Just as I wrote this year’s first post about knowing your grading periods sooner than last year’s, so I am writing this year’s second post about knowing your grading periods sooner than last year’s as well. In addition to changing the times of the posts this year so I can provide you with various times during the year to check your progress with your study skills as well as your grades, I am also doing it so I can highlight more examples of times when checking your progress might be a good idea. For many of you, the time between Thanksgiving and the winter holidays is when you are least likely to want to check your progress or consider making any improvements to your study skills, since you are coming off a short break and are already anticipating the longer break that is soon to come. As tempting as it might be to neglect keeping track of your grades or making improvements to your study skills right now, it is the last thing you should do, because making the best use of this time can not only allow you to head into your break feeling positive about where you are with your study skills, it can also set you up well for the longer time without a break you will face when you return to school.
As with any of my grading period posts, I am hoping you start deciding how to respond to this one by reviewing or finding out what your school’s schedule of grading periods is, so you are aware of the time you have left in the one that includes these weeks between the holidays. The reason this is important information to have right now is that both your and your teachers’ priorities between the breaks will change depending on what part of a grading period you are in. Though many, if not most, of your teachers will plan a major test and/or project due date right before the break, some of them may save important dates until after the break if the grading period is not due to end until then. The important thing to remember about the time between the holiday breaks is that neither scrambling to make sure everything is done before the longer break nor putting everything off until after it is the best way to improve your study skills. If your grades will close before the break, you do need to complete all your assigned work and prepare for your tests to the best of your ability, but instead of scrambling, make sure to use your time as wisely as you possibly can and balance your need to complete your work with making time for whatever special events and/or holiday preparations you also have in your schedule. If your grading period won’t end until after the break, make sure you do as much as you can before the break and balance your work with your holiday plans, but try not to let the quality of your work suffer in the name of making sure you are completely free from work over the break, or to put work due after the break off and end up scrambling to complete it before the grading period ends at the same time that new work is being assigned and end-of-grading period tests or exams are being scheduled. Whatever your school’s grading period schedule, and whatever your teachers decide to do to plan accordingly, the best way to make sure to keep making improvements to your study skills, no matter how busy this time of year is for you or how much you feel you need the upcoming break, is to plan according to the schedule you are given as well.
Just as with this year’s first grading period post, another important thing to consider with this post is your school’s timing of both midterm exams and midterm progress reports. Wherever you are in your current grading period, the approach of the holidays is one indication that the beginning of the year has passed. While the holidays usually fall before the true middle of the year, their closeness to the middle is one of the factors that has led to the different grading period and school year schedules that are now in use. Because of this, the time between the holidays is an important time for you and/or your parents to see where you stand, not just before a final grade for this grading period is posted, but also at this point in the year. Whether or not you have any scheduled midterm exams or progress reports, and whether or not they will occur before or after the upcoming break, now is a good time to check your online grading portal, and/or ask your teachers where your grades currently stand. Ask yourself all the questions about your grades I have posed in previous grading period posts, and if you find that there is anything you wish to improve and you are aware of tests or assignments that will occur or be due before the upcoming break, try to find some extra time to study, or to make certain that your final assignments before the break are turned in on time and done to the best of your ability, even if they are not the final assignments of the current grading period. The sooner you take action and start to make improvements where you can, the better, no matter how much you are anticipating your holiday celebrations and the upcoming break. No matter where you are in your current grading period, this time of the year is as good a time as any to remind yourself that since your final grades in your courses will be averaged ones, every little improvement counts, no matter when you make it.
Everything I have suggested you do during these weeks before the upcoming break applies to the break itself as well. Though it is perfectly natural and understandable that once your break begins, your first priorities will be celebrations and vacations, not your studies, it is important to remember that no matter where you are in a grading period when the break begins, doing nothing of an academic nature over the entire course of a long break is no way to improve your study skills. If your grading period does end before the break and no new work has been assigned to you, consider taking time over the break to get a head start on upcoming assigned reading or other work, and/or review work you found challenging that includes skills or concepts you will need to apply to new work. If your grading period will not end until after the break, complete any assigned work you have yet to do, and make sure to also make time to prepare ahead for any upcoming exams or tests, especially if they are cumulative. Whatever your grading period schedule, and whatever work you need or decide to do over break, make sure you make time to read for pleasure. Even if it is the only academic thing you do over the break, I cannot overstate its importance to the development of your study skills. If you truly are caught up on all your work, and/or plan well enough over these next few weeks that you feel you can accomplish what you need to after the break, reading for pleasure is the best way to ensure that you are ready to get back to work when the time comes.
Knowing where you are in your current grading period during this time between the Thanksgiving break and the upcoming holiday break is important to the development of your study skills because of the way the holidays influence both school calendars and how teachers plan according to how they are structured. Whether the end of your current grading period falls before or after the break, this time between the breaks is a good time to check your progress and plan how you will balance your anticipation for the longer break and whatever celebrating you will be doing with what you need to accomplish with your studies and when the best time to do that will be. Though this time of year can be one of those times when you are least likely to want to check your progress or consider making any improvements to your study skills, making the effort to do so will only increase your chances for success, both now and at the start of the New Year to come.