Some of you may remember this tip, but it is so important to follow this plan over the vacation that I felt I had to dig it out and resend! Please share this with your child.
At last, winter break is upon us. It is a time to celebrate family and a time to look inward and reflect upon all the blessings within your life. It is also the perfect time for you to embrace the SAT and to get into the SAT Zone! (If you are taking the ACT, email us for the ACT Zone Worksheet.)
Part of the vacation should be spent fine tuning SAT skills and strategies. Deliberate practice is not just about completing test after test and getting a score*. It is about ACTIVE learning – completing a section, analyzing the answers, and reflecting upon how to not make the same mistakes again. Below is a checklist that can be STARTED over the holiday break. In order to get into the zone, meaning learning the test patterns and mastering these patterns, it is imperative that a student complete each step in its entirety before moving on to the next. The SAT is all about patterns; the question types repeat over and over again. Learning these patterns equates to a higher SAT score. This checklist is meant to be used in conjunction with College Board’s book, The Official SAT Study Guide. Remember, do each assignment in a single study session because this will truly get you in the “SAT Deliberate Practice Zone” – right where you want (and need) to be!
Grammar
• Do the last 4 questions in each Section 10
Sentence Completions
• Do the middle 2/3 questions (eg. Questions 4-7) in each test
Readings
• Do all the short readings (4 per test) in each test
• Do all the narratives in each test
• Do all the long, 15 minute readings (usually in Section 9) in TWO sittings
Math
• Do the last 4 questions in each test
If you are enrolled in the WilsonDailyPrep online program I also recommend: Memorize your grammar, reading, math, and essay key sheets (found under Key Info). Review ALL your dailyprep mistakes; each day review a different section (eg. sentence completions day 1 and grammar questions day 2….)
*WilsonDailyPrep students- completing six questions a day is important, but use the school break to put all the pieces together!