Lower school revision guide 2014

Name ___________________

“I know I knew that once…What was it?”

Revision 2014: Some suggestions and ideas for the Lower School (The information in this booklet is also available on the School website)

Planning your Revision Revision is another word for reviewing. To understand and remember what you have learned over the year, you need to re-read your course essays, notes and textbooks. Revision requires accurate notes and careful planning to be most effective.

It is best to begin your programme of revision a month or so before the exams.

Before you start your revision there are a number of things you need to do: 1. Have a good look at your examination timetable and read the notes about exam conduct carefully. These are all in this booklet. Make sure that you read the right exam timetable for your year group.

2. Devise a revision timetable - Revise in short manageable chunks and take regular breaks. Each revision session should last about 60 minutes, with 10minute breaks between each session. If you find this to be too much, then do 25 minute slots with 5 minute breaks.

3. Try not to revise more than two subjects a day and don't attempt to do all of a subject in one go.

4. Decide what time of day you work most effectively: mornings, afternoons or evenings.

5. Take lots of exercise. Exercise is a good way to relax and it also helps you to feel better about yourself and life in general. Research has shown that movement and exercise increase breathing and heart rate so that more blood flows to the brain, enhancing energy production and waste removal. If you play for a sports team or go to an afterschool club, keep going during the weeks leading up to the exams.

6. Take advice from your subject teachers on what topics you will be examined on and how best to revise for a particular exam.

7. Make sure you have time to relax before going to bed and try to get plenty of sleep. But don't go to bed so early that you can't sleep – read a book or watch TV first.

SECOND YEAR INTERNAL EXAMINATIONS TIMETABLE Summer 2014 Time (A)

Thur AM

12Jun AM AM AM

(Rev:11.15 -11.45)

11.45 – 12.45 (Rev:11.15 -11.45)

11.45 – 12.45 (Rev:11.15 -11.45)

11.45 – 12.45

English Comprehension & Writing

Spanish MFL1 Reading & Writing

German MFL1 Reading & Writing

French MFL1 Reading & Writing

123

II/1 21 H5

II/2 21 H6

II/3 20 H7

62

SP1* 24 ML L1

SP2* 20 MCF L2

SP3* 18 GSPL L3

II/4 21 H8

II/5 20 H12

II/6 20 H14

FR1* 22 L12

FR2* 21 L13

GE* 18 SLA CL7

18

43

2.15 – 3.45

Supervised Study

123

II/1 21 H5

II/2 21 H6

II/3 20 H7

II/4 21 H8

II/5 20 H12

II/6 20 H14

AM

9.15 – 10.45

History

123

II/1 21 H5

II/2 21 H6

II/3 20 H7

II/4 21 H8

II/5 20 H12

II/6 20 H14

Design & Technology

123

Geography

123

II/1 21 H5

II/2 21 H6

II/3 20 H7

II/4 21 H8

II/5 20 H12

II/6 20 H14

9.45 – 10.45

Junior Science

123

II/1 21 H5

II/2 21 H6

II/3 20 H7

II/4 21 H8

II/5 20 H12

II/6 20 H14

AM

11.15 – 12.45

Latin

123

II/1 21 H5

II/2 21 H6

II/3 20 H7

II/4 21 H8

II/5 20 H12

II/6 20 H14

PM

2.15 – 3.45

GAMES

123

Tues AM

9.15 – 10.45

Mathematics

123

MA1 24 GAE H5

MA2 21 RGP H6

MA3 17 GSW H7

MB1 24 IKH H8

MB2 24 ESR H12

MB3 13 EJC H14

Spanish MFL2

43

SP1 21 GSPL L1

SP2 22 LIM L2

FR1 20 MGK CL7

FR2 21 JVJ L12

SJBA L13

II/4 21 H8

II/5 20 H12

II/6 20 H14

Fri

13Jun AM PM

Mon

AM

(Rev:11.15 -11.30)

11.30 – 12.30 2.15 – 3.45 (Rev:9.15 – 9.45)

16Jun

(B)

Form/Set Total Room

Yr

PM (A)

