Q&A for How to Study for a Social Studies Test

Of course! Elementary school students may need more guidance from a teacher or parent with the above suggestions, but the approach for studying is the same.

Repetition is your answer. Try and memorize as much as possible through repeat reading/studying. The more you train your brain to memorize, the easier it becomes.

Divide the long answers into shorter sections and memorize those. Then put everything together for your long answer.

If you can't concentrate because of some disturbances, you can take your headphone and put on a white noise track. Sometimes it also happens that while studying sometimes you float away to another world. For this, you can note down the points on a paper that make you lose concentration. Stick that paper somewhere in your study place so you can see it all the time you study to remind you to take special care to concentrate on those topics.

You need to make a timetable and follow it . This will help you to know what you have covered and what is left as you near your exam date.

Read each question carefully before you answer and double-check your work.

Read the topic three to four times, to really ingest it. It is recommended that you don't learn it by heart, as that encourages parroting back, not learning and thinking. Underline anything you don't understand and either research it further or ask your teacher or tutor for advice. Highlight keywords and main points to act as triggers for your learning and more in-depth understanding.

Yes. Someone can test you on the subject - kind of like flash cards.

Yes, this is applicable too for middle/intermediate school children.

If you do not have access to your textbook, look through your notes and review all of your previous assignments. This includes homework and classwork.

Make flashcards with an event on one side and the date on the other. Review the flashcards until you have the dates memorized.

Highlight the key details in your notes, so you don't spend time memorizing information that you won't need. Also, skim the textbook (if you have one).

Yes, but you should also study for a few days before the exam.

No, study every day after school to better learn and remember concepts and avoid cramming before the test.

During the class, it is best to take down running notes while the teacher is explaining the concepts and ideas. Then, go through the notes and pull out the main themes to use as headers for your revision notes. Under the headers, write down class note content and your additional research learnings. Add the vocab to the headers where it seems most appropriate. Then read through and study these notes as often as you can.

Study each day. Take time to review the day's material and look ahead to new concepts. By studying this way, you will never have to cram for a test and you will really understand the information.

Classical music can help you focus by blocking out any distracting background noise. It has also been shown to improve efficiency, which will help you memorize more quickly.

Schedule your day into blocks, making time for studying before you see friends or pursue hobbies. Set aside time each day to study and review.

Then that is great! Make sure that you use all your time to get into those few things.

Study a little every night leading up to the test. Don't try to take it all in at once, or it'll be overwhelming. Make sure to highlight the important parts of your notes so that you aren't memorizing unnecessary information.

Speak the definition out loud several times. Try to relate the word to something in your life to help you remember what it means.

Break up studying sessions into small sections rather than one binge session. After 50-60 minutes of studying, go on a ten minute walk around the block to rest your mind. Focus on the basic concepts, and avoid wasting time on small details..

For that kind of skill, repetition is key. Make flash cards with the name of each country, city, etc. that you want to memorize. Practice picking up those flash cards and pointing to those locations on the map. Do that over and over until it becomes second nature.

Don't look at social studies as a Mount Everest of notes - break the subject down into small chunks of important material so you don't feel overwhelmed and to make each topic easier to focus on. For instance, you could focus on studying just one topic each day.

Close your eyes and take a few slow, deep breaths. Try to clear your mind of all your worries and anxiety. Then just take one question at a time. Go slow and don't panic.

Talk to your teacher about concepts you don't quite understand, and ask them if they have any test-taking tips. If they give out a study guide, circle questions you're struggling with to bring up in class.

Having no passion for a subject can make study prep difficult. Try focusing on the study techniques that best capture your attention. If flash cards help stave off boredom better than outlining your textbook, do what works.

Explain your thought process and provide support for your answer. For example, if a question asks you to take a side on an issue, explain why you think that's the case. You can explain some of the relevant background pertaining to the issue, provide historical or current examples that support your claim, explain what's wrong with the other position, and generally use logic.

Just make sure you study every single night of that short time. Study for as long as you need each night, but remember to take breaks. Don't stress and remember that everybody else in your class is having the same lessons and the same exam. Remember to ask any questions you don't understand during class. When you're studying at home and you have questions, write them all down so that you don't forget.

Have only the pages of notes on that topic in front of you, or just find a way to make sure that you don't just start reading your notes on the next topic. You can use the methods from above to learn that material, but work on that one topic for about 15 - 30 minutes, take a break, and come back refreshed and see how much you remember. This way you can also easily see what your struggling with, and you can work on those sections.