Return to Study Skills Courses

Course Descriptions

Whether you are considering a back to school study skills courses, private tutoring to boost confidence in a specific subject or host a small group workshop for you and some friends, HTA is here to help! All workshops can be offered in a large group (school sponsored), small group (rate based on size of group) or private setting ($60/hr).

INTRODUCTION TO STUDY SKILLS COURSE: (lower school)

Lower school students in 4th and 5th grade will love this course. It gives an introduction into the more advanced popular Study Skills Course. It is designed to help students improve their study habits in the areas of organization, time management, goal setting, reading comprehension, and understanding learning styles. Students will learn new methods to overcome academic challenges. Parents often state how important they feel this course was for helping their lower school student transition to middle school while students rave about their instructors. Don’t let your lower school student go another day without these fundamental skills. Course fee includes a student workbook.

STUDY SKILLS COURSE: (middle and upper school)

This popular course is designed to help students improve their study habits in the areas of organization, time management, goal setting, note taking, reading comprehension, test preparation and understanding learning styles. Students with high grades will learn to perfect their study habits while struggling students will learn new methods to overcome academic challenges. Parents often state how important they feel this course was for helping their student during transitions in middle and high school years. Students say the course is fun and helpful and that they would refer it to their friends. Course fee includes a student workbook.

WRITING ESSAYS WITH EASE

Learn how to engage your teachers in your writing and not ruin the moment with poor punctuation and grammar or flat conclusions. This writing workshop that will focus on essays will cover a variety of areas to help your student improve his/her writing skills. Topics that will be covered include –punctuation, idea generation, the 5-paragraph essay and essay directives, leads, conclusions and transitions, conventions and proofreading. Upper School students will also prepare for essay writing on the SAT and for college application essays. Course fees include student workbook.

WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS

Do you dread research and writing assignments? Ease up, learn from a pro and stay the course while you engage your teachers in your writing. Writing is not a skill you were either born with or not; you can learn the necessary skills to engage your readers. As the famous author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach, once said, “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” In a short period you will gain confidence as a writer and never again will you give up before starting to write.

The Research and Writing with Ease workshop covers the following topics: Research plotting, idea generation, leads, conclusions, transitions, conventions, grammar rules, proofreading, proper research and literary analysis. With small student to teacher ratios, this course is ideal for that student who benefits from consistent one-on-one feedback. Course fees include a student workbook.

 

INTENSIVE NOTE TAKING: (1 week course)

Note Taking Nightmares Be Gone!! This note-taking workshop is designed to help students turn on the lights with their note taking and actually make them useful for studying! Students will gain confidence with their listening skills while they learn effective note taking tips. They will discover how to take better notes during lectures, with textbooks, literary works and even when researching. Turn on the lights and join us as we tackle our note taking. Course fee includes student workbook.

SUMMER READING KNOCKOUT (2 week course)

Give your summer reading the old one-two-punch! Many students delay their summer reading as the last thing on the list to do before heading back to school. Fight procrastination, learn an effective way to knockout summer reading and prepare for Fall book assignments now before it is too late. Students learn how to improve note taking with literary works and will actually complete some of their summer reading during this course. They will be excited to walk out of the course with completed tasks for projects and writing assignments.

ISEE Prep

The Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) is published by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) and the test itself is sometimes referred to as the ERB (actually the ERB produces a number of different exams.) Private and parochial schools have testing requirements so that students from various schools, geographies, and backgrounds can be compared in much the same way that colleges use the SAT. Although some schools maintain their own tests, many schools are members of consortia that use the same exams. This simplifies matters greatly for students applying to multiple schools. The most popular exams are the ISEE, SSAT, and HSPT. Although some schools accept either the ISEE or SSAT, most use one or the other.

The summer course is a great ISEE Prep course in a small class setting geared towards 8th graders who will be entering 9th. Course instruction covers all sections of the test with time for individual practice. A baseline practice test is administered the first session and a gaps report and practice plan is given for students to use for focusing individual study time, track their progress at home until they take the actual test. Parent tips are also given concerning the ISEE and application process. Course fee includes materials, instruction, and the baseline test administration and scoring. This also includes scoring the essay section of the test.

 

If you or a friend is interested in hosting a workshop in your home, we can arrange a small group workshop for you.

Secure your spot by enrolling online now.

Testimonials
“Houston Tutorial Association (HTA) offers Study Skills and the Writing with Ease program for our Middle School students. The director and staff collaborate with our teachers in order to adapt their programs and customize lessons to support our curriculum. Each child receives individual attention, student progress is well documented and well communicated to the parents and our teachers and the end of course assessments are testimony to how well their teachers got to know our students. The Study Skills course was so successful that our parents and faculty requested its return.”
- Colleen Curran, Head of Middle School, St. Francis Episcopal Day School
Houston Tutorial Association