“Daily maintenance” may initially sound like extra work. However, putting in a small amount of effort on a daily basis is necessary to reinforce concepts you learned earlier. This process keeps the information you’ve already learned “cleaned” and well-maintained. When study time comes around, you’ll be a huge step ahead.
First, get organized. We recommend purchasing a small spiral notebook for each subject. Use the notebook solely for daily maintenance work.
If you are already acing your Pre-AP Algebra 2 class, then you don’t need to spend as much time on your daily maintenance work for math. In fact, we only recommend that you spend about five minutes nightly reviewing your notes for your strongest classes.
For subjects where the material doesn’t come quite as naturally, we recommend that you take 15-20 minutes a night to review the content of what you’ve learned in class that day and week. Every weekend you should plan to review your daily maintenance work for the past week. This will help keep terms and content fresh and easily accessible for upcoming tests and quizzes.
Not sure how to keep up with each subject? We’ve got you covered. Please see below for maintenance work recommendations broken down by subject.
English
- Use a pencil to underline key literary terms in the reading (symbols, themes, etc.)
- Summarize each chapter with a one-sentence synopsis
- Make flashcards for vocab words and review for five minutes nightly
History
- For lengthy textbook readings, try summarizing each page of content with a one-sentence synopsis
- Maintain a running list of key terms, people, and dates
- Create a timeline of events
- Make flashcards and review for five minutes nightly
Math
- Select 2-3 problems from the previous night’s homework that were particularly tough and re-solve them
- At the end of the week create a mini quiz with one of each type of problem from each night's homework
Foreign language
- Download the Duolingo app and practice five minutes daily
- Create vocabulary lists of new words
- Make flashcards from vocabulary lists
- Maintain a separate list of conjugation and grammar rules
Science
- Keep a running list of key terms from class, notes, text, etc.
- Create flashcards of key terms and review for five minutes nightly
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