(B)

9.15– 10.45

Subject

17Jun AM AM AM PM

(Rev:11.15 -11.45)

11.45 – 12.45 (Rev:11.15 -11.45)

11.45 – 12.45 (Rev:11.15 -11.45)

11.45 – 12.45 2.15 – 3.45

Reading & Writing

German MFL2 Reading & Writing

French MFL2 Reading & Writing

Religious Studies

DTA1 PGK

DTA2 SHB

DTA3 PGK

DTA4 SHB

DTB1 PGK

DTB2 AMLS

DTB3 PGK

DTB4 SHB

H5

H6

H7

H8

H12

H14

L12

L13

GE 21 MCF L3

21

59`

123

II/1 21 H5

II/2 21 H6

II/3 20 H7

FR3 18

Please Note:       

Wait quietly outside the examination room until instructed to enter the room and take your place.

Mobile Phones are NOT allowed in Examination Rooms. Leave your phone in your locker before each exam.

When revision or private reading has been authorised, all books and papers must be moved well away from your desk before the examination begins.

Use black ink for all written answers.

When your Examination has finished, please remember that Examinations will still be taking place around the School. Please move around in silence as other pupils will be working under examination conditions.

Observe the SILENCE signs throughout the School AT ALL TIMES. All incidents of malpractice or cheating, whether intended or not will be reported to your the Head of Year.

THIRD YEAR INTERNAL EXAMINATIONS TIMETABLE Summer 2014 (A)

Thu

12Jun

9.15 – 10.45

Biology

150

11.15 – 12.45

Design & Technology

93

Non- D&T

57

11.15 – 12.45 2.15 – 3.45 2.15 – 3.45

(A)

Fri

13Jun

Supervised Study

MFL1 Spanish R&W incl 30 mins prior revision

MFL1 French R&W incl 30 mins prior revision

61 68

2.15 – 3.45

MFL1 German R&W

9.15 – 10.45

History

150

Games

66

11.15 – 12.45

incl 30 mins prior revision

(Forms 5 – 7)

21

11.15 – 12.45

Non- Games

84

2.15 – 3.45

Physics

150

9.15 – 10.45

Section A: Unseen Poetry Section B: Writing

English (B)

Mon

16Jun 11.15 – 12.45 11.15 – 12.45

(B)

Tue

17Jun

Wed

18Jun

MFL2 French R&W incl 30 mins prior revision

57 34

11.15 – 12.45

MFL2 German R&W

11.15 – 12.45

Classical Greek

7

11.15 – 12.45

Non MFL2 & Greek

36

2.15 – 3.45

Mathematics I

150

9.15 – 10.45

Chemistry

150

Games

84

11.15 – 12.45

incl 30 mins prior revision

Supervised Study

(Forms 1 - 4)

11.15 – 12.45

Non- Games

11.15 – 12.45

Italian R & W

2.15 – 3.45

(B)

