3. Web or Spider Chart

A web chart (or spider map) is useful for organizing your notes before an exam or before drafting an essay. It is also useful for organizing your oral presentation. Place a central idea or item in the center and use the “legs” to list attributes and other items. You can use a web to create a visual depiction of main topics and subtopics. The web diagram proves to be a great visual aid for studying literature and preparing debates, speeches, and argument essays. A web chart is also valuable for discerning the organization and structure of any complex problem or group.

4. Timeline

A timeline is useful for studying historic events and any process that happens over time. This is an especially good too when studying for exams. If you sketch a timeline and study it a few times, you will easily remember events in sequence.

5. Cycle Chart

Use a cycle chart to demonstrate a chain of events, show steps in a scientific process, or to clarify the order of certain repeating events. The act of drawing out the process will reinforce the information in your brain.

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Saying NO

Learning to say no to people is one of the best things you can do for yourself, yet many people find it extremely difficult. Why? Because they want to be liked. The ironic thing is, people will like you better and respect you more if you say no when it's appropriate!

Why Say No

1. People will respect you. People who say yes to everything in an attempt to be liked are quickly recognized as pushovers. When you say no to someone you are letting them know that you have boundaries. You are showing that you respect yourself--and that is how you gain respect from others.

2. People will actually see you as more dependable. When you say yes only when you have the time and true ability to do a great job, then you'll gain a reputation for being dependable. If you say yes to everything, you're bound to do a bad job at everything.

3. When you're selective with your tasks, you'll sharpen your natural strengths. If you concentrate on the things you're good at, you'll be able to improve on your natural talents. For example, if you're a great writer but you're not so great as an artist, you may volunteer to write speeches but you shouldn't sign up to make the posters for your club. Concentrate on your strength and build your skills (and your experience) for college.

4. Your life will be less stressful. You may be tempted to say yes to people in order to please them. In the long run, you're only hurting yourself and others when you do this. You stress yourself out by overloading yourself, and you experience increased stress when you realize you're bound to let them down.

When to Say No

First let's point out the obvious: do your homework.

You should never say no to a teacher, friend, or family member who is merely asking you to live up to your responsibilities. It's not okay to say no to a class assignment, just because you don't feel like doing it for some reason. This is not an exercise in cockiness.

It is OK to say no when somebody is asking you to step outside your true responsibilities and outside your comfort zone to take on a task that is dangerous or one that will overload you and affect your academic work and your reputation.

For example:

• If a teacher suggests that you become the president of a club that he or she is advising, but your schedule is already over-packed.
• If a popular athlete asks you to help with his/her homework and you don't have time.
• If anybody asks you to do their homework for them.
• If anybody asks you to give them information that was on a test (if they have a later class with the same teacher).

It can be very difficult to say no to somebody whom you really respect, but you'll find that you actually gain respect from them when you show enough courage to say no.

How to Say No

We say yes to people because it's easy. Learning to say no is like learning anything: it seems really scary at first, but it's so rewarding when you get the hang of it!

The trick to saying no is doing it firmly without sounding rude. You must avoid being wishy-washy. Here are some lines you can practice:

• If a teacher asks you to take on more responsibility than you need: Thank you for thinking of me, but I will have to say no. I'm just over-scheduled at this time.
• If a teacher asks you to do something you don't feel comfortable with: This sounds like it would be a great opportunity for somebody, but it's not right for me.
• If somebody wants you to cheat: Sorry, I don't share my homework. That would get us both in trouble.
• If somebody tries to push work off on you: I just don't have the time to do a good job at that right now.
• If somebody tries to overload you with a task: I can't do that because I have an assignment due tomorrow.
• If somebody tries to unload a problem on you: I understand your situation, but I don't have an answer for you.

When You Have to Say Yes

There will be times when you want to say no but you can’t. If you're working on a group project, you have to take on some of the work, but you don't want to volunteer for everything. When you have to say yes, you can do it with firm conditions.

A conditional "yes" may be necessary if you know you should do something but you also know you don't have all the time or resources. An example of a conditional yes is: "Yes, I'll make the posters for the club, but I won't pay for all the supplies."

Saying no is all about gaining respect. Gain respect for yourself by saying no when it's necessary. Gain the respect of others by saying no in a polite way.

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