Revision Guide
[Document subtitle]
Second Year Name:
Tutor Group:
The Golden Rules • Start Revision Early We don’t mean before sunrise, we mean that you need to start about 3-4 weeks ahead of the examinations. This avoids MASSED LEARNING (known to most of us as cramming).
1. Revise a topic for a maximum of 45 minutes (more than this and the ability of the brain to process information is significantly reduced). 2. Have lots of breaks. 3. Test yourself or get someone to test you and note your score/recall capability and what tripped you up. 4. Consider revising the same topic for 20-30 minutes the day after to check you remember it.
• Ensure a Social Media/Gadget Shut Down This will be tough for some of you but could be the make or break of your success in these examinations. 1. Switch off your mobile phone. Incoming calls, messages and social media notifications are just too tempting. 2. Turn off your computer and iPad too, unless you are visiting revision websites that have been recommended by your teachers or using resources you have made in class on your iPad. 3. Try to keep all devices off for the whole time you are working, then when you have a break you can turn them on again.
The Golden Rules
•
Get help from friends and family
It’s often very useful and reassuring to get your parents, brothers and sisters or friends (study buddies) to be a part of your revision.
Ideas for involving others: 1. Get someone to test you on the topic you’ve just covered. They could ask you the questions you’ve been preparing for or listen while you try and remember the key terms. 2. Be the lecturer. Give a short lecture style presentation to someone. 3. Do a revision session with a study buddy. It can be really motivating to go through your revision journey with another student who is determined to make the most of their revision time like you. You can take notes together, complete past papers, test each other on key terms and play the revision games later in this booklet.
•
Get organised
The best way to start revision is to spend your first session for each subject getting organised. The next page has some tips to help with everything you need to be an effective and organised learner.
How to be an effective learner 1. Make sure you have a revision list for each subject; your teacher may give you this or you may create one yourself. 2. Make sure that you have all the revision notes, guides, text books and website links you’ll need for each subject. 3. Highlight the topics in each subject that you are less confident in. 4. Sort out your folders, pens, highlighters and plastic wallets and other revision stationery. 5. Organise your revision space. You can’t work effectively in clutter and mess. Spend 5 or 10 minutes each day making sure things are filed and neat in the right places, this will help you find things again when you next come to revise. 6. Stick your revision timetable in a prominent place on or near your revision space.
On the next few pages you’ll find some tools that will really help you to organise and prepare your revision.
Conduct for Internal Examinations
These are our School rules for taking Examinations, don’t worry you will soon get used to them.
All School Rules, including Dress Regulations, are to be strictly obeyed during the examination period.
Acquaint yourself with the dates, times and places of your examinations as shown on the timetable.
Arrive at your examination room ten minutes before your examination is due to begin. Do not be late!
You must use a black pen/ink for all of your written answers.
Revision notes, private reading, books and any other paperwork are not allowed in the examination room unless authorised. All books and papers must be moved well away from the examination desks before the examination begins.
Mobile phones are NOT allowed in the examination room. Please leave your phone in your locker.
Seating for all examinations will be in alphabetical order.
Check beforehand if you are allowed to use calculators in your examinations.
You must stay in the examination room until the end of the time allowed for your paper. You will not be allowed to leave the examination room early.
Observe the SILENCE signs throughout the School at all times.
All incidents of malpractice will be reported to the HOY.
Preparing for examinations -In School
Subject
English
Maths
Junior Science
MFL 1
MFL 2
Topics to be covered in the examination.
What will the structure of the examination paper be like?
Revision that will be covered in lesson time
Preparing for examinations -In School
Subject
Geography
History
R.S
Latin/ Classical Civilisation
D&T
Topics to be covered in the examination.
What will the structure of the examination paper be like?
Revision that will be covered in lesson time
Preparing for examinations –At Home
To help you to plan your revision sensibly it is important that you find out about times when you will not be able to revise and think about what subjects you might need to allow more time for than others.
Ask: •
Do you have any commitments in the week before the examinations?