MFL2 Spanish R&W incl 30 mins prior revision

150

incl 30 mins prior revision

Religious Studies Religion & Citizenship

16

III/1 19

III/2 21

III/3 22

III/4 22

III/5 23

LSDM M2

LH M3

STA M5

JMBW M7

LH M8

3ADT1 DTB 3ADT2 PGK 3ADT PGK 3BDT2 15 3DT1 SHB 16 HALL 16 HALL 17 HALL AMLS HALL 15 HALL SUPERVISED STUDY ROOMS ML 24

EML 24

LIM 13

M2

M3

M6

RHKP 24

MGK 21

SJBA 23

M5

M7

M9

H14

150

9.15 – 10.45

Mathematics II

150

11.15 – 12.45

Latin

65

11.15 – 12.45

Non Latin

85

2.15 – 3.45

Geography

150

III/7 22

3DT2 PGK 14 HALL

M10

SLA 21

M8 III/1 19

III/2 21

III/3 22

III/4 22

III/5 23

III/6 21

III/7 22

SB M2

NJD M3

JMB M5

KPC M7

KPC M8

NJD M9

JMB M10

III/5 23

III/6 21

III/7 22

III/1 19

III/2 21

III/3 22

III/4 22

L7

H17

H18

H19

SUPERVISED STUDY ROOMS

III/1 19

III/2 21

III/3 22

III/4 22

III/5 23

III/6 21

III/7 22

JMF M2

PESJ M3

LJH M5

HD M7

JMF M8

RSS M9

PEB M10

III/1 21

III/2 22

III/3 22

III/4 21

III/5 21

III/6 23

SE M5

GSS M7

JMAH M2 CEW M3 ML 21

GSPL 12

SRP 8

LIM 16

HALL

HALL

HALL

HALL

SJBA 15

JVJ 19

HALL

HALL

JMAH M8 RMG M9

III/7 23

AJS M10

MGK 16

H10 JMM 7

HALL SUPERVISED STUDY ROOMS 3A1 21 KSS M2

3B1 23 PJR M3

3B1* 22 ESR M5

3A2 21 EJC M7

3A2* 20 GAE M8

L12

L13

3B2 22 GSW M9

3B2* 21 EJC M10

III/1 19

III/2 21

III/3 22

III/4 22

III/5 23

III/6 21

III/7 22

MAP M2

ELS M3

ELT M5

RJC M7

CLC M8

SDG M9

CLC M10

III/1 19

III/2 21

III/3 22

III/4 22 III/5 23

III/6 21

III/7 22

L7

H12

H14

III/5 23

III/6 21

66 8

M9

III/6 21

LSDM M9 MPM M10

SRP

H10 III/1 19

III/2 21

III/3 22

III/4 22

HEMS HALL JGP HALL THT HALL JGP HALL HEMSHALL THT HALL 3A1 21 KSS L12

3B1 23 3B1* 22 3A2 21 3A2* 20 3B2 22 3B2* 21 PJR L13 ESR HALL EJC HALL GAE HALL GSW HALL EJC HALL

CEG 22

LJK14

CEG 14

LJK 15

HALL

HALL

HALL

HALL

SUPERVISED STUDY ROOMS III/1 19

LJR M2

III/7 22

JGP HALL

III/2 21

III/3 22

GPH M3 DMB M5

L7

CL7

L12

L13

III/4 22

III/5 23

III/6 21

III/7 22

LJR M7

GPH M8

AHP M9

GSH M10

Task 1: Examination checklist

Maths English Physics Chemistry Biology Junior Science Geography History RS Latin French Spanish German Italian Classical Greek Art D&T Music

What topics will be revised in class

Topics to be revised

Structure of the exam

For each subject you ought to be able to put a tick in each of the boxes by Wednesday 14th May. If you can’t, then you should see your teacher and ask them for help. It is something you may need to take responsibility for.

Task 2: Completing your Revision Timetable Once you have worked out when your exams are it is important to plan your revision.

Regardless of what others are doing you should probably start your revision earlier than you

think you need to.

At school your exams start soon after half term. It is important that you start thinking about your revision now. During half term you should aim to do around 12 hours of revision. In addition to this you will have time during the normal school homework time and group base time.

Spend some time planning your revision programme for the week before half term, half term and then the two weeks afterwards.

Key points to read before filling in a revision schedule:  It is important that you have regular breaks in your revision.

 REWARD YOURSELF.

Make sure you have lots of things to look forward to during your revision programme.  Be Realistic – it is unlikely that you will be able to revise for 8 hours in a day. Set your self realistic targets.

 Revision should take priority over other less urgent activities which can be put on hold until after the exams  You will concentrate better and learn more effectively if

you are in a quiet comfortable environment. Think about where you are going to revise.

 Rotate your sessions between your ‘best’ subjects and your least favourite subjects.



 Cross out the sessions on the half-term timetable when you are taking a break from revision.

 During Half term you do not need to work every session, probably one session a day will be enough provided you use the time wisely.

