<p>My youngest is in Middle School. She had problems learning to read but went to a tutor and did the Lindemood Bell program and is now reading above her grade level. She loves to read and does it quickly.
Her grades this term have shown a consistent trend. She does all her homework, participates in class and does well on papers and projects. But her grades on tests and quizes are terrible. And she is does study. She can not seem to remember things. Maps on a country are one example.
Any suggestions. At this point she feels she is just stupid which she is not.</p>
<p>Well, I want to help, but I really don’t know what I’m talking about. However, that generally doesn’t stop me.</p>
<p>But my first thought is to talk with a school psychologist and see if you can discern her learning style. For example, if she is a kinesthetic learner, studying words on a page isn’t going to do it. Doing map puzzles, on the other hand, might work. If she is auditory, then having a study partner or parent do a question and answer session out loud might help. Outlining a chapter on another piece of paper is what helped me when I struggled. (I had to be taught how to do it, but it was magic for me. Went from Ds and Fs on tests to straight As.)</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I can’t help very specifically, but you might try reading Mel Levine’s books and exploring his website. [All</a> Kinds of Minds > Start](<a href=“http://www.allkindsofminds.org/]All”>http://www.allkindsofminds.org/) especially this page: [Effective</a> Study & Test-Taking Strategies for Kids with Learning Difficulties - SchwabLearning.org](<a href=“http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=878&f=search]Effective”>http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=878&f=search)</p>
<p>It can help, for test-taking, to learn/study things in multiple different ways. For example, through listening to lecture, through notes, through flashcards, through explaining it to you, and so on. That way there’s more than one pathway to the info in her brain, so if test anxiety causes her to lose a pathway, there will be more available.</p>
<p>I know many students who have the same issue. In college they just sit there and drill it into their heads. I’d hate to bring this up but has your daughter ever been tested for Attention Deficit Disorder? I don’t mean to offend you or her in anyway. I have a friend who showed similar symptoms doing extremely well on papers and projects, but just had horrible memorization skills and his grades were failing miserably. Turned out he had A.D.D. is now on adderall and doing very well in school. Just a suggestion.</p>
<p>This might help with things like maps, anatomy, structures, etc: </p>
<p>My son had a geography teacher in 7th grade that required the students to draw maps (freehand- not color by number stuff) nightly… maps of states, countries, nations, continents, including major cities, features, etc. Sometimes he’d have them draw the same place more than once. Same thing for all the national flags of the world- draw them by hand. Most parents resented all the ‘busy work’, but for my son, it was a godsend. He would never have been able to just sit and commit the picture to memory by staring at it. He learns by writing, drawing, mapping, outlining. </p>
<p>By the way, at the end of this geography class, the kids were able to freehand draw, from memory, the entire world, continent by continent, including capitals, rivers, mountains, etc. Plus they could identify all those little flags people like to put on their cars (“Hey mom, look, that guy’s from Belize…”). No problems with the geography questions on Jeopardy!</p>
<p>doubleplay has good suggestions for maps. For other topics like vocablulary she could write flash cards. If she pays attention while writing she might memorize half of the words just by writing the cards. Also, if she saved index cards for finals, then she can quickly take out what she already knows, and focus on relearning the ones that she forgot. Index cards are also good for things like formulas that need to memorized.</p>
<p>When I was in school I would write and memorize. I would rewrite my notes and important text facts, condensing them. I would memorize while I wrote. Anything that I still needed to memorize I would highlight (in other words, I would highlight my own handwritten notes). It worked for me when I was in school.</p>
<p>I also sent a PM to you.</p>
<p>Also, when my older son was pretty little he could not sit and memorize. He had me quizzing him through games, and he also drilled himself with me while he did physical things like shooting basketball. He always wanted me to help him invent a game to learn.</p>
<p>Short term memory and difficulty with maps. Take a look at Dyspraxia - it is a learning disability that is not well publicized in the United States. Most of the information about Dyspraxia is found on UK, New Zealand and Australian websites.</p>
<p>Find a practioner in your area who is experienced in diagnosing learning disabilities - Dyspraxia is just one of many. See:</p>
<p>[LD</a> OnLine](<a href=“http://www.ldonline.org/]LD”>http://www.ldonline.org/)</p>
<p>Thanks all. I am beginning to think it is some form of LD based on her problems learning to read. I think up till now (8th grade) she has been able to get my on her intelligence.
I have another child with LD/ADD so I should have been more clued in. He struggled with reading and still does. I think with her once she began reading we sort of felt things were all solved. She dees say she has a hard time focusing in school but I haven’t taken her seriously.
I am meeting tomorrow with someone from her school to talk about what is happening. I will see what they suggest.
Doubleplay the map drawing sounds interesting.
I will also look into Dyspraxia.
She is at a private school but is interested in going to public school next year for high school and I am concerned she will not test into the honors or gate level classes. I would like to get a handle on what is going on while we have time to address it.</p>