• Do you have any regular commitments in the evenings or at weekends (e.g. music lessons, sports etc.)?
•
Do you find any subject difficult, that you will have to spend more time on than others?
Revision Strategies
Strategy One – Reading and note making 1. Use highlighters to emphasise key points. 2. Use different coloured pens to make learning more memorable. 3. Use different coloured sheets for each subject. This helps for organisation. 4. Use plastic wallets to keep your sheets together and organised
Strategy Two – Condense your notes onto REVISION FLASH CARDS When you transfer more detailed revision notes to flash cards you are aiming to try and recall all of the knowledge you need for answering examination questions from abbreviated notes such as key terms, dates questions or equations. Flash cards are good for testing yourself on key terms or processes too. You can put the answers or diagrams on the back so that you can check you are on track.
Strategy Three – Add some ART to make things vivid Adding your own pictures to some of your notes can be really helpful for knowledge recall. We are not talking awesome art, stick men will do! An image is often easier to remember than text.
Revision Strategies Strategy Four: Voice Recordings Can Help For some making a voice recording of your revision notes can really help to embed the knowledge in your long-term memory. This method saves you having to read the information again and again and instead you hear it. You can use your iPad or your phone. You can then plug in your earphones and listen to your revision at any suitable time.
Strategy Five – The Revision Dice Game This one is for the final stages of your revision journey. When you’ve made revision sheets and flash cards, try something different and play a game. Rules First choose which subject and topic you are playing with… Then if you throw a 1. Write down 5 key terms associated with the topic. 2. Draw a picture of a key process, theory or event to do with topic and label it accordingly. 3. Write a description or definition of the topic or a key term within it. 4. Invent an appropriate question about the topic which may be asked in the examination, write it down and answer it. 5. Do 2 minutes of flash card revision on the area that you find most difficult to remember. 6. Give a 2 minute mini-lecture on a key aspect of the topic.
Revision Timetables Making a revision timetable can be useful to plan your time. Use the template later in this booklet or use your own if you prefer. Remember: 1. It is important that you have regular breaks in your revision. 2. REWARD YOURSELF. Make sure you have lots of things to look forward to during your revision programme. 3. Be Realistic – it is unlikely that you will be able to revise for long periods of time. Set yourself realistic targets. 4. You will concentrate better and learn more effectively if you are in a quiet comfortable environment. Think about where you are going to revise. 5. Rotate your sessions between your ‘best’ subjects and your least favourite subjects. 6. In each subject, make a list of those topics you don’t know quite so well and revise those first.
Mon 6th May
Tues 7th May
Wed 8th May
Thurs 9th May
Fri 10th May
Bank Holiday Morning
Assembly
Group Base
Group Base No Assembly
Group Base
Afternoon
Evening
Evening
Evening
Evening
Sat 11th May
Sun 12th May
Morning
Morning
Afternoon
Afternoon
Evening
Evening
Mon 13th May
Tues 14th May
Wed 15th May
Thurs 16th May
Fri 17th May
Group Base No Assembly
Group Base No Assembly
Group Base
Assembly
Group Base
Evening
Evening
Evening
Evening
Evening
Sat 18th May
Sun 19th May
Morning
Morning
Afternoon
Afternoon
Evening
Evening
Mon 20th May
Tues 21st May
Group Base No Assembly
Group Base No Assembly
Evening
Evening Examinations are over – enjoy an evening off!