Mon 19 May

Tues 20 May

Wed 21 May

Thurs 22 May

Fri 23 May

Group Base

Group Base

Group Base

Group Base

Group Base

Evening

Evening

Task 3 How to revise Evening

Evening

Evening

Sat 24 May

Sun 25 May

Morning

Morning

Afternoon

Afternoon

Evening

Evening

HALF TERM Mon 26 May

Tues 27 May

Wed 28 May

Thurs 29 May

Fri 30 May

Morning

Morning

Morning

Morning

Morning

Afternoon

Afternoon

Afternoon

Afternoon

Afternoon

Evening

Evening

Evening

Evening

Evening

Sat 31 May

Sun 01 June

Morning

Morning

Afternoon

Afternoon

Evening

Evening

RETURN TO SCHOOL

Mon 02 June

Tues 03 June

Wed 04 June

Thurs 05 June

Fri 06 June

Group Base

Group Base

Group Base

Group Base

Group Base

Evening

Task 4 How do I write better explanations Evening

Evening

Evening

Evening

Sat 07 June

Sun 08 June

Morning

Morning

Afternoon

Afternoon

Evening

Evening

Mon 09 June

Tues 10 June

Wed 11 June

Thurs 12 June

Fri 13 June

Group Base

Group Base

Group Base

Group Base

Group Base

Evening

Evening

Evening

Evening

Evening

Sat 14 June

Sun 15 June

Mon 16 June

Tues 17 June

Wed 18 June

Morning

Morning

Group Base

Group Base

Group Base

Afternoon

Afternoon

Evening

Evening

Evening

Evening

Are you an effective learner? This quiz will help you find out.

1. Do you research, plan and draft an essay before writing it?

Yes

No

2. Do you revise a topic even if exams are not due for some time?

Yes

No

3. If you are having problems with a topic, do you discuss them with your teacher?

Yes

No

4. Do you leave homework until the last possible moment?

Yes

No

5. Do you study at home with the television or stereo turned on?

Yes

No

6. Do you read all the comments and corrections a teacher puts on your work?

Yes

No

7. Do you keep a glossary of important terms for each subject?

Yes

No

8. Do you use a library or learningresources room to help you with your studies?

Yes

No

9. Can you easily identify the key points of a text to make your notes from?

Yes

No

10. Do you always finish answering every question that you are set in an exam?

Yes

No

Think about your answers and what they tell you about how effective you are as a learner.

How to Revise You don't have to revise on your own and it doesn't have to be painful or boring. Believe it or not, it can even be enjoyable. There are lots of different strategies that you can use to gain confidence in your revision. Here are some of them.

1 Make notes Notes help you concentrate and understand a topic. They also save you from having to read your whole course file or exercise book, because you can memorise your own notes more easily. You may have used a sheet called

SQ3R as part of your study skills in

your tutor group.  



   

Read through your essays, notes and textbook chapters and list key points and words under each separate heading as you do so.

Write in different colours or use highlighters to make important points or to make headings stand out (wax crayons are better than highlighters as they are more relaxing to look at and there is a greater variety of colours that you can use).

In subjects where learning quotes (English and History), using appropriate terminology (Geography, RS, Science) is important put these in different colours so that they stand out.

List any of your own ideas under each of these headings in another colour.

Make sure your notes are concise (short and clear) and relevant (keeping to the subject). Try to show what is important information and what is not.

Make sure your notes are legible.

Once you have completed your notes, you may find it useful to rewrite them and keep a final copy stored on index cards or in a small notebook for easy reference, especially for when you have a spare moment.

2 Use mnemonics to help you remember A mnemonic is a way of helping you remember information using abbreviations, words or phrases. The funnier these are, the better. To remember the colours of the visible spectrum in order, you might use the mnemonic: Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain, using the initial letters of each word to remember (in the right order) the colours red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

3 Use diagrams Diagrams can also help you remember and understand things. Each leg of a spidergram, for example, has a heading that is linked to the main body or topic. You can display these diagrams where you are studying. Over the page is an example of one on population.

4 Revise with your friends Forming self-help pairs or groups to assist your revision and to test each other can be a great advantage, perhaps even write tests for each other. You don’t have to be with someone to do this, why not use e-mail as a way of sending a test to a friend. Working with others can help you to fill in gaps in your understanding or knowledge and is bound to be more fun than working alone. But be careful not to make your sessions all fun and no work!

