Secrets of Success in Secondary School English English helps you to communicate clearly, in everyday life and in the subjects that you will study, and introduces you to the valued literature of our culture. Read, read, read. Read anything you can get your hands on. Read books, magazines, comics, brochures and Web sites. TV just doesn't cut it. It doesn't exercise your imagination. Instead you are handed all the imagery. Write, write, write. Keep a journal or diary. Write songs, poems and stories. Learn to use words. Shakespeare's plays, on the other hand, are meant to be performed. They are not meant to be read as novels. The unusual language of his plays can make them difficult for the modern reader to understand but the stories are timeless. Try watching a film version to attune your ear to the language (it takes only a few minutes, sort of like listening to someone with an accent) to get the gist of the story. Then return to the text to get the specific meaning of the dialogue. Poetry is making a big comeback in the classroom and strikes fear and loathing into many students' hearts. Don't be intimidated. Listen to the words of your favourite songs. They are poems set to music. English literature is part English and part history lesson. Play detective and find out as much as you can about the time in which the work was written. Canada's School Net Home School Site Pacific Space Centre Science World BC French/German/Spanish/Etc. Learning another language gives you the opportunity to gain more knowledge of another culture. Fluency is a valuable skill in the job market and can help open doors for you in job markets all over the world. Learning another language is a big challenge. It's easy to memorize vocabulary, but stringing together meaningful sentences and communicating is not so easy. It simply takes constant practice. Practice conjugating verbs and always check your vocabulary. Try learning a new word, or group of related words, every day. Greet friends in the language you are studying. If they are in your class too, try having complete conversations without speaking any English. Take advantage of any chance you get to watch any TV stations or programs in the language that you are studying. Your library may have foreign books and/or magazines. Check out labels on packages. Visit ethnic food stores. Do anything to increase your exposure to the language. Listen to French CBC if you are studying French. Don't feel panicked if you only understand bits and pieces of conversations. This is where full understanding begins. Study the French Language Study the German Language Study the Spanish Language Social Studies/History/ Geography It is difficult enough to succeed in life in Canada, but it's much harder if you don't know where places are or how the country functions. Some students complain that these can be dry courses, and admittedly, the education system seems to have done a good job of sucking most of the life out of Canadian history. If your teacher isn't creatively re-injecting vital fluids into the story of our country, then try to do it yourself. Try to remember that real people just like you, and your family, lived through what you're reading about. Think about what life was like for them. Think about how life is different today. Look for traces of past events in today's world. Sometimes it's fun, and educational, to watch old movies. Little things like rotary dial phones and record players (and the complete absence of cell phones and beepers) can be a real surprise. Things like that won't be on the test, but they will help give you a sense of what life was like over the course of the 20th century, and during the period that you are studying. History, and geography, are major components of social studies, and the amount of information covered can seem overwhelming. The best solution is to stay on top of note taking. Don't take too few notes, or too many. Be discriminating about what you include based on its importance to the events, places, and people you've been reading about. About Canada Canadian Museum of Civilization Canadian War Museum Canada's School Net New France Mathematics/Algebra Math is vital in many aspects of life. One day you will need to figure out your taxes (Yes, you will pay taxes. Scary isn't it?). Even now, you need to figure out how much tax is added to the clothes or CDs you buy, and how much of your allowance or wages you can afford to spend. Math knowledge accumulates over time. One step builds on the next. If you miss a step, or don't understand a step, you can quickly fall behind and get lost. No matter how many times you have to ask your friends, or the teacher, make sure you get each new idea clear in your head. You need to know how and why a formula, or system, works. Once you do, and begin using it, it will stay with you. Practice by re-writing old exams. Organize problems by type and match them by problem-solving strategy. Time yourself as you problem solve, and see if you can improve your own time as you get used to new formulas and ideas. Canada's School Net High School Math Resource Home School Site Science/Biology/Chemistry/Physics Science plays an increasingly major role in our society. Its applications range from DNA-testing and re-mixing to solving the hole in the ozone layer. Like math, science subjects build on information in steps. You need to completely understand each step, and learn the rules, to keep from getting behind. If you miss a step, or don't understand a step, you can quickly fall behind and get lost. Again, no matter how many times you have to ask your friends, or the teacher, make sure each new idea is clear in your head before moving on. You need to be extra organized in taking notes, measurements, and performing experiments. Make sure you get formulae correct the first time. Accuracy is vital in science. Science stories fill the news every day. Watch the Knowledge Network, PBS stations, and the Discovery Channel for good science programs. The Internet is also full of sites dealing with science topics. Canada's School Net Home School Site Edmonton Space and Science Centre Career and Personal Planning Unless you're planning to retire right after the graduation ceremony, this just might help you get a life after high school. Pay attention, and take it seriously. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn about job interview strategies, résumé building, ideas about possible jobs and careers, communication skills, and post-secondary education options. Canada's School Net Fine Arts/Graphic Design Even if you aren't planning on taking the art world by storm, think about everything that is touched by the visual arts. Someone has designed every "thing" you use in your daily life, from your toothbrush, desk and bed to that hot new car. Video games, music videos, TV shows, movies, comic books, magazines, Web sites, and so much more, are all products of visual artists of one kind or another. Today's communication occurs as much through visuals as text. Visual literacy is fast becoming as important as textual literacy. Fine arts teaches you the importance of attention to detail, and offers you a great opportunity to explore your own creativity. Look around and think about how everyday objects around you have been designed. Go for walks and look at how Mother Nature has designed the world around you. Visit art galleries and craft shops to see what other artists have produced and how they crafted their art. Study photographs in magazines, and newspapers, to see how images have been composed and framed. Look at Web sites and observe how they are laid out. Canada's School Net The Louvre Gallery, France The National Gallery of Canada The Uffizi Gallery, Italy Applied Skills/HomeEc/Woodwork/ Metalwork/Electronics/ Business Education The name Applied Skills covers a wide range of courses from Home Economics to Business Education. What they all have in common is that they teach you basic life skills from writing a budget to cooking a meal or fixing your car. Try using the skills you learn in your daily life. Offer to cook at home sometimes. Make something you can use at home. One day you'll be living on your own. What do you think might make life easier for you? Try saving money by changing the oil in your car yourself. Canada's School Net There are many sites that relate to the various skills covered under the Applied Skills umbrella. Try using your favourite Internet search engine to find sites which cover your special interests. Top