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 …
8 time management tips for students
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. I know, I know. You have no time. Neither do I. Neither does anyone. So below are eight time-management tips for you. And for every student ever. Also, when you’re done, you definitely want to come back and learn about the …
How to avoid distractions while studying: 7 tips for better focus
It’s funny how we can watch Netflix for 3 hours straight without blinking. But when we sit down to do something “hard,” like study, we are suddenly distracted by every little teeny tiny thing. Many of my clients and students come to me complaining that …
Study hack: How to study hard vocabulary words
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. I’ve written a number of blog posts and made several videos about various methods for studying vocabulary words. But this post is about how to study hard vocabulary words or concepts that you’re struggling to remember or understand, for whatever reason. …
Study skills: 3 things you must do BEFORE you study
I talk (and write) all the time about different study skills and the importance of using study methods that a) match you as a learner, and b) match the material you’re studying. But this post isn’t about  how to use those study techniques. Instead, it’s …
How to study for exams: Time management tip
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Wondering how to study for exams? Plain and simple: You need to study in short, frequent increments, a little bit each day over a period of time. At all costs, avoid studying in one large chunk. Actual science tells us that …
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 edit your own essay: 6 tips for editing your own paper
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Knowing how to edit your own essay is a superpower. Sure, so is knowing how to write an essay – obviously – but knowing how to edit your own papers is what takes your writing to the next level. As a …
4 backpack organization tips to tame the chaos
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. We treat our backpacks like garbage disposals: we throw everything in there from granola bar wrappers to dried-out pens, old papers to dead calculator batteries. I’ve even seen things as odd as a bungee cord and a camping canteen. (Yes, the …
How to organize old school papers Part 2: Use a Limbo Folder
I wrote a blog post about how to organize old school papers a while ago (read that post – Part 1 – before this one!), but I’m still asked this question all the time. While the minimalist in me is internally shouting “Throw them all …