By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Have you ever read a poem, made it to the last line, only to realize that you have absolutely no idea what it’s about? Cool. Keep reading. Students begin to analyze poetry in elementary school, and often have to do so …
How to annotate text using the Highlight and Rewrite strategy
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Knowing how to annotate text is basically a super power. It’s a skill you’ll need for your entire academic experience, no matter what class you’re in or what your major is. For this annotation strategy, you’ll just need the basics: a …
What’s the difference between a colon and a semicolon
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. One of the most common questions I get when I’m tutoring students for the SAT or ACT is what’s the difference between a colon and a semicolon? It’s a good question, and fortunately the answer is not that complicated. With that …
5 summer reading tips for parents and students
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. I’ve covered summer reading tips nearly every summer since I launched my business. Here’s where you can find all my other summer reading tips and resources. In this post (and video!) I outline some of the tips I’ve covered before – …
Summer reading tip: Make a summer reading schedule
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. I’ve written about summer reading before, and have shared multiple summer reading tips here and here. In this post, I’m elaborating on one of the summer reading strategies I’ve discussed before, because it is worth sharing again: how to make a …
A strategy for how to understand what you read: Remote learning edition
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Reading is one thing. Understanding it is another. No joke though. We’ve all read a whole page before without understanding one word on it. Am I right? I’m right. If you’re taking an online course or doing remote learning, understanding what …
4 summer reading strategies: Tips for getting it done…well
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Summer reading: you either hate it or love tolerate it. Regardless, it’s one of those things that has to get done, despite our preference to fall asleep in a hammock by the lake. Below are 4 summer reading strategies that will …
How to not zone out while reading: 6 strategies that good readers use
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. I teach all things English, so of course I know how to not zone out while reading. But I still do it anyways. Even I, a reading “expert” will sometimes get to the end of a page and have no idea what …
The study hack that top students know
I love hacks. Who doesn’t!? As a student myself, I especially love study hacks, and as a teacher too, I especially love sharing a good study hack with others. (Obviously that’s why I started the SchoolHabits blog and YouTube channel.) In general, we should vary …
How to read faster: 4 tips for slow readers
Are you a slow reader? If so, how do you know? Did someone once tell you that you were a slow reader, or do you just feel like you’re reading slowly? Also — does it even really matter that you read slowly? If you are …