5 Red Pen Black Pen The idea of using two coloured pens as a revision technique was described by an Occupational Health Therapist who had to learn the 300 parts of the human eye.

The idea is that the two colours work on the two halves of the brain. The black pen signifies the information that you already hold in your conscious memory. The red pen signifies those things in your unconscious memory that you wish to transfer into your conscious memory. The red pen strongly signifies danger and is held by your unconscious memory without realising it. Having used this technique, it can have a very positive effect but its success depends to some extent on the preferred learning style of the pupil. The concept map (mind map) has a strong visual impact and obviously allows visual learners to learn information quickly. If you find that the easiest way to learn things is to keep doing it over and over again this technique might work for you.

The revision technique has several stages: Stage 1 – Produce a concept map or page of notes to cover a topic you wish to revise e.g. try using the population summary sheet that is included in this booklet.

Stage 2 – Produce a blank skeleton of your concept map or a page with just the headings on Stage 3 – as part of your revision, spend 10 minutes revising from your page of notes/concept map– no longer !

Stage 4 – Turnover the concept map with the answers on it. With your black pen write down everything that you can remember.

Stage 5 – When you cannot remember anymore turn over the answer sheet and then fill in the blanks in red. This is the end of the first attempt.

Stage 6 – Spend 10 minutes revising from the sheet you have been working on.

Repeat from stage 4 !

6 Practise answering Examination Questions

Practise answering examination questions obtained from your teacher either using notes and books or without them. It may be a good idea to time yourself and see if you can write an answer in about the time which the examination will give you. Why not also try and anticipate a possible exam question when doing your revision, you never know you might get lucky!

How many people are there in the world?

How many people are there in each country?

Are some areas uninhabited? population distribution

What does it show?

How can you identify an aging population?

Are people distributed evenly in the world?

What is a population pyramid?

Factors that influence where people live

What is an ageing population?

What is a youthful population?

What is the average Life expectancy?

What about migration?

Will we run out of space on the planet?

What happens when there is a shortage of food?

population density

How much is the world's population growing by?

Population Issues

Natural Increase Doubling Times

Are there enough resources to go round?

How many people live in poverty in the world?

Is the world's population growing?

How much space do people have?

Are all populations increasing?

What is the population density in the world?

What has the chinese government done to control its population?

Are some countries overpopulated?

How many people are born or die each day?

Which country is increasing the fastest?

Birth Rates Death rates Infant mortality rate

Reading and writing Notes: SQ3R is a useful technique for remembering written information. It helps you to create a good mental framework of a subject, into which you can fit facts correctly. It also prompts you to use the review techniques that will help to fix information in your mind.

By using

SQ3R to actively read a document, you can get the maximum benefit from

your reading time.

The acronym

SQ3R stands for the five sequential techniques you should use to read a

book/article/internet article: 

Survey: Survey the document: scan the contents, introduction, chapter introductions and chapter summaries to pick up a shallow overview of the text. Form an opinion of whether it will be of any help. If it does not give you the information you want, discard it.



Question: Make a note of any questions on the subject that come to mind, or particularly interest you following your survey. Perhaps scan the document again to see if any stand out.

These questions can be considered almost as study goals - understanding the answers can help you to structure the information in your own mind.



Read: Now read the document. Read through useful sections in detail, taking care to understand all the points that are relevant. In the case of some texts this reading may be very slow. This will particularly be the case if there is a lot of dense and complicated information. While you are reading, it can help to take notes in a

concept map format. 

Recall:

Once you have read appropriate sections of the document, run through it in your mind several times. Isolate the core facts or the essential processes behind the subject, and then see how other information fits around them. 

Review: Once you have run through the exercise of recalling the information, you can move on to the stage of reviewing it. This review can be by rereading the document, by expanding your notes, or by discussing the material with friends. A particularly effective method of reviewing information is to have to teach it to someone else!

Task 3: Look at your Geography exercise book and use this particular topic.

SQ3R

method to summarise a

Task 4: Look at this unordered jumble of note making activities and learning.

Leave wide Margins Identify what is not said Compare and revise notes with friends Do loads of photocopying Underline main points Use the library for socialising Doodle lots Turn complex ideas into flow charts Ask teachers about points that make no sense Ask questions Highlight main points Natter in lessons Copy all OHT’s Scribble extra questions in margins Write down everything said in lessons Take notes from TV documentaries

those likely to assist learning and put an

X against those likely to slow up

Ignore handouts Code references to follow up Store notes under washing Copy big chunks from books Always note references in full Make notes from current affairs programmes Make short notes of main points and headings Use cards for notes Order and file notes weekly Jot down personal ideas Share notes with friends Write illegibly Use coloured pens for different points Write shopping lists in lessons Annotate handouts Revise notes within three days of lessons

In your exams you will encounter lots of different types of questions. These two sheets will help you with questions that ask you to describe and to explain.

HOW DO I WRITE BETTER DESCRIPTIONS? Extremes

Different types

How do I do it?

Use place names to identify where something is.

Using extremes or opposites to tell us about something.

Recognise there are variations or categories or different types in what you are studying.

What do I write?

Newcastle Under Lyme…..Staffordshire…….

Large/Small…..Wet/Dry….Busy/Quiet…….Full/Empty……

High growth/steady growth/no growth……The Tundra/the Tropical Rainforest/ the Desert.

The elderly people/ the young people with families/the teenagers/ the disabled.

Comparisons

Use numbers to compare features.

Twice as many people…..half the number of visitors….. a third less money……

Calculate the average, the range, percentages from data.

Ratios and Patterns

Spot different types, use numbers and group these together to tell us about the whole place. Try to find a pattern or relationship.

As the temperature increases the rainfall decreases…………the further away from the town centre you go the fewer big shops there are……..

HOW DO I WRITE BETTER EXPLANATIONS? How do I do it?

Explain that one feature is caused by another

Cause

What do I write?

A one sentence answer. ….due to……because……

Effect Cause

Cause

Explain how one feature is caused by another.

A group of sentences.

How

Effect

Or explain how one feature causes another which then has a knock on effect and causes something else.

….this is caused by…and so this means that…..this effects this by…..the consequence is…..

Effect

Effect

Cause

How

Explain how one feature causes another and then how the knock on effect caused the something else.

A paragraph.

Explain how two separate causes work together to create one feature which then causes something else.

Two paragraphs, one about each cause.

Effect

…this is the result of….the consequence on this is…..this means that….

How Effect Causes Effect Effect

…the combined effect is…this leads to….these two things then create…this happens when…

REVISION & LEARNING STYLES

Do you know what your preferred LEARNING STYLE is?

Do you prefer to listen and talk while you learn (AUDITORY)?

Or would you rather see things practically demonstrated or like diagrams and colours? (VISUAL) Or are you a PRACTICAL learner? Do you memorise things best by doing rather than seeing or listening, using your body in some way?

Most people are a mixture of all three – and we can confidently use all three styles in revision. But it is also true to say that we have a PREFERRED Learning Style.

Here are a few suggestions for each one. Try a few for yourself and see which works best for you: Revision strategies for the auditory learner • • • • •

•

Reading aloud Underlining interesting points and quotations Make up word games and mnemonics to help you.

Persuading someone to test and re-test you on what you have learned Work with others to revise, but you have to be very disciplined about this (Don’t just chat! Do revision!).

This works best with other auditory learners. Talk your way through a learned topic or ask each other to explain difficult areas Read texts aloud, paying close attention to the way it sounds. Now try reading it under your breath

• • • • • • • • • • •

Make up questions to ask about the text and then question someone about it Talk aloud to recall what you have just learned Go somewhere where you won’t bother anyone and read your notes and text book out loud Impersonate someone while learning different subjects, for example Peter Kay does Science or Victor Meldrew does History.

Decide on keywords/concepts you will need to learn. Experiment with different ways of saying the keywords out loud (emphasise different parts of the word, use different voices) Tape-record your revision, pause the tape recorder and re-tape when you have made a mistake Listen to your notes on a tape player when exercising, doing the washing up, on the way to school, and so on When learning technical or mathematical information, talk your way through it. State what you have learned to yourself or a study partner Reason through solutions/thoughts by talking out loud or to a study partner When learning sequences, write out in sentence form and then read them aloud Make up a funny rhyme to remember important facts/concepts.

Revision strategies for the visual learner • • • • • • •

Make use of colour coding when studying new information in your notes Use highlighter pens and highlight different kinds of information in contrasting colours Trace each word in the air Draw a mind map, big enough to cover a wall in your place of study or bedroom Make flash cards (3 by 5 inches) of words and ideas that need to be learned Use highlighter pens to emphasise the key points Limit the information per card so that your mind can take a mental ‘picture’ of the information

• • • • • • • • • •

Write out explanations for diagrams or illustrations of draw diagrams from facts When learning technical or mathematical information, write out in sentences and key phrases your understanding of the material. When learning sequences, write out in detail how to do each step Experiment with diagrams A funny or a rude mental picture will certainly help you to remember facts and patterns Use chronological lists of events Flow charts use the consequences of each action to jog your memory about the next stage Use split lists to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between things Copy key information from your notes and textbooks on to a computer Use the print outs to re-read your notes Make visual reminders of information that must be learned. Use post-it notes in highly visible places – on your mirror, notebook, bedroom door etc.

Revision strategies for the practical learner • • • • • • •

Walk backwards and forwards with your textbook, notes or flash cards and read the information out loud Learn different subjects by walking and reading in different places Jot down keywords, draw pictures or make charts to help you remember your notes Make flash cards (3 by 5 inches) for every step of a sequence you have to learn Put words, symbols or pictures on your flash cards – anything that helps you remember Use highlighter pens in contrasting colours to emphasise the important points but limit the amount of detail so you do not have too much to remember Practise putting out the cards in the right order until it becomes automatic

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Copy key points on to a chalkboard, whiteboard or large piece of paper. Make up actions to go with the keywords Write down the main points on post-it notes. Assemble the post-its on the wall to see how the different areas relate to one another Use the computer to reinforce learning by touch. Copy out information that must be learned into a word processing package on the computer Use graphics, clip art, tables and databases to organise material that must be learned Listen to your notes of topics when exercising, doing the washing up, walking to school, and so on.

On the morning of the exam 

Staying up all night to study at the last minute is not one of the best ideas in life.

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Be sure you know exactly where and when each paper of each exam is being held.

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Bring the necessary equipment: this might include….. black pens (only black ink can be used in the examinations at KES), two plain pencils and colouring pencils, sharpener, rubber, compasses, protractor, calculator and batteries, a ruler, set squares, a reliable watch, tissues, a bottle of water and (if you need them) glasses. Make sure that all of your pens, pencils etc. are in a clear pencil case or a clear plastic bag.

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Make sure you eat breakfast. It's important to be alert in exams, and not feel hunger pangs. Foods that have lots of carbohydrates, such as cereals and bread, will give your brain enough energy for the day.

Carbohydrates will help your revision, too.

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Drink lots of water – being hydrated aids concentration and it will help you to think clearly.

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Don’t be put off by someone claiming to know everything. No one will know absolutely everything. If the information is so good, ask for an explanation and decide whether it is information that you might need for the examination.

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Whatever the case, it’s probably not a good idea mixing with a lot of your fellow students before an exam starts. If you’re feeling nervous (who doesn’t?) getting to School in good time and sitting quietly by yourself or with another student is probably better preparation.

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It’s also a good idea not to mix very much after an exam. If you get the impression that people have done better than you, for whatever reason, this might make you feel less confident about the exams you’re about to take next.

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Practise taking a few deep breaths before an exam starts, and even during the exam if you feel yourself tensing up. This should help to calm the nerves and make you more alert. If you try to concentrate for a few seconds on simply breathing in and out rather than all the information you know, the relaxation effect will be enhanced.

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When the exam starts, read all of the instructions carefully, especially if there is a choice of questions to answer.