2nd Year Summer 2019 Internal Examinations Timetable 2nd Thu
(A)
16 May
P1 P2
Subject Timetabled lesson
P3
Revision Session
P4
English
P5
Revision Session
P6
Mathematics I Non Calculator
Fri
P1
Revision Session
17 May
P2
MF Language 1
P3
Revision Session
P4
Religious Studies
P5
Revision Session
P6
Design & Technology
(A)
Mon P1
(B)
20 May
Tue
(B)
21 May
Revision Session
P2
Mathematics II
P3
Revision Session
P4
History
P5
Revision Session
P6
MF Language2
P1
Revision Session
P2
Latin / Classical Civilisation
P3
Revision Session
P4
Geography
P5
Revision Session
P6
Junior Science
Calculator
FR, SP or GE
Form / Room Normal timetabled lessons & classrooms 2/1 E2 2-2 H12 2/3 H6 2/4 L4 2/5 L3 JAR THT BMW ASR AJMS II/1 H7 II/2 H2 II/3 E8 II/4 H6 II/5 MU2 APM NAM SHB DAG CEF 2/1 IT5 2-2 J2 2/3 H10 2/4 CL3 2/5 CL5 GTB JNC RKP CEG JMM 2A/1/SEB 2B/1/JAT 2A/2/RPN 2B/2/MPW 2A/3/IR KMC CL7 SJBA L13 VBP L3 EFB L12 GSPL L2 2/1 L3 2-2 CL7 2/3 L4 2/4 L1 2/5 CL3 AJMS KMC VBP JCH CEG FR*1/ASR FR*2/AJMS SP*1/VBP SP*2/KMC SP*3/AJMS JCH CL7 JMM CL5 CEG CL3 LAG H4 SDG J2 2/1 H12 2-2 J2 2/3 E1 2/4 M2 2/5 M5 JGP JNC SE MPW JAT II/1 MU3 II/2 E8 II/3 J2 II/4 L1 II/5 H6 TJH JMAH MM PRJ TLK II/1 L1 II/2 H6 II/3 CL5 II/4 MU3 II/5 CL3 JAR TLK CAL JMRB DAG II/1 M3 II/2 M8 II/3 M6 II/4 J2 II/5 E2 SEB RPN IR GMG JAR II/1 H8 II/2 H2 II/3 H10 II/4 CL3 II/5 CL5 ESW DAG RKP CEG JMM CL5 CL3 L1 H5 H12 2A/1/SEB 2B/1/JAT 2A/2/RPN 2B/2/MPW 2A/3/IR JMM CEG JCH GPH THT II/1 M3 II/2 M8 II/3 M6 II/4 J2 II/5 H18 SEB RPN IR GMG DWF II/1 E2 II/2 H18 II/3 J2 II/4 H19 II/5 IT5 JAR DWF MM KPC GTB II/1 H18 II/2 J2 II/3 H6 II/4 E1 II/5 CL3 KPC JNC BMW ETL APM FR1/KMC FR2/SJBA FR3/KRJ SP1/EFB SP2/GSPL SP3/ASR ETL E1 NAM CL3 SJP DT4 SHB M10 AJS E6 EBR E3 II/1 H8 II/2 CL3 II/3 L3 II/4 J2 II/5 E2 RJLW HMLP CSC GMG JAR 2A/LA1 J2 2A/LA2 E8 2B/LA1 E1 2B/LA2 MU3 2A/CC H12 JMRB LAD JMAH SE THT II/1 M3 II/2 M8 II/3 M6 II/4 M9 II/5 J2 SEB RPN IR PJM SDG II/1 L1 II/2 MU2 II/3 H14 II/4 H12 II/5 M2 JAR CEF CAL JGP DAG II/1 E2 II/2 DT4 II/3 J2 II/4 L1 II/5 MU2 NAM SHB SJP PRJ CEF II/1 M5 II/2 M2 II/3 M6 II/4 L4 II/5 CL7 JAT MPW IR VBP KMC
2/6 L13 RLH II/6 J2 JAAS 2/6 L1 JCH 2B/3/IR ASR L7 2/6 CL5 JMM GE*/RLH JGP H12 2/6 M6 IR II/6 H14 CAL II/6 E3 JEBR II/6 MU3 JMRB II/6 L1 JCH J2 2B/3/IR JAAS II/6 MU3 JMRB II/6 H8 ESW II/6 DT4 HS GE/VBP SDG J2 II/6 H14 CAL 2B/CC E3 EBR II/6 H10 RKP II/6 J2 JAAS II/6 L7 LAG II/6 L3 AJMS
Notes
Notes
Notes
Good Luck
For more information, ideas and guidance please visit the study skills page of